THE BEER TAX. TO THE EDITOR.

Waikato Times, Volume XV, Issue 1283, 18 September 1880, Page 3

THE BEER TAX. TO THE EDITOR.

Sir, — " Working 1 Mari ' ' h as ' answered my letter, and, having kindly exerted his influence with you in my favor, ii ,is needless for me to crave your indulgence. wl Working' Mian. " most pathetically ' bewails what lie terms my* abuse of him atid those he represents. ' ' Ndt, to .my- 'knowledge; having a ! personal '"acquaintance With hint or Ihe many virtues he' may possess in" the eyes of those who know him, I can only form an opinion of his character by his letter. "It is highly probable thafi Vt Working Man " ■ may be the antipodes of what my fancy paints him," arid that it is only the unfortunate position he 'occupies as the' advocate of a bad cause that puts his character in such a bad light. The deductions by which I arrived ' At' my conclusions were these. For the sake of argument, say the duty on 1 beer was sixpence a gallon, or three farthings' a pint. ' " Working Man 1 ' must be inordinately fond of his "colonial" and drink more thai! is' either good for his pocket, his health, or the cottifort of those who may unfortunately happen tb' be dependent on him if he' drinks enough to feel such a tax oppressive. 1 If he drank a pint less, the money so saved would more than, pay the .du,tv on a, gallon, of f the stuff,' and so ease his " shoulders " .'and his stomach .at the same time. Again, the complaisance with.' which he can "view tbe 1 Imposition of a property tax— a tax calculated to. scare all enterprise and capital from our shores, — suggests the idea of his having little encumbrance in that line, while has avowed love for beer Tenders the inference > obvious. However, lam willing in my own* mind to acquit " Working Man's "' character of the first imputation,- arid hope 'my other supposition is wrong ; ' and would rather think that, with the instincts peculiar to 'those of his patty, he in his eagerness ,to . ; attack an absent- man unheard and raise aory against him, has allowed his .zeal to outrun his discretion. I?r,om ft rather obscure sentence in his letter I' gather that ' 'Working Man" has a ground for. complaint against Mr Whitaker, for. .addressing his hearers as " gentlemen." Now;, this is. foolish, ijb is" quite wjthin the bounds of possibility that Mr Whitaker meant nothing personul to "Working Man." There is something about 'the tax that is very interesting. We have it on tha best authority that it bears severely on the brewer, because fie pays it ; also on tne publican, 1 because lie pays it; and last tho by no means 'least', nothing short of ruin stares the '^Working Man" in the"faoe because! he pays it. Tferee Jaxes instead of one, as I'm, a living sinner! making a total of n'uwpvncc a gal. What, rapacity ! What a government! Now I'wi'sfy.to ask * ( Working Man" one or two questions, and I challengehim to answer 'them ' candidly . 'iboes he pay more for his beer to the publican than he did before the duty was imposed ? Would he have thought anything about ii; had it not been, for 'the hahdle'he flattered himself it gave him in the interests of the " Grey partjr" against Mr Whitaker ?— I am, &c, Axotiifr WoßKixa Max.