GOLD DUTY.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIV, Issue 109, 11 May 1933, Page 5

GOLD DUTY.

WAIHI DEDUCTIONS.

RESTORATION OF CUT URGED

WATER AND CRUSHING COSTS.

(By Telegraph.—Own Correspondent.) WAIHI, this day. At a meeting of the borough council last evening, the Mayor, Mr. W. M. Wallnutt, said the time had come when something should be done towards restoring the cut of £1000 made by the Treasury in the gold duty accruing to the council. He had noticed in the published returns a substantial increase in the number of ounces produced in the borough and exported for the year 1932 over that of 1931, with a consequent substantial increase in the gold duty received by the Government. In addition to this the Government would receive an extra 12/G per ounce in export duty on gold, amounting to nearly £47,000. In these circumstances, the Mayor said, he proposed to communicate with the Minister of Finance and ask for favourable consideration in the matter of restoring the amount of gold duty payable to the borough from its present reduced figure, £0000, to its former level, £0000. This was a reasonable and equitable request in view of the fact that the council faced heavy expenditure for the replacement of the water service and the installation of a new crushing plant.

Mr. Robinson said the gold industry was being used to bleed smaller mining concerns. A definite promise had been made by Mr. Coates about the year 1925 in regard to relief for the borough in the matter, of the rivers improvement scheme.

Mr. Hopkins thought it only right that the Government should now restore the £1000 which was taken from the borough annually. In an interview subsequently the Mayor explained that in March, 1931, the Secretary to the Treasury advised that, in view of the improvement of borough finances, mainly due to decrease in interest on waterworks loans by at least £090 per annum, it was considered that the borough council was in a position to meet a larger portion of the liability imposed on it under the Waihou and Ohinemuri Rivers Improvement Act, 1910, and the Minister of Finance directed that the gold duty accruing to the borough be reduced from £0000 to £5000 annually. The Act of 1910 made provision for deduction to £5000 annually from gold duty received from mining in the rivers district to meet part of the interest and sinking fund charges on loan, £150,000. In 1924 it was represented that the borougli council required at least £0000 annually from gold duty in order to finance municipal services, and the Minister agreed not to deduct from gold duty any greater sum than that which would reduce the borough council's receipts to this amount.

This decision of the Treasury came as a great bombshell to the council, and it was represented to the Minister of Finance that the council's representatives visiting Wellington in 1023 and 1924 were assured by the then Minister of Finanee that he would bring the whole question of gold duty in connection with the rivers scheme before Parliament.

It was then recognised that Waihi's position in the matter was not placed on an equitable basis. Power to rate the rivers district had not been exercised, and the council had had no indication all this time that the borough would be called upon to meet accruing liability on account of the rivers improvement scheme. Further representations were made to the Minister, the Rt. Hon. G. W. Forbes, at the time, but he expressed regret that he was unable to alter his decision in the matter.