IMPERIAL POLITICS.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 2580, 14 August 1909, Page 5

IMPERIAL POLITICS.

ALL-NIGHT IM THE COMMONS.

PERTINENT "OPPOSITION CRITI- „ ' CISM. 'United Bit lisa Association—Copyiiioiit. LONDON, August 12. . There was an all-night sitting of the House of Commons. Tlie House exempted London squares from the undeveloped land tax and increased the size of gardens exempted to five acres despite Radical opposition, by 156 votes to 29. Mr Lloyd-George closured 60 amendments in a single batch, including throe of his own concessions.-*'"

In the House of Commons Mr Austen Chamberlain, in his speech, added that the tax on ungotten minerals, which had now been abandoned, was the gem of Mr. Lloyd-Georgc’s collection, and £hat he defended it on the ground that it was necessary to enforce development. According to the present plan. an. owner not working his minerals was safe, but when he began to work "then the tax collector paid a visit. The Government was going to tax all coal and iron ore in the country, the raw materials of our great industries. It would also tax granite quarried here, while people would probably send to Norway for quanite, whereon no tax would be paid. Others speakers emphasised the disproportion in the cost of the collection of taxes to the probable yield.

Mr. H. C. Cox (Liberal member for Preston) favored the Budget as a but showed that when Ministerialists spoke in the provinces in support of these land taxes they explained that they had other objects than raising money to meet a deficit of £16,000,000. Mr Balfour declared that it was quite plain that they were not dealing with finance in this part of the Bill, but making provision for machinery for the social scheme of the more extreme sections of tho Government’s supporters.

-Air Asquith replied that these taxes would prove more productive hereafter, and assist future Governments in meeting the increased expenditure for which the country must be prepared.

DEBATE ON LAND TAXATION. PROTEST FROM A LIBERAL MEMBER. (Received August 13, 11 p.m.) LONDON, August 13. In the House of Commons, Mr. Balfour vainly inquired the reasons forth© Government’s change of front in regard to land taxes, particularly the substitution of a duty on mineral rents for a tax on ungotten minerals. Some Liberals objected to the abandonment of the latter tax being discussed when the reasons for the change could be better discussed when a resolution was proposed to enable the new clause to be moved.

Mr. J. C. Wedgwood (Liberal member for Newcastle-under-Tyne) insisted that the new proposal would penalise the working of minerals. The closure was applied, and clause 12, relating to ungotten minerals, was omitted by 172 to 15.

Clause 13, providing for the recovery of the undeveloped land duty, contracts to the contrary notwithstanding, led to a strenuous protest from Mr. E. Parkes (Liberal-Unionist member for Central 'Birmingham) on the ground that it was overriding existing contracts, and that tenants would be unable'to obtain long leases. This would bo against the interests of. thousands -of small people wishing to hold land. The Solicitor-General declared that the Government’s view was that every property tax ought to he borne by the landlord.