CORRESPONDENCE.

Wairarapa Age, 20 December 1919, Page 5

CORRESPONDENCE.

An Appreciation. (To the Editor.) Sir,—Now that the "battle" if over, I should like to say how much I appreciate the fairness with whit* you . treated mo in your columns a! through the contest. Of course. 1 could not expect you to advocate m> claims; but you wero fair and im partial, in the midst of much thai was unfair and partial in other news papers.—l H()ENSBy Carterton*, Dec. 18. 1919. ANOTHER OPINION. To the Editor. Sir, —I notice in your correspon deuce columns that thh "wiseacre,' Mr Tennent, is again bringing him self beforo public notice, by disput ing some of air Alex. McLcod's state ments. Now, sir, I am not rushini into the battle on behalf of Mr Mc Leod, as I,am aware that ho is quit( capable of putting up his own fight and emerging with something t< rre in his coat sleeve when he hn te with Mr Tennent. But I di take exception to the working class being called tho "unthinking." I! Mr Tennent ever had anything to d< with Labour organisations, he woult have found some very deep thinkerr amongst them, thinkers who woult set Mr Tennent thinking, and viewing labour matters from a much broadei ' standpoint. They aro having some of the world's best brains thinking to-day. He would also find mon not so willing to distort facts as he dis torted Mr McLeod's remark at th>. Post,;; Office on Tuesday evening. Bui such things seem to be characteristic of men like Mr Tennent. —I am, etc. P. C. BYRNES. Te Ore Ore, Dec. 19, 1919. MISLEADING THE WORKER. To the Editor. Sir, —As Mr McLeod found hi statement that 290 people in Nov Zealand had a total income of ove £9,000,000 challenged, it would hav. been a reasonable thing if Mr Mc Leod had proved his statement. How ever, he cannot do this, and so hi , 'has put the onus on mo to show thy. he is wrong. Tho question as t< whether Mr McLeod or I have dont the most for the workers of New Zealand has no bearing on tho que-s tion, and is only a side issue. J does not make Mr McLeod eithei right or wrong. It is simply a que* tion of opinion. I will tio my bes, to give Mr McLeod satisfaction. Th Hon. Arthur Myers, Acting Ministei of Finance, made public a returi compiled by tho Commissioner oi faxes, showing the special and wai income tax for the financial yea 1917-18, and the incomes on whic! these taxes were levied.- The returi gives a summary of payers of incorrn tax under all headings. In the 12tl item incomes exceeding £IO,OOO tin ' total is 290 ''payers," not people oi persona. In the next return for No 1? item it gives the -> total incom< earned by the 290 as £9, 043,347, and the income tax paid b? them as £3,236,247. A previoui statement shows that the income paid by companies is £3,107,249 j In 12,548 landowners, £1,480,774; l>;» 7637 traders and manufacturers £495,976; by 8070 salaried persons £116,004; by 2537 professional pci 1 ions, £134,582. From the above, 1 thing it is clear that the 290 payci Of tax under all headings includ . the Banks, Shipping and Freezing Companies, Loan Companies, Cooperative Companies, merchants an< factories with their tens of thousand, of shareholders. If Mr McLeod «jbil: doubts, let him write to the Com missioner of Taxes. If the big com panies do not pay under that head i&g, then they do not pay at all. Mi McLeod's figures have probably beei supplied by tho headquarters of tin Labour Party in Wellington, and o> course he is uot responsible for them butthat does not make them correct. "Within the past twelve months 1 mot an Australian worker in th: train near Upper Hutt; he said thai Now Zealand was the workers' para difi©» and I think that he was right Th© great bulk of the payers of in come tax to-day came to New Zea land as emigrants and workers a few years agd.* They were "workers" upc "grafters," not.go-slow and striki men, men who saved what they earn ed and invested it. Tho tendency now is for the go-slow and strilu mai to he jealous of the ''worker" and "grafter," and try and pull him down. Personally, I do not think thai that is tho way by which wo an ' going to advance. There are plenty of ways by which we can help to im prove the condition of tho people ol New Zealand, but I think that wi must try the constructive rather thar the destructive method. If we instead of pulling together all pull dif ferent ways, we certainly cannot expect New Zealand to advanco. In Boy opinion there are more opportuni tiea in New Zealand to-day for a hardworking and thrifty man to improve his position than there were at" any previous time. When I camo to New Zealand in 1864 bread was the 41b loaf, sugar 0d per lb, tea 6d, rents were very high, meat and butter the same, and wages wore about one-half of what they aro today. One of my brothers got £3 for six months' work in a lawyer's office and another, £6 for six months' work on a farm. I think that we are all agreed w:th Mr McLeod and tli< Labour Party that things can bo further improvod for tho worker, but we are not all agreed as to the best way of going about it. That r is tho whole <sru?: of tho matter. Mr McLeod evi dently looks on anyone who does not agree with him on all points as an enemy.—l am, etc., W. J. TENNENT.

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