The War Tax

Sun (Christchurch), Volume I, Issue 259, 5 December 1914, Page 12

The War Tax

POLITICAL NOTES. "That point will be appreciated by business men, intelligent people —and ladies/' said Mr Bertram Bunu i.u his address at the Fendalton Parish Schoolroom last evening. The sound of faces creasing into smiles was quite audible.

Mr Buun said that he had included the ladies as an afterthought. He .did not think they took much interest iu high finance. •

"Would you be in favour of cutting up Mr Russell's 60,000 acres" asked a questioner at Mr IT. D. Acland's meeting at Stanmore Road last evening. Mr Aeland: "That is a personal question, and I will not answer it. If any man asks me a personal question in regard to my opponents I will refuse, point blank, to answer it."

At his Spreydon meeting last evening, the Hon. R. H. Rhodes Avas asked to defeud his attitude towards the Bible-in-Sehools question. Mr, Rhodes said that he could not see why the system practised at Southbridge should not be adopted throughout the Dominion. At ■Southbridge, he said, the school children were released from school for one hour every week to go and receive religious instruction from their respective denominational ministers. There were four denominations represented—Anglican, Presbyterian, Methodist, and Roman Catholic. This, Mr Rhodes thought, was a very good scheme, and was worthy of imitation. He favoured the taking of a referendum on the question.

'' We won't have Joe Ward at any price!" The interjection was made at Mr Wilford's meeting at Taita by an old Crimean veteran*

"But, unfortunately, Mr King, you are only one," said Mr Wilford. "You are not entitled to say ' we.' Only editors.of .newspapers say 'we.' " Mr King: "I will say "We—We! That means Massey and me." (Laughter.)

"You will pass no more laws," shouted a man at the Hon. F. M. B; Fisher's meeting at Wellington. "Oh, yes, we wi11,," replied Mr Fisher, we make some laws that probably won't suit some of thepeople in this audience." (Applause.) He pointed out that the Massey Government passed the Industrial Disputes Investigation Act, a very good Act, which prevented intimidation of workers. Men had been intimidated into striking, when they did not want to.

A Voice: Name them. Mr Fisher: Yes,-you would like me to name them, so that you could get at them. (Applause.) .

'' Talk to me about the strong hand! '' said Mr R. Fletcher (Liberal candidate for Wellington Central) when dealing with the strike. "They tell me I was a weak man because I would not take sides—because I held the scales of justice fairly between the parties. I was not responsible to any association of employers nor any union of employees; I was responsible to the city- as a whole, to the 12,500 people -who put me at the top of the poll - by the biggest majority ever recorded in a harbour board election. I had to see fair play to both sides, and I was not going to do anything to wrong either party. So thev called me, 'Mr Faeing-both-wavs.' " *

"If you examine the Liberal Party and the Refoi-m Party you will find no great difference," declared Mr R. B. Williams last evening. "The main difference before was on the land question and. the borrowing and spending of public money."

"Look here, the married man gets the punishment in New Zealand, and the bachelor gets off too easy," said Dr Newman "at Haitaitai (Wellington-). The remarks were greeted with laughter. "No," said the doctor, "it's no joking matter, but I think that the married -man is entitled to more consideratiom. As soon as a man marries lie is penalised by being called upon to pay extra taxation. He has to pay taxation on his wife's clothes aii'd taxation on everything she eats and everything she drinks. Then, when a child conies up goes the taxation. Now, that's not fair, especially when the bachelor is escaping all the time. The Reform Party is out to show more consideration to the married man, who is doing his duty to the State. For myself, lam in favour of children being allowed to ride on the railways at greatly reduced rates —perhaps free up to ten years of age. Then 1 would like to see the abolition lof all duties from necessities of life. I ! think it can be done, because there are sufficient luxuries coming into the country from which we could make up the deficiency.

IS! wa ' t a " broad minded men refer to your parsimoniousness and are compelled to demand the imposition of a War Tax so that a few pence may be~ extracted from your ; bulging purses W Wl^u >ld your money until the Government force it out of you We must realise our responsibilities and- obligations to the Empire, to our Country and to the men who are fighting for us if we are toJemerge victorious from the present struggle Send your donation to the Canterbury Patriotic Fund. It will not hurt, but, on the contrary, will furnish you with a bright spot on which-to focus your gaze and spur you on to further worthy endeavours