THE TARIFF.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XIII, Issue 10, 26 June 1885, Page 15

THE TARIFF.

§HE tariff proposed by Sir Julius Vookl has, it , appears, given universal dissatisfaction. Why ? Is it because additional taxation is not pleasant, or because the Treasury does not stand in need • of money ? The ostensible reason, so far as Freetraders are concerned is because they say it is a Protection tariff. Others object to it on other grounds, but it appears to us that the real reason is because it imposes additional taxation. Our reading of the general public mind is, that the Government should provide all sorts of luxuries in the way of Government education, loans, etc., without calling on the" people to make any great effort to pay for all these things. But it is quite evident to common sense that the country cannot continue to borrow from one to two millions a year, and spend in an increasing ratio between five and six hundred thousand a year on godless education without an annual additional taxation. In a country having only about half a million of people and iuto which the Government has ceased to pour a strong stream of

immigration, it is idle to look for any great increase of the ordinary revenue. To meet, therefore, the ever increasing demands for education additional taxation is inevitable ; and yet when this is proposed there is an universal howl of disapprobation. We have, of course, no means of judging, other than that afforded by the Press, and if this is to be believed the proposals of Sir Julius Vogel for an increase of revenue are universally reprobated. Now there are only two ways in which revenue can be raised ; one is direct taxation of property, the other is by means of customs nnd excise duties. Sir Julius seems to have adopted to some extent both ways and this would seem to be fair. But, nevertheless, the people are dissatisfied. What would they have ? No additional taxation. But this cannot ;be. The public creditor must be paid, and the expenditure in the country authorised by Parliament must be met. And this can he done only hy taxation or retrenchment. There is, however, only one retrenchment that could do away with the necessity of additional taxation, and that is the retrenchment that would put an end to free, godless education, and the people it seems will not have this. But there is an old and very true saying, people caimot have their pudding and eat it. If, however, people who are able to pay for the education of their children were compelled to do so, Sir Julius Vogel could at once withdraw his unpopular tariff and go on borrowing with an easy mind. The half-million now spent on education would enable him to borrow ten millions sterling and send the country spinning along on the road of prosperity And why should not people able to pay for the education of their children be compelled to do so ? But it may be said, were the Government to withdraw the annual allocation for schools, these would ceaee to exist. We cannot see this. Parents are under a stringent obligation to educate their children, and it is no hardship to compel them to pay for doing so. A gain, it may be said that the mass of the people have not the means to pay for the education of their children. Is this true? How can any man say this in the face of the fact that the poorest and least numerous section of the community, in point of fact, provide at its own sole expense, an excellent and a Christian education for its own children. See all the admirable schools they have in every part of the Colony. See the noble college they have erected and opened in Wellington. They buy their own sites, build their own schools, support their own teachers, have nearly ten thousand children in their schools, and yet they do not receive any aid from public funds, but they are obliged, ia addition to the voluntary expenditure, to meet with the most determined opposition on the part of Government and their fellow-citizens, and to pay smartly for the free and godless education of other people's children. Ko, it is not the want of means, but the want of will, the want of a real desire of education for its own sake, that prevents other people to make the sacrifices that Catholics make in the great cause of education. It is simply monstrous that the cost of public education should be thrown on the consolidated revenue, that all should be compelled to pay for that which it is the duty of parents to provide. If people are not prepared to bear the burdens of the matrimonial state they should not embrace it, and it is sheer injustice to compel the entire community to provide means of education in such a way that parents are liberated from their primary and most pressing obligations. As well might the community at large be called upon to provide for the physical wants of children — to supply them with food, clothing, etc., etc. What is our present system but a premium on neglect of duty ? What is it but a punishment inflicted on all who, like true Christians, deserving citizens, and brave people, do their duty to their children ? Here, then, in our own godless system of education, which costs the country about half a million annually, is to be found the one great cause of our financial embarrassment, and the reason why Sir Julius Vogel is at his wits' end to discover some way of raising sufficient revenue to enable him to meet the public creditor, and pay, his way. But let all be compelled to educate their own children, and pay what is necessary for this purpose, or let the support of schools be removed from the consolidated revenue and thrown on a local school rate, in the expenditure of which all shall share pro rata, and all difficulty will cease. The tariff question will be at an end, and the school question will be settled to the great comfort of all, and the triumph of justice. But so long as the State perseveres in providing, out of the consolidated revenue, free and godless -education for a portion of the community as at present, so long must there be financial

embarrassment for the Government, and dissatisfaction amongst the • people. Is it likely Parliament will take oar advice? Not yet awhile, bat the day is not far distant when it ■will be compelled to do so. The utmost limit of taxation, for general purposes has been reached, or nearly so, and what then remains but. to let parents do themselves that which by the law of nature, and the law of Christianity, they are obliged to do — viz., provide education for their children, as they would food and clothing.

A concert will be given at the Princes 3 Theatre Dnnedin earlynext month in aid of the Cathedral building Fand. The pupils of the Dominican Convent High. School will be assisted on the occasion by Mr. Leech's string band whose performances at the former concerts were so much admired. We need hardly recommend the object to our readers, who are already anxious to do all that lies in their power towards aiding in the completion of tho new building, and we have no doubt but that they will make a spirited effort to ensnre the success of the present undertaking.

We omitted to state last week in reference to Mr. Maskell's letter that the paragraph in our note speaking of the ostracism of Catholica in former times was a quotation from the London Tablet The inverted commas at the beginning had been accidentally left oat.

WE have occasionally been taken to task by well-meaning peopl who accused us of undue bitterness in dealing with Englishmen and their affairs. Our answer to such persons has been and still is that they look to one side of a question only and, whether they see alone the Anglo-Saxon right of detraction and abuse without return, or are ignorant of English methods in this matter, that they expect from us a suffering part which no publicist is called upon to play, or can play without betraying the interests it is his duty to defend and advocate. We deny that we have ever been'guilty of using the gross and gratuitously insulting language towards Englishmen or English affairs that the English Press iv all .its ramifications considers itself justified in using habitually towards Irish men and matters. Take, for example, the following, which we find quoted by our contemporary the Dunedin Evening Star from the American correspondent of the Melbourne Argus, who believes that '• a new blow has been struck at the supremacy of the Irish element in the United States," because a certain Mr. Keiley, whom he calls a bigoted Catholic, having been discovered to have delivered a speech denouncing the despoiling of the Pope's temporal power some years ago, has been prevented by President Cleveland from going as ambassador to the Quirinal :— " The Irish Press and the lower organs of the Democratic party," says this correspondent, " callad on the President to insist that Italy should take Mr. Keiley or no one ; but the President very properly refused to offend a friendly Government unnecessarily ; and Mr . Keiley having ' declined ' the Italian mission has been appointed to Vienna, to the great disgust of the Irishmen and to the satisfaction of decent people." We may pass over the nonsense of representing Mr. Keiley^as having suffered any loss that could have weakened the influence of his supporters in being appointed to Vienna rather than to Rome — the change being, in fact, a promotion. But let us mark for the benefit of those well-meaning people who find fault with the Tablet, the uncalled-for and wanton insult of contrasting " the I Irishmen " with •' decent people." And such conduct we find every day repeated in the English Press wherever it appears. We protest that, for our own part, we should consider so unprovoked an insult a disgrace to as. We should never think of stigmatising the English members of any community — without some very grave and glaring cause — as wanting in decency. We should not accuse the cones, pondents or staff of the Argus of anything of the kind. Nay, we should not even deny that there may be a decent body or two connected with the establishment of the Eoening Star himself, although perhaps it might be too much to affirm that the individual, whoever he may be, caa be so who makes it a practice to publish offensive and insulting paragraphs— of no particular meaning otherwise, and concerning a people who in no way interfere with him, and most probably have never injured either him or his forbears. If, then, those well-meaning people who find. fault with us will pay a little attention to English publications, they will see that our most severe remarks are more than deserved and invariably provoked.

The half-yearly meeting of the Notown Branch of the I.N.L. was held after Mass on Sunday, the 31st Hslj. The President, Mr. J. Flynu, who occupied the chair, said the object of the meeting was to receive the Treasurer's statement of receipts and expenditure and to elect officer for the next half-year. The Treasurer produced the deposit-book, which showed that the sum of eighteen pounds odd bad been placed iv the P.O. Savings Bank, Greymouth, to the credit of the Branch, and stated that he believed this amount would be largely increased "in the course of a few weeks. The k present officers— namely, Messrs: Flynn, President ; J. Keilly,— vice-president ; M. Malone, Hon. Treas.; ami J. Kerrigan, Hon. Sec— were unanimously re-elected for the ensuing. term. Messrs. .Patrick Lally, and Jamas ,-P'Connor were appointed collectors,