Wairarapa Standard Published Tri-weekly, Price 1d. MONDAY, AUGUST 17, 1885. Vogel's Latest Financial Statement.

Wairarapa Standard, Volume XVIII, Issue 1721, 17 August 1885, Page 2

Wairarapa Standard Published Tri-weekly, Price Id. MONDAY, AUGUST 17, 1885. Vogel's Latest Financial Statement.

The financial proposals made by Sir Julius Vogel in the Budget which he laid before Parliament some two months ago, were, in a great measure, rejected by Parliament. The House would not agree to the proposed increase in Customs Dutie.s so the new tariff was torn to pieces and rejected. Then certain proposals in connection with succession duties were also thrown out. The result of this action compelled Sir Julius Vogel to make a second Financial Statement last Wednesday, and explain to tbe House how he proposed to provide “ ways and means ” under the altered conditions. It certainly cannot be said that the new proposals of Sir Julius Vogel are ofa satisfactory nature. In explaining the position, Sir Julius Vogel said ;

The House declined to make the changes in the tariff which we recommended, which would have left us an addition to revenue of about L 70.000. Certain alterations which were made in the Bill providing for an amendment of the succession duties will involve a reduction of the stamp revenue of about L 30,000, I do not feel it safe also to rely on quite so much revenue fra a :he railways as was anticipated. The loss .rom this source I set down at L-17,000, which means less receipts to the extent of LOG,OOO, audlesa expenditure to the sum ofLIO.OOO. We have, therefore, the Budget disturbed to the extent of— Customs revenue £70,000 Stamps 30,000 Railways (net, including reduction) of expenditure and receipts .. 47.000 £147,00.) The Supplementary Estimates v ill not, I anticipate, exceed L1‘2,000, so that I shall have to >rovide its all, from various sources L159,00f o make up the amount. Sir Julias Vogel then shows how he is going to make up this sum of £159,000. In the first place, he claims to have a surplus of £32,000 from the previous year and puts that to the credit side ef the account. It has, however, to be said that this £32,000 surplus is only to be found on paper, and that its existence is purely imaginary. Then, certain deficiency Bills to the amount of £50,000, are not to be paid off, but are to be kept outstanding till 1887. This is what Sir Julius pleasantly calls “postponing a liability,” Another piece of juggling is to charge £25,000 for external defence to the Public Works Fund. Then Sir Julius proposes to cut down the vote lor Armed Constabulary by £10,000; to save £IOOO by abandoning the classification scheme for the Civil Service, and to raise £57,000 of additional revenue by increasing the property tax to seven eighths of a penny. In this way Sir Julius makes up a sum of £178,000, which he cheerily declares will leave a surplus of £19,000, after providing for the Supplementary Estimates to the extent of £12,000. Xhis notable financial scheme will not lurk? water. Nor will it for a single moment b2 ni ’ the lest of critical examination. It is a mere with figures, and very clumsy trickery at best. To treat an imaginary surplus as a reality ; to keep deficiency bills current for an indefinite period ; to shift a charge from one account to another ; and lo unjustly deprive a number of Civil servants of £IOOO out of some £6,500 promised to them, is surely a financial scheme of the

most wretched and discredit-abl 0 character. The general feeling on the part of Parliament and the country is that Sir Julius Yogel has entirely failed to grasp the existing state of financial affairs, and that his proposals for dealing with it are of the most evasive and delusive character. Besides this, it is certain that Sir Julius Yogel has much underestimated the financial difficulties which have to be encountered. The revenue has fallen off seriously, and consequently the extent to which the original Financial Statement “ has been dis turbed” is much greater than Sir Julius tries to make people behove. The last financial proposals which have been made by Sir Julius, are simply a shirking of the real position of affairs, and an attempt to put off the evil day. It is quite characteristic that Sir Julius Yogel should adopt such a course. The man has ever been accustomed to discount the future and to gamble with fortune. He knows, in his private capacity, what it is to give bills in order to raise tbe wind, and how to keep afloat by “renewing” them, again and again. He is now applying his experience in “ kite flying ” to the financial affairs of the colony. His last Financial Statement is what may be termed “ a kite-flying Budget.” At the present grave crisis of its affairs, the people of this colony will reject with contempt and indignation the dishonest and makeshift proposals put forward by Sir Julius Yogel. They do not believe in financial juggling and thimblerigging. They desire that the existing difficulties should be fairly laced and dealt with in an honest and straightforward manner. Sir Julius Vogel is not at all the sort of man to perform a work of this kind. The colonists have found out that fact by this time. They now realise that Sir Julius Yogel re-entered upon public life on false pretences ; that he deluded the people with false promises about creating an era of prosperity and causing the colony “to advance by leaps and bounds,” whereas, in truth, he has brought it to the evil position of a revenue falling off, increased taxation, enormous additional liabilities, and an immediate difficulty of “making both ends meet.” Clearly, the first thing to be done is to get rid of Sir Julius Yogel and his colleagues. That accomplished, it might be possible to place in office a body ol honest men, who would loyally and earnestly undertake the work of facing and overcoming existing difficulties.