SUBSIDISING PAUPERISM.

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume IV, Issue 227, 9 September 1914, Page 2

SUBSIDISING PAUPERISM.

TO THIS EDITOR. Sir. —1 am glad you disapprove of the proposal that the Napier Harbour Board should contribute a donation to the Napier Distress Fund. In a telegram, dated London. Sept. sth. we read: “The Queen believe;; that the prevention of distress will be better than relief and employment better than charity.” and at its last

meeting this was exactly the view expressed by the Harbour Board, which Mr. Brown ornaments and which the other members work upon. Mr. Brown has since declared that he is ashamed of us. First of all Mr. Brown proposed that we should vote public money to the Expeditionary Fund, now his proposal is for a Distress Fund. Mr. Brown has a little weakness of manufacturing sugar for the beer drinker, instead of powder for the fire eaters. That has been the trouble with French polities. Who ba\e we to thank for blocking the Harbour Enabling Bill last sessionHad the member for Napier assisted' its passage through the House we might now have £300,000 in hand to spend on work of greatest untility not only to Napier but to the whole East Coast —work calculated to save-£2o,-0()q. in lighterage. After all finance is only an artificial factor — so long as the products of New Zealand maintain their volume and value it does not require genius to predict that there will he no distress in tb.is coimlry if it is not sacrificed to paity interests. Should it lie necessary to rai ;e special funds a wire from Washington, dated Sept. 6th. gives us a very good suggestion : “The I nited Slates has practically decided to tax beer, fermented liquors,, etc.’ Now. if Mr. Brown comes down in the House with a proposal to tax the unearned increment of rents from licensed houses and brewers’ profits to relieve distress in New Zealand he would go up in our opinion. If he assists Mr. Campbell to get the. Harbour, Reclamation and Tramline Enabling Bill through this session, which would give the Napier Harbour Board £50,600 to work on quick, he would be honestly entitled to the gratitude of the workers. But he refused to have anything to do with it —yet as member for Napier such a neutral attitude must count with the Government and while Whangarei can put a private Bill through we hear nothing of ours.--l am, etc., EUSTACE LANE.