THE PROPERTY TAX.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXV, Issue 9032, 19 April 1888, Page 6

THE PROPERTY TAX.

DEPUTATION TO THE MINISTER OF 1 EDUCATION.

SPEECH BY MR. FISHER.

SOME PLAIN TRUTHS.

A deputation from the Political Financial Reform Association waited upon the Hon. Mr. Fisher, at the Northern Club, yesterday morning, in referenco to this question. The deputation comprised the following gentlemen: —Messrs. J. Buchanan, F. G. Ewington, E. W. Burton, J. H. Field, E. Bell, S. Vaile, R. J. Duncan, J. M. MoLachlan, and W. Hodge.' COMPLIMENTING THE MINISTRY. Mr. Buchanan explained the object of the deputation, and said that the Association wished to tender their thanks to the Ministry for their efforts in the way of retrenchment. They were very pleased to see that the Ministry were acting upon these linos, though they did not think that enough had been done. A great deal remained to be accomplished, particularly in respect to the expenditure upon education, in the way of defence, and also in reference to the commercial management of the railways. They sincerely hoped that the present Government would keep in office ; for, though they did not appear there as political partisans, yet they could not help recognising the great benefits that the Government had already brought to the country. a prejudicial TAX. At a meeting of the committee of the Association, held a few days since, the following resolution had been adopted :— "That in the opinion of this Association the property tax is prejudicial to the prosperity of the colony. The Association had heard that some members of the Ministry— all of them for aught they knew—were somewhat in favour of the tax; but they (the Association) thought that the tax ought to be abolished, and for several reasons. *In the first place the tax was inequitable. In the stock of a merchant there might be articles which would be kept in stock for seven years, and this stock was taxed seven times under the property impost. Again, the valuations under the tax were made once in three years, and when made could not be altered until the lapse of that time. Even in England this would be a hardship, but in New Zealand it was especially so ; and in many cases the tax acted in such a way that people whose property was levied upon had' not the money to pay. In many cases the County Councils and other local bodies made the tax the basis of their taxation, and here again alterations could not be made for three years. THE indictment strengthened. It frequently happened that people who had property, upon which the property tax was levied, had to obtain assistance from the poor rates, and were unable to pay the demands made upon them. The administration of the tax nad also been very badincompetent valuers had been appointed. It was true that there was a right to appeal;

but this was frequently not availed of, from one cause or the other. The buying and selling clause, it seemed to them, was undignified, and was made evidently in the spirit which would drive a hard bargain. To such a degree had this been manifested, that the impost had become a most odious one. If it was necessary to levy a certain amount of taxation, they (the "deputation) respectfully urged that it should be raised in some other manner, and they had every

confidence in the Ministry that they would accede to their wishes. Mr. Buchanan introduced Mr. E wing ton, who, he said, had made a special study of the subject A FIGHT FOR LIFE. Mr. Ewington said he was not aware that he had studied the question more closely than others had ; but he felt the full effects of the tax. There was a widespread and deep feeling against the tax, which, it was considered, was ruining the country. With the people it had actually become a fight for their lives; and it was impossible that any Ministry could keep their seats unless they repealed the property tax. Mr. Ewington proceeded to give instances showing the depth of feeling which existed in respect to this tithe, and said that after his letter on the subject had appeared in the Herald, five weeks' ago, a gentleman came to him and said that he had stated in his letter that which was quite right. Another gentleman told him of a friend who was willing to purchase a property in the Waikato, and spend £5000; but the v property tax and the local taxes were so great that he changed his mind. ■ A prominent merchant and a lawyer had also called upon him, and approved of the statements in his letter ; and a gentleman who had recently arrived in the colony had told him that the greater portion of his capital remained on investment in England,- because of the abominable property tax in force here. •. " injuring THE WORKING CLASSES. This impost—which was a pet scheme of the Premierseemed to have a very bad moral effect; they were prejudiced against it, because it deterred improvements, and injured the working classes. Those of the working classes who had saved a few pounds were clearing out of the country as fast as they could go, and because of all this the tax ought to be repealed. Mr. Ewington instanced the case of a woman residing at Newton, whose property to valued at £976, and who offered to sell it to the Government for £500. ' The Property Tax Commissioner replied that the valuation had not been appealed against, and nothing could be done, and if it had not been for the friendly offices of a constable, who had paid the property tax on behalf of the woman, the bailiffs would have been sent into the house,'" and everything in it would have been seized by the Government. TEA AND SUGAR DUTIES. They were convinced in Aucklandand he trusted that Mr. Fisher would represent this opinion to the Ministry as forcibly as he couldthat the property tax was detrimental to the interests of the colony, and was, in fact, the " killing of the goose which' lays the golden eggs." He thought a tax on tea and sugar would bring in sufficient revenue to do away with the property tax. ' ' "" [ Mr. McLachlan said he did not agree with the resolution of the committee. Mr. Buchanan said that Mr. McLachlan was a valuable member - of the committee, but he was also a particularly unmanageable member. (Laughter.) Eight members' were present at the committee fueeting at which the resolution was passed, and seven of them were unanimous in its favour,' the member who disagreed: being Mr. McLachlan. He, thought it was bad taste on the part of Mr. McLachlan to bring the matter up now. Mr. Field also wished to add his testimony to the general feeling as to the unpopularity of the tax, which violated the. general principle of taxation, ! that an impost should be levied only in proportion to the capacity to pay of those upon whom it was levied. Another objection in s connection with the tax was that it amounted to mora than one-eighth upon the earnings of the colony. The tax was depopulating the country and doing mischief, and men and companies who had to pay the tax even out of their capital got into despair. If the tax was continued it would be most detrimental to the interests of the colony. (Hear, hear.) Mr. Bell believed that the property tax was a class tax, which had to be paid out of capital. Business had to be carried on in many cases at a dead loss, and yet the tax had to be paid. The population would leave New Zealand were the tax not repealed, and a very serious crisis would arrive in the history of the colony. If a tax had to be raised it should be raised upon income— (hear, hear)—"-or in some other way less objectionable than the method of which they now complained. .... j ANOTHER INJUSTICE TO AUCKLAND. Mr. Vaile remarked that he could reveal his own affairs, if not those of his clients' -, and he had a property valued at £2300, the property tax upon which was £9 lis 8d per annum. The total income derived by him from this property would not be more than from £80 to £90 per yaar ; consequently he had to pay about J2, per cent, in property tax alone, and he would like to ask how much of this income was available after local taxes, &c., had also been paid ? A very deep-seated conviction prevailed that in the last assessment the Auckland people had not been fairly treated. (Hear, hear.) Properties were over-valued, and he bad not

the least hesitation in saying that in the last assessment the value of property in Auckland' was over-estimated by from 30 to 50 per oent. Apart from this, however, the property tax was 'a vicious one, and there was a widespread determination that it must be got rid of. The tax stopped improvements, and was therefore exceedingly detrimental to the interests of the colony.

THE RESULTS OF WASTEFUL EXPENDITURE. Mr. Burton contended that any tax which was an impost upon capital was economically unsound. He was glad that the Ministry had directed its attention to the question of economy ; without doubt the property tax had been incurred through the absolutely wasteful expenditure of past Governments. (Mr. Fisher : Hear, hoar). From 1860 to ISSO, it had been found that the cost of Government was increasing twice as fast as the population of the colony was increasing. This condition of things was absurd, and government of such a character must be unsound. The present administration had been doing good work indeed ; but the colony wanted some bold Colonial Treasurer bold Goschen or Gladstone, who would address himself to a scheme of financial reform. Anyone who looked at the history of the past in this colony would see that this Colonial Treasurer had not yet appeared in New Zealand, (Laughter.) It was a just principle that any tax imposed upon a community should weigh fairly upon all, every man in the community, bearing his fair share of the burden. Mr. Duncan pointed out that though the resolution was , carried by the committee only, every member of the association endorsed the expression of opinion which it contained, ana it was also approved of by the large majority of the public of Auckland. The committee did not feel that it was their duty to state what tax should be substituted were the tax upon property repealed : that was a matter for the Government of the colony to decide. ' Mr. Ewington had not a seat on the committee, though he was member of the association. The repeal of the property tax would result in a deficit of 10,000, which could not possibly be wrung out of the people by a duty upon tea and sugar. Mr. Ewington thought it rather unfair to the Government to ask them to repeal the property tax without indicating some other way in which the revenue could be raised.

Mr. Hodge also spoke. The property tax checked the mining industry—(hear, —and one mine at Coromandel, in which English capital was being expended, 'was in a' fair way of being closed because of the tax,'and J7O men would thus be put out of Employment. He suggested that an income tax- should be imposed—(hear, hear) —■■and this would be 'far better than to tax tea and Sugar. ' .MR. FISHER'S ADDRESS.

Mr. Fisher, in replying to the deputation, said he could hardly tell them how pleased he was at meeting the deputation. He thanked them very much for the compliment they had paid the Government for doing all that men could do under such a set of circumstances. The question they had brought before him was an important one, because it affected the whole industry, welfare, and prosperity of the country, and any question of such an important nature must be discussed right down to bed-rock, and not as it affected the Government ;

because the question of the existence of this or any other Government was insignificant. Governments must go at all times whenever their policy was not suitable to the wishes of the majority of the electors. (Hear, hear.) He begged of them, therefore, to believe that in anything he should say he was not asking them to adopt any view at all as to the aspect 'in which the question affected the present or any Government. " NEUTRAL GROUND. It was extremely invidious to ask him to express an opinion with respect to the property tax ; he must tell them this morning that he would neither advocate it nor defend it. The Premier had initiated the property tax, and he (Mr. Fisher) must not go too far in discuss it. He was pleased also that * the deputation represented both sides in politics. (Hear, near.) There were people there who represented the propertied interest of the country, and there were also those who represented Liberal or Democratic interests ; and he would sav one or two words which would affect both sides of the question politically speaking. He thought that the view held in regard to the property tax, as it is, was a somewhat' strained one : the difference in the incidence of taxation and the property tax was not so great as was generally supposed. (Hear, hear.)' The land tax, in his opinion, was objectionable because it was a class tax, and he had not been able to convince himself that it would' be any better or less objectionable than the present impost on real estate. He could not agree on this matter with Henry George, whose view of the subject was extreme." THE • TAX HARSHLY IMPOSED. They had already practically a land tax, and the difference between it and the land tax pure and' simple was only nominal: under, the property tax the owner paid full value ; under a land tax he would be free on improvements. Had there been no property tax, interest would have been lower. It was not the great landed proprietor whom the property tax reached ; it fell upon the small farmer (hear, hear), and it hurt him more than it hurt anybody else. There had

been- sometliing of harshness in the manner in which the tax had been imposed, and instances of this had been brought under his notice. Of course, the objection raised on this score assisted to make the impost an unpopular one. The tux was unpopular because it was direct; a successful principle of taxation was to " pluck the goose without making it squeal. : (Laughter.) Unless they could put something in the place of the tax it must remain as it is. *" CAPITAL, AND LABOUR. IHe claimed to be a Democrat and a Liberal, and he could not help commenting on the mistaken view which people took of the Liberal in politics. He wanted especially to tell the working men that they would have to be extremely careful in the future 'in respect to the politics of the country. The property tax had been put in a false light in the past by persons who had introduced into this country What he took to bo an extremely vicious course of politics; and it had been said that pro-

perty should be taxed, because property should first contribute to the revenue. In the abstract this was true; but, as Mr. Hodge had said, the effect was to drive capital out of the country, and so, soon, as they could make the working man appreciate that, then he M ould know why * it was that he could not get employment. (Hear, hear.) It was too much the habit of loading politicians - to lead the working man away upon this question and he (Mr. Fisher) went so far as to say that they had tended too much in the direction of punishing" land and capital. • (Applause. So soon as they got the working man to understand what he was doing, he would take care in the future to draw a broad and distinct line between hose who misrepresented hini and misled him on this question ; and those who, having his interests at heart, would tell him what . was to. his interest and to the interests of the country. The working man had been taught to believe that property and capital ought to be taxed— very shortsighted policy indeed; he ■ had sown the wind, and was now reaping the whirlwind. Tfiey all knew how exceedingly easy it was to drive capital out of the country; and the working man asked why it was that he was not being employed, and the answer was that the money was not in the country to employ him. THE SUBSTITUTE. One had to take into account how the money for carrying on the public service was to be provided, and there they came at once to conflict. The property tax at present yielded about £310,000, and supposing it was abolished, what would they put in its place ? £310,000 —would they get it by additional duty on tea and sugar, which at present provided about half that sum, £150,000? It was unpopular to say anything in regard to the imposition of tea and sugar duties ; it meant death to the Ministry who attempted to reimpose them; Let them take the average family of four or five, who in a week consumed lib of tea, ana 41b of sugar. 'Supposing that additional duty was imposed—on tea 3d per lb, and upon sugar id per lb—this would mean .'id per week for this family. Now; was this an extraordinary' burden ? A man who drank would spend sixpence • without considering whether it was a great or small burden ; and was 5d a week a matter of so much importance that a great' political outcry should be raised upon it? , ' 1 TAXING INCOME. There was one point on which he agreed with the members of the deputation, and

that was as to the tax on income. (Hear, hear.) The time had nob arrived--though ib might come—when they had to resort to the novel modes of taxation which had been proposed by Mr. Goschen in England. The land tax, as he bad said, was more or less a class tax, and it would be undesirable to tax property any more in that direction. Was it not a fact that to say that a man was an owner of land, was to say that he was ruined ?—(Hear, hear, and laughter.)— yet they heard this political outcry about taxing the land. Let , them contrast the position of one man who had £10,000 invested in land, and another who had £10,000 in his carpet bag. The former could not leave the country ; he remained a mark to be shot at, whilst the other man could take his capital away at any moment. He had seen steamers leaving the country with large numbers of working men, the bone ana sinew of the country, who were leaving our shores. These working men were not capable of

arguing these questions, and they could not j arrive at first causes ; they made it a cause that the capital went away, and the men must therefore go. So soon as the working man is taught that capital is not his enemy the bettor for himself. (Hear, hear.) He hoped he made himself understood. He did not argue on behalf of capital; he advocated the true interests of all classes. (Applause.) a creditable work. The Auckland Financial Reform Association had taken up a work which was creditable not only to themselves, but to the country; and he was sorry that similar associations did not exist in the other leading centres of the colony. He did not wish to be understood as reflecting upon the present or any Colonial Treasurer when he said that he hoped that there would arise a Colonial Treasurer who would simplify the whole system of finance; for were this done they would more nearly arrive at the cost of Government. The simplification of the finance of the country was another farreaching question. What they had first to do was to re-establish the public credit in England—(hear, —and he had set himself to do all he could in this direction. Here were the stock of other countries as high as 117, and the stock of New Zealand barely at par. This meant an enormous loss of money; for when so great a disparity occurred in the price of bonds of any colony, capital would nob flow to that colony. protection. Mr. Fisher referred to the colony of Victoria, to which last year £12,000,000 of English capital was directed—a result which the working men put down to protection. They were told that they must adopt ths policy of protection in New Zealand ; but they adopted this policy in this colony twenty years ago. (Hear, hear.) The question was simply one of how money was to be provided ; and he did not want to discuss protection now. In speaking as he had done, he was arguing simply from the selfish view, that if he assisted in punishing capital, it would react upon himself and every other member of the community. THE EDUCATION QUESTION. In regard to the education question, he was himself a firm believer in the existing system of education ; but he was bound to | say that because he was a believer in the system he was going to take care that its enemies, whoever they might be, were not going to crumble it away by assisting to make it too costly. (Applause.) So far as his exertions could go, ho was going to make this system as economical as possible, and he believed that he was acting as a friend of the system in bringing its cost down to the minimum, and so strengthen*, ing it. A good deal had been said about him in respect to this matter, and he had

been accused of being an enemy to the common school system ; but he claimed to be one of its best friends; at the same time ib must be made as cheap and economical as possible, taking care to exercise this safeguard, that its efficiency should nob be impaired by any practice of cheese-paring.

DEFENCE. There had been a very lavish expenditure in the Defence . Department. The whole system of defence was initiated under a feeling of scare ; but the Government were doing everything it could to keep down the cost of the large works under this head. It was originally contemplated that the cost of defence would amount to £300,000; it had now amounted to £450,000. There was no doubt that the system had been carried on without any system ; and since the present Government came into office a number of very heavy liabilities, for which no authority could be shown, had come to light. CONCLUSION. Mr. Fisher repeated his opinion that there should be a tax upon income, and hoped that the deputation would not ask him to express an opinion as to the resolution which they had submitted to him. [Several members : Certainly not.] It was enough, he supposed, that they had entered their protest, and he would have to confer with his colleagues on the matter. The property tax aliected industry, and it also affected the introduction of capital to the country. The speaker referred to the institution by the Government of a Railway Board, which he considered a wise step, and concluded by urging that the working men in electing their representatives should choose the proper men, who would conduct the business of the country on sound principles. The Minister of Education resumed his seat amidst applause. In reply to Mr. Hodge, Mr. Fisher said that it was the habit of the working man to look upon Victoria as the working man's Elysium ; but recently there were vacancies foi 95 porters on the Victorian railway, and 1500 applications were received, whilst the wages were 5s a day, as against 7s 01 in this colony.

Mr. Felix Gilletb, of Nevada city, a wellknown fruit culturist and nurseryman, contributes the following article 011 the culture of the walnut to the Los Angeles Fruit-growor which may be of use to Auckland growers The Juglans Itegia, or Royal Tree of Jupiter, so called by the Romans, is indigenous to Upper Asia, and is found in a wild state in the mountains of Persia and Afghanistan. It was from the former country that the Romans, at the beginning of the Christian era, introduced it into Italy, from where it spread out in time all over the western part of Europe. It was introduced from Gaul (Franco) into England many centuries ago, from which it derived its name of Gaul-nut, which by corruption was made into walnut. The Juglans Regia proper, the mother typo of all soft shell varieties, goes in Europe, including England, under the name of Common or European walnut. Its name English walnut, so common in this country, was first given it by the colonists of Virginia, who, to distinguish it from the native or black walnut, called it English walnut, after the country from which it had been directly obtained. No tree is so indifferent as to the nature of th 6 soil as the walnut. It grows, thrives, and bears everywhere, in valleys and on mountains, in rich and poor land, in rocky and barren. soil, where hardly any thing else but nut trees could be successfully grown. But in deep soil with a moist bottom the English wain ut o lux urian tly, and yields large crops at a comparatively young age. ft planted in a soil where water is found stagnant at a certain? depth, such soil, previousjto beipg plantectwith walnut trees, shoulrube thoroughly .drained. Although the ' walnut to do well requires' some moisture, stagnant water would surely rob its roots, and,- consequently, greatly injure its growth, if not kill the tree itself. In California we find the English walnut, at least as far as the growth of the tree is concerned, doing remarkably well, be it planted north or south, in the rich, deep black land of our valleys or the red clayish soil of our granitic mountains. All over that broad extent of land that tree grow tnost vigorously and, we may add, thrives without care. Now a question arises,; What kinds can be recommended as being hardy, prolific, perfect bloomers, and, at the same time, bear fine nuts? So far as my experience goes (and, I have been cultivating and propagating the walnut, experimenting on all theleading varieties of Europe for the last seventeen years), the best sorts to plant on account of their hardiness, productiveness, size and quality of the nuts, are the Mayette, Franquette, Parisienne, Prajparturiens, Chaberte, and other less 11 kown varieties, but nob less rccojnraendable. :In, ie south-east of France, a section much subject to late frosts in the spring, these are the very kinds cultivated nowadays, and groves of Mayette, Franquette, Chaberte, &c., are numerous in that district, the nuts being exported altogether to the north of Europe and also to the capital of France."