GOLD DUTY REPEAL.

Thames Star, Volume VIII, Issue 2849, 2 April 1878, Page 3

GOLD DUTY REPEAL.

(To the Editor of the Evening Star.) Sib,—ln calmly reading over Mr Pulleine's letter published on the 28th ult., 1 was rather surprised to see how exactly hc^rried out Mr Carpenter's ideas, re immfgration being attracted by a goldfield. He (Mr Pulleine) stated in his argument that—l am prepared to wager that should a payable field spring up. in Australia or New Guinea, he will change his tune to emigration, plainly shewing that Mr Carpenter was right >n his. bir, I can tettify from practical experience that gold digging is about the hardest work a man can be put to, and no man can stand the wear and tear of mming but a sound healthy person. I have seen your counter-jumpers pulling up a few buckets of wash-dirt with a windlass. Their hands began to blister with the toil of winding up the stuff. Out comes the Bilk handkerchief; winds it round the hand, thinking to save the blisters from the friction of the wood, but some clay or gravel finds its way between the hand and the handkerchief, and makes the blisters worse. At last, he laments leaving home, gives up digging, and finds out iome lighter work. I have seen nian^ of of those men in other ways employed moat satisfactorily. I should like to see Mr Pulleine test goldmining practically. Why not take his Block of seeds aad sell out, and go at mining ? There are lots of openings on the field at present. If gold duty is just in principle, why not raise the duty on gold to os per ounce ? If a capitalist arrived at the Thames with £10,000 sterling, and he went to any mine manager and consulted him about profit and loss account, he would show him his ledger, and to profit side there would be a balance of exactly 5s per ounce. Well, sir, to dear 10 per cent per month, he should raise gold enough to pay capitalist £83 6s 8d per month. If the profit of 5s per ounce would just pay the 10 per cent, per annum the capitalist would be satisfied, but if the manager told him that the duty absorbed the 5s per ounce, capitalist would leave, and place his money in some other business. The 5s duty would most assuredly drive the £10,000 out of the place. The overworked miners are just taxed to keep the lighter industries afloat. There should be no special tax on the hardest wrought men in the world. Let the mines collapse to-morrow, and then see where all the other industries will exist — not on the Thames, they would all hare to seek pastures new. I have been on mines in Australia, one in particular — Mount Blackwood—the main creek and. a few flats opened rich, and it drew a population of about 12,000 people; it got worked out in about nine months, and. nearly all at once it became sterile, and people could hardly get drays enough to take them away to other richer fields; the place was left desolate, and so with any other industry under the sun, no matter by what name you may call any industry, show a capitalist that it will pay 10 per cent., and give him bona fide security and there will be no lack of money to work your industry with. There is no doubt that the men who advocate a duty on Sold they want to kill the goose that lays ie real golden eggs. If a miner goes to a shopkeeper for a suit of clothes, will he sell them at a loss ? And so with every other article. The hard-wrought cart horse miner he is closely watched for every ounce he raises out of the bowels of the earth by the sweat of his brow and the labor of his hands; and he has to pay a tax besides for all the gear he uses, which goes to the peneral revenue of the colony. Then, if he (the miner) pays general revenue the same as his neighbourns, why make extra to any other industry P Make every other industry throughout the colony pay this special tax the aame as the miners; serve all alike, or, if not, miners persevere until you get this obnoxious tax repealed.— Yours, &c, H. Alley.