Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-05-24

ton to their means But the local author
ity is to be brought into every admins
t-ative county in the United Kingdom.
and every municipal borough and urban
district council with a population Of 20
90 and over is to be an authority for
distributing these old-age pensions.
But. said Mr.. Asquth. the reasury will
find the money. and as the local authority
will dstribute II. there is a necessity of
appointing treasury official for ch
pensiOned area. who shall see justice done
between the local authorities and the pen
sioners on the one hand and the treasury
on the other. If the pension off1cer. who
is to be an inland revenue officer. and
the local authority agree then the matter
is settled but II they do not agree the ap-
say the local government board.
The pensions will! not commence until
January l, 1909 and although the tot tai
will he something like f6.pN.O0D a year.
the prime minister did not expect that
more than f1.21O.O0O would be required for
this purpose III the first three months of
next year-which. Of course, will be the
last three months of the current financ al
year.
The prime ministers great boast was
that II he did this syaar what he expect ed
to do he will have brought the national
debt-the "dead-weight debt" as he called:
it-at the end o. the current financial year
down to the figure at which Mr.. GOschen
had brought II in the palmy days of 1850
In other words. the country would stand.
as far as Indebtedness was concerned in
the same pos ton it was before the war
No one dreamed that there would lie an.
remission OF indirect taxation in the
budget that laid the foundations OF old
age pensions. And hear on good author
ity that until quite recently Mr.. Asquith
was resolntely determined to apply the
sum that ne mas devoted to the remission
of hall the sugar tax to the nat .onal debt
But Mr.. Lloyd George finally won the
cabinet round to the proposal. which is
the beginning of f'older fina ncial policy
which will, in spite Of ola-age pensions
produce considerable reduction in in
direct taxation before the government
leaves office.
The Licensing Bill.
This is the doing of Lloyd George anu
Winston Churchill was the remark Of
an old parliamentary hand on the liberal
side. land 1t is good IN our eyes" The
labor members profess themselves dis
appointed at what they describe as the
totally inadequate amount that is to be
devoted to old-age pensions. They declare
that Mr. Asdnith could easily have raised
another ten millions by super tax on in
comes over 5000 pounds and by an in
crease in the death duties. At the same
time they know very we'll that the pro-
poeal to make an immediate beginning
with old-a pensions will increase the
nopuIarity of the government in the coun-
try.
am told that the proposal to tax mo-
tor cars and to put higher tax on
licenses is still before the cabinet The
cabinet has decided to wait and see what
the house of lords does with the licensing
hill before proceeding any further with
these proposals The tax on motor cars
was regarded as policy that would be
likely to irritate the peers without an
adenuate return to the revenue, and II
has been decided to wait until the tax
oou,d be introduced. with others | am
told that 1t will certainly be introduced
hits wear with other proposals. for WIDEN
ing the basis OF taxation.
Very little enthusiasm is being displayed
in Vienna over the visit OF the German
emperor and empress aud ten German
princes, who vent there TO offer their
conErat ulations to the venerable En-
neror Francis Joseph on attaining the
sixtieth year of his reign. AS matter
az fact the kaisers visit Is extremely
dist asteful to the Austrian court and aris-
tocracy, but. of course. common courtesy
forbids any open expression of such senti-
naents In private circles, however the
kaishr Is being severity criticised. some
neople declaring that he has never done
ANYTHING more tactiess in his whole
career than now. when he forces himself
and an attendant train of princes upon
his old neighbor and ally.
For in the first place. the emperor is
nearing his seventy-eighth birthday, and
is Increasingly anxious to avoid anv
greater strain upon his strength than is
absolutely necessary in connection with
the jubilee celebrations. From the o,,-
set II was publicly announced that his
ma jesty would not take any active part
in any OF the festivities. and did not wish
TO receive deputations or visitors Of any
kind, whether imperial or royal or other
wise 1t was even stated that the Aus
TRAN diplomats abroad had received in
structions to head of any proposed con-
rratulatory visits But nothing could stop
the kaiser. He insisted upon coming to
visit the emperor on his way back from
Corfu, and would listen to no sugges-
tons to the contrary. Ihen the visits