The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-11-01
Socialism Which Has Grown in England is At lacked from Pulpits

cheeFfully make the necessary eacri- fees.
 The local authorities in London per- sist in their determination to raise the funds to feed necessitous school children In the coming winter by vol- untary means, instead of through the machinery provided by the two-year. old legislation of the Labor Party. Nearly $150.000 will be required. which is about $50,000 more than last year, when of course the amount of unem. pioyment was less, and the pinch of poverty was not felt so soon. But even in London si50,000 cannot be raised by magic. It will take a lot of getting" and so the Lord Mayor has put him. helf at the head of the movement. A meeting has been called, to be held In the Mansion House shortly. when rep resentatives will attend from the County Council which led the way twelve months ago in the policy of refusing to burden the rates with the provision of meals, from the Borough Councils, and from all the agencies which have given voluntary assist ance in the schools in the past. Lit tie doubt is felt as.to the success of
 the appeal which will be sent out from the conference.
 The English Income.
 The beauties of the income tax are now being exempllfed in London. The Tncome-tax Commissioners are apply ing the screw to many city firms. with the result that the next budget VIII benefit greatly from increased taxes and heavy amounts paid as arrears. The close scrutiny which the commits sioners are conducting into various businesses has caused q great deal or | irritation; but there is little outspoken complaint, in consequence ot the great powers vested in the commissioners and the undeniable fact rhat In many cases the scrutinies made have dis closed considerable estimates or profits in previous years. The closer inquiry---whieh has now bocome so dl- rect and intimate that the authorities are demanding balance sheets--really began at the time of the Boer war. It has shown that very large num- Der of firms have been underpaylns.
 'aThe greatest hardship in the mat fer fla the demand for balance sheets, in addition to trading and profit and loss accounts" said the secretary of the Income-tax Adjustment Agency Limit cd. this week. Everybody objects to producing a balance sheet. because 1t lays bare ones financial position. A firm is not legally compelled to produce either balance sheet. trading, or proft and loss account. but the alternative to refusing compliance with the de- mand is generally assessment on much greater profits than are actually made. Many firms are being asked to pay ar- rears this year. I know of one case In the city in which the arrears alone amount to s3,950, and of many other instances of arrears varying from $50 to S3,75O. There is general impres- sion that arrears can only be claimed for three years, but the authorities have such great powers that they can obtain, under threats, arrears for practically any number of years they think proper"
 Labor Leaders win Wait.
 Leaders of the Labor Party are be- ginning to admit that they do not ex- pect Parliament to pass any compre- hensive unemployment legislation du- ring the present session.
 we are content to walt" says Ram say Macdonald. for the promised social reform session of next year. With the exception of the Old-Age Pension Act all the measures of the year have now to go through the ordeal of1faaing: the House of Lords. ssH-st
 BilI the Education Bill. and various other Ministerial treasures are now about to arrive at the beautiful brass gates over which there. might well be blazoned a solemn warning to bad young bills in a hurry: Abandon hope, all ye who enter here."
 There are three things their Lord- ships do. They often pass good bills; they often kill bad ones; sometimes they pass a bad bill. They have passed great Liberal measures with which they did not altogether agree when they have seen with their far-reaching gaze that the bill was likely to be so large ly imperative as to do nobody any very great harm. It looks as though the Liberal governments most cher ished darling, the great" English Land Btll, known as the small holdings act of 1907, was allowed by Lord Lans- downs to survive the Gilded Chamber for this season. Thus the Parlia- mentary weeks which lie between now and Christmas are likely to De full of drama. Perhaps a little farce. a touch or two of comedy. and ever so much tragedy.
 Princess Wiasemslxf, a cousin of the Czar of Russia, yesterday went into occupation of Reigate Priory. which she has rented from Lady l-enry Som- erset for a short season.
 The Princess's two sons, Prince Serge Bolatoff and Prince George Bola- toff. are ardent students of aerial nav igation. and in contemplation of exDerl- ments in the park with an aeroplane designed by Prince Serge Bolatoff. all the fences around the grounds have been considerably heightened. SO as TO obstruct the view of the too inuuisit- i've public.