Evening Sitting.

Thames Star, Volume X, Issue 3419, 6 December 1879, Page 2

Evening Sitting.

The House reamed at 7.3Q the debate

Mr Moss said that with the machinery R in his hands the Treasurer, under the Land Tax, was in a position to raise £400,000, and what ho estimated under the Property Tux was £470,000. Why not put the former into operation at once ?

Sir Gr. Grey said he felt so averse to this measure that he could offer resistance at evtry stage. It was a piece of taxation that aimed at everything that produced wealth. First of all it aimed at man—the highest of Nature's machines ; and under this system that machine would be ground down. The man not doing well would be ground down still lower. In New Zealand they bad land-holders where the land counted nothing, and yet their cattle and produce would be taxed. Industries, expected after a time, to yield a profit, will be crashed. In every way it appeared to be a most disastrous tax. Its effect would be to cause property of tho poorer classes to fall into the hands of others more fortunate in worldly circum■tances. They were told the object was to raise a few thousand pounds, and that the money was not wanted this year. The effect of machinery being taxed will snake men hesitate to invest in machinery, and that will be most disastrous to the industrial classes. The Land Tax yields £100,000 per annum, and that was thrown away., An income tax would overtake the public creditor in Great Britain. lift was taxed in England, and why should tMy allow him to escape, when Great Britain and all foreign States recognised the principle? There were gentlemen who drew large pensions from the colony. They went to England, and were taxed in England. Why was it that they ihould not contribute to the funds of the place from whence they derived their pensions?' Dealing with such gross injustices as these he felt asif he in a nightmare. Surely this state of things was not real. He was told the measure was not to be put in force. Why then alarm the country ? There was not a day he did not get letters informing him that the inhabitants were determined not to remain under imh a system of taxation. Let the Government bring down a real measure, an income tax, one which will tax according to means, and not grind down the poorer classes. The previous speaker had shown how it would operate on the mioer. They were told that companies formed for the purpose of developing the district would be compelled to give in, and that was a state of things which would be most disastrous to the future of the colony. He hoped they would pass and substitute another measure, so that the burden would be fairly and equitably distributed. He would simply enter his protest against the measure, and conceived it to be quite untitted to. the country, and one which would entail ruin and misery*on the colony, and while it was in the power of the colony to retrace this false step and substitute an Income Tax he conjured , them to do it. A measure of that kind would be sufficient to meet the exigencies of the case, and would sustain the credit of the ,colony in the money market. „ . Dr Wallis bad come to the conclusion that it was an unjust and one-sided measure. Tho tax proposed was equivalent to the imposition in England, with its population, of £45,000,000 of money per annum. Such a thing would never be tolerated by a civilized people. Mr Hall agreed that what could be done in the way of retrenchment should be done but it was out of the que-tion, however, thinking about striking put one sum after another indiscriminately. It was a thing requiring to be handled very carefully, and by men who knew something about it. He could assure them tha^what could be done in that way, the Government was ambitious to do it. The measure proposed was one which would bear fairly on ill classes of the community, and the statement that it would press unfairly in this direction and that direction were all points true perhaps in themselves, but which might fairly be considered in Committee. Had they brought in a Beer Tax, the cry would have been raised about robbing the " poor man of his beer j " Bad they proposed a Income Tax, they would have been taunted with robbing the poor professional - man and hard -worked Civil servants. In Committee the Government would be quite prepared to consider* any reasonable proposal made in. a friendly spirit. ■ Mr Montgomery reviewed the measure and pointed out its objectionable features. ■■■' ■ ''''■'' " m T Col. Trimble spoke m favor of the principle of the Bill; what they had now to do was to perfect the machinery for enabling them to meet the public creditor; thpy had already asserted the principle that his claims would require to be met. Votes they had passed and promises made day after day since Parliament met, all went to establishing that principle, and what the Bill aimed at was to perfect the machinery necessary for giving effect to that purpose. ', J. B. Fisher spoke in opposition to the Bill; he had listened to arguments for and against the Bill, and to his mind the latter were overwhelming. The Government failed in showing it was necessary, and such being the case he would oppose it.' ' *, " ' ' '. ■" Major Atkinson replied he could not conceive how it should be stated that they did not require the taxation proposed, no authority on the subject of finance had seriously impugned the correctness of his Estimates. No one, with the exception of a,fjb speakers on the Government side of the House, had addressed themselves to the true spirit of the Bill. After weighing the circumstances of the colony he contended that the Property Tax was preferable to an Income Tflfe. The Bill before the House was no sham and the Government intended to bring it into operation at once, and no amendment advanced by the Opposition for the obvious purpose of damaging the Government will be submitted to. They would accept any reasonable proposals, but they would not as the late ..Government hid done, submit to unreasonable and mere factious amendments. The proposition made by th? member for the Thames, about levying an income tax upon New Zealand bond holders at Heme was a most absurd one, and one which would effectually affect colonial loans in Home country. He could hardly believe that the proposition was made in earnest. The proposal about imposing such a tax on absentee! was equally untenable, bat by applying themselves seriously to the Bill he believed they would succeed in producing a by no means unpopular measure. On the question for going into Committee the House divided —ayes 85, noes 25. The Hoase then went into Committee, *nd wa.s left sitting at 12.30.

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