THE COMPULSORY LOAN.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LV, Issue 16833, 25 April 1918, Page 6

THE COMPULSORY LOAN.

Sir Joseph Ward has again undertaken to explain some of the points raised regarding the compulsory conditions of the war loan. Ho emphasises once more the discretionary power of the Appeal Boards but keeps as far away as ever from the point of equity as between one subscriber and another, to which his attention has over and over again been directed. New Zealand sympathises with the Minister in his efforts to got tho money required for the war, and recognises the necessity of compelling everyone to contribute to the war loan according to his means. But nothing can b-3 worse than the unfair methods by which he hopes to achieve this result. Ho has the audacity to place before New Zealanders a

scheme- by which the man who " volunteered' at the commencement of the trouble to do his duty, and possibly more than his duty, is to bo made to appeal if he cannot now take up as much as the man who has evaded and shirked his responsibilities up to the present. The only reason that the war loan is not oversubscribed is that people consider they can get a better return for their money in other ways, and those who subscribed at first, in addition to suffering loss as against those who have evaded their duties up to the present, are laid open to the ignominy of having to appeal for justice. The war is the same war now as in 1914, and the only equitable method of compulsion is to take into consideration a man's total efforts from first to last, and to fix the amount required from each individual on that basis. All subscribers would then know their responsibilities, and would be able to make their arrangements accord- ! ingly. If Sir Joseph Ward eventu- 1 ally requires ten times a man's ! average income to be put into j war loan the country will do its' duty, but it demands as a right fairness to the individual who has shown his patriotic spirit from tho first. This is the point the ; Herald has made all through in its criticism of the hasty and crude piece of legislation recently passed ' under the title of the Finance Act. j Even now the Commissioner of Taxes should bo authorised to take tho total contributions to all the j war loans into consideration and to i apply compulsion only to those who have not done their duty. In the meantimo Cabinet should give consideration to bringing down a fairer Finance Bill in the next session of Parliament. In this Bill every person's obligation should bo clearly defined, and it should if possible obviate the necessity of any appeal at all.