THE SINGLE-TAX

Waikato Times, Volume XLI, Issue 3345, 5 December 1893, Page 5

THE SINGLE-TAX

. ;, TO THE EDITOR, ', f y'.'V ! Sr«,—The splendid address mmtljdelivered br Mr Edward Withy at St, George's Hall, Auckland, on ' the 'subject of the Single-tax, will command the admiration of the opponents, as well as the 'supporters of thii method of taxation. As a fair Hand lucid exposition of the principles and workof the Single-tax, Mr. Withy's address is, perhaps, without parallel, particularly as he was able, as he went along* to add force to his arguments by reference to the. progress of events in this colony. It is, however, in the conspicuous'fairness with which Mr Withy candidly admits; the-difficulties in the way of the Sinjrie-tax, and the hardships which its imposition, at the present, must necessarily impose upon an important section of the community, that the chief value of his address stands out. This hardship, to put it briefly, is, that the whole of the selling value of land, irrespectiveof improvements, would by the operation of the Single-tax, gradually (18 years is the period given by Mr Withy) be taken from the present owners and absorbed by the State in the form of Government rent, or Singletax, which tax would not, cease to increase until it 1 had swallowed up, not'merely the increment which had accrued ,»ince the alienation of the land, but even the value originally placed upon and reooived for it by the State, , This is, the most important section ot Mr Withy's address, and it is here that he rises pre-eminently above other advocates of the Single-tax, since he makes' no concealment whatever of the fact that the Single-tax means an absolute, though gradual confiscation of the selling value of all land. Mr Withy places, some. weight upon a gradual—extending over 18 yearsas against an immediate confiscation ; but after ali, where's the difference? The process is slower, but equally sure; and it is not unreasonable to conclude; that when legislation is passed in this direction, the selling value of land w0u1d,.,, for practical purposes, disappear at once. Another point in Mr, Withy's address worthy of notice is (1) that he appears to take it for wanted that landowners have been obtaining very great advantages from the and possession of. land in this, ; colony; (2), that consequently, there would be no great injustice in now depossession them ot its selling value. But are these assumptions so very clear 1 in actual practice. It is easy to uuderstand that land within,.or in close proxiiriity to. Boroughs, and cities, 1 ' has risen immensely in value through the increase of population, and, if the unearned increment could be properly located, which owing to continual changes of ownership, I respectfully contend, it never can be, then there would be some principles of justice in the demand, on the part of the state, for a position of such increased value. But this disapears completely, when agricultural, and back country districts are reached. I am not aware that it has ever been shown; tuat the ownership of land in country, districts, conferred such immediate,' and ; substantial advantages, upon its possesses as to justify the confiscation, within 18 years; of the whole of its Belling, value to the State. Instances, of course may be quoted, where large profits have been made by holding blocks of land, 1 but, even here, only loss occurs until'the increased selling value is obtained, and such cases are by no means the rule. It must not be overlooked, also in considering the mater, that the Singletax; involves, not merely the taking of such increased selling value, but all, even to the original purchase money accepted by the State, as full payment for the land. The element of injustice which, I consider, is apparent throughout, is sufficient/to condemn the Single-tax in the sight of all who are, in any way, interested in land. Again, Mr Withy though an able jian, appearsf in his study of the Single-tax, in its applica* tiontoNew Zealand, to have overlooked the probable effect which such an altered system of land tenure and taxation, would have had upon the early progress of the colony. What facter has been so strong in inducing people lo come to New Zealand, and when here, 'to open up its back districts, as that of the prospect of obtaining cheap and freehold land. Does Mr Withy jmindeed, anyone else with a knowledge of /human nature, suppose that men, and .women'"'too, would isolate themselves by .taking up land in now districts, and, it must; OB remembered, that even Otahuhu, Papakura, and similar localities were, at one time, new and isolated district, braving discomf arts, , hardships, and in the early days,' real dangers, simply to build up a; valuable estate for the benefit of the colony at large, and in which they held, merely an occupiers interest, covering ncrjhing/beyond the improvements? Not exactly, In spite of a profound respect for Mr Withy, combined with a knowledge that, even now, our land and ; taxation laws are not by any means perfect. It is impossible to remove the feeling, that Mr Withy, like many other new comers, can see clearly enough the faults in pur political economy, and without possessing a, sufficient knowjedge of the'circumstances and necessities of future days, can apply their theories to fit in admirably on paper, but which would have been inapplicable in practice. Finally, in considering the different; forms of land tenure,,it is as well to regard theexperience gained in other and older countries.. Unless I am misinformed, the righest and most prosperous districts in France and Germany are those occupied in bpthe small farmers, who own their own freeholds, and where the greatest facilities obtaiu for the cheap, not speedy, tranference of land titles from one to another. There, 'if I understand it rightly, the object sought for ia—not to tie the land up, as in Great Britain, with all sorts of: borrowing and expensive restrictions, which tend to keep land monopoly in the hands of the rich, -bub to remoxe every obstacle in the way, and bring land into the same position as other property, by rendering its acquisition and sale among the poorer classes, and easy and every day occurrence. This would indicate that weVmust lo jk else-; where than to the v abolition' of freehold;; tenures, with individual ownership of the selling value, for a ablution)-of the: present;/ difficulty. I have space than I am entitled to,' and} will only add that the fate which has overtaken 1|& Withy and his former icojle||i|u^ cocke, at the late elections,-js a aomiwhafc clear proof,- that the tomper of the people; both in town and country, ia far, from indorsing : such crank injustice; to landowners of ,t|ie, colony, ( or, the'SingleTax.—lam, etc!,*.' : ,.,;..'.'« ..,*.. 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