NOTES OF THE DAY.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1105, 19 April 1911, Page 4

NOTES OF THE DAY.

A correspondent has directed our attention to the exceptionally large passenger lists of outward-bound steamers from Wellington to Australia of late, and suggests that there is a tendency on the partof pessimistic people to point to the fact as an evidence of bad times in Wellington. We cannot say that we have heard this argument used recently, and it would not be a sound one if it were used. It is perfectly true, of course, that a large number of people are leaving the. Dominion by the Friday steamer from Wellington each week; but only a proportion of these are Wellington residents. They come from all parts of the Dominion to ship from this port-; moreover, many of them arc returning Australians and tourists from overseas, who have been spending the summer months in New Zealand sightseeing, etc. It is customary, too, for those New Zealanders who are fortunate enough to be able to spend a holiday abv.oad to make their departure from the country during the autumn. Thus what is happening is merely the normal outilow, increased slightly no doubt by the addition of those who are leaving specially for the Coronation celebrations. 'Those who are inclined to grumble about dull times and slackness of trade usually take too gloomy a view of things. The annual report of the Chamber of Commerce- presented at tho meeting held last week showed that the Wellington imports for the past year totalled £4,130,225, an increase of over £130,000 over the preceding year, while the exports were valued at £4,326,879, an increase of nearly a million pounds. With the country people realising good prices for their produce, and at the same time increasing their output, there is reason to look for brisker times in the city, instead of adopting a despondent tone and making depressing forecasts.

The announcement that the Australian Government had approved the proclamation . bringing penny postage into operation throughout Australia should 'erve as a reminder that we live in an age which is probably unparalleled in human history as regards letter-writing. Recent discoveries show that although lacking the advantages of our modern postal system, the Romans, during the first century, of' the Christian era, were prolific and enterprising correspondents, overcoming the difficulties with which they were confronted in the' transmission of their letters by making careful and,usually costly private arrangements for carriage. The Bishop of Birmingham (Dr. Gore), in an address delivered a short tims ago, told his audience that the first century, like our own time to-day, was "an age of letters." A vast number of actual letters written on papyrus have been dug up in Egypt. One of them is from a soldier called Apion, to his father, Epimachus. He had a had passage after he had gone off to join his regiment, so he writes at the earliest opportunity to his father, and makes elaborate arrangements for the letter to be forwarded from the headquarters of his regiment. "Apion to his father and lord, heartiest greetings (says the letter). First of all, I pray that you may be in health and continually prosper and fare well with my sister, and her daughter, and my brother. I thank the lord Serapis that when I was in danger at sea ho saved me. Straightway when I entered Miscnum I received my travelling money from Caesar, three gold pieces. And I am well. I bog.you, therefore, my lord father, write me a few lines,, first regarding your health; secondly, regarding that of my brother and sister; thirdly, that I may kiss your hand, because you have brought me up well, and on this account I hope to be quickly promoted, if the gods will." Then follow greetings to all sorts of people, and he adds, "I send you a little portrait of myself," and "I pray for your good health." Letters of that kind, said Dr. Gore, have been discovered in such abundance as to show us that people were constantly writing on all sorts of familiar topics, and they show us that the pfoascology of St. Paul, when he begins and ends and sends his salutations, was on the model of the ordinary popular style of letterwritiug which was in use through all the different classes of society in the Empire.

In the course of an article in support of its policy of Protection, the Melbourne Age in a recent issue discussed in an • interesting manner the results achieved in the way of revenue under the principal tariffs of the world. As the outcome of its analysis, it proclaimed that in every one of the States showing a high per capita yield the tariff worked under was a revenue tariff, and not a true Protection tariff, the excessive amount of imports in such cases proving this. The subject is one of some interest to New Zealand because the statistics associated with it go to show how high the Customs taxation per head really is in the Dominion. The table published is as follows: — CUSTOMS AND EXCISE REVENUE, . Total Revenue Revenue Per head Population £ £ s. d. Itn=sia (1906) ... 147,200,000 52,170,000 0 7 1 Germany '1906) . 60.499.0C0 45.680.CC0 0 15 2 Italy (i? 07) 53,641,000 33.23J.CC0 0 19 9 A ?s& a ' H "?™ 47.9U.0C0 49.037.0C0 1 0 5 Sweden (1907) ... 5,358,000 5.528.DC0 1 0 8 Denmark (1907) 2.609.PC0 2.855.CC0 1 1 10 Norway (1907) .. 2.319.CC0 2.656.CC0 1 211 U "190*7) St 85.000.000 57.C00.C00 0 13 4 1 United Kingdom I ior|7) 43.770.0C0 6f1.618.0C0 1 11 5 Vranoe (1907) ... 39.060.0t0 55.193.CCD 1 3 2 Canada, (1906) ... 5.633.000 12.516.CC0 2 211 Australia (1908) 4.275.C00 10.843.C00 2 10 8 \'cw Zealand (1907) 989,555 3,198,394 3 9 7 N.S. Wales - - 16 1 Victoria - - 1 19 0 Queensland — — 3 11 S. Australia .... - - 1 13 11 W. Australia - - 6 7 7 Tasmania - - 210 5 It will be eeen that the latest figure 3

available for the purpose of comparison between the countries named range frem the years 190G to 1908. New Zealand, if we take the Commonwealth as a whole and not as separate States, collected through the Customs at the date given a higher amount of taxation per head of its population than any other country in the world. If the Australian States arc taken separately, New Zealand takes second place to West Australia. At the present time the Dominion docs not hold quite so enviable a position as the figures above disclose, but the revenue returns which Me Millar, as ActingMinister of Finance, will make known within the next day or two will probably re-establish our proeminence as the country which collects more taxation per head from its people through the Customs than any other country of any standing in the world.