OUR LAWS AND TAXATION.

Northern Advocate, 9 July 1887, Page 2

OUR LAWS AND TAXATION.

.',[ ; . .-.,.[ LECTJ7BE BY Stß JO3BPH DELL; 1 //. '>jj Ladies and 3entlemen: In 'reading iriy; paper this evening upon our Laws and Taxation,' I hays unfortunately fallen' upon a time' when politics in New Zealand, are, if not endemic, are. most certainly epidemic, and as any reference, to Legislative Acts,; must, of necessity, approach very close upon politics, I have been? compelled, in order not to break your rules, on the oho hand, and to save myself from seeming innoculatidn, with the prevailing distemper, on the other hand, to incise a great portion of. what I had prepared in order not to, give offence , at . this critical time. My paper, is therefore more general than critical. '„.. Toil will note, so far, a tendency to 'medical terms ; before I finish, something may be said, not coinpttmentory to medical.law.^ >? .«.^»r*«i ■. CwimvmKntwnp. with triid making of our laws. We elect a member as our representative to form one of the 9.1 patriotic, and, unselfish men, who at once- ! receive frora d parental Goyernment a white railway pass— mind a white tjcket, emblem ,. of purity,- ad appropriate- to a' politician— and also a free steamer ticket, for themselves ana their vrives, to Wellington : but the'ungallantry of 1887 ! the Parliament has prohibited., tlje ladies returning home ' free ! . so that the, members, have to pay the passages of their wives out of the £210 so liberally and cheerfully provided for them by their grateful constituents, 'for; six weeks arduous labour. . Talcing the electors of Marsden at 2000, this makes 2/1} I paid by each elector present. „ . : XJpon taking their seats, they receive copies of Acts intended io.be passed.' Jf°* the preparation of these Acts, the Government employ a draftsman : they do not -give his name,' but his ! salary . is put down, at £550, and as this year there ' aria to >be two sessions, it is likely he in like manner with all sessional officials,--members, chairman, clerks, and the rest, — get double pay, or £1100, for four or five months. From the .length of Acts, going up to 400 clauses with 50 to 60 sub-sections, it is hot likely any of our members, except .the the draftsman,' reads them' all through. The Municipal Corporations Act, 1886, contains 422 clauses,, And 424 sub-sections; just fancy this Act as: a. field for legal hair-splitting! Thsy ..contemplate .making. Whangarei' ; a municipality, . ; so . soon as, the populatioii is sufacient in number:to have a section for 1 each. In the House, the preamble or first clause, being all that is of necessity, is read on introduction. ' In committee, a few of the clauses are' broiigtit more prominently .under notice ; but to the credit of representatives, be it said, they do not take your money, to be bored, by hearing the Acts read through ; and to the credit of .the draftsman, and ; t^e profit of bis brother lawyers^ very few of these Acts are of legal sthfe. ' ' ■'./ „, .J--^ 1 Mr Bell then read from ' Hanaard, page 267:~Sir vJulius Yogel, speaking on -,ffi§ Government Loans to lidcal Bodies 801, sum ; . ~"Thwe is a difference of 'opinion among, lawyers as to whether this power is necessary ; innctj -I -may say' that I have If^ver, seen a, stronger instance of the proyeroiat ,of lawyers than in respect of the tw^o local finance Acts of jjaat, year. They not only ■~ L ! .'-■JC'*y» - u* l •** i

disagree oil soliie points, but on others their opinions are so opposed to the ordinary and obvious meaning of the statute that in one case I had, on my own authority, with the support of the controller ami auditor Gon oral, to ovcrMe the opinion of the law officers." It is just possible that in your local court, the Justices haVo often to suffer the " prover* bial differences " of legnl gentlemen,- and then — iko Sir Julius Vogel— override tho opinion of: lawyers, and give judgment on tho ordinary and obvious meaning of the Act. Tlior. hgaiu, see the debate on the present Representation Bi'l : even in the House tho lawyers disagrejgL pnja^jaoaiuHgi-iiml^enrindnt'liftvyei-s in the House, stated, that Siivß. SJgut's explanation ■TOMleu^mor^oWc'iu-e.r j . .. ; j '■■*■ I &o*ot' wish" to lie called to"ordor by our chajman^Jhis^Vfiiimg, w- will not repeat ' Ta«||uage used, in the House, '.which caused i'ir Maurice O'Rooke tq, spqaV in tin angry > inanne;/.; mitfliiottce'aai'iteni^f £900 ior extra ) messengers and police in attendance .'tit tlip ' fiquso;''du,ring. the session ; , (taiis pblicc itb'm. : todies' oninYouß! '.' • , , . ; . ! i The Bills^ afterduly passing the, House "of « Representatives, 'are 'sent oh tp the Council f or i Confirmation. My Lords aremore deliberate * iv their action, and dosnPtTmake" long speeches, * or use questionable language, as in the other.. Ho.use,:: jnsiHlei tT do they invariably Use " old ' fogie"kind of stalk, as --Witness "the Hon. Mr Buckley, himself a Ministeruof State, at page 83 in Hansard, He In, whateye? position a ■vfromjin, she is ap ornament to society and- : a' tireasuf e';t6: the world. As a aweetheartf she has f p\y equals andno superiors. Asa cousin she is convenient. As a wealthy grandmother with an incurable distemper she is precious. As a Jvet-nursp she has no equal ' among men. What, sir, -would the people of the earth be without 'women ? They: would be scarce, almighty' scarce." i Much has been; said of late iv reference to . tbejeontinuance of .the Council, . aad with your 1 lwrmiß^oli,^r^^?il«iieTairt««*|^ »n- <tinB r - written prior to this question being so" pib-"™ 7 minently brought before the House. " On the question of .chauge in the Legislative Council, I published an article five years' shlce, just prior to the meeting of theHouße, showing that the, Uplper -House; should remain a nominated House, as "at present: but reduced to 50 members, without- honorarium, as from tho shortening of the parliamentary term to three years, and possibly before long to annual elections, thus lowering the, standard of our House oi Representatives: It was necessary, to prevent hurried and ■•prude, legislation, that we retained the services of trained and experienced legislators in the Council, and made them independent: so that: they could stop the progress of .any laws passed in the House of Representatives, which they desired jthe people should iayo ;an- "opportunity: of reading and understanding,, and^- that; • one. month after the prorogation' Acts so retained, or thrown out, by, the Council, in both oases ; should,' by a\ plebescite bf : the : people, on a.; simple yes or no, be made law or annulled, the ■ *ppwer of veto no longer going up to the Gbvernory hut ; back to tho ■■> people, s I believe ' , the i time .isrvery : ileay, ; wh'en the jjeople will' require !ali laws roadef by- their 'Government tojbe verified, and obtain their -final sanction by a.plebescite. <; ; Ap a. .meeting of ;the Hpusej- : sofoii aftei?. ! rti.e. article, appeared! Sit G. Grey gave ; notice of inoticni for.ani Act' to, abolish the „. Upper '" House eiitlrely.' A" clause in his Act,/ . dntendecLto be. nassed in _ Uie. Hcuse of Beprert sentativesi 'stating that,' in the event;, of, the. „, Council throwing^ out, the. Bill fpr.theirVown; extinction, thatit'snquij) .bo .Referred , to a„, •plebescite of. tho people to decide. it is not/ of necessity that Sir G. Grey saw my article; : the' idea 'of the people being the : >ppwerinthe State, was nothing hew to Turn: but J»js«aiotion.didlnot-pass^a-Becond readin g r --^ being unconstitutional. f ;The two Houses ttfflrby'CpjgWitofrthe British 'Government, alta&t&MCmtetitutioii Act, but ti4s must be done prior to any alteration in ou^form.pf Government., , . . ... , ; , r , - : , . ; i > . Then Us to the next Biep in bur legislation : — \ \ Ttfe Governor's consent or veto,, to any Act N [passed both Houses!^ 'There' will tie' a greater difficulty *in removing this costly incubus. " T^^^bpijrftw^r, is servant, fo Jihe v leud/ir,"iandj j JUjthfe' people of. li"ew Zealand , haye permitted^ ?th( i? ' fdpre^ilmtives; to .run', tliem^iijjto.the enormous Wpt' ! ri6w' Owing in "iiph"«*oii.' tho Brtish Parliament would, not be likely to permit their Representative to be sent home. JJut the people here'thavß'fheip'oiverto pay him fwljat reasonable salary they think well. Tho 'wol-d reasonable .has & signification y wide ' enoughto'buitall.j '„.';..' .i. "ui-J.il ' „;'•■ .- nejl^t (6 enactment; • of , .county , ■ icbunclls i and W\vn^ boards, called. ?' pyjerlaws,'.',, v •am 1 wtn'the»e i by.e-lftws ( dpsp .at home,, .coyer- . . 'i&e '6¥bt"~^oo sections'. addition ip ,',iho- . . 2Ql jfWWft ur hi iim.i«'.i VM . ■tiir-inijin.'iyrXLiii ''." mmy tlie people have up reason tocpinplafn. But we have yet one other body of law ~ makers in New Zealand, whose laws .are fSumn|ajy. and (prompt in. ftjecujioil and w^th«oat appeal : I mean the ; " 'I'i-adea Urion Conncils." These laws are to a certain extent, secret in tbeULQna&tment ; prompt in exception, an^ powerful in execution. I think m Coiinectioii "with • ■•this, more ihan a passing • •^lfliico is liecessarj', to tho manifest* of high officials in the papal hierarchy in connection ■with "Knights of Labour." It seems from that clear, monarchy iv all its phases is on its • trial, if not condemned ; and vow is the time }&rjall legislative bodies to judiciously guide and, lead the Amasses, .or be 'by them over- ' thrown, j,..;.: :■.{■/; .:•.■.!' •. ;■ ■;• -■■•■', vi I BBFoniiiN : oun-£iwo ; taws. •' '"■' Wo have heard so much lately of tho difficulty in finding land for boua .fide settlors, and inpmberof schemes. suggested for that purpose, some indeed passed into law; but none of |;h'em'Beeni to encourage settlement, Tho \, great Uchemb of f "p6fpetual leasiiiff" does notisuitthe ideas' of the "Anglo-Saxon," and Voael dn his'pblifical tour in April $st, wWle depjoring th«« fact, said, "some other tenure ?haji a lease, although called 'perpetual, 1 but which iß^in reality only a .term, and termidable ■for revaluation 1 every 30 yeart is riefcessary to iud ice settlers to make improvements, as thoy would under perpetuity of tenure, and a fixed cen al for all time." I will now read, with your p r t'iiMQßiiJlHPif »r^*"h nn-rufnrm in our land y [awß,publißlied in the Weekly News early in ISBQ, — long prior •to the advent of Mr George, broiiy of tho'perpetlial leasing' enactments — and! in asking your especial attention to the millions of acres spoken of, to state that up to 1880, the Government kept us well posted, as to pur enormous landed security, available to meet the loans floated in London. Prior to alienated, '•and- ; the; amount ' it produced. A * return in 1878 gave in round numbers 1 3,000,000 acres •; sold ••• and . producing' ; £lo,ooo,ooo : this will give you some idea of the value of what' has been Bold since. Unfortunately since 1880 this^ information has not been given us, in that condensed form, and for obvious reasons ; 2&e information since then, as to quantity sold^ now much it produced, and whatbecamo of the money, would not have been of much assistance in floating recent' loans. My acreage ,ia taken from the "Crown Lands s guide of 1579," and my article is as follows :— . '.' "•It appears .that New Zealand contains 6t,Qpo,oQo' acres— that 14,000,000 acres are already alienated — that 16,0Q0,000 acres aro yet in the hands of the Maori, and 9,000,000 acres from one cause or other not available for settlement, some ; being, under long leases, Other useless from' poorness 1 6f sdil or'unaccessible mountains : but that 25,000,000 acres of. saleable land remains in the .hands of tho Government, or in other words, belongs to the people of New- Zealand.,, The 14,000,000 acres already alienated, ' may be taken as having no longer any directly profitable benefit, present or future, to the people.. Tho portion still in the ! bands of the Maori; will be referred to farther' on. it is with ' reference to the 25,000, , 000 acres still belonging to the people, inducos me to bring to their notice a means by which they should have a direct benefit- for all time to come. In the Old Country the tenure, by which lands ,. are ,h,eld is j various, l^orj -my purpose I will' only spe'ak-of three, viz., in fee simple, by lease, and by copyhold. In New-.. Zealand ,at ; present, 'setting aside public ; I endowment;, „wa, have two first tenures only . - —fee simple, and lease. I hold the opinion ;tHat the soil of New, Zealand is the property •of> kntd should.; belong to, the people— present > and future: but I do notsoe how the people, in future yearpiare ;to getf 'any' share and,. . .benefit from jany lands alienated absolutely in' '" fee simple. The future can only be directly benefittedby the people for all time to come - Teceiving some payment rrom the user of their lands: and that the .user should v have, *utfjio same time, such a title in perpetuity af slfopld leave him free to do as he pleases therewith. Many of your readers, may not be .aware of rtke tenure known as'eßftyhold, ly which much' bjftljo land and property in Great Britian^q iheld It jia jpriqcipally, that inr.peVpettnty;' the purchaser, or those who receive any benencal interest in % such lands, under w^l) or bequest, have* to* ''pay' a■' fixed sum to some person or corporate body ; and that on aliena. tiQnieithertby sale ;6*the 'copyhold 'rfte[or as successor by will, or any Hnds under this - tepUre, a payment or " fine " anit isoalled, has to .be made to the parties ' entitled thereto. Injttf England, this "fine " on alienation is limited}

a ud cannot exceed oue year's] rent ; in most cases, very much less. Of course our British Act as it now is, of copyhold, would not suit this country ; but an Act, founded on the principles of that Act, can be made here, as trill rota in, and give to the people for all time, a beneficial interest in the soil of New Zealand, lands held on leasehold tenure only, no matter how long the term, must from the nature of the word, contain conditions, and are never worked or improved by the leaseholder, in the same way as lands held in perpetuity. "We had a recent example of this in the Old &■- Country, where a lease for 300 years, on approaching its termination, was permitted 'to go to ruin; whereas copyholds date back to "William the Ist, the Norman- Conqueror, in 1066. To the past alienated lands, or to those who hold in fee simple, we do no wrong; if they consider their title more valuable, ',they cannot complain : and to the future, all being tinder a different tenure, can do them no Wrong, they have all they bargain for; and had all the lands in New Zealand from the first been sold under copyhold tenure, their price in the market to-day, would likely have Been no less ; and to continue to give an absolute title, because we have hitherto done so, is a poor and sorry reason to leave on record for those who come after us. "We have no statement to enlighten us as to the number acres left in 1887 ; but we do I »ow that all the money is gone, and there seems no hope that the people will, even now, take any steps to save the Email remnant that remains. Since writing my paper we have received the later copies of Hansard, and find the public estate at this time is iia, most alarming state. We find Sir J. Yogel in his financial statement, speaking of the land fund, page 173 and 182, 18§. This coupled t\ ith the speeches of Ballance, complaining of the dr9iculty ii finding land for settlers, and the neccessity of buying back land for that purpose, shows an extraordinary state of things. With 25,000,000 acres eight -years Mnt^aad' millions bought from Maoris * ra the interior, such statements axe staggering. The minister may well nptjjive us the annual statement of sales as in .1880. What has become of our land ? and what has been done ■« Ith the money? The money, from Vogel's statement is all gone, and a deficiency to complain about. This is a grave matter, aid of far more importance to the people than questions of female suffrage and the like. The people should insist on having a return from 1880 of all lands, bought, sold, nomo of purchaser, quantity, and price, in the detailed form as in 1879. . A report prepared by the Secretary for Crown lands, bearing date August 16th 1878, and laid before" Parliament, summarizes very cpneisely the past dealings with the lands of the Colony, the present laws, and the field still open for settlement. Since the foundation of the Colony up to 30th June, 1878, 13,090,590 acres have been sold or otherwise desposed of, the total cash received being £10,451,228. The total area open for selection on the some date was 14,892,486 acres, and there was also a future area for .disposal of 19,876,846 acres, but presently withheld by land Boards, orpield under lease. And there is the native territory and lands , sold by natives to Europeans, of about 16,500,000 acres. The remainder is still owned by Maoris, the total area of the Colony being 64 million acres. During the preceeding twelve months there were sold of — Town ILands 467 alr 17p_to 069 purchasers : Suburban, 2,023 aOr 27p to 174 purchasers ; Bural, 828,336 3r 13p to 5561 purchasers. The cash received amounted to £1,450,251. The scrip £27,228. That there has been a big break in the Colonial cash box for a long time has been hinted by members in the House. This should be cleared up, no matter at what cost. You will nnd £113,3C7, in the estimates from taxation, to assist 'the land fund, in cost of managing tho lands ; and yet Yogel wants more. . ' ' We must go now for a few minutes to the question of taxation. The estimates of Expenditure for the current year, 'requires £4,272,576. The population of New Zealand by last census, in round numbers is 600,000; If you divide £4,272,576 by 600,000, it gives a little over £7 to be paid per head, by every man, woman, child, and baby in New Zealand.. Or in another way the census gives 150,000 adult males Now there are widows who are householders, and there are adult males,' who' are bachelors, consequently if we -.." set off " the widows against the bachelors, we may assume wo have 160,000 heads of families. Yogel states (page 185) that 5998 widows are paying property tax on over £500 of property each, so the bachelors should appreciate this in-j formation. Then divide £4,272,576 by 150,000,' which gives over -£29 to be paid by each head of family. We coraenext to local taxes, or .rates, but we find BSrgtHCTA.. T ■' ''.'»' |v"l' '" ' it doesnoT suit the order of things that we should know what this amonn£L to^jis^Jajsadded to the_geqe^al^aKs7would show such an aggrtsgaEe" amount, as would' speedily lead to tho burning up of that New Zealand invention of subsidies tolocal bodies, known, as the £for £ scheme. •.-*-•.,. This year £55,000 is on the estimates for this purpose. I ask can the tax payers' be aware that to have this amount returned to them, they pay taxes to at least £100,000, as taking the estimates of salaries, officials, and other expenses in Wellington this is about what it means. , It would almost seem an though the- people imagined this subsidy came from some outside gcource, and was not .their own money, for which, instead of receiving £ for £, they really pay £2 for £1. This matter of subsidies, of £ for £, from taxation mind, was pretty much confined to the North Island, and was much the same as a piece' of gilded gingerbread given to a child, or a burglar giving the watch dog a bone. Something to amuse us, and draw our attention, while they spent millions of borrowed money in the Middle Island, and we have to pay interest on the loan. Next comes a class of taxation, and a very ; heavy one it is, which I call monopoly taxation. We inherit this system from the old country, where the sovereign has had the privilege of granting monopolies, for services rendered, jnany being of such, a character that I do not care to repeat them,' but in this free country the idea is quite out of place, the word free monopoly is absurd. First we have doctors monopoly, then lawyer monoply, then parson monopoly. I put the minister last, as the two first are backed up by tho law to enforce payment of their fees, whereas the minister gives long and risky credit. Next druggist monopoly, anddentistmonopoly, then publicans monopoly, and this last monopoly is combined with a local appropiation of a most unjust naturo. In stating this I am likely .to offend, some of my hearers, and tread on some ones toe 3, but " who asks for justice, should himself be just." The license fees are now made perquisites of corporations and town boards ; and let me ask if three fourths of these license fees are not paid by people living outside the boundaries of town boards ; and it does not end here, for now that this large income from licenses is kept out of the national exchequer, the whole country has to pay an extra tax to make up the deficiency. This year it is the " Hospital and Charitable aid tax," and people outside the favoured boundary pay the tax, and besides materially assisting to make roads in towns, have to make their own roads without assistance. , Is this just ? In my opinion, all taxation on imported or exciso articles should be collected at time of entry and paid into national exchequers! ; and the_m to iling- b i^f ec tn nll ™ H wn "'' l an ~ vra r — w TEi I one monopoly. Without trying your patience too much, I ■virill "o at once to the last invented monopoly in this district, namely our friend who goes round our streets at midnight, with a cart like an inverted scent box. I would not advise any minister or highly respectable person, or indeed any person whatever within bearing of the police, to take his cash book and accounts, with the customs duties act to assist, and calculate how. much of his annual expenditure went in taxation, rates, fees &c. I fear that the result might end in such profane language, as to entitle him to receive an invitation to visit Walton Street at 10 a.m. Personally T got so far that I had to put them away, and mentally to thank some unknown friend, who with an extended vocabulary of sanguinary and sulphury language, could better give expression to my sentiments. I have now finished my disjointed and perhaps puerile paper, but there are still two of tho mos' important matters! left" ontiroly untoirliud, namely tho income- receipts on the one liauJ, and the estimates as they nro called, or expenditure on tho other hand, cither of which would take a whole evening. But my object will be gained if I can got you to enquire for yourselves, to know and feel your status each one of you, as an unit of tho wholo. No longer to talk of the Government as an institution outside your reach. You have equal rights, duties, liabilities, and responsibilities, and with the people alone rests the choice of the men to be trusted with thn affairs of the nation.

WHANGAREI TOWN BOARD. The monthly meeting of the Whangarei Town Board was held in the Town Beard-office, on Monday, Jnlv 4th at 7.30 p.m. Present : (Jrars. Reyburn, Scott, and Reid. In the absence of Mr Thompson, Cmr. Reybuni was appointed chairman pro. tern. The nrnutes of last meeting were read and confirmed. COBBESPONDENCB. A letter was read from A. Thomas enclosing cheque for poundage etc., 2:3, for dog fees £110/, total, £1 12/3. ACCOUNTS. R. Ellis, 8/: Champtaloup & and Cooper, 8/; J. Eccles, 3/6; T. Coyle, £18/6; Williams & Hill, £2 5/; Northern Advocate, £3 19/; James Jackson, £2/2. • On the motion of Cmr. Scott, seconded by Cmr. Reed. It was resolved, "That the accounts as read be paid." A letter was read from Mr Jackson declining to carry out his tender for removing nightsoii. Consideration of the matter was held over till next meeting, Mr Jackson consenting to carry on the work till that time. Mr Jackson undertook to remove earth from Bani-street, and throw it on the stones near tbe fire-bell. Mr Ellis was instructed .to clean out the ditch near the Settlers' Hotel. This was all the business and the meeting dispersed.