Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1906-08-11

tended trip through New Zealand,
and in all the time l was there l did
not see, in city, town or country, a
single person who did not have
enough to eat and wear, plenty OF
work at good pay and the will to do
1t. There are no beggars, there are
no tramps, there are practically no
unemployed, and there are no big
fortunes. There Is probably no one
in the islands whose wealth exceeds
million dollars, and those whose
possessions amount to that much are
very few. When the Liberal Govern
ment came into power fifteen years
ago the colony was in very bad
way. There were big landed estates
and absentee owners, so that most
of the wealth produced in the islands
went overseas. Consequently indus
try had come to standstill, and most
of the worklngmen had no work.
Those who could get enough money
together to pay their passage were
leaving by the shipload, and those
who could not were being cared for
by the Government in shelter sheds
and soup kitchens. Since those days
the created wealth of the colony has
increased by G122,O00,00O, and there
is no reason to suppose that II the
Government had not interfered with
the commercial laws of gravity
large part of that would not have
gone into the building up of big for
tunes and commercial bodies more
powerful than the Government.
One of the first things the Liberal
Government did was to inaugurate
the policy of the bursting up OF the
big landed estates. These have been
bought-compulso If the owners
were unwilling to sell-divided into
small holdings and leased to actual
settlers. In this way the Govern
ment has resumed over 100000
acres. The leasehold tenure for 99S
years of these lands, and also unim-
proved Crown lands, and nat rental
of four per cent. on the unimproved
valuation made it possible for any
man, no matter how poor, to estab-
lish himself on a farm. Then the
Government went into the business
of loaning money and advanced TO
thu settler al five per cent. interest
reducible to four and a half by
prompt payment, the money needed
to get himself started, and make his
improvements. The Government
Labor Department was run IN CO.
operation with this land policy, and
it made every effort to help the I'M
employed to get on the land. the
Secretary of the Labor Department
told me that he has put not less than
ten thousand men on the land VINO
otherwise could have done no better
than to drift along on the perilous
edge of day labor, to fall into dire
straits at the first calamity. This
policy has made them independent,
prosperous farmers, producers or
wealth for themselves and the col
ony.
For some years the long term lease
was the favorite form Of land tenure,
but there is now a strong and grow
hold, and it is probable that the Gov
eminent will soon grant the right OF
purchase to all leaseholders, but 1t Is
determined that this shall not result
in segregation Of land into large
holdings. Keeping the land as wide
ly distributed as possible among the
people is one of the means by whlch
it controls the distribution OF wealth.
There is already a restriction upon
the number of acres that may be &C
ouired by either lease or purchase
from the Crown. To forestall the
danger of the building up OF large
estates which will come with the eX-
tension of the freehold the Govern
ment proposes to limit the amount OF
land that can be held by one person.
by whatever title, or however ac-
ouired. The law, which the Govern
ment expects to enact at the heAt
session of Parliament, will not AFFECT
existing titles, but will make lnVallu
the title to any land in excess or
probably 5000 acres, which any one
person may attempt to acquire.
Most systems of taxation are de-
vised for the purpose of proVldlng
revenue, but 1t is characteristic OF
tho New Zealand idea of the func-
tions and purposes Of government
that the primary intention OF us
scheme of direct taxation Is to pro-
vide another means of combating the
tendency of wealth to flow where
wealth already is. There is no prop
erty tax, and there is no tax on I'M
provements. The land tax Is on the
gross salable value of the land less
the value of all improvements. III
addition to the ordinary land tax
there is a graduated land tax, when
beeins when the unimproved value
of the land is $685. 900. Between TINS
and $4,000 the rate Is one-elghIh
of a cent to the pound sterling anu
above that value The rate increases
by equal steps until it reaches six
cents to the pound, payable when the
value il a million dollars or more
Fifty per cent. additional tax Is lev
led upon absentee owners. Holdings
of small value are exempt from the
ordinary land tax, the exemption
amounting to $4,000 where the I'M
improved value does not exceed
$500, and gradually diminishing up
to the value of $12,5O0. This is in
accordance with the settled policy of
the Government to make 1t easJ for
the poor and difficult for the rich to
increase their possessions. The re-
suit of the exemptions and deduc-
tIons is that only one-fifth of the New
Zealand land owners pay a land tax;
but during the last ten years the
number of land Taxpayers has In
creased by ninety per cent.
The income tax is levied in con-
junction with the graduated land
tax, and is assessed on all income ex-
cept that derived from land or from
,ortgages on land. This is exempt,