MR. STEVENS ADDRESSES HIS CONSTITUENTS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XVI, Issue 5478, 7 June 1879, Page 5

MR. STEVENS ADDRESSES HIS CONSTITUENTS.

[by telegraph, press association , .] Ghristchurcii, Friday. Mr. E. C. J. Stevens, one of tho membcra for the city, met his constituents this evening, in tho Oddfellows' Hall. There was a thin attendance. The Mayor of Cbristchurch took tho chair. Mr. Stevens commenced by expressing his regret at the thin attendance, especially as the circumstances under which they met wore of a far more serious character than had occurred for years. Ho then reviowed the events of the past year, and stated thac he had been disappointed that tho reforms wliich the Goverutnent had promis.d had not been carried out. He did not blame the Government for having failed to reduce the ordinary expenditure of the colony by £100,000, because ho knew it to be impossible, but at the same time he regretted that the Government htJ ever held out to the colony that they wero about to reduce the expenditure by £100,000. He approved of the Electoral Bill as first introduced by the Government, and had great satisfaction in supporting it. He regretted that the bill was not law, and it was not law because the Government insisted on introducing into it the dual Maori vote. If this had been carried into effect, it would have been the means of swamping, six or seven of the European constituencies of the North Island. It was because the Legislative Council would not consent to this that the Government withdrew the bill, thus doing great wrong to the colony. The explanations offered by the Attorney-General on the subject at Dunedin were, to his (Mr. Stevens's) mind, of a most unsatisfactory description. He disapproved of the course the Government had taken in reducing the duty on tea and sugar, not that he wished to keep taxation upon them, but common-senso dictated that they should not part with revenue until they knew how to replace it, and an such he thought the House of Representatives bad acted rashly in passing a resolution which tied tho House and the colouy to a- particular policy. He declared that an income and property tax had no right to be put upon the colony unless the necessity of it was absolutely demonstrated, and an attempt which had been made to pnt on such taxation was a most miserable failure. In spite of the warning which he and others gave, the House persisted in passing a resolution affirming tho necessity of an income and property tax. He would ask whether taxing land and endeavouring to tax companies and beer, whilst a Urge amount of capital embarked in business was allowed to go free, was putting on taxation according to equitable principles ? He objected to any such putting on of fresh taxes until the finances of the colony were readjusted. He believed it would be better to cut off the subsidies given to Road Boards and other public bodies, and thus strengthen the Consolidated Fund. He most thoroughly objected to paying money from the Consolidated Fund to local bodies, and would much rather give those bodies increased power over local taxation, even to doubling local taxes ii necessity. It was because he held such views, that he opposed the Land Tax Bill, the ('ompacies Bill, and the Beer Bill. He affirmed that, in the present shape, the Laud Tax Bill was most unjust. In order to levy such tax fairly, it should ho levi;rt on the assessment rolls, instead of which, under the Laud Tax Bill, they commenced by exempting land under £500 value without improvement. Now, he saw no reason why such laud-owners should altogether escape taxation. He had built a large building in Hereford-street, and the land it stood upon was worth about onethird of the building, and yet, because of the exemption for improvements, he should go free. Under this Act, if a laud proprietor came within its scope, although the property might bo mortgaged, he would have to pay as much on his laud as the man whose propnrty was entirely free. Was that taxing a man according to his means ? He affirmed that the pastoral tenants of the Crown in Canterbury had not any advantage that was worth having, inasmuch as not only in next May they would have to pay absolute back rent, but they would have to pay land tix on land which might be sold from under their feet any momont. The lessees o£ reserves were liable to pay land tar exactly as if they were freeholders. Now, that he considered te be based upon wrong principle. European lessees from Maoris were called upon to piy the tax upon freeholds. He supposed it was because they were Europeans and their landlord were Maoris, and he mutt say that lately whenever there was a conflict between Europeans and a Maori, the European was bound to go to the wall. He and Mr. Wakefield and a few others had tried every means to prevent this great injustice being done, but without avail. He now came to the Ministerial finance, the basis of which was this, that the ordinary revenue of the colony was to be supplemented by the laud fund, which was also to bear the cost of public works. Now, he would ask how they were to give assistance to ordinary revenue, whilst, at the same time, they were required to bottle up their land, in order to keep these public works going ? How, also, were they going to sell land on deferred payment, and at the same time keep it until it attained a higher value, in order to carry on public works, and at the same time assist ordinary revenue 1 If they wanted to readjust the finances of the colony, they must either commence and not tax until the land was exhausted, or they must do away with subsidies and give endowments in land to hospitals and similar institutions, and be prepared to raise a large sum by direct taxation. So long a3 the finances of the colony are allowed to remain on the basis of a vanishing quantity—the land fund, — so long will those finances be in an unsatisfactory con lition. He condemned the action of the Government in attempting to take the sum of £22,700 from the land fund of Canterbury. They had, however, got payment of £5000, and he believed that if Government had used sufficient energy there would have been now over £100,000 in the hands of the Road Boards, and they would have heard nothing of the question of the unemployed. As to native affairs, he must say that he did not feel so confident respecting native affairs as he did six months ago, and althongh something might come out of the Te Kopna meeting, yet he felt confident that more would have come out of the policy of Sir Donald McLean, who, whatever he might concede to tho native race, never led them to suppose that he was other than the superior power. He eaid that, whether as electoral or financial reformers, or in their native policy, the present Government had been found wanting. After saying that he was in favour of Triennial Parliament, Mr. Stevens stated that he thought it would be beat for the country, that as eoon as they had a re-distribution of seats, there should be an appeal to the people as quickly as poieible. He objected to the proposals for the control and management of hospitals and similar institutions by a benevolent committee, which he thought should be undertaken by the State, and not left to private benevolence. In conclusion, he was bound to say that under existing circumstances- ho could pot place confidence in the existing administration.

After replying to several questions of no great interest, Mr. Stevens received a vote of thanks and confidence, moved by Mr. H. A. Davie and seconded by Mr. Lovey.