SPECRAL ADVERTISEMENTS.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 2607, 15 September 1909, Page 4

SPECRAL ADVERTISEMENTS.

tory as a. political leader; fiut all his arts failed to disguise the appalling reality of the £20,000,000 additional taxation, and being unable to conciliate the various factions he was compelled to resign. Now the British Premier is being asked to solve a similar problem. Assailed on all hands for a largely increased naval vote, he ultimately acceded with reluctance to the request for “four more ships”, and for several months now' the House of Commons has been over the provisions Mr Asquith has outlined to provide tire additional revenue required. Elected as a leaxler of the Liberal party pledged to free trade, Mr Asquith lias been denied the convenient method i available in protectionist countries of increasing, duties and thus placing taxation on the people in such a form that, while- sensible of being injured, they can; scarcely determine where and when the- blow was struck. The task of collecting the taxation by direct imposition was an exceedingly difficult one,, and in seeking its accomplishment Mr Asquitli seems to have paid overmuch heed to the Socialistic members of his Cabinet.. Men ' like Winston ' Churchill and Lloyd-George appear to ; derive as much;satisfaction from tliebait- ! of landlords as does our own Mr ! A. W. Hogg, who figured for a brief period as the Dominion’s Minister of Labor. It is generally recognised that ; it. is due to their influence that a chief feature of Mr Asquith’s Budget proposals is a proposal to heavily tax all - land. There seems no doubt that in many parts of England there are wealthy landowners who, in the past, have succeeded in evading a reasonable share of the taxation of the country, but. this is no reason for establishing a policy whereby the owner of land is treated as though he were necessarily a robber and a thief. The wealthy should be taxed according to their wealth, not on the acreage of land they own. A man earning £IO,OOO a year should pay a certain amount in revenue whether- his emoluments come from land,, from shares, or from ordinary business, and it is in departing from this sound principle and creating a special burden for the landowner that the British Premier seems to have made a rod for his own back. He has naturally, given the landlords a strong weapon, for attack, whilst the House of Lords, who are rarely at harmony with a Liberal Cabinet, are likely to take full advantage of the position to discredit the Government. By means of the closure system Mr Asquith is getting his proposals, a bit at a time, through the popular chamber —albeit bis majority has frequently been reduced to a perilously small margin—but the greatest hurdle has still to be negotiated. It is rumored that although the House of Lords have by custom, if not by constitution, been denied tbe right to reject any money Bill sent forward by the Commons, it will refuse sauction to Mr Asquith’s Budget on the ground- that nob merely matters of finance, but important questions of national policy, are wrapped up iu the financial measure. Quite possibly such a rejection will involve an appeal to the* country. In such an event landowners and other large vested interests will undoubtedly be ranged on the side of the Opposition, but on the other hand the .socialists almost to a man are likely to stand in with Mr. Asquith for his proposals are considered in many quarters as merely the thin end of the wedge for the introduction of land nationalisation. Then again the fiscal issue will bulk largely, for the tariff reformers will strain every nerve to induce the electors to give them a chance -of proving how easy it is to raise revenue by commencing a tariff war with other countries. The political situation is both interesting and critical, and important happenings may be expected during the next few months.