The Wanganui Chronicle, AND Patea – Rangitikei Advertiser "NULLA DIES SINE LINEA " TUESDAY. JANUARY 31, 1699.

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume XLIII, Issue 15000, 31 January 1899, Page 2

The Wanganui Chronicle, AND Patea - Rangitikei Advertiser "NULLA DIES SINE LINEA " TUESDAY. JANUARY 31, 1699.

UNDER-KST»IATINU RKVKNUK. Tin; Colonial Treasurer is patting himself en the hack in the prospect o[ a big sur plus at the close of the financial year, and the newspapers that are accustomed to sing his praises are saying what a clever fc'.low Mr Seddon is. It is difficult to see where the cleverness comes in — unless it bf I tho cleverness of deceit. When, m Colonial Treasurer, Mr Seddon brought down his Financial Statement last year he had the list quarter's returns of revenue befoo him, and he knew to within a few thousand pounds what the revenue for tht year would amount to ; yet he deliberate^ set the amount down at over half a million pounds less' than he knew he had every ■ reason to expect would be realised. He was warned by speaker after speaker in the debate on the statement that he had si. underestimated the revenue. It was pointed out to him what'thc gazetted receipts were for the three months from April to June, and what they would probably be for thi rest of the year, but it did not suit hih purpose to be convinced, far less to ac knowledge that he had deliberately set thi amount down at half a million less than he knew it wnukl amount to. Air Seddon, liko every other Treasurer, had to go l< lhe Treasury officers for his figures, bul , there can be no doubt at all that after get (ing tli«"m he ci't them down wholesale t< suit his own purpose. Supposing he hac! been perfectly frank with the House, am had mado his estimate half a million mort thai} he did, what would have happened J' Why, he -would have been obliged eithe> to reduce the taxation on the necessarier of life, which has been so largely increased by his Government, or he would have beei. forced to be a good deal more generous ir. the votes set down for public works. In the light of the revenue Ihat has come in, and which he knew would come in, it is more than aggravating to think of the petty haggling that had to be resorted tc with Ministers in order to get a few poundr. extra voted for important road and othei works. It is a Treasurer's business to cal eulate as correctly as possible, and It honestly tell the people, to whom he is re sponsible, how much he expects to receivi by way of reveiue, and what he intends lo do with it. And if lie has reason to believe that, under the existing taxation, the amount will be larger than he proposes tc expend i-l the year, then the proper thinj. lo do is to reduce lhe taxation. What di the Mayors of Boroughs und Chairmen o! County Councils do. in such matters '! What did Mr Hatrick do 'last year? Why, he said he found that, for the carrying on the work of the year, he was satisfied he couli do with one penny iv the pound less o lates, and the reduction was made accord ingly. It may have been that iv so doing he was cutting things too line; but when a Treasurer has reison to brieve that In will receiv half a million of money mon lhan he proposes to expend, why should hi not oifei to make some substantial reduction ill the rates- or taxes? Tlle fact v that reduction of taxes is not, nor is it likely to be, a, feature of the policy of the present Government. To them belongs, thi credit of having increased the CJustoim duties very largely, but nobody need delude themselves with the idea that the burdens of taxation are ever likely to be reduced while they remain ill power. JLcast uf all, are they likely to cut down the Customt duties. This is a form of taxation that best imposes upon the people. By it the people p.'y, and pay heavily, to the taxa tion of the country, and yet never know that they are paying anything at all. At was long ago said by William Pitt in tht House of Commons— a statement of which we are no\v reminded by the Progressivi Liberal Association of Christchurch — "T<. levy a direct tax of 7 per cent, is a danger cms experiment iv a free countiy, and maj excite revolt ; but there is a method bj which you can tax the last rag from th< back and the last bite from the moutl | without causing a murmur against higli taxes, and that is to tax a great munj articles of daily use and necessity so in directly that the people will pay them, am not know it. The grumbling then will be of hard times, but they will not know that the hard times arc caused by taxation." On this text ths Christchurch associatioi. referred to above, in a circular recently published under its authority, discourse? as follows :^"Suppojring the 6d duty on every 121 bof sugar, 4d on each lb of tea, 2s on each tin of kerosene, 2^d on eacl lib of rice, 2d nn each lb of raisins, uul tanas, and currants, Id on each packet oJ matches, id on each of cream of tartar, ld on each ilb of mustard, were charged separately, and the 3s 9d of duty on every such parcel collected from Ihe customer over the counter, how long would our people rest coiilc-nl!" Mr Seddon ha; managed to shirk these questions iv the past, but he \\ ill not be able to evade them in the future.