The Dunstan Times. FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 1868

Dunstan Times, Issue 335, 25 September 1868, Page 2

The Dunstan Times.

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 1868

Beneath the Rule of Men entirely j cst the pen is mightier than hcswOßD.

The motion brought forward annually in the General Assembly for the reduction or abolition of the Gold Export duty has again been lost, though only by the narrow majority of two votes. The object however seems gradually growing year by year nearer of attainment; every session the majority against, becomes less and less, and we may with some show of reason at the next meeting of Parliament I?ok forward to tho extinction of this

obnoxious and iniqitous tax Upon labor. Mr. Haughton, member for Hampden, and Mr. Charles O'Neil, member for Goldfields, deserve th e thanks of the mining community for the pertinacity with which they press ed the subject, the latter gentleman appeara to have come quite out of his shell upon this occasion, and in seconding Mr. Hanghton's motion followed it up with a really very able speech, exactly suited to the purpose. That a tax should be imposed upon the most important industry we possess, is a disgrace to New Zealand. The export duty upon gold has been abolished in Victoria as an iniqitous procedings of the dark ages, and people there wonder now that such a short sighted policy should ever have existed, as to impose such a tax. We hare oftentimes heard it urged in retaliation, that there should be an export duty upon wool of one penny per pound, this would certainly be no greater injustice than the present tax upon gold, but both are equally impolitic, and the perpetration of two " wrongs " cannot make one " right. „ An export duty of one penny a pound upon wool would certainly add considerably to the revenue, but it would make a serious reduction iu the re. turns of the station-owners, and station property would suffer a diminution in value proportionate to the lessened value of the fleecy product, and the country necessarily become so much the poorer. It is precisely the same with gold mining, the export duty of half a crown per ounce, amonnts virtually to a reduction in wages to the tune of seven pence in the pound, consequently mining property is proportionately lessened in value, its returns not being within three per cent of what tlicy should be, eveiy'twenty shillings worth of produce being intrinsically only worth nineteen shillings and five penca. If the same import was levied upon the. farme or manufacturer, and it might with equal justice be so, there would be a great outcry against it, and a total collapso of all industrial pursuits prognosticated. To go further, we

will imagine what would be the case, supposing that in England, the Government were io select one particular branch of labour, and levy a tax of seven pence in the pound upon their earnings, such would not be borne, other interests would take up their cause and insist upon the removal of the unequal imposition. We question very much if mining for gold is to individuals, proportionately as profitable as other callings, if we take the gross yield of gold, and compare it with the number of men employed in its getting, the average will amount to only about half an ounce per man a week, which is a lmieh less i-ate of remuneration, than is earned by other branches of labor, and when we consider, that in numerous instances individual gains amount to between six and ten times this average, it becomes very clear that somebody must go short and be pretty hard pressed to preserve an existence. The miners, as a body pay much higher rates for consumable articles than any other section of the community, the cost being considerably augmented in conveying them to the place of consumption, which is generally difficult of access, and far removed from the seaboard. With miners, the consumption of dutiable articles is far above the common average so that in reality without special taxation, they contribute a much larger share to the revenue than other people. As to the benefits conferred upon the country by the presence of the gold miner, they are too well known to need comment here; the source from which all wealth has sprung being thoroughly understood by all. We tru t that at the next Session of Parliament, Members representing other interests will view the matter of the Export Duty upon gold dispassionately and without prejudice, and assist to relieve one particular branch of industry from a very griovous and unjust burthen. In tho earlier days of gold mining, when it was an industry now to most of us, there might have existed some necessity for special lojis'ation, eonse-

quently it was not out of* place to make the new industry recoup the

country for any outlay incurred solely upon its account, and even then the imposition of the license fee to mine for gold—subsequently merged into what is known as a f' miner's right' should have sufficed. The case is considerably altered now, gold mining has become one of our most va liable industries, -confering actually more benefits -upon those not engagad, than those engaged in its pursuit. It is as well understood as quarrying stone or felling timber, and beyond a small tax which the state might levy for the occupation and u«e of Crown Lnd«, the miner has no more right to be specially taxed than the " man in the moon." It is no argument that a special staff of officials is necessary to govern the gold miner, he can look after his own interests in precisely the same fashion as other people, nor is he any more litigious. By means of local boards he could make rules and regulations to govern himself, and the penalties for non-ob-servance could be enforced in a Magsistrate's Court with the same case as tiues for the neglect of Bye Laws of Municipal and other bodies having legislative functions. The system of Goldfields' Wardens is fast felling into disuse in Victoria, its total abolition 'u not far distant, and precisely the sams would equally well apply here. The extra cost to the country of governing the Goldfields is nothing more than a "bugbear" intended to frighten some and preserve the means ofpatroiur; - ; to others The reductions lately made in the GoM 'elds staff have in no way interfered with the dispensation of justice, nor has business been interrupted, in fact, the management of affairs has been considerably improved, the system having become more defined and j comprehensive, and we ere very much | of opinion that still further reductions , might with equal good eil'ect be made. : There is therefore no necessity for the continuance of any export duty on

gold, on account of an extra special expenditure incurred on behalf of the, gold miner who, besides being rc.oro order loving, exceed considerably in intelligence any other class of tho community living by the labor of their hands Wo hope with tho assistance of all l.beral minded mem-

bers to see the abolition of the Export Duty upon gold carried during the next session of tho Parliament of New Zealand.

The removal of Mr. Harvey, the Clerk of the Resident Magistrate's, Warden's, and District Courts from Clyde to Cromwell, T\i!l place Mr. Warden Pyke in a somewhat awkward position; the absurdity of a gentleman fulfilling the responsible position occupied by Mr. Pyke being without the assistance of a Clerk is somethiug preposterous, let alone the inconvenience to the public that must necessarily arise from the want of clerical assistance at the chief centre of official business in the district. Where the head quarters of the Warden are there should certainly be stationed a Clerk, nor can we see how that MrPyke can manage, his business without one. We have oftentimes heard a gieat deal about the division of labor but it appears to us that the Proving cial Government, composed as it is of imbicile old women, have hit upon an infinitessimal division of the labors of their servants in this district that they must cease to be useful. In all well governed countries or even in large businesses a basis of operation is generally considered of first importance as indespensibly necessary to success but our Provincial authorities seem to ignore all established rules and seemingly delight in making confusion worse confounded. It is very seldom that we comment upon the doings of departments, but the present is such a glaring pieco of mis-management that we should be neglecting our duty to the public unless we did so. If a gentleman is placed in a district as its Warden and Resident Magistrate, let him have that clerical assistance his

office require, l ?, and so preserve its respectability, but tf such is not wortli preserving, why, abolish the office

altogether, if Mr. Pyke has no' need of a Clerk, there can be no other conclusion drawn than that there is no needier Mr. Pyke,

The Escort on Monday last took down the following quantities of gold:" Cromwell 4790z. Odwt. Dunstan,. ... 7850z. 7dwt. Alexandra ... 8470z. 13dwt . Blacks 3020z. Odwt, Dunstan Creek... 5620z. 2dwt. Mount Ida ...1093 oz. Odwt. Queenstown ... 6770z. sd\vt. Ax'rowtown ... 444 oz. Odwt. - ■,. Total §IOO oz 7dwt, . Wo have been requested -to.; intimate to subscribers to the Clyde Public Library, that a large parcel of books, comprising Works on'Svicnce, Mechanics, and Literature, also the. works of our most popular authors have just been received and are ready for distribution, and to state the Library is open every Tuesday and Saturday evonings, from 7 to 10 p. mThe available reading matter in ■ the Clyde Library is most admirably chosen, a better selection of books coull not possibly have .1 een made, as there are books for the frivolous to wile away the weary hour, and books for the student to enrich and improve his mind; there are also the whole of the leading Journals of New Zealand and Victoria, together with the best selections of English Magazines

From the minutes of a meeting of the Presbytery held at Lawrence on the IGth inst as pubishscl in the Tua puka Tim's we extract the following items ia connection with thii District. On the report of Dr. Copland, for the committee appointed, the Alexandra and Clyde congregations manse was certified for the usual grant. Dr. Cop laud laid on the table a memorial from the inhabitant-* of Cromwell which had arrived too late for last meeting, praying the Presbytery to appoint a probationer to their District for three months, and offering to guarantee a salary of Fifty pounds for that time Mr Ross stated he had received a communication from the Secretary of

the local committee, stating that subscriptions to the amount of nearly three hundred pounds per annum had been guaranteed. Dr. Copland commented on the iceessity of a- preach ing station in so populous and prosperous a district, and moved :—" That the Presbytery express their'gratification at receiving this request, declare the Cromwell district a preaching station in connection with this Preshy tery and appoint the Rev. Mr. Ross of Alexandra and Clyde to take the ministerial oversight of it.

We have received the first copy of the new Dunedin journal, the Vtago Dai!;/ Mai!. It is published by Mr. Joseph Mackay, and is the Otago Evening Mail in a new form. Tho paper is wall printed and coutains a fair amount of generally readable matter. A second daily paper in Dunedin was doubtless much needed, and we trust that our new contemporary's cause will be a prosperous one.

Another curious insolvency case is reported in the Argus of the 15 ult.:— " James Anderson, of Brighton, late a squatter, row out of business. Cause of insolvency. From having made an assignment in December, lSdo", of all his real and personal estate, in trust for the benefit of all his creditors, but which deed he had been unablo to get signed; also, from depreciation in the value of squatting property, and heavy losses through a drought; further, from long-continued illness. Liabilities 200,061/. ss. sid;assots, B£.;defic"ency 200,053/. ss. 5J,d. Mr. Courtney, official assignee." By request wo draw the attention of capitalists and into ding settlers to the sale by Auction, at Wai Keri Keri Valley on Wednesday next, the 30th instant, by Messrs Copo and Facho of Mr. Kenny's valuable farm, horses, implements &c. Also to their sale at Cromwell, on Saturday, October g, of Horses, Dairy (ows, <fcc., tho property of Mr. W. J. Barry, who is leaving tho district.

The Canterbury people appear in real earnest in the matter of the now celebrated 10/. clause. Nothing daunted by the adverse expression of opinion given by the select committee of the Uouse of Representatives, to whom the first petition for the repeal of the 10/. clause was referred, a second petition has been circulated, and is being extensively signed.

. The Thames correspondent 'of the Nelson Colonist .says:—" It is not my intention to deny the'richness of this goldfield, but I think it is not a field for diggers without great means; it is worse than a lottery, because the chances are less and the_outlay greater. Only a veiy few can make a fortune, but a great many will lose one. The Thames Goldfields have been worked now for twelve months, and if you deduct Hunt and the Manukau claims' gold from Auckland's export during this time, you soon find out the share of the remaining 6,000 diggers on the ground; There is hope that alluvial diggings will break out on the Uppcjw Thames, but unless this takes place a very short time, Auckland Goldfields must undergo a cricis, and the present share-broking swind e must give way to legitimate mining. The Thames is nothing more or less than a repetition of Corbmandel, perhtps with more dazzling result"— in fact, a large plum pudding with very few plums.-.-.■ •