The Evening Star MONDAY, JULY 4. 1870.

Evening Star, Volume VIII, Issue 2233, 4 July 1870, Page 2

The Evening Star MONDAY, JULY 4. 1870.

Log-rolling assumes an infinite variety of forms, according to the purposes which arc intended to be answered and the persons who propose to be benefitted by it. Sometimes it is intended for personal advantage ; when one friend assists another with the un-, derstanding that a corresponding service is to be performed in return. Sometimes it is for civic benefit, when the representatives of one City have to be persuaded that to support some measure or vote in favor of another, will ensure an equal or greater boon to their own; Sometimes it is for Provincial benefit when the people of one Province support some partial measure with the idea of obtaining a favor denied to, or at the expense of the vest of the country. Sometimes it is for ministerial purposes, when, as in the case of Mr Yooel, it is intended to secure the support of the influential by holding out bribes to their classes. The Treasurer seems to have wished for something startling to lay before the country, and he has found it. Last year he proposed a duty on cereals, which was to yield £14,000 to the revenue, by the imposition of a duty estimated at 20s. a ton on flour. It may serve as a clue to the insidious deception of such a duty, that if it has the effect intended, whil.e £14,000 ayear only goes into the Treasury, the tax upon the people amounts to at least £60,000 a-year ; the greater portion of which would go into the pockets of a few farmers. He failed in his object, and seems to have brooded over it until he arrived at the conclusion that he had not held out baubles enough to glitter before the eyes of different interests ; so this year he not only includes the farmers, but he tries to buy the squatters, the brewers, the manufacturers real or in embryo—everybody but the great body of the consumers, who living by labor and having prejudices in favor of restriction, he naturally expects will support him, because they are supposed to know no better. Miners, artisans, tradesmen—in fact, the vast mass of the people—are treated as if they were merely tools to be used to enrich particular classes of men. We are perfectly aware that they have brought this upon themselves by persistent demonstrations in favor of restrictive measures. We are perfectly aware that in these Australasian Colonies freedom of commerce is unpopular. But we know also that it is our duty us an independent journal, to advocate that which is true and for the general good, no matter what the consequence to ourselves. What we earnestly desire is the comfort, happiness, and advancement of the people ; and with that sole object in view, we protest against Mr Vogel’s tariff as tending to retaid that advancement, and if it has any effect whatever, as enriching one class at the expense of another. It is Idle to say that protective duties are necessary for, the encouragement of certain industries, for that assumes there is no other way of encouragement. This is an utter and total mistake. Of that hereafter. For the present let us think of the articles proposed to he taxed. We have seen that if the tax on corn produces the effect proposed, it will take ss, each annually from every one of ; the people. Then bacon, ham, butter, egga, soap, besides numberless other articles of every-day use, are taxed. This would inevitably add another ss. to each—not for the benefit of the revenue, he it remembered; for Is, a head direct taxation would nearly give all the revenue expected—but for the benefit of the few at the expense of the many. Then these taxes fall unequally. Single men and men without families contribute little. It is the consumer who pays the increased price, and it consequently falls most heavily upon those who have the largest households iu proportion to their means. Should these taxes raise prices—and unless they do they are useless both to the revenue and those they propose to; protect—they tend to reduce wages, limit employment, and intensify every evil they are intended to prevent. Let any man follow their operation in his own mind. We have included the Maoris in our estimate of population, so that in reality the burden upon the wliite population will be heavier than what we assume ; but on two items alone—bread and meat—if the duties produce any effect, they will cause £120,000 more to be spent than before. This is equivalent to a redaction of wages to that extent. But this is not all. It not only reduces wages, but reduces consumption of other articles. The late Richard Cobden, iu Ids plain, popular style, used to say, “A man who earns no more than will keep himself and “ family cannot put his wages on to his “ back and into his belly,” If the cost of living is greater, he has so much less to spend on clothes ; therefore those employed in manufacture of clothes will have less employment;

there will be less demand for fabrics, and consequently loss demand for the labor of the manufacturing population and all the artizans dependent upon the activity of that branch of trade for support. Applying a similar course of reasoning to each particular branch affected by Mr Vogel’s protective proposals, it will be seen that although for reasons easily stated, in all probability not one-tenth of the intended effect will follow, sufficient mischief will be done by the adoption of a restrictive system. "We believe that unless some strong popular remonstrance is made, this financial monster will be allowed to pass. Mr Vogel seems to think this official log-rolling will fall in with the longings of most men throughout the country. We fear there is too much truth in this, and shall be glad to see ourselves undeceived by a decided expression at a public meeting condemnatory of it.