North Otago Times. PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 1890.

North Otago Times, Volume XXXIV, Issue 6977, 28 February 1890, Page 2

North Otago Times. PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 1890.

In the speech which he delirered on the 15th instant Mr Bryce dealt thoughtfully and at considerable length with the important subject of taxation, and the conclusion he came to was, that the property tax is, for New Zealand at the present time, the best of all practicable taxes. The proposal that a land tax should be subttituted for the property tax he bluntly characterised as "utter and downright nonsense." Evtn the property tax, an it affects land, he regards as being almost more than the land can bear, and he iocs not seem to think worth consideriag, the revenue that might be derived from a specific income tax. Further tinkering with the tar i ft be is opposed to ; and though he does not defend the property tax as being in itself perfect, he approves of it on account of its one great merit — namely, that is a tax which is easily adjustable to the fluctuating necessities of the Treasury. If, hownver, it were practicable to abolish it, he would abolfah it with he utmost willingness. In fact he strongly advocates its abolition by indirect means— namely, by rendering revenue through it less and less necessary by persistent, consistent, thoroughgoing retrenchment in all branches of public •xpeaditvr*. To tfitot tbii wt

muub, he says, create and maintain a public sentiment in favor of retrenchment. " Great* that sentiment for a full public opinion, and you will," he says to the public, " be able to retrench to such an extent that you will be able to reduce the property tax, and very , possibly abolish it altogether." These are Mr Bryce's views concerning taxation. They are sensible enough ; in fact they are probably too sensible to be popular with people who, detesting all taxation, are apt to crave for change and to insist on it, even if it means in effect stepping from the frying-pan into the fire. Mr Bryce's views are certainly very different from those which are at present most insisted on in public in the North Island, as we may see by the anti-pro-perty-tax meetings being htld in Auckland ; and there is no doubt that the Auckland agitators — we use the word in no contemptuous sense — have many sympathisers in the south amongst ourselves. Notwithstanding this, Mr Bryce's plan is at least safe and busi-ness-like, but even if it were acted upon it certainly would not by itself meet the necessities of the country. We daresay that Mr Bryct himself fully realises this. At any rate, he stems — like most men of sense — to see that the core of the country's real and permanent well-being lies in the proper settlement of the land. So strongly does he feel this that he would evon yet insist on the railways being worked on the principle recognised at their mcc ption. He would hare the managers of the railways say : " We must carry things upon the railway. With regard to freight from the interior, we must carry produce at a low price, and if we do that wt will increase the quantity of produce to be carried, and even on that broad and intelligent commercial principle it will be a proper thing to do to reduce the freights to a minimum." This change Mr Bryce would effect in the interest of settlement ; for, as he elsewhere says, " Make the country prosperous and the town will be prosperous, as sure as tho sun will rise in the morning ; that is the kind of pros perity I (should like to see, and which I advocate." This is, indeed, the root of the whole matter. But Mr Bryce does not see far enough, or, if he does he says nothing about what he sees. To obtain the kind of settlement of the land to which he refers, and which we all desire, more is required than even the carriage of produce for nothing— that is, even that would not lead to the settlement in question. The fact is, that the railways have not been paying, and that no shifting of the incidence of taxation will do us any real good, because large areas of firstclass land are so held that they hare been and still are only comparatively productive; and because such land has been and still is obtainable, even in leaseholds, only on terms which leare little if any margin for profit to those who work it. This is the evil which cries for treatment, and which, until it is effectively grappled with, will cause pretty well all the other measures of our statesmen to amount at best to little more than mere tinkering. It won't do to whine about the difficulties in the way, or to go on saying that nothing practical can be done at present ; for means must be found for making all land, not at present adequately settled on, available for settlement on reasonable terms to the people of the colony, and this must be done whether the land is freehold or not. Indeed, it is especially with regard to good freehold land in large areas that this is now a crying necessity, and public men will not be allowed much longer to shirk the task of dealing with this momentous question. Land is just as indispensable to the maintenance of the people and the well-being of the country as water and air, and though it is a commodity and these are not commodities, the fact cannot be allowed to hinder us from insisting that land, however and wherever held, must be disposed of in the way which is most in keeping with the maintenance of the people and with the country's well-being. This is the paramount question which is evolved by the thoughtful consideration of the colony's affairs, and we fully expect to see it figuring conspicuously during the next general elections.

One of the lew steamers of the Shaw Savill, »nd Albioo Company's lint, the Matatua, has been secured to load frozeu meat at this port, and is expected htre in a few day*. At the Resident Magistrate's Court yesterd&y, two tint offenders for drunkenness were dealt with, one was fined 10s with the option of '24 hours' imprisonment, and the other 0s with the alternative of seven hours' imprisonment. At a meeting of the Ngapara School Committee on Wednesday last, it was unanimously resolved that Messrs Green, Stenhouse, and Hutchison — being opposers of the " three-name system"— should be elected to the vacancies on the Education Board. The Oamaru Navals' Band is to'give an attractive popular entertainment in th« Public Hall on Tuesday, 11th Maroh. Be ■ides songs, duets, a comet solo, and an amusing farce, the Band itself will give two performances,— one a test piece, and the other the contest selection for the Exhibition band contest. In fact it is to assist the band to take part in this important contest that the entertainment is to be given, and this being the case, the public will no doubt turn out neartily on the oocasion, At the adjourned sitting of tke Assessment Court yesterday, the Magistrate gave judg. inent on the objection raised by Mr Church to Mr VV. Stevenson appearing on behalf of the First Oamaru Permanent Building Society. His Worship said that if Mr Stevenson's name appearod on the roll he would have a locut stand in tuo Court. Mr Church said Mr Stevenson's name did not appear on the ro'l, and his Worship said Mr Stevenson could not then appear on behalf of the Society. The valuations will therefore remain as made by Mr Church. A scratch football match was played by the members of the Athletic football club on the Chelmer street reserve yesterday afternoon. Sides were chosen by James Grant and Hurst, and after a good hour and a half's play, the game resulted in a win for the former's si<'« by 4 points to 2. For the winners James Grant was in great form, and scored four of the tries, and Harrison two. Campbell and Halpin were the other scorers. For the losers John Grant and M'Phse were tbf soorew. " Argus" sends us the following : " Sir,— I sm that ft Southland paper, in referring to } the Queenstown brass band's preparations for the forthcoming Exhibition band oontett, »yi tb»t tfait Bftßd'i own ivferito I*

i Harvesting Requisites. — Binder Twine, Lubricating Oils, nay Fork* Plough Lines Knives, Forks, Spoons, Pannikins, Plates, and all other Harvesting Requisites, for sale, at exceptionally Low Prices, by \V. J. A. Sakdeksox, Importer, Thames street. — [Aovt.] These can be no doubt but that the goods which our Woollen Factory is turning out are of urpusing excelleuce. We have seen nothing, however, to equal the quality and finish of the Tweeds which have been manufactured to Mr Janes Gemmklls specia order. These are, indeed, par excellence, and are made up in the Latest Styles: Workmanship ana Fit being Guaranteed. [Advt ]