TAXATION OF LAND.

New Zealand Times, Volume LXXII, Issue 4819, 24 November 1902, Page 5

TAXATION OF LAND.

I would like, writes Mr 11. Hill* Beckett, to -make just a few remarks on your article ‘‘Taxation of Land" in the issue of tho 13Ui lust. With tho political aspect of tho question I have no thing wnatover to do. What I desire la state is simply matter of fact. Quoting from a recent Loudon writer, you say Lord Dudley has suddenly become enriched by thu discovery of a new coalfield in Staffordshire,-without any expenditure on his part of labour or contrivance of brain. As a quondam geological surveyor and mining engineer, born and bred iu tho locality. I 1 must take exception to both statements.- In tho first place, tho “new coalfield" is no “discovery” at all, for it has long been known to experts that tho old South Staffordshire coalfield —tho richest -probably in tho world—which is bounded by downthrow faults extended beneath tho overlying Permian and Triassio Formations; and it was merely a question us to whether the seams of coal would he found at a workable and payable depth. ’’This was proved years ago on the south-east side of iho coalfield iu Lord Dartmouth's estate at West Bromwich, and on the west side iu Lord Dudley’s estate at Himley and Baggoridgo wood Investigations have been carried on for over a quarter of a century at an enormous expenditure of “labour and contrivance of brain." Labour is even paid for at Homo, and tbo professional man of brains is properly remunerated in accordance with hia scientific knowledge. Ho is not, as obtains out here, simply putin the balance with tho horny-handed and expected to exist on labourer’s wages. Sinking shafts, too, is rather different to pick and shovel scratching on the surface, or driving an adit in tlio si do of a hill. On one shaft alone in the North of England over a quarter of a million of money was expended before any return could be made. What would a local State colliery supporter say to that as a sample of private enterprise? Then, again, Lord Dudley docs not stand alone in his glory as tho happy possessor of untold, prospective wealth, for there is no question that coal will eventually be found under tho whole of tlio central part of England, the ownership of which runs into many thousands. If you look at a geological may of the Old Country, you will observe the patches coloured black, which represent tho positions of the known coal fields where tho various scams are in n?ar proximity to the surface of the ground. But the patches iu Staffordshire, Warwickshire, Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Lancashire, Flintshire, Denbighshire, Shropshire and Worcestershire are simply outliers of a gigantic area of mineral wealth stored up countless ages ago by a beneficent Provideuce for the use of many generations, and as to the comparative value of which all tho millionaires in the world combined are as mere nothings. The guantity of coal, in fact, is practically inexhaustible, and tho accompanying bands of ironstone and fireclay will last for unlimited periods; the latter, by the way, being far more valuable than, the coal. In my time a guinea a ton was tho royalty payable on the host 'fireclay, coal averaging only sixpence and slack threepence. Much of this vast mineral wealth may lie at great depths, hut when it is required in the future proper appliances will,;no doubt, be promptly found for working and ventilating the mines.