To the Editor of the New Zealand Spectator.

New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume II, Issue 58, 15 November 1845, Page 3

To the Editor of the New Zealand Spectator.

Sin, —ln my last letter to jon, I stated that it was my intention to niter some Observations re lauve to the Customs department being pbued upon a more efficient footing than has yet been the case in this port i b>it it lias occurred to me that before proceeding to do so, a tVvv remaiks ■>n the present scale of duties exacted On all biitish and foreign goods imported in'O tlip colony, will not only be appropriate, but highly impoitaut and interesting to all classes of thiscominu nity —upon whom the duties on many necessity articles press with great seveiity. The only duties which, in my opinion, require an}' alteration, are those upon all hritish malt liquors, which now pay a duty of 15 per i ent.; —all british manufactered goods and biitish produce of every description excepting spirit*, which now pay a duty ofs per cenr.; —rtud upon the whole of which (spirits excepted) the duties should be repealed altogether, provided they be imported into this colony direct /rom Jiirilind, I but all these articles, when not imported direct from England, and also all colonial and fu- | reign pioduee, to be subject to the payment 'of the same duties as at the present time. Some persons may probably think that this would be unfair to the adjacent colonies; to t such persons however, if any there be, I reply, l by simply referring them lo the levying by those i colonies, of an import duty of lOper cent upon the productions of New Zealand: and I do not therefore see ihe justice of the''reciprocity" being all on one tide. It has repeatedly been urged as neces-ary, thai the local government should allow spirits to be sent to whaling stations frt-e of duty, on the plea that vessels are allowed to take spirits for stores duty free; but to this I am strongly opposed, on the ground that snir>tj ar whaling stations {wherenol u> but that of force exists) during \he fishing season, are the greatest cuise tha' can be inflicted, not only upon the owners of the stations, but upon the men themselves: and so full? convinced of this fict are some of the m i.«t respectab'e mister whilers, that they will not allow a drop ot'spaiis to be on the ground un'il the close of the season. If it were necessary, I could enumerate several instances in which stations on this coast have been broken up in the middle of the season, or their catch of oil has been ineiely nominal, owing to the-men being allowed mi have spirits; which, as a natural consequence, produced drunkenness, quarrelling, and insubordination mnniij; them I now proceed 10 < ffer r i'cw suggi-s ions i>n the means requisite, in my opinion, to the more efficient practical management of the Customs department, and in doing so, I consider it pro per to state that I do not make any complaints against the effictrs of the department, who, I believe, have been at all times anxious to exert themselves t t.ie uimiwt that the limited power* given to them by the ex Governor would •idmi* of. In the first place, then, there sh mid be a full and effective ere* permanently engaged to man th» Custom-hoit^e boat, whi h -.bond always be ready to'proceed a.; a mom lii'sto hoard vessels entering the h.ub'uir; and not, as has be< n the case for sen ral months past, io have lo beat up for a volunteer creiO when the boat should be a longside the vessel that might be coming in. It "ill appear itn-ie ible to people in l-iitfiand and in the colonies, that we have a Cuuom-ho ise boat without hands, or without the collector. I betie\e, having the power to engage any, to man it!! Yet such is the fict. The next thing re quired is the appointment of a few otriceis as tide-waiters, whose duty it will be to board every vessel immediately on her arrival in the bar hour from England, ihe colonies, or fiom nny foreign port: but should the vessel not arm* in ihe harbour with.li a reasonable time after being signal ed oft the heads, then the officer, shall be despatched to her, should the State of the weather peimit, without delay; arid shall remain on board until ihe vihole uj the carifn be landed. An officer shall also be sent on board of every vessel outward bound, on boaid if which may be shipped an}' goods Under bond, and shall so remain until such vessel shall finally proceed out of the harbour on her vojagt-. It is well known that, during the whaling season, whaling vessels are Continually on this coast, and not tmftequently enter the harbours in and about the Straits, wheie there are no custom-houses, and sell spiiits, tobacco, &c, which are often brought into this pmt by the c asters, to the serious injury of the lawful trader. It is therefore indispensable that all these small craft be boarded on airival by an officer who shall make a strict search that no articled subject to duty be on board of the vessel; but after having satisfied himself of which, the officer need not remain on board, as in the case of foieign and colonial vessels! This class of vessels, in England, undergo the strictest scrutiny by the boarding officer, to ascertain whether theif be any illicit goods on board ; and I recollect a recent case in which a large quantity of tobacco was discovered stowed away under A cargo of oats, and of course the vessel and cargo V- ere coafitCAted to the Crown. It hat for »eve*

ral years past been the custom for vessels to load oil, bone, &c, on different parts of this const, and, without calling at thit or any other ,porl in New Zealand haviny a custom-hoiae, to oroceed direct to Sydney or elsewhere. Now, 1 contend that pvery vessel loading produce on the cofist should he compelled td clear out at thit or tome other port of entry, before she be allowed to proceed beyond (he boundaries of New Zealand ; otherwise no .check whatever ran he had upon them. Besides which, under the present regulations, no correct official account can be kept of the actual expo'ts flom the colon v, which is a point of some importance. Not only f«»r the protection of the colonial revenue from fraud and evasion of the duties, but aNo for the security of all fair, honest, and legitimate tr i del"*, whom the local government is bound in honour andjustice i o protect to the fullest possible extent f oiu the competition of smugglers it is highly indispensable that these suggested rpgu'a ions be carried out in the most stringent and unflinching manner. There is no person h>-ie who is unacquainted wiih a recent case, in which the strongest, and generally believed to be well-grounded suspicions existed, that proceedings were carried on of such a nature as to excite the honest indignation of all respectable persons. I would ask what is there under the present airangements of the customs to prevent any vessel taking advantage of the darkness of night to land apportion of her cargo in any patl of the harhour, without the knowledge Of any one than those concerned in it? I hare thus given a brief oirline of the means requisite, in my opinion, to render the department of customs really effective, and at an additional expense pc f'ectly insignificant when compared with the advantages it would afford in the protection of the revenue, and of the legitim ite trailers. Before I conclude, I cannot avoid adverting to the ino-t satisfactory appointment by the Home Government of Ins Excellency Captain Grey to the governorship of this colony, whose high character and successful career, in having extricated the colony of South Australia from a state of the deepest distress and disorder to a state of prosperity scarcely equalled by any colony in the southern hemisphere, affords a satisfrfcory guarantee that, if unbound by instructions from home, uo endeavours will be wanting on hi-, part to eliect a speedy settlement of all the grievances under which the colony has so" long suffered from the fatal policy of his predecessors. — I am, Sir, your's most respectfully, Wm. Hicksun. Wellington, 12th Nov. 1845.