The Poverty Bay Herald East Coast News Letter. PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING. WEDNESDAY, JULY 16, 1879.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume VI, Issue 836, 16 July 1879, Page 2

The Poverty Bay Herald East Coast News Letter. PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING. WEDNESDAY, JULY 16, 1879.

The Governor's address to both Houses appeared in. our issue of. last evening. It was taken in hand by the printers late in the afternoon, aud had been well circulated in the town and suburbs before the hour of half-past five o'clock. We are indebted to the telegraph operators for the expeditious and very perfect manner they performed their work ■which made the task of setting comparatively easy for the compositors. Whatever may be thought of the speech, one thing is tolerably certain. This is that His Excellency has not allowed himself to be made the mouth-piece of Ministers. The composition is his own. It is a plain, unvarnished statement, delivered as Sir Hercules runs liis horses — quite on the square. We are to have a revised and greatly extended Bill, relating to electors qualified- to vote at the election of members, which, to Europeans, will amount to manhood suffrage in a 'residential qualification, while the electorates will be based upon population. We suppose nothing more liberal in this direction can be asked for or expected. It is also under consideration to allow persons to compete for the purchase of Native lands with the consent of Native owners. We presume that some check will be placed on the Maoris parting with territory otherwise than in a strictly equitable manner, in order that they shall not be made the victims of speculators. There will be no more bartering of land for rum and gunpowder. The European will, in this respect, be made to deal as fairly with the Maoris as he has to do in the case of his own countrymen. His Excellency is made to say, through the telegraph wires, that ' the revenue received under all heads, has amounted to £190,000. Of course there is a great mistake, here committed either by the senders or the Operators. The revenue from all sources must be considerably over two millions. There has been a large

deficit in the Land Revenue as against what had been estimated by Mr. Ballance, the then Colonial Treasurer. But, as his Excellency observes, if the Government has not received what it had reckoned to get, the land nnalienated is still to the good. Wo do not know exactly what a merchant would say if he had only disposed of half the quantity of wares which he held in stock. It is true the stock would be in his stores, but this fact would go a very little way in enabling him to meet his liabilities. His Excellency draws rather a funny conclusion for the non-sale • of die quantity of land estimated. He says, the probable continuance during tne current financial year of a decreased Land Revenue will call for an increased taxation. This is as much as to tell us that men are not in a position from their impecunious circumstances to buy land, it will not prevent them to contribute a higher scale of taxation. And so we are told that we are to have an Income Tax imposed. One result of such a tax, hays His Excellency, will be thatsoaoon. as the financesof the colony allow of it being done, the Legislature can lessen and ultimately abolish all duties which now press heavily on the necesaries of life. Very good ; but when will this " so soon" come to pass 1 And when is Legislation likely to lessen the duties upon the necessaries of life which bear so heavily on all classes of consumers 1 Sir Hercules tells us that it will be necessary to raise another five million loan. The interest upon this, in* addition to what we are c tiled upon to provide, is not likely to allow of any decrease upon articles now dutiable. This is really the only piece of bunkum in the Governor's address. We ai*e told that the present system of county local Governments should be placed on a better footing. But how 1 Well, as far as we can make out, County Councils will be permited to raise loans if they can get the Banks or other monetary institutions to allow them what they ask for. We think very little of such an insignificant concession forming pan, of a vice-regal speech. These powers, we fear, are to be given in anticipation of Government withdrawing all subsidies, and allowing the Countries to govern themselves at their own expense. Taking the speech as a whole, it may be considered very satisfactory as far as a speech of the kind goes ; but the principles and enunciations contained in such addresses are soon forgotten or ignored ; and Parliament proceeds to work as if no address had been spoken.