MR. T. L. SHEPHERD ON THE GOLD DUTY.

Dunstan Times, Issue 496, 20 October 1871, Page 5 (Supplement)

MR. T. L. SHEPHERD ON THE GOLD DUTY.

(From “Hansard.”) The adjourned debate upon ihe question, “ That, in the opinion of this House, the duty on gold should be reduced to one shilling on each standard ounce, was resumed on the 13th ult. Mr. T. L. Shepherd said he could not allow a question of such great importance affecting the colony of New Zealand to pass without expressing his views upon it, especially as he had had the honor of representing the gold-fields of Otago for five years in another Assembly. He was aware that, in undertaking the task of endeavoring to obtain an abolition of the gold duty, he was attempting one of very great difficulty. He had to contend with the selfishness of Provincial Gove.mimnts. which, as honorable gentlemen must be aware, was of a very intense description iu reference to matters of revenue. The present motion was not a new one in that House. It had been brought forward for many years, and he believed that, on one occasion, it was only lost by four or five votes It was quite true that the various provinces of Nc>' Zealand were in a somewhat different position in reference to the question of the gold duty. He was well that the province of Auckland depended, in a great measure, for its revenue upon it. He also knew that such was the case in the county of Westland,and to some extent in Otago and JS elsou also. Three or four years ago, the Provincial Council of Otago passed resolutions during two Sessions for the abolition of the duty at the rate of sixpence an o nice per annum, but they were thrown out on amotion for their adoption in the Assembly. During the last Session of the Provincial Council of Otago, held in wunedin, and in a new Council, a resolution in favor of the abolition of the duty was carried by a large majority. He had heard an honorable memuer state in the House that he represented the opinions of a large number of Roman Catholics, and he at the same time appealed to the justice and generosity of the Assembly to give that class of the community fair play. In that sentiment he entirely agreed, and he thought the miners had a perfect right to demand justice and fair play at the hands of the House, especially when it was remembered that they represented a population of not less than fifty thousand people. He thought that the united demand of fifty thousand people of the colony should meet with fair and equitable consideration. There might be differences of opinion on the part of the people as to schools, and whether there should be high schools or not; but there was no difference of opinion among the miners of the colony as to the repeal of the gold duty. He believed there was an honorable member repi esenting a gold-fields constituency in the House who said he would oppose the repeal ol the duty. He would like to know if that honorable gentleman had laid his views heloro his constituents, and told them that he was opposed to the repealot theduty. When that honorable gentleman addressed the House, he trusted he would make himself quite clear on that point. He (Mr. Shepherd) had travelled from the north to the south of New Zealand, and he hail lived among miners for many years. He had been at the Thames, on the West Coast, and had lived in Otago for years, and he never knew a miner who said he did not require the re eal of the gold duty, and who did not consider it an unfair tax upon his labor. He thought when honorable members considered what the miners had done for the country when they remembered that they had preserved it from bankruptcy, and had provide I it with the means to carry on a difficult war with the natives for many years—they would see that the time had come wh°n they should concede a small measure of justice to them. He had heard various reasons given why the duty should he maintained. Some said it was a very fair tax, became, unless the miners obtained the gold, they won d not be charged any duty. Now, supposing that same argument was applied to runholders and farmers--that thev were told unless they got wool and wheat they would not pay export duty—would any one be bold enough to come forward with a proposal to tax those articles for such a reason 1 The miner was in the same position with regard to the export duty on gold as the farmer and squatter would be if export duties were imposed on wool and grain They could remember when the gold duty was imposed. It was imposed at a time when the country was unaccustomed to gold mining, and when New Zealand was a purely agricultural and sheep-farming country. The Legislature, having the example of Victoria, and knowing the great expense that would he incurred by the opening up of the country for roads and bridges, and for the maintenance of a staff upon the g 1 Ifields, found it necessary to raise a revenue to meet the necessary expenditure, and they imposed the duty on gold. He had no hesitation in saying that, at the opening of the gold-fields, it was a fair duty to impose, and the miners had submitted to it patiently and cheerfully, especially when in those days thev obtained great yields of gold. The state of things at the pro-

sent time was entirely different; the rich yields had passed away, and the special circumstances no longer existed that, at Jthe time referred to, justified the imposition of the duty. He would say that, having followed the example of "Victoria in the imposition of the gold duty, why should they not follow the example of that j colony in its repeal 1 In Victoria the duty had been reduced at the rate of sixpence per ounce per annum, and" had been abolished for many years. Mot only had they abolished die duty in Victoria, but they had reduced the cost of miners’ rights to five shilling-. He trusted the U ouse would not refuse to follow such an example, especially when they remembered that it was a very urgent necessity to the existence and prosperity of go d-nrin-ing. They had heard a gi eat deal of late about encouraging native industries and colonial manufactures—among others of the distillation of whisky and other spirits, and they had heaid from the Colonial Treasurer, on the previous night, that the manufacture of spirits in the colony had caused a loss to the revenue of 25,0007. That was the result of the colonial production and consumption of fortythree thousand bushels of grain for distillation purposes. They had heard of the necessity of establishing woolen manufactures, Ity giving bonuses ; but the gold-fields produced an article that commanded a market throughout the world. When they remembered that the produce of that industiy supported at the present time, directly or indirectly, one-third of the population of New Zealand, be thought they would be pursuing a fatal policy by continuing to impose a duty on that product and upon the labor of the miner. They must rem mber that the tax was not upon the profits, but upon the cost of production. There were large areas of ground that could not be worked by companies iu consequence of the imposition of such a lieaw gold duty, and capitalists would not embark their capital and work ground that otherwise could be worked at a profit. Then he would ask : What has the miner done in opening up the country for settlement 1 What had they done in Otago, with which he was best acquainted? Had they not, by their gold revenue, paid for the making and maintenance of great trunk roads, which were of great advantage to innholders and agriculturists in common with, themselves? Had they not been the means of placing men upon the soil, who were now farming it, and adding to the prosper ity of the pr ovince ? Were the miners for ever to be taxed and ground down because they were in a minority, and because the majority had a selfish interest in maintaining fire tax, and because a large annual revenue flowed from their labor into the provincial chests? He trusted that honoable members in that House who were not connected with goldfields would not use their majority in a cowardly manner. It might be said by the county of Westland and the province of Auckland that it was true Otago might dispense with the gold duty; but for those places tire state of their finance would not permit it. Ho desired to express his opinion that, il increased taxation is necessary, it should be raised on the whole community—that the taxation should be based ou something that would affect the people throughout the colony, and should not select one particular class from whom to raise revenue He did not wish to quote authors on political economy, but it must be patent to every honorable member that it was entirely opposed to just political opinions or to prudence to infiict a duty upon the producers of gold in the colony. It was a wrong way to raise revenue, and he thought he was supported in that view by t he Colonial Treasurer, who, he believed had some knowledge of finance and of political economy, that honorable member had been endeavoring for years to get the gold duty repealed, and when'he found he could not accomplish it in a direct manner, the honorable member brought forward a Bill last session, no doubt with the view of complying with the desire of ' *t*go, as expressed through their Council, to repeal the duty, but the honorable member was not successful in that attempt. To meet the wishes, and the interests of Westland and Auckland, he intended to move an amendment, which would provide fin- the gradual extinction of the gold duty, at the rate of sixpence an ounce per annum, until it should be finally abolished. He hoped it would meet the views of honorable member’s from those places. He submitted that there was no Province in the Colony that would benefit more Ilian Auckland by the repeal of the duty There was a large number of auriferous quartz reefs in the Auckland gold-fie-lds which, if developed, would pay, bn' they would only pay on the entire abolition of the gold duty, He trusted honorable members representing that Province would throw aside that provincial feeling of grasping at the gold-fields revenue, and that they would, for the good of the country, and in justice to the miners, vote with him upon this question. He would move, as an amendment, “That the exnort duty on gold be reduced at the rate of sixpence per ounce per annum until it be abolished.” He was sure the amendment would meet the approval of the Colonial Treasurer, who would plainly

see that the finances of the Colony would not be affected by the gradual extinction of the gold duty. The falling off during the first year would be very trifling. They had been told by the Colonial Trersurer that his financial scheme would increase the revenues of the Provinces and the Colony, and believing that such would be the case, he thought they could abolish the gold duty in the way he had indicated.