The Evening Star SATURDAY, APRIL 30, 1870

Evening Star, Volume VIII, Issue 2178, 30 April 1870, Page 2

The Evening Star SATURDAY, APRIL 30, 1870

On Tuesday Mr Mosley intends to propose a resolution in favor of imposing a duty on cereals for revenue purposes. We presume that gentleman is sincere in his profession that it is for revenue purposes only, although taking into consideration that he is one of a class who have invariably put forth a claim to exclusive privileges, there is every reason to believe that the hidden design is restriction. But taking it for granted that he imagines taxing food a legitimate source of revenue, it will be curious to learn the style of argument by which, he will endeavor to support it. Of course, it will be repi-esented that it is only fair that the foreigner, whoever he may be, who has the enterprise to grow more grain than can be,consumed in his own land and sends it to New Zealand, shall contribute his share to our revenue. This we suppose will be the main argument on which the proposer of this sage resolution will dwell, if he confines himself to the revenue view, of the question. Now this sounds very speciously.*! It

has the look of a perfectly fair and legitimate argument. It commends itself to everyone’s mind that those who reap benefit from a community should confer an equivalent favor upon it. Mr Mosley limits his idea of that favor to a contribution to the revenue. But unfortunately for his argument, for we assume we have fallen into his line of thought, those whom he would tax are far without the boundaries of his control. Let him succeed in inducing the Provincial Council pass the resolution, and let the Provincial Council succeed in inducing the General Assembly to impose a duty, a course by the way very likely to be adopted, the object is still _ unuttaincd—the foreign producer is not taxed, for unfortunately it is those who eat, not those who grow the grain, who pay the tax. Now with regard to those who eat the bread thus proposed to be taxed, they happen to be our own people, and the'tax proposed to be imposed on imported* cereals is to be paid by them. It has been remarked times out of number that the inhabitants of New Zealand arc the most heavily taxed people in the world. It has been variously estimated that each man, woman, and child in the Colony, pays something like an average of between six and seven pounds per head in the shape of taxes. Look over the tariff, and it will be seen that scarcely any article of consumption is exempt. Fish, flesh, fruit, every article for domestic use, articles used in cooking and building, wearing apparel, wine, spirits, beer, medicines, everthing that can be enumerated, and many things not enumerated, are heavily taxed. There are exemptions it is true ; some of which are specially designed to favor the class of which Mr Mosley is a member, and thus to give them an advantage over the foreign producer. Were it not for the exceptional riches of New Zealand above other parts of the globe, this drain upon the fruits of industry could not be borne. If it be true that six pounds per head is the average sum paid in the shape of taxes, it must be remembered that while on a large class of the community, it falls comparatively lightly, it is a very heavy burden upon others. The peculiarity of the system of di awing revenue from duties on imports is, that taxation presses most heavily upon those who ought to be relieved from it as much as possible. An unmarried man earns as good wages as one who has a family. There are few families in the country in which there are not four or five mouths to feed and bodies to clothe. These require, in addition ifco necessaries of life, heavy outlay npou education, and fqr years press upon the energy and strength of the hardworking father. Assume that the yearly earnings of a workman are one hundred and forty or fifty pounds, it is not too much to say that out of that thirty pounds are taken in the shape of taxes. There is no wonder that now that the war is drawing to a close, people are beginning to be tired of this heavy burden. But what is Mr Moslem’s proposition 1 ? It is that instead of a redaction of taxes, an addition shall be made fc) them. The only exemption from Custom fjouse interference that has been in the slightest degree untainted with class legislation, has been the freedom to buy bread wherever it is to be obtained ; and now Mr Mosley proposes to restrict that privilege and to tax the people's food. It is worth while, too, to reflect at what price the trifling revenue likely to accrue from this tax would be purchased. Of course this cannot be estimated, unless we were in possession of correct statistics. Mr Vogel, if we recollect, estimated that fifteen thousand pounds would be obtained by the adoption of the scale of duties he proposed of about one pound per ton on grain imported. Now it must be borne in mind that this pound per ton raises the price not only of imported grain to that extent, but of all grain grown in the Colony too. Taking the consuming population at 200,000, which including the Maoris is less than the reality, the annual consumption at eight bushels per head (the English average) would amount to something about 43,000 tons of wheat alone. This as a matter of course would be raised the value of the tax, one pound per ton, so the cost to the country of adding to the revenue £15,000 would be on wheat only, leaving out of consideration oats and other grain, £43,000, In all probability it would be mueb greater, for price does not rise exactly in proportion to the amount of duty, but in a higher ratio. As however the import of oats and other grain would be included in the £15,000, without going laboriously into the calculation, it may be fairly assumed that in one way or another, if Mr Mosley’s proposal is adopted, the sum of £15,000, less the cost of collection, would be purchased at an addition to the cost of the country of £BO,OOO or £90,000. Mr Mosley will find it difficult to disprove these inductions, and must show some palpable benefit as a counterbalance before his proposal

will find acceptance outside of his own class. The tax on bread and cereals would add full ten shillings per head of the people, to their already heavy taxation.