THE Mount Ida Chronicle FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 1876.

Mount Ida Chronicle, Volume VII, Issue 392, 15 September 1876, Page 2

THE Mount Ida Chronicle FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 1876.

opeciai taxation upon goldrainers baa been receiving more attention in the Assembly than wa expected. No tangible result appears to have been yet arrived at. The Government appears to favor the retention of the duty, as being more easy of collection 'than rates, while it admits that in amount the duty, at 25., would be much more than a fair equivalent for rates. Sir Julius Vogel, it is true, persistently raised the question of royally. No one could have known better than he that —the proceeds of the tax being given up, under the Abolition Act, to local bodies as, in fact, Municipal revenue—the question of royalty was Bet at rest by the House itself, at the instigation of the Government. The fields members prefer that the special tax should be swept away, and the miners, properly represented in local bodies, should have the power to raise money by rates for such purposes as [they considered justified mutual cooperation among themselves. The difficulty which appeared to have faced the House was a 8 to the form which rateableminingpropertyshouldassume. Was, it was asked, the assessor to gauge the value of a mining claim, and say whether it was a Caledonian or a duffer? Such a hypothetical problem seems to us as absurd as irrelevant. A farmer is not rated upon the assessor's judgment as to the value of his ripening crop, or on.the amount of grass or turnips he may count upon. Neither needtho assessors trouble themselves upon the value of gold which may or may not be taken out of any claim. Underany acreage system of rating which included surface rating the annual proceeds of rates would"be much less than any barely payable claim pays in gold duty. Taxation by gold dutyhas this strong aigumeut in its favor: that miners who get most gold pay most revenue. Against this it may be said that those who do not get enough, gold to pay a sufficient amount of revenue in the shape of duty as to be burdensome cannot be getting gold enough, to pay for the working expenses. Irt other words, they are insolvent, and need not be considered at all. As be- | tween local revenue raised by duty and local revenue raised by rates there can in Otago be no two opinions. The one is arbitrary and forced by extraneous power for local benefit; the other is optional, and controllable by the contributors themselves. So long as an extraneous milking power is enforced by the Colonial Government, so long will the miners feel that they have a special right to special consideration, and equally bo long will they continue to growl, and neglect the work at their hand, which they could do with advantage to themselves without any reference to Government at all. The sooner goldminers are placed on the same footing as any other Colonists the better for themselves and the Colony. Local bodies should have entire control over the levying of the revenues which they enjoy. This power of control would include the regulating and alteration, where necessary, of all license fees, special rents, &c, except perhapß the miner's right, which there would be great advantages in making a good title throughout the Colony. As • yet the Assembly has come to no decision other than this: that, if the gold duty is reduced below one and sixpence, mining property shall no longer be exempt from rates. If the Gold Duty Bill is carried, abolishing the duty, or reducing it below Is. 6d., then mining property will be rateable in lieu of the duty. The contingencies of the close of the session may leave the question as it is, but very shortly the" miners may hope to be relieved from a most harassing special tax.

The 'Whitaker-Atkinson Ministry bids fair to outlive the session. Many circumstances favor the Government in spite of an unpropitious birth. Members must be thoroughly weury of Parliamentary strife. Many lukewarm Provmeialists are anxious to make terms with the enemy. For obvious reasons surrender to a sinking Government is inexpedient; so these last having given up the principles of their constituents, incline to use their vote to keep men m power who they do not beliere in. This new Government of

great namea has in it elements of early dissolution. At the end of tho session two, if not three, Ministers resign. Nevertheless the House ia to be asked to pass an Act to enable more Ministers to hold oflica than the I)isqualification Act at present allows. The Premier therefori", ifsuccessfulin carryinghis new measure, will have the power of taking on after tho session three or four new men, entirely reconstructing the present team. The additional Members of Executive will probably be selected from the following : —Mr. Ballaneo, Mr. D. Enid, Mr. Montgomery, Captain Euasel, or,„ Mr. Bryee. Mr. WhifcakeT- who, in deference to petticoat Government or professional dignity, has stipulated to be allowed to tako precedence at Government House, informed the House that as regards Separation and a Common Land Pund, he did not agree withjjhis colleagues, and immediately a majority in the House could be found to support either reform he would desert, and join that majority. Tho more practical question for present consideration is, what will the Government do ? What concessions can be offered to the Provincialists ? According to the Preinier'the cardinal features of the new policy are to be the appointment of Sir Julius Yogel to the London vacancy, the absolute refusal of any idea to go back in 'the slightest degree upon the Abolition policy ; tho perfecting of the waste lauds conservation to Canterbury pastoral tenants of public-jj estate, a *A further consideration as to what gojl verning body is to be responsible for eupport of Hospitals and Museums. This programme cannot satisfy Otago or Auckland. Mr. Whitaker is said to bo favorable to moderato concessions, while Mr. Mall, a restless, determined, Ministerial, Abolition spirit, resists Eii concession. The Cpposition have three courses befora them. A modified County system, with a Provincial Board of Works, can probably be secured if tho local revenues and rights are given up. If local revenues are to bo socared by concession from tho Assembly, the minority must be prepared to refuse supplies, and draw upon themselves the odium of longsuffering and much-imposed-upon contractors, who would bo crying out for money. So far no supply asked for has been refused. The only other alternative to secure tho land fund and local election of local Government is to allow the session to close at an early date. In this last case Otago herself must tako tho task in hand. In every part of the Province the settlers appear eager to protect their rights against tho aggression of Centralism. When a majority in the Assembly can be found to bind on unequal burdens tho plundered minority has a right to .ignore the demands of that Assembly, even though it bo a representative one. If the Provincial power and machinery is once broken up the minor bodies created will fall an easy prey to tho spoiler. Tho Whitaker-Atkinson Ministry certainly bids fair to survive the passion, and to preside at the death of the Constitution and the unity of the Colony.