Wellington Independent "NOTHING EXTENUATE; NOR SET DOWN AUGHT IN MALICE." SATURDAY, 7th SEPTEMBER, 1867.

Wellington Independent, Volume XXII, Issue 2568, 7 September 1867, Page 4

Wellington Independent "NOTHING EXTENUATE; NOR SET DOWN AUGHT IN MALICE." SATURDAY, 7th SEPTEMBER, 1867.

The cry for Financial Eeforra which has more than once been raised by thia journal on behalf of an over taxed people is now echoed from Nelson. The financial statement has been received in that Province with the utmost dissatisfaction, and now we learn by a special telegram, that a large and enthusiastic meeting has been hold to protest against its proposals. The resolutions adopted atthe meeting embody the conclusions at which every man would arrive who has carefully considered the financial position of the Colony, and the proposals of the G-overnment by which it is ruled. It is natural that the tax paying colonists of Nelson should look with alarm upon any proposal to increase the public debt of the Colony and it is a logical sequence of this opinion that they should demand a reduction, both in expenditure and taxation, so that if the yield of its goldfields decreases, the Colony may be prepared for the adverse change. It is a healbhy sign of the times that a Financial Reform Association is being formed. Such an organisation baa long been urgently needed in a country which is strangled by red tape, overrun by officialism, and crushed by excessive taxation. The Government and the Parliament alike need to be vigilantly watched in their dealings with the public revenue, by such an organisation as this society will create. The Press can do much, but it cannot do all. The efforts of a few earnest men directed to the special object of Financial Reform will be of the greatest benefit to the country. Every Province will contain a branch of the Association — all working on the platform and through the Press — for a purpose in common. Our warmest wishes are given for the earnest prosecution of this movement and our most strenuous efforts shall be devoted to ensure the attainment of the objects for which it has been originated.