PARLIAMENTARY NEWS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 17092, 25 August 1917, Page 8

PARLIAMENTARY NEWS

«. i NOTES FROM THE PRESS GALLEEY. (Feom Otra Own Coheespokuent.) WKMJN<STON, AugiMt It "was stated by Sir Joseph Ward in the House to-day that under the Budget pro? posals business firms in some cases paying land _ and income taxation would be paying 13s in the pound. He added that if any man proposed more taxation to be inflicted on these firms, with all their business risks, bad debts, etc., he would ask him seriously to put on his thinking oap THE TEA .TAX. During the Budget debate the proposed tea tax has come in for considerable criticism from a section of the House. This _ afternoon ' Sir Joseph Ward took tho critics' to task, and incidentally referred to the proposal made by members to increase the tax on beer and spirits. In the first place, he doubted whether they had been approached by many working men and urged to oppose the tax on tea.He asked if every section of the community should not give something towards financing the war. A Member: Hie working people are paying more than anyone. Sir Joseph Ward asked if the large body of temperance people objected to paying 3d on a pound of tea, which amounted to 3d a week for a family of five. That allowed all to share in helping the war. He pointed out that the country, at the' Mast election, rejected national prohibition, but a sectionof tho House was attempting to bring about sectional prohibition, and nobody could deny it. He was not discussing tho ethics of 6 o'clock closing. If tho eouptry decided on national prohibition it must, apart from the question of compensation for hotelkeepers, provide to' the Commissioner of Taxes £1,000,000 of extra, taxation. If it decided • not to put the tax on t£a and to prevent all liquor from coming into the country, he. wanted to know where the country was going to get that extra million from. INYERCARGILL RAILWAY SERVICE. . In urging a ihrough service from Wellington to Invercargill on at least one or two occasions a week, Mr Thomson stated ia the House to-night that the present service meant that southern soldiers on leave (tho homes of some of them being 50 miles beyond_ Invercargill) put. in most of their leave in travelling. _ Other- reasons urged for the through service were that it would save much waste of time to people in the far south having business to transact ■in Wellington, and put'southern members of the House on an equality with other members in being able to, visit their constituents.