NO CONFIDENCE.

Wairarapa Age, 29 July 1925, Page 5

NO CONFIDENCE.

ON, FINANCIAL DEBATE. MB. SIDEY’S MOTION. (“The Age’’ Special.) PARLIAMENT HOUSE, July 28.— The Financial Debate was opened by Mr T. K. Sidey (Dunedin S.), who complained that the Budget was of the usual Reform type—full of protests about economy, and the usual warnings about over-borrowing which he remembered in the first Reform Budget. If the Government had been alive to its responsibilities almost the whole of the war debt would have been paid out of the high prices of our products during the war, but they put no restraint on the over-importa-tion of luxuries. Indirect taxation kept on increasing until it amounted to 50 per cent cf the total. He did not believe the proposal to prevent aggregation by increased stamp duty on conveyances would be effective, and the income tax reduction and mortgage duty remission was also illusory as a means of diverting investments to land because the mortgagor always paid the mortgage tax. The proposals for the repayment of debt would cause the diversion of £300,000 a year from the amount available for loans to settlers, workers and local bodies. Fusion History-

On the fusion scheme Mr Sidey declared that the caucus of his Party definitely decided that no stipulation should be made for eny number of portfolios, but left the matter entirely to the leader of the proposed new Party. The Prime Minister’s statement to the contrary was very ungenerous and ilustrated the wisdom of contention that the time for forming a new party was before the party fight was lenewed. Now it appeared that the best way in which a new party could be brought about would be by turning the Government out of office.

Mr Sidey concluded by moving an amendment “That the House has no confidence in the Government as it has failed to bring into effect a more equitable system of .taxation by placing the burden upon individuals in proportion to their ability to boar it. ”