THE GOLD DUTY.

Mount Ida Chronicle, Volume VI, Issue 326, 4 June 1875, Page 3

THE GOLD DUTY.

.;'* Fpilosyingis.the reply of tlie Provincial Solicitor to the memo, by the , Superintendent, requesting "that; he.will jbe good enough to indicate how, or.under ~ what condition, the gold duty niay be re* '•' funded, assuming, that the Provincial ' jCbrihcil votes the money ":—. ,

"I have perused the. letter from the Hon. the Colonial Secretary,,of date the 19th 'May, 1875,' in 'reference 'to the legality of the Provincial Legislature of Ot'a'go appropriating «, sum of money sufficient, to refund to the'miners apportion of the- whole, of the Gold Export.Duty ,le| vied in'the Province,' which your Honor has referred,to me. -The letter sates that tho Colonial Government is advised that V such an appropriation could not be held to be/illegal. .'I may state'that the question" submitted to session- was, whether there '■was any risk in including ,*uch a sum ~ia 'am 'Appropriation Ordi-'-Trance; and that' I .'tften', thought there was. My opinion Va's' based on what I conceived then to be the illegality of such aApfocee'dirigr'aiid,' notwithstanding the advice tendered to the Colonial Government, my opinion is Unchanged. In my opinion such' n.'Vote would act in frand of:' The Gold Duty Act, 1870.< The Jowers ,of,Provincial Cpuncils are,.! need ardly,point out, limited by the Constitu19th section declares that ' it shall not be lawful to make, or ordain any law or ordinance for,' amongst other purposes, ' tho imposition or regulation of duties of . Cfustoms; to be imposed on the importation! or exportation of any:goods at any port or: place in the Province.', The Gold Duty Act, 1870, provides:—'There shall bej paid to licr Majesty, her heirs and sue-; cessors, the following duty upon gold,! that is to say at the customs previous to exportation from New Zealand,' &c>, and i by the 9th'sectionj the dutfes are to be collected, &c, iindpr the provision of the 'Customs Regulation Act, 1858,' etc. I understand, by the letter, of the Colonial Secretary, that the Government have been' advised that it is not illegal for,a Provincial Legislature to, vote public money to certnin residents in the Province, in order that they may pay ;a Customs Import. This principle being recognised, I do not seo where tho powers are to be curtailed; Should a Provincial Legislature determine fhi## would be beneficial, for the Pro-

vince to have ex. gr., all the import trade of the Colony, it might, I presume, vote a sura of money to be paid to importers in ..order that goods might be imported at half the usual duties. Or, again, should the Colonial Legislature decline to sanction a Land Bill containing provisions, for speedy settlement, or such as the Provincial Legislature deemed so, the Provincial Legislature could vote money, purchase fhe land, and then frame its own land law. Were. it. to, do either of these acts, it would not be more ' illegal' than to do what the Colonial Government have been advised can not be " held to be illegal." And one might see in New Zealand the strange, spectacle of,each Province having different Customs Regulations. This would be granting, in my opinion, powers to Provincial Legislatures which were not contemplated by the Constitution Act. I need not state that, in order to contravene the provisions of a Statute, it is notnecessary to expressly repeal them; it is enough that they are evaded. " Seeing, however, the opinion now expressed in the Colonial Secretary's letter, I am at a loss to understand why the Governor's assent was refused to the ' Otago Gold Duty Repayment Ordinance, 1874.' This Ordinance was an Appropriation Ordinance. It also provided that the gold should be. 'Jthe produce of the Province,' and duty paid within the Province, and yetjt was disallowed. I understand now that the Appropriation Ordinance, containing an item, 'Repayment of Gold Duty, will not be objected to, and that although special conditions are not annexed to this' Repayment in the Ordinance itself, it could not be ' held to be illegal.' It seems to me to amount to this : —lf the Provincial Legislature annex conditions the, Ordinance will be disallowed; but, if they exercise no discretion, and leave the matter to the Executive, the apparent illegality vanishes, and the repayment becomes legal and constitutional. I do not attempt, to explain such an anomaly. ' ■" I may also point ont that the very fact of last year's special Appropriation Ordinance to meet this gold duty repayment being disallowed, snowed that my. doubts as to its legality were not without foundation, and that the Provincial Legislature did wisely in not jeopardising the Appropriation Ordinance proper. " How, or under what conditions, the Province is to make arrangements to repay the gold duty I do not know, except that each person who pays duty at the Custom-house is called upon to make a declaration that the gold has been produced or obtained in the Province. The method hinted <ati in thei Colonial Secretary's letter of the 26th July, 1874, would, in my opinion open the. door to, fraudulent practices, which no police system, however perfect, could control. The true remedy is in the Colonial Legislature interfering; but as the Provincial Legislature can, in the opinion of the Law advisers of the Colonial Government, pass the necessary laws; L presume, there will have to be included in the Appropriation Ordinance a grant of money, and then a separate Ordinance be passed detailing the conditions on which it must be paid. Should your Honor desire it, I shall draft the necessary as I do, however, to my opinion that it is illegal and unconstitutional in any Provincial Council dealing with this Customs Import.—Respectfully submitted, "Robeht Stout, " Provincial Solicitor."