THE Mount Ida Chronicle FRIDAY, APRIL 10, 1874.

Mount Ida Chronicle, Volume V, Issue 266, 10 April 1874, Page 2

THE Mount Ida Chronicle FRIDAY, APRIL 10, 1874.

It is notab'e that the estimated' Provincial revenue for the present year, derived from gold duty alone, is £16,000, or more than double the expenditure rendered imperative throughthe continuation of gold-mining as an industry. Besides this, £21,000 is estimated as Goldfields revenue for the same interval. That is, that'the miners of Otago return £37,000 to the Province, to meet a current expense of, at the most, £t> OJO. ic is very evident, from these returns, that the taxation, by means of charges, leases, and the like, is greatly in excess'of what it should be. Taxation on any industry is unjustifiable, ejpept iu the case of an insolvent eoujpry, where it becomes necessary to Iffeet the indispensable special expenditure ■by;the imposition of fees, &c, upon the special industry. It is a thing quite abhorrent to sound political economy to extract a profit out of such revenue. If geld was an •article of produce, or a staple of manufacturing industry, such as wool, wa •could understand the discouragement to its exportation—although not approving of it —for New Zealand would only be following the former practise of England in that particular. We wonder whether Mr. Vogel had been reading Adam Smith on the 'taxation of exports when he said that "He was " quite sure that no other kind of tax- " ation would press less heavily upon " Goldfields than this." Adam Smith, referring-to- the export duty on'wool;' says —" It is scarce possible to. devise ' a tax which could nroduce any eon- " siderable revenue to the- sovereign, " and, at the same time, occasion so " little inconvenience to anybody." Considering that it is now proved that, the Colony can manufacture woollen, goods at a price to supply other markets, and that the , Government has contributed aid, by way of bonus, to that industry, a wool export duty would have been understandable. Arguing for such taxation in England, as against the absolute prohibition to export wool, Smith says—"Every ;diffe- " rent order of citizens is bouiid to " contribute to the support of the " Sovereign or. Commonwealth. A tax'"of five, or even-of ten, shillings upon " every ton of wool would produce a i " very. considerable revenue, to the " Sovereign. It would hurt the inte- ! " rests- of the growers less than the " prohibition, because it would not " probably lower the price of ", wool " quite so much. It would affpid a " sufficient advantage to the rnanufac- " turer, because, although he might " not buy his wool altogether so cheap " as under" the prohibition, he would " still buy it at least five or ten shil- " lings cheaper than any foreign manu- " facturer could buy it, besides saving " the freight and insurance,'which the " other would pay." Such a tax, though not by any means a.commendable one, has in ic some little element of reason ; but it is not so with ;i duty on gold. Spain and Portugal con-' ceived the idea of enriching the;r-'res-pective States by the imposition of a duty on gold and' silver —Portugal even prohibiting theex'pdrt altogether. It was thought that, by confinir.g the precious mefrils to their own countries, they would become the richest powers "in Euroue. Very'soon it wa&jdiseoveied that, although gold and silver accumulated to excels—so much so that, in houses .where, ordinary comforts were wanting, ornate plate would be conspicuous— yet the cost of living was dearer: that the cheapness of gold and silver merely meant the dearness of all commodities. This tax and prohibition act in two' different ways, we are told. " They not only lower " very much the value of the precious " metals in Spain and Portugal, but, " by detaining there a certain quantity " of those metals which would other- " wise How over other countries, they " keep up their' value in'those other. " countries somewhat above what, it "iotherwiße.would be, and thereby -< give those countries a double advan- " tage in their commerce with Spain " and Portugal." It would'not be difficult to show that the country gains nothing by this gold duty imposition, for, although 2s. per ounce is abstracted fr..m the gold-miner, which would have been spent by him in extra comforts and even luxuries, it is returned to the people in public works and administrative charges. Tn" other words, an unfair advantage is taken,'of the gold-miners, to make them pay a double share towards the construction of bridges at. Wakatip and Mataura, and railways ac Wuitaki and direen Island, to the relief of ..ho'iKfcllowcoluriists engaged in other pursuits.. The n.ivorninent gains noihiug, and an upf-nr and galling injustice is> continued.

Our contemporary, the ' Southern Mercury,' suggtsls that the Province should be asked to refund the export duty to the gold producers. He doeß

not say how that is possible. We confess" our 'inability to see a practical way.'' .. Onr coritpmporary, we are afraid', assumes too hopeful a state of things in asserting + hnt the Provincial Council, by " a majority of the mem- " hers, has cheerfully assented to rei<o- " hitions affirming "the desirability of " abrogating "the law which imposes " duty on gold." vVe are not aware ■ whether the -Council everdid affirm by a majority,,a .total repeal of, the duty. We-rather - think'riot of late certainly-not in the last three sessions.In the nession of 1871 a majority of seven affirmed the desirability of a reduction'of 6d. .This was subsequently carried out m the Assembly. Last session a resolution was-'carried, without a division, recommending a further reduction of 6d. per ounce—so, that our readers will, perceive the Council is by no means pledged to a total giving up of'the export duty. We regret that the facts are with us. Nevertheless, something may he done in the direction our contemporary indicates. As the Councilwere willing to give up £4,000 revenue, they may very well be asked 'to reiurn that £4,000 not in minute sums of 6rl. per ounce to individual miners,,-but in a rebatement ;pf special char-ires on .miners generally to that amount. The survey department offers a fine field for such' redisbursement. Charges might be foregone'in cases of survey, under, order from the, Court, such as in claims, head-races, &b., and' the staff might be doubled, with advantage! If the Council and the Government are in earnest, plenty of ways > are apparent in which'the miners can be relieved to that extent at any rate. Beyond that, it is not likely that the Council-will take ?ipo,n ' itself legislative duties, neither do we think is' it desirable. The mischief and expense of. Provincial Council? is less felt when the duties are confined, as they should be, to those of efficient administration. We have enough Parliament-made law to endure at Wellington— aye, ..more than enough. Dunedin may well be spared adding to the cumbersome heap uuder which already jurists are beginning to stumble and talk hopelessly of codification. Total abolition of-the gold export duty can only .be obtained directly and practically through the real "representative chamber of .New Zealand, which imposed it. . , ' ' .