The New Taxation.

Pelorus Guardian and Miners' Advocate., Volume 3, Issue 11, 9 February 1892, Page 3

The New Taxation.

Press Opinions.

(Melbourne Age.)

TUB scheme of taxation carried through the New Parliement by the Ifcllanee Government hns been vehemently attiiVked, mainly on the ground that it is likely to disastrously i,ff.u:t the credit "of* the eolony in Great Uritain. In view of this fact it is reasHiring to read on the excellent authority of " Our. travelling Correspondent" that a tcr y different opinion is expressed by commercial magnates in the metropolis of.the Empire. Our, correspondent had: been impelled to inter-, view a city'editor and a eouple of bank U»anageni,touching the financial posi lion of Victoria, *pd New Zealand was 4ntroduce^ ; <iuitO' ineidently, and by the

\visy of nn illustration. The speaker, described as manager in Lcndou of one of the larg.it Australian banks, in the course of his remarks "As a general rule everything connected with Australia is extremely sound, and the way in which New Zealand has pnlled round, and the sacrifice* it's people have made to preserve their credit, have done a great deal of good to Australia generally" Thus so far* from the Maori colony being regarded as the enfant terrible of the Antipo lean Group, it appears to stand in thn gentleman's estimation as the beneficent fury, shedding an influence for good over all Australia. TLe inference in all probability deals primarily with its commercial relations, but we may be sure that if it was held to be going t > the dogs politically, as the opponents of the present! Ministry have been representing, it'would noi be spoken of in such terms by a shrewd man of business in London. The fact*s that the legislation submitted by Mr Ballance and his colleagues, and although ad vaneed and tentative in many of its details, is dircted in its entirety to rw king New Zealand, as far as pus sible, independent of external support. This is what the English observer has readily discerned. He has not troubled himself much about items which loom largely in the arena of party conflict, but has noticed with satisfaction that

the New Zealandera are disposed to be sell-reliant, to believe confidently in , their capacity to overcome loc.l difficulties, and to be willing to increase their burden of taxation for % time rather than risk putting a prolonged drag 011 internal progress. The present aspect of politics in New Zealand deserves the attention of Liberals throughout the colonies, because a determined effort is bring made by the old privileged classes to regain the State contiol, of which they have been deprived. (Auckland Star.) The accusation that the present Government have introduced dangeaous class legislation and are enemies of capital reefs, so far as we can see, on the very slightest foundation. A land tax finds champions among such Con. servative political economists us are represented by John Stuart Mill ; i has been adopted in South Australia and other colonies, and is sur?ly less destructive of capital than the villanous property-tax which is superceded, and whjch levied a tax of nearly one half per cent upon nearly every sovereign brought into the colony from the jrioraent a man landed with it on our shores. The absentee tax was not introduced by the Government, but by a member of the Oppoaition party, although Ministers readilv enough adopted and carried it through. Surely an addition of twenty per Cent on the only tax which these pepole 1 pay towards the government of the country from which they derive their incomes is ' not excessive, seeing, what an insignifi-, cant proportion of the colonial revenue ia raised by direct; taxation, and that absentees escape all other faxe3. The t single measure which has the sent-' blance of class taxation is the graduated- tax upon large holdings of land. Now, however much opinions may differ about the policy of this tax, every man with a particle of common sense who looks into the qu.stion of land monopoly as it exists in New Zealand will admit that it is not for the good of this small country that enormous areas of land should be locked up in an entirely unproductive state year after year ; and the Ministry doserve credit j for making an honest attempt at least to cure a gigantic public evil. Their predceßSois talked enough about it and made promises enough, but did nothing. (Westport News.) The Ballance Government will expiate their many sins of omission an 1 commission if they succead in bursting np the lage landed estates in the colony. These vast areas of freehold have retarded settlement. Their value has been increased by roads and railways paid fos by the people, but not one enny additional taxation have their owners paid in. consideration of the enhanced value of their land. The tax required to be imposed should be sufficient to make.it expensive to a man to enjoy the luxury of holding more land than he requires. The progress of New Zealand lias been greatly retarded through difficulty in the way of small settlers and farmers, who find the btst land locked up in large e-tates.