FINANCE.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XVI, Issue 6, 1 June 1888, Page 17

FINANCE.

♦ HE Colonial Treasurer has made his Financial Statement, and the country now knows for certain the conrse Government intends to pursue. As had been anticipated, there is a large deficit in last year's revenue, and although reductions in expenditure to the amornt of £233,000 have been made, it will be necessary to impose additional taxation to the amount of £200,000. This

is serious. Additional taxation, in the face of a steadily falling revenue and a stampede of thousands of our most useful people, is anything but reassuring as to the prospects of New Zealand. There is to be — t^at is, Sir Harry Atkinson lias proposed — a large increabe in the Customs dues. Nor is this reassuring at a time when the piice of all our products is falling, and has been steadily falling for many years. Still, something must be done to get revenue. Enough of money to ca-ry on the government of the country must be provided. But, it is not creditable to the statesmanship of New Zealand that the country, with its enormous, indeed exceptional advantages, should be in this state, particularly after such an enormous expenditure on public and reproductive works. No doubt the country will recover, and come all right in the end ; but to secure a speedy recovery a new policy must be inaugurated. Indeed, though not designated Protective, the new arrangement as to the tariff is decidedly in the direction of Protection ; in fact, Protection is the policy of the present Government. What this will effect remains to be seen, and, judging from the experience of other nations, we Laust express our conviction that it is more likely to aggravate the miseries of the body politic than to relieve them. The one cure for the depression in New Zealand is a larger agricultural population ; more industry and less pleasure. But what prospect is there of an increased agricultural population, whilst multitudes of ablebodied men and women, each with more or less money in their pockets, are fleeing from the country ? In the presence

of a fact such as this, and it is a notorious fact, it seems little less than mockery for the Premier to talk of agriculturists with some capital coming to New Zealand. A statesman would rather look for a return of prosperity from keeping New Zealanders and their money in the Colony than from permitting them, or, rather, forcing them by mismanagement, to depart. The truth is, however, that there never has teen a real effort made by Parliament to settle the country, and we greatly doubt that such an effort will be made even now. What ! The Government looks idly on while thousands of our very best fellow-citizens are emigrating, bringing with them large sums of money, and then amuses Parliament, and throws dust into the eyes of the people, by a pretence that there is a desire to introduce agriculturists with capital. But nothing is done beyond the utterance of this platitude. Nothing is proposed calculated either to keep the people here, or induce others to come and profitably occupy our magnificent lands. Oh, it will be said, are we not going to have Protection, and won't that keep the people here by providing employment for them? Well, we shall see. There is an old saying, •' You had better catch your hare before you cook it." For years our ordinary revenue has been insufficient to meet ordinary expenditure, and we really do not see any prospect of a better state of things. On the contrary, our impression and fear is that things will become worse, because there is no real effort made to settle the people on the land. Is it any wonder that the railways do not pay, that business is dull, and employment scarce, whilst magnificent lands are lying waste or feeding rabbits and, where these do not prevail, a few sheep and cattle f Sufficient people are not in the country to give profitable employment to the railroads, and the artisans, and other inhabitants of the towns. And until this state of things is ameliorated, it is idle to expect a change for the better in New Zealand.