when he found that the promises were not likely to be fulfilled, he quickly resigned, and went back to the Liberal Party.
The Government sat insecurely on the benches, wavering between a minority of six and a majority of one. Ministers hardly dared to bluntly refuse a demand for a railway line, a bridge, or any small work, in case they should alienate support. One day each Auckland member received a telegram from his constituents advising him to sell himself to those who made the highest bid in the shape of public works. The telegrams were inspired from Wellington; but the Auckland members were all Greyites, and they declared indignantly that they would never budge from their allegiance to their party. Just as the division was impending, however, four of them agreed to desert their party and throw in their lot with the Conservative Ministry. They did this for the sake of what they could get for their districts. Sir John Hall, on his part, agreed to use the working majority their action gave him to pass several measures to which they were pledged. There was hot indignation in the Liberal Party, and no member condemned the renegades with more scorn than Mr. Seddon.
The Financial Statement was watched for eagerly. When it was placed before the House, it disclosed the fact that Sir Harry Atkinson, the Colonial Treasurer, anticipated a deficit at the end of the year of £550,000. To meet the position and to bring the finances up to a higher level, he advised the imposition of a property tax and the repeal of the income tax. He announced that, after careful consideration, he had come to the conclusion that Sir George Grey’s income tax was not applicable to the colony’s circumstances. He also asked that Parliament should allow the land tax to be merged into the new property tax, placing land in the same category as other property, and making it equally liable to general taxation, but not especially so. This was a polite demand for the total abolition of Sir George Grey’s land tax. Sir Harry frankly admitted that that tax had been imposed for revenue purposes, to check the growth of landed estates, and to prevent land being held for speculative purposes. He endeavoured to justify its abolition by stating that there were
