THE FINANCIAL STATEMENT

Taranaki Herald, Volume LIV, Issue 13483, 24 July 1907, Page 7

THE FINANCIAL STATEMENT

DEBATE IN THE HOUSE.

MR. MASSEY'S CRITICISM.

Per Press Association. WELLINGTON, July 23. In the House of Representatives tonight Mr Massey, Leader of the Opposi tion, opened the debate on the Financial Statement. The galleries were crowded. Mr Massey said the Financial Statement contained references to many subjects, which might have been more appropriately ..dealt, with in the Speech from the Thron©. He asked members to think of the feribposals, which had been put forwafdiroin his side of the House,fojr the last half-dozen years. Take the auditing of the public accounts, for instance. In' spite of the opinions expressed by the Premier that the reform would not prove workable, he had executed a right-about face. The same artth sinking fund, and sinking funds were now an accomplished fact.. In some instances, similarly, the Opposition's demands. for national .annuities had fructified, and, although fhe scheme had not been passed, there was a possibility -that it Would" find its way to the, Statute Book in the near future. Last year £25,000 had been voted from the Consolidated Fund for making, the roads of the colony — a measure he had frequently advocated THE LAND QUESTION. Referring to the land question, Mr Massey remarked what a change had come over the scene since Mr McNab. in^rpduced his measure some twelve months ago. -The gentlemen who occii pied the Ministerial benches now admitted thatlte^iri advocating ,the freehold, ha/1 been right and they wrong 1 . He claimed that, small as the Opposition was in numbers, it had been 'an infill ence for good in that House. A Government, like an individual, should, he jftdged by what it had done. It was proposed,. in .the BiU'pf last, year to rtrike th§.i4an on ijhelapd jnth? most lgital spot. " Referring~ to endowments, He,said k thQy t^ere not wanted for-.the pjifpose Jot /which they were to be set of 4ittle jise .to the: people of the. colony for educational purposes, or' for the paying of old age pensions, before going further,'the colony should fete guided, by pas,t experience in .regard tip endowments, amf enquiry should be fliad4>rkto the subject of endowments, ieither-by lloyal .Commission « or vby a (^ominittee. of .the Hquso. . In connection fihie land question, the Governjfoent required watching olosefy, because m the. socialistic/ and single tax infliianee^lficlrwas extended to keep a mail i ndlils. dependents from becoming in- ! ependen^.^He^wanted so g^ve the se|j ler 'on the" land the -.advantages lie ! aght to have, and,, above all, he wani- « djto.get, the > cfllon&.rid^itfie barga|h 3 ia*dViir "connection wttn the lease-ij|- ] erpetu^y ;ssaisp»gA - of \ h^Mifti4ter ; ft»r < (Lands r }%hen he made ] is speech last yeari spying tnat thje i ro*efnraent wotdd nail'i^B ! Sag }r to-t^e •] iacst, and go down fighting, went up - fty per ceirt.^b^fr&e-*«w-«aggeßted K> th# Minister the motto for the Gover^mejxfctfiouMW'ready ft»;run»" aftdfftr a, crest they should utilise a weather«odc. I'Wkeim toai only ?oneiway «f giw-ing-the^holtjer .of lease?-in-perpetiuity Itis r^ii^an^^^V^^^^-Sfifilkad-yocated' it many times. That was to the 'leaavaholder th^ right to purchase at the original value. He conleSalcf^a^ £ffe rsovern- • nent had b^en -to set town ' against ounijty^.kfi Ordej v to- benefit ,the towns. i Jnfe^tnß*Wdrkers J Homes^Act of last ear,*-I*r^e^le hw^h© ' right -to ac [uirethe freehold at tfcfc) Original value ,nd yet^thisswas denied 'the settlers on : he lend. \ Bjb added, tha^k the provision aadeNinfieif tne Adva"rice to Workers' krt ta.wo&ers in the:cfty>ra« denie4 ie the- country workers. "He argued ihat the Land Tax paid by the man in •bbc country was altogether, out of proportion to the Income Tax, and the man in the country, claiming his,4and * rom .the bush-and stf amp* was carrying the, lieavy end, of the log to the benefit of the .owner of business premises in the cities. Personally, he was willing to grant the same concessions to the man in the city as to the man in the country. Referring to the Attorney-Gene-ral's speech at Palmerston South, he contended that it was a defence of socialism, so that it would be impossible to deny that the policy of the Government was socialism. THE TARIFF. Speaking on the tariff he advised members to look closely into it, and they would find anomalies which made for the benefit of the wealthy man, and made things harder for the working man. He characterised the motor car as a rich man's toy, yet it .was now admitted free/ whilst bicycles, which were largely used by workers, were taxed 20 per cent. He quoted a number of sta tistics dealing with the duties levied on boots and shoes. The kinds that were generally used by working people had had the duty increased, whereas the, duty on boots used by the wealthier classes/ had been reduced. Dairy machinery was mostly made in Sweden and America, and in creating a preferential tariff on dairy machinery they were practically taxing the dairy industry, which was one of the most important in the colony, with an impost of ten per cent. He deprecated the expenditure lavished on the ornamenta tion of public buildings." In conclusion he argued thaf the two most importanr matters for the benefit of this colony were fixity of tenure for the man on the land, and closer communication with the Old Country. The Government had attacked the first and neglected the second. THE MINISTER'S REPLY. The Hon. Mr McNab accused the Leader of the Opposition of having misrepresented in a speech at Auckland the matter of payment to the Deputy Chairmen of Committees. He made it understood that the Government was paying £350, whereas only an extra £50 was paid. He also accused Mr Massey of having at Stratford mad 3 misrepresentation regarding the Otago University Endowments. Last yeiirV Bill had contemplated granting the freehold to all lessees-in-perpetuity, air? the only difference in this year's Bill was that, in place of putting the whole of the people of the colony in the posi ! tion of competing for the land, it was limited now to the occupier of the land, and that was the somersault of which the Opposition . accused the Government. He felt that if the original clause had been carried, the effect would.have been that no, one would com pete with the occupier aft auction, and

(the result would have been that the leaseholder would have obtained the freehold of his land a£ very little mor* than what was known as the original value. The Minister spoke of the proposals of the Graduated Land Tax Bill and the effect they would have, and showed how the Bill differed from last year's. He believed the effects would be to provide vast areas for the landless people of the colony. Referring tc Larfd for Settlement lands, he said that, whilst a good deal could "be said in f ayr our of the 66 years' lease, he thought there was no. reason why the shorter lease should not be introduced. The Government proposed to dispose of! these lands under a 33 years' renewable lease, and he would be pleased to receive any suggestions that would make this tenure more attractive. Referring to endowments, he said the proposals were not quite so- comprehensive as before they came back from committee. The endowment proposals originally covered areas of something like 16,800,000 acres, much' of which was in the North Island. Tbe^alterations that had been made mea,nt that the 16,800,000 acres had been' reduced to nine million acres. These lands would be disposed of under the provisions of the Land Act under which they had been disposed of previously unless, in the opinion of the Land Board, they were suitable for closer settlement, when they would be disposed of under the optional system^ He maintained that so long as the colony had to borrow money to purchase" estates, they should only dispose of such land under lease-in-perpetuity. He considered the Leader of the Opposition had not dealt with the Ministry fairly in stating they were not doing so much for the country settler as for the dweller in the town. Personally, he had a great dear of sympathy with the country settler. ' Referring to the charge of socialism which Mr Massey had levelled at' the Government, he put that the farmer, who Mr Massey complained had been so much neglected had undoubtedly been assisted by that same socialism. Mr Massey had claimed the proposals of the Government as his own, and he hoped that the Leader of the Opposition would follow the Ministry into the lobby and assist in placing the proposals on the Statute Book.

Mr Massey denied having nijsrepfosented the position of the .Doputy Chairmen's salaries. . /

MR. JAMES ALLEN.

Mr James Allen accused the Minister of Lands of changing front since last year. Referring to superannuation funds, he argued, that they were not sounds and should be made so. £17,000 per year was required to make the teachers' superannuation fund sound. In regard to the railway superannuation fund> he asserted that nothing was known about it, but if it was right to place the XJivil Service superannuation fund on a sound basis, it was right to place the police, teachers' and railway servants 7 superannuation funds on a sound basis. In investigating railway expenditure, what had astonished him most was the 'enormous increase in the charges for fuel and water. He considered that the cost of fuel was heavier than it ought to be, and we should derive . more from the railways than we were doing;. ,. Dealing with the tariff, he urged that it was altogether wrong to tax electrical machinery, which, so far^S*he JcnwV cot^Piaot be" made 1 in the'rolpny. ,The impost' of a shilling a pound on raw cotton would also seri-ously-interfere with trade. Cotton was used in connection with wool in making a cheap material 'that would compete with imported shoddy. He agreed with the premier in the matter of the naval subsidy, but urged that steps should be taken in the direction of providing for the' defence of our harbours. A GOVERNMENT FREEHOLDER

Mr Wilford said the ipeech of the last member was a speech acquiescing in the land proposals, of the Government, but regretting that they ha/l been altered. , He admitted that the Government's land proposals had been modified, but as a freeholder he considered they did not go far enough Though a freeholder. he did not regard the freehold as the only advantage to the colony and settler. He regarded the leasehold as a stepping-stone to the freehold. There were 128 v COQ persons (individuals and companies), who held in New Zealand £161,777,788 worth of land. He disagreed with the Government in starting the graduated land tax at £40,000. It should have been started at £20,000, and if the Government amended the proposal it would be supported by many members of that side of the House. He congratulated the Minister on the absentee proposals, and on making the endowment area nine million acres. The House adjourned at 11.55 p.m.