The Southland Times. PUBLISHED DAILY. Lucso Non Uro TUESDAY, 30th JUNE, 1885.

Southland Times, 30 June 1885, Page 2

The Southland Times. PUBLIS HED DAILY. Lucso Non Uro TUESDAY, 30th JUNE, 1885.

The debate on the Government policy seems to have been a poor, spiritless affair. Neither Major Atkinson nor Sir Julius Yogel was in his " best form," as the correspondents are pleased to phrase it; and it must be confessed that they behaved more like schoolboys than statesmen. The Major's clsief purpose, according to his own account, was to show that the Stout-Vogel Ministry had not kept the promises they made when they took office. This could not have been very difficolfc to do. 6ir Julias Yogel promised to remove the depression,

to abolish the Property Tax, to localise any direct taxation that might be neces-

sary, to reduce the public expenditure, &c, &c. It is a very easy matter indeed to show that he has dono none of ; these tlings : the question is, Was it worth doiDg ? No Ministry ever does fulfil its piomises, and the fctout-Vogel Ministry has only out-Heroded Herod in this respect. The non-fulfilment of pr. - [ mises is a thing that may be taken for granted. Sir Julius Yogel's action in regard to the Pioperty Tax is of course as bad as bad can be. He excused himself for adopting this tax, after having denounced it aa the root of all evil, on the ground that it is quite a right and proper thing for a man to change his mind, True ; but Sir Julius has wed that measure of his opponents in two such very dinherent w*ya that he ought to be heartily ashamed of himself. He first told the people that it was an unjust and unnecessary tax. That was in order that he might; get into office; and now that he finds the House against its abolition, he adopts it in order that he may remain in office. A sin pie confession of change of opinion is clearly not enough in this case; something like a public ejpression of penitence, and of sorrow for the injustice he had done to his opponents, would at least have been necessary in such circumstances, from anybody but a politician. But as politicians are privileged to do very extraordinary thinga, it was, We say, hardly worth Major Atkin con's while to take more than a passing notice of bis adversary's rather shabby change of froDt. It wag, so to speak, only a matter of course, And we must say the Major did not assume a very dignified tone himself. After saying, for instance, that there was no finality about a certain part of Sir Jains Vogel's finance, he added that "no doubt the Tieasarer would taunt him about the Roads and Bridges Construction Act, but that that Wfts a thing of the past. Still.he was prepared to defend the n- ensure if necessary." Gould anything be more pitiful ' than remarks of this sort ? Tbo discu*sion of matters co deeply affecting the welfare Qf the colony as administration

and taxation jdegenerates into a personal I squabble between Major Atkinson and Sir Julius ' ViSgel. "The Treasurer said that |ist ; xea^|there was ; a; deficit of £150|0G^ f bulthtit this year there was a surplus 01;!^g20,606w He was silent, however, as to the cause of this SurplDS, Jbut^he ..fact^ae that the Treasurer had borrowed' - -'^i^OOO "to' enable him to make this boast.. So says Major Atkinson, Y to whom Sir' Julias Yogel replies as follows:—" The hon. gentleman omitted to inform the House that he had £130,000 more Pioperty Tax last year than be (Sir Julius Yogel) had, andLphe had a deficiency of £1 50,000.' T!he difference b tween them was that the present Government had a surplus-of £20,000, while the late Government had on the previous year a deficit of £150.000." Such is the style of debate between the two great New Zealand financiers—between two men who no doubt consider themselves statesmen, but who, we repeat, behaved on Friday evening last much more like children than grown men. The Major, however, was quite right in Baying that the pie^ sent Government had failed absolutely in " reinstating " the finances and that the only resu't of their endeavours hitherto bad been increased expenditure and increased taxation. Of that there can be no doubt, and it will be tound some day that the colony is none the richer for Sir Julius Vogel's juggling of the sinking fund, although it has helped him to show his illusery surplus of £20,000. The expenditure is steadily if not alarnringly on the increase under the present administration, and ii creased taxation follows as a matter of course. There is indeed far too much ground for Mr Wakofieid's sarcasm that the only notion Sir Julius Yogel has of conducting the affairs of a country consists in borrowing [ and spending. We hope the House will refuse to admit that there is the slightest excuse for the heavy taxation shadowed forth in the Financial Statement, and compel the Government to retrace their steps. But nothing but extravagance and increased expenditure could have been expected from a Yogel Ministry, It is not in the Colonial Treasurer's nature to economise, and the manner io which the Government pat* ronage has been dispensed— in the appointment of Legislative Councillors, Js.P. (you can scarcely move anywhere in 2?ew Zealand without rubbing shoulders with them), Native Land Court judges, and Civil servants too (ih spite of the pretended retrenchments) shows that he (Sir Julias Yogel) is practically indifferent to the welfare of the colony and intent chiefly upon remaining in office. If the Ministry would only set to work in the right direction and cut down the public expenditure they would do something to purpose. The Civil Service presses like an incubus on the life of the colony j but we may add that it seems to defie the attempts of each successive Ministry to bring it into conformity with our colonial resources and necessities. Of the Major's criticisms of the revised tariff, the report we have received does not enable us to judge. But this is of the less consequence as the condemnation of the Colonial Treasurer's new duties have been already pronounced by the country. Nor do the Local Government proposals appear to be received with a whit more favour. Never was such an unfortunate Budget. But the Tre.agurer has intimated that he will modify his proposals to suit the tastes or demands of his employers. " Tax yourselves if you are not satisfied with my scheme (he seems to say to the colonists through their representatives) ; ray proposals are not of a cast iron description ; they are, on the contrary, as malleable and ductile as the gold they were intended to extract from your pockets." What, however, becomes of his reputation as a heaven-born financier? Why, he has shown himself almost 88 helpless and as much of a blunderer as Mr Ballance ! There is of course no comparison, but rather a prodigious contra* t, between the two men ; and the wonder is that a man of Sir Julius Vogel's knowledge and abilities should have exposed himself to rebuffs and contemptuous remarks all round.