TOWN EDITION Nelson Evening Mail. THURSDAY, JUNE 7, 1888

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XXII, Issue 132, 7 June 1888, Page 2

TOWN EDITION Nelson Evening Mail. THURSDAY, JUNE 7, 1888

At the present time when (ho quea ion of Protection is agitating the public mind it, iB as wall that it Btunld be known as widely as possible to what extent New Zealand iB taxed already through the mediatn of the Custom House, and how she comparer iv this respcoti wih tie other British posses* eior.B. With thi» view we publish below n t^ble from " A Synopsis of the Tariffs and Trade of the British Empire " prepared and presented ts the Committee of the Imperial ■Federation League by i's Chairman, Sir Etawson W. Bawsou, K.0.M.G., a work ty the way which appears to contain « post amount of aaefut information on bhe soljeot with which v deals. It is with one particular item, however, thai we row hare to do, and our read.rs will, we feel sore, be as greatly surprised »8 we were on reading tae followiog figures. The impression has been a gener •! one that Viotoria is par excellence the oolony whiob ban taxed importations from beyood the Beas, but it will be a rude awakening to New Zealand era to learn that they nre far and away ahead of the sister colony in this res>peofc, New Zealand standing foutth, while Viotoria ooonpies only the 21st plaos on fcho list. In fact with the exoeption ol' i.h« Gold Ooaet, and the Cape of Good Hope in Africa, and Western Australia in Australia, the average rate of duty charged nuon th* valuo of imporcuiions is in New Zeakni much greater than in any of the Briciau p"S essions, nearly 8 per cent higher than iv Victoria, and 11 J per oent high r than in Now Bouth Waleß. The following is the table showing " the order in which c oh possession stands as regards the average r*t« of duty charged upon tie total value cf i s ien portal ione," aod it, is one ih%t may well make us pause and consider our pcsitiou : -

la the face oE this we are now about to largely increase oar Gaetonin dati- s, whether for revsaaa or probeotioa parposeß matters little, the resulr, is the same, th« conaamer hf.s to pay. There is one faot too that ia nofc Buffioiently borne in mind, bat) wbioh should not; be overlook -d. It is this, (hat under whatever guiae the datioa aro ftdop ej, when the colony once enters upon what js vir.a ally a policy of Proterfcion it oannot >c receded from without exposing the Stale to big claims for compensation from the proprietors of factories which are eetshliebed under the supposition th'<t articles of foreign manafactore are vinually excluded or at all events subjected to such an impost as to render competition from snob a quarter highly improbable, if not ioapoasibl". New Zealand has already had one experlenoa of the kind. She eneourug^d the esbvbliehment of distilleries, whioh U was subse. quently found nrc-eaary to do away with, and an enormous Bum by way of ompeDßation h<>d to be paid to the proprietors. So would ir, bs in the event of a Protection polioy ODoe adopted being rescinded. Whether or not it mi^bt be possible to insert a saving olauae in the Casioms Duties Bill to the effeci thnt manufacturrra B'arting industries under the new tariff did bo at tbeir own risk, is a question that seetns worthy of consideration. Of oouree this would nob suit the Protectionists bat it would leave the Government free to reduce the tariff whenever the ciroums anc s of the colony per* mitttdit, and that is a mat er of far mora importanoK to t g publio generally than the humoring of a osrtain septiop of the oom~ mnnity. ' ■

After negotiations hare been pending for nearly two years, and just as the matter was about to be brought to a successful and satisfactory termination, the Legislative Council haß stepped in and adopted a course which most necessarily create a most unfortunate delay in the signing of tho contract for the Midland railway. The Company propoße a deviation in the line from the West Coast to Ohrlatoharob, by whioh a lengthy and costly tunnel will ba avoided at the expense of a somewhat steeper grade, As they are to carry on and make their profit oat of the traffic and consequently are the parties chiefly interested, one would have thought that such a concession as this might have safely been granted, to them, but no. the Council 'must go into the whole matter again, with what object it is difficult to see, for surely no Select Committee that can. be appointed can possibly obtain any more information on the subject than has been placed before the public from time to time and the Parliament, In this time of terrible depression, and with the cry of the unemployed ringing in the ears of the people from North to Sontb, a proposal to expend over a million of foreign oapial in wages io opening up the heart of the South Island, would, we should have thought, hava been received with delight and a desire to afford all reasonable facilities to the Com* pany making it, The conduct} of the Legislative Council in the matter appears ioex plicablo, end it cannot be too severely reprobated, A correspondent, writing over the norn tie plume of ''F«l* Play," has omitted to sup"ply t}3 with bis name. Until he his complied with our invariable role in this oonnection, his letter cannot appear. The Loyal Nelson Lodge, 1.0. G.T., intend holding an open meetir g in the T.M.C.A, Booms on Friday evening, tho Bth mac, commencing ai ,<J o'o'ocfc, when addresses will te given by thfl Key* Wi'Ji^ms and Scandring, la addition to th,© usual songs Hnd reoitauone, a choice eoleotion from Hojlb'b hymns will he gfvfln by the memborc We have no doubt thero wfll be a large attendance of the members and the public, Tub annual licensing meeting for the district of Wai-iti will Ba held at the Court house, Brightwater, to-morrow at noon, when applications for licenses will he received. The annual licensing meeting for the district of Stoke will i 9 held at the Institute, Biohmond, to-morrow, at noon. An information has been laid by the \ Inspector of Police against Christian Denoker, charging him with wilfully setting fire to a dwelling house, his property, in Neudorf on the night of the 21st April. The. case will come before the R.M. Court jon the 15th | instant. **•,.' A meeting of the HKsa^barß of the Bicycle Club will.be held this evening. A lecture with a very attractive title-* " Bast and West Two Thoasaod Y. ais Ago " —will be delivered at the All Saiuts loe.itate to-iiiorrow evening °y Mr W. J. Fjrc?, the Principal of the Oaty.'ge. Non-members will be admittel on puymeufr of tbe small fee of sixpence. In the matter of the will of Charles Faulkner late of Lower Wakefield, farmer, on the motion of Mr Pitt, probate was granted by Mr Turnbull, Registrar, to Henry i Faulkner, the executor named in the will. Mb S. J. Reevea informs us thm he has receive! from Me Skey, tie Go7?rnpjeQ(6 j analgist, the results of an aes»y of about two , pounds weight of ore taken from tbe lode in | the Owe i), the yield being at> the rate of Blczs ISiwta to the ton. Dm«NT Mkn.— "Wells' Health Uonewflr,' restores health and vigor, cure Dyspepsia, mpotence, Debility. At druggists. Kempthorns, Proßßer & Co., Agentß, Ohristoburcb,

Per cent, i Per cent. 1. Gold Coast 24.60 22. South Australia 10,87 2. Cape of Good 23, Natal .. 10.70 i Hope ... 21-50 24. St. Helena... 10.57 3. Western Austra. 25. Lagos ... 10.34 lia ... 20.29 26, Virgin Islands 10.32 4. New Zealand 19.10 27, Gambia ... 10.02 5. Jamaioa ... 18.85 28. Turks Island 9.79 .6. St. Lucia ... 18.17 29. Honduras ... 9.77 7. Canada ... 17.55 3O. H Bermuda ... 9.73 8^ Antigua ... 16.25 31. Montserrat 9.43 9. Bahamas ... 16.80 32. Barbadoes ... 8.49 10. Tasmania .. 15.71 33. Manritius ... 7.80 11. Queensland 1541 34. N. South Wales 7.50 12. Tobago ... 15.00 35. Trinidad ... 6.77 13. Fiji ... ... 14.98 36. Oevlon ... 6.21 14. Granada ... 14.30 37. United Kingdom 5.34 15. St. Vincent... 13.84 38. Falkland Islands 6.02 16. British Guiana 13 70 39. India ... 3.87 17. Newfoundland 13.30 40. Labuan not stated 18. Sierra Leone 12.45 41. Gibraltar no returns 19. Dominica ... 11.57 42. Malta „ 20. £t Kitts and 43. Hong Kong no duties Nevis .. 11.41 44. Straits Settle--21. Victoria ... 11.29 ments „ „