TIMELY TOPICS

Northern Advocate, 23 October 1935, Page 6

TIMELY TOPICS

RATES AND TAXES. “Taxes is true,” said the miser gloomily, establishing his criterion of bitter reality—and the same may be said of rates, remarks the “Listener.” They come and they recur, those demands for which only the prudent make due allowances in advance. In many districts, especially where there are a great number of poor people, the rates go on increasing as the calls upon the public bodies, whose funds they are, increase. The question is accordingly being mooted in England whether these payments would not be more easily and comfortably made if they could be met on the instalment system, a little every week. It is now some months since the Minister of Health declared in the House of Commons that there was no objection in principle to such an arrangement. It rests with the local authority; and Camberwell Borough Council for one, has made a beginning, adapting to the payment of rates the plan of affixing a weekly

stamp to a card, a method -with which people in general are already familiar for insurance payments. A grgat many people , lack facilities, like several banking accounts, to enable them to do this sort of instalment paying for themselves, but the great success of the hire purchase method bears witness to the psychological truth that money which is allowed to dribble away is not noticed, where the large payment, especially when it is a compulsory payment for public purposes, is commonly a painful and inconvenient wrench. <s> <S> 4> <s> Words That Tell a Story. LUPUS ET AGNUS. A great pretence on which to found a quarrel. The words are the Latin of a well-known fable of the wolf and the lamb. <S> <S> <S> Words of Wisdom.

Whether thou dost read or hear anything — indeed, whatever ■. you do — intend what thou art about, and let not your mind wander, but compel it to be fixed and present. —Earl of Bedford

<s> <s> <s> <*> Tale of the Day. Little Horace was wearing his first pair of real pants. He felt that at last he was a man among men. He strutted up and down, and finally he went up to his mother and asked : “Muvver, can I call Pa ‘Bill now?” '' : : •