THE WEEK.

Otago Witness, Issue 1916, 10 August 1888, Page 10

THE WEEK.

TRIED ASD FOUND WANTING. In contemplating the financial position and contingent possibilities on their accession to office, the present Ministry with some reluctance came to the conclusion that it would be necessary to repeal " The Crown and Native "Lands Rating Act 1882," under which Crown and Native lands were made liable to rates. Under this statute the Colonial Treasurer is deemed _to be the owner of all rateable Crown lands, and the rates upon them have to be paid out of the consolidated fund. In respect of Native lands the Treasurer has also to pay the rates, though these have to be repaid so soon as the land is sold or exchanged for the first time. When the Act was passed the impression was that there would be a sufficient surplus in the land fund to pay the rates on Crown lands, but the moneys annually available from this source have become less and less, principally owing to the extension of the system of disposal on conditional purchase or lease, whilst the advantages conferred have proted to be very unequal in different localities. The result, as a matter of fact, has been that the colonial revenue has been drawn upon for the special benefit of particular districts, which have thus received for local purposes an undue proportion of the money raised by general taxation. A - return laid before Parliament last session of the amounts paid to local bodies under the Act shows that whilst Nelson received £10,225 and Westland £7356 from rates on Crown lands, Otago received only £2803 and Canterbury £1693 ! When the relative populations are considered and that the money comes out of the pockets of the taxpayer, the unfairness of this is manifest. The local bodies in the provincial districts in Nelson and Westland, it must also be borno in mind, draw considerable revenues from the goldfields, and there is consequently neither reason nor equit.y in continuing exceptional subsidies to them for local requirements. The saving to the coasolidated revenue by the total lepeal of the Act would nob be far short of £45,000, but as it is not now proposed to discontinue the payment of rates on Native lands, the whole amount of which will in time be recouped, the net retrenchment may be estimated at the not inconsiderable sum of £35,000. The Bill was read a second time on Wednesday evening, and as might have been expected, very strong objections were urged by the West Coast members, who could hardly be expected to take kindly to the cutting off the supplies, which for the last five or six years have kept their local bodies in clover. The truth is, as pointed out by several members in tho debate, the Crown lauds have been grossly overvalued and the Treasury sweated accordirjgly. It is indeed high time that this state of things should be determined and the local bodies throughout the Colony placed on an equal footing in regard to subsidies. The Premier, it may be noted, expressed himself willing to treat the gold duty, which under existing arrangement is received by the counties, as local rates upon which the ordinary subsidies would be payable. This concession should reconcile the governing bodies to the inevitable, and they should be thankful to get so much. The whole question is really in a nutshell. The Act must either be repealed so far as Crown lands are concerned, or additional taxation will have to be imposed to meet the expenditure. For the last three years Sir Harry Atkinson states the money has had' to be raised by means of Treasury bills, and the Government very properly decline any longer to add to the floating debt for this purpose. The total amount paid to local governing bodies as rates for Crown lands since the Act came into operation in 1882-83 has been £147,683 2s 3d, and be it recollected this money, or most of it, has had to be borrowed. The continuance of such expenditure is absolutely indefensible, and the Ministry should be thoroughly supported by public opinion in the course they are adopting.