THE TEA AND SUGAR DUTIES.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XIX, Issue 6891, 11 June 1892, Page 2

THE TEA AND SUGAR DUTIES.

Somr time ago we dealt with the subject of an early dissolution. The article was written through one of the shrewdest political observers in the colony, and who has a long experience of Parliamentary life, having expressed a conviction that the next session would be the last of the present Parliament. Ifc may be askod, what has that to do with the ten and sugar duties 1 A great deal to those who look at the question below the surface. One of the greatest mistakes th« Glovornment made in the eyes of the country, and particularly in the eyes of their own party, was the inland penny post proposal, instead of a reduction in the duties on the necessaries of life. According to latest accounts, Mr Ward is determined to bring the postal reduction into effect. The other members of the Cabinet do not like the proposal, but they cannot afford to throw overboard a colleague. The Postniftster-General is a big merchant, and is looked upon as the principal makewright of the Ministry. It would be an exceedingly rash thing for the Ministry, which mainly depends upon the support of the deluded working classes, to appeal to the country with a performance of a reduction of £50,000 in postal revenue and nothing accomplished in the way of reducing the charges on the necessaries of life. Relieving the banks and the trading classes generally to a considerable extent in the aggregate, and letting the Customs duties alone, would be a disgustingly Liberal programme. Our opinion is that as much revenue as possible should be made out of the postal and telegraphic services, and that the only limitation to charges should be the loss of custom. If an additional £100,000 could be brought in by raising the inlund postage to fourpence, a more easy way of raising revenue could not b« devised, nor one which nould inflict less hardship on the community. The other day the inland rate of postage in Victoria was doubled without a murmur. If the Ministry are bent upon an early appeal to the country, depend upon it they will endeavor to counteract the ill effects of Mr Ward's postal scheme by a proposal to swoop away the tea and sugar duties. This would result in a loss of revenue to the extent of L 220,000. With prudent management in public affairs, the Colonial Treasurer could make the sacrifice without putting on additional taxation in any other direction, bub that is not likely to be the policy adopted. In his address at Hastings, Captain Russell said that more care would be exercised in expenditure if direct taxation were extended, as the people who found the money would take a direct interest in keeping down the expenditure of the Government. That is a perfectly true proposition, but there in a good deal to be said in favor of indirect taxation. It does not give rise to nearly so much soreness as the direct method. The taxpayer's pocket is touched almost without his knowing it. When a person is buying a pound of tobacco it does not immediately strike him that he is paying os (id to the Government ; the same remark applies to the sixpence on tea and the halfpenny on sugar. However, the present Ministry are not likely to be influenced by the idea expressed by Captain Russell. The Government policy is that one section of the community shall find the money and another section shall have the spending of it. The probability is that a proposal for the abolition of the tea and sugar duties will be accompanied by a proposal to increase the burden upon the land.

The linking season opens this evening in the City Rink. Mr Booth, R.M., returned from his coast tour at 11.45 this morning. The Empire Tea Company have a change of advertisement in this issue. A concert was held in the Ormond School last evening. There was a good attendance and the affair proved a great success. At Tuparoa a Native child, twelve years of age, was burned so severely by her dress catching fire on the Bth inst that she died yesterday. A tea and social entertainment will be held in Wesley schoolroom on Tuesday evening next in aid of the funds of the Sunday School. A good programme is being arranged, and an enjoyable evening is anticipated. A chess tournament is to take place on Monday night between teams from the Gisborne and Patutahi Chess Clubs. The tourney will be held at Mr Bright* residence, Makaraka. The names of the Gisborne players are : — Canon Webb, and Messrs Barnard, Witty, Day, Crawford, G. H. Lysnar, H. Bull, C. D. Wilson. Next month a short season of hunting will be inaugurated in Gisborne. Arrangements have been made by some of the leading settlers for a visit of the Napier Hunt Club's hounds, and whilst they are in the district it is intended to have several hunts, the first to be on Mr G. L. Sunderland's property in the Patutahi district. A reprint paragraph which appeared yesterday stated that there is one public-house to about 90 persons in England and Wales. A gentleman detected the mistake, and on examining the figures found the number to be 900 to each public-house. Evidently a nought dropped out of the paragraph in going the round of the papers Referring to the Agricultural Conference in Chmtchuach, "Puff," writing in the Wellington Press, says: — "They want the Government to kill weeds, test manures, teach children farming, and farm bookkeeping, find out all about insects and how to kill them, fix up the dog tax afresh, look after irrigation, stallions, the packing of arsenic, New Zealand apples, produce, and other little odd jobs ' too numerous to particularise !' " An alteration has been made in the date of departure of the s.s. Tekapo, which was advertised to leave for South at 3 p.m. to-morrow. It lias now been decided to forward the steamer on earlier, so that she may work Napier to-morrow night, and the launch will leave the wharf with outward passengers at 8 a.m. The ».s. Oreti goes North at 8 tcnight, and the Tarawera at 10 to-morrow morning.

We are requested to state that the petition, now being signed by the women of I liia district, to Parliament to grant female franchise, must bo forwarded by the first boat to Auckland. Ladies who ar« in favor of t he enfranchisement of their sex can sign the petition this afternoon and evening at Mrs A. M. Urowne's shop, Gladstone road. It may he stated that there is a movement in Auckland in the same direction. An enjoyable concert was held at Te Arai last evtming in aid of the local school. There was a large attendance. A long programme was gone through, including songs by Misses Rangi, Haisman, U'Ren, Kirk, Tregea, Messrs Rangi, Woodward, Russell, Smith, and W. Robb ; recitations by Misses U'Ren, Morris, King, Willson, Messrs Woodward, Gilmore, anil Master Daulton ; and glees by the children. Special mention must be made of the songs " When the leaves begin to fall" by Miss Rangi, "The song that reached my heart" by Mr Rangi, and Mr Woodward's recitation "Shamus O'Brien" and song "The parson and the clerk." A dance followed the concert. A meeting of members of the Acclimatisation Society was held this afternoon when there were present : Messrs A. C. Arthur. Smith, Grant, Dormer, Trotter, Matthewson, Boylan, Dobbie, W. Wethered, Thelwell, Williamson, and Dr Lines. Mr Grant, who had acted as secretary, reported that there was a credit balance of £33 14s 6d^ which would be raised to about £55 when the money for tho year's licenses were received. Mr Grant having resigned the position of honorary secretary, it was resolved that Mr Boylan be appointed secretary. Mr Arthur said that he had noticed that the Wellington Society was sending to America for prairie hens and quail, and he thought it might be well if t hey joined in supplementing the shipment. Mr Grant said wild cats were increasing very rapidly in the district. Cats had been left from bash camps, and were very destructive to birds. With regard to Mr Arthur's suggestion re prairie hens and quail, it was decided to seek information from the Wellington Society. Motions were carried that £25 be spent in obtaining rainbow trout and £15 for hares. (Left sitting). The Cable Company asked £100 per diem for the use of the cable repairing steamer. Close upon thirty thosand carcasses have been operated upon at the Woodville freezing works this season. The Oamaru Mail learns that people in Oamaru and district are sending to Dunedin for domestic requirements at such a rate as must affect trade, The Electoral Registrar (says the Wellington Press) has received instructions to prepare the new electoral rolls. What's in the wind now? A social club is to be formed in Christchurch for the mutual improvement and recreation of boys who have left, school. It is to be called the Gordon Home, and is to be strictly undenominational. Mr Mackay, late principal of Wellington College, has turned farmer, and has taken up a considerable holding at Midhurst, Taranaki. The largest fruit place in the United States is that of General Bidwell at Chico, Butts County, consisting of 65,650 trees. There were 5,300,000 pounds of dried fruit shipped therefrom in 1891. An Invercargill telegram states that there is considerable activity in the oat market. A northern speculator purchased 90,000 sacks in one line in Invercargill, and other large transactions are pending. Lord George Hamilton stated in the House of Commons than an experimental transport of troops had been made across the Cana-dian-Pacific railway, and had been a decided success so far as rapid travelling was concerned, but as regards cost the line was not able to compart with that via Panama. The Marlborough Press says that Picton is the " Liverpool of the South," This remark is called for by the fact that one day last week there were four sailing vessels and a hnlk in port together. The Melbourne Argus says :— The Bank of . New South Wales enjoys the distinction of being the fifth in magnitude as a deposit bank of the banks of the British Empire, precedence being taken only by the Bank of England, the National Provincial of England, the London and Westminister, Lloyd's A woman recently died of- starvation at Christchurch. The husband went to the North Island to look for work, and the woman's condition was not known till just before she was taken to the hospital, where she died. Dr. Newman, M.H.R., says it is impossible to say what the colonial surplus for last year was, as Ministers are very foolishly withhelding tho information from the colony. By the Public Revenues Act the returns should bo gazetted forthwith. A Napier paper reports that » narrow escape from death occurred lately at a railway crossing. A man who had been drinking chose for his bed the railway line, and there lay till partially sobered. Hearing the first tram he managed to roll over, but was so near the wheel that the tail of his coat was cut off. The Hon. Mr Cadman proposes to give each of the Natives of the district who suffered from the Tarawera volcano and earthquake an allotment of land on perpetuiil lease. There are about 300 Natives in and anound Rotorua who were placed in a landless position by the now famous eruption. The tugs-of-war both at the skating rink and the Opera House, Wellington, have ended unsatisfactorily, and in each instance legal proceedings will be instituted against the promoters by the teams which differ from the decisions of the committee as to the final results of the competitions. The following circular has been issued by the Labor Bureau :— " Officers in the public service are hereby informed that any persons employed in future by the Government as artisans, mechanics, laborers, gardeners, messengers, watchmen, etc. , must be engaged through the Department of Labor. All applications for employment are to be recorded at the Labor Bureau." The Wellington Press has been placed under the Ministerial ban for its outspokenness, and the ukase has gone forth that it shall receive no more Government advertisements. The Dunedin Star, Napier Telegraph, and other papers have been similarly dealt with for exercising freedom of thought in criticisms on the Government policy. The Dunedin Globe says the Bruce election was not lost to the Government because the settlers had no confidence in the Government. The election, it says, was decided on purely side issues : the grain bag question, the Catholic • >rote, whisky, and misrepresentation wero the things the election turned on. This is a pretty serious charge to bring against the supporters o the Government.— Oamaru Times. The North Otago Times understands that Mr W. L. Simpson visited Oamaru on behalf of the borough bondholders. His mission was to ascertain the financial position of the borough aud the character of the securities held by the bondholders. Having ascertained these, Mr Simpson asked if the borough could give further security that the 4 per cent, offered, if accepted by the bondholders, would be maintained. Presumably the reply was that the borough has, unfortunately, no further security to pledge. At a special meeting of the Shipmasters' Committee of Management, at Wellington, the followiug resolution was passed unanimously :— " We consider that the action of the Christchurch branch of the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in charging Captain Romeril, of the s.s. Kahu, with cruelty to animals, was at once hasty and ill-advised, and that a prompt acknowledgment of their error should be made to Capt. Romeril as reparation for the gross injustice inflicted on him." A good story is told concerning Wi Waka, the Masterton Native whose death we recorded yesterday (says the Times). The Land Court was sitting in a Wairarapa township many years ago, and Wi was entrusted with a large sum of money for distribution among his tribe. Arranging his men in a ring around him he proceeded to divide the spoil. To the first he gave a pound and placed one in his own pocket, to the second the same, and so on, until the whole snm was paid away. The tribe was quite satisfied that the distribution was fair, and Wi retired with about twelve times as much as the rest,

Litigation is expensive. The case Spackinan v. Wairarapa North County Council cost the corporation body, notwithstanding that the decision was eventually given in their favor, £102 3s (id. The Council have requested their solicitor to modify his claim, otherwise it will be taxed. The Winchester (Canterbury) people believe in the policy of self-reliance. A man named John Breen was detected pilfering from a Btore there, and instead of telegraphing for the constable they bound the man hand and foot and carted him to the Temuka lock-up. A large number of cattle have been snowed in on the Gippsland mountains, and the chances are that the settlers will never secmost of them again. It is the usual thing to take stock upon the mountains during the summer months, but the snow coming on quicker than usual, they were unable to get them off in time. The British Medical Journal says : — Russia has been infected with the vice of ether drinking, and the pernicious habii has Bpread so rapidly that the Government has judged it necessary to prohibit the free sale of ether and of certain of its compounds, and to schedule it among the poisons the sale of which, even by pharmaceutical chemists, is surrounded with severe restrictions, as was lately done in Ireland. Mr C. M. Gray, of Christchurch, has completed his annual investigation of the cost of thcdriik traffic in New Zealand. The result reveals an increase last year of more than j £14,000 in the total amount spent in drink ; I but the increase in population shows that the average coat per head has decreased about one shilling. Wo have received from the Union Company's local office, which is an agency jof the Orient line, a copy of a nicely got up publication entitled " The building of an Orient liner," which contains some well written letterpress and fine illustrations by W. L. Wyllie, A.R.A., and Enoch VVard. The new Orient liner Ophir, described in the work, is a triumph of shipbuilding art. Mr Hall, the new Provincial Treasurer of Qnebec, states that when Mr Mercier came into power the provincial debts amounted to £4,428,689, against assets of £2,150,856. Now the liabilities reach £7,196,975, though the assets have only risen to £2,312,238. The net debt has, therefore, doubled in six years. A London correspondent writes : — " I notice that New Zealand mutton is still advancing in favor in England. Besides the enormous number of families who always have it in preference to the English growth, the Government have now taken it up. The latest revised rules regulating the dietaries of the prisons in England and Wales, and issued by the Home Office, after allowing the prisoners' bread and cocoa, etc., now allows for dinner 4oz. of colonial mutton or beef to each person." A Home paper says that Mr Goschen, Chancellor of the Exchequer, owes at least one million of his surplus to the influenza epidemic. During the past three months wills have been reported disposing of personal estate valued at £22,500,000. This compares with an amount of £12,500,000 in personalty disposed of by wills in the corresponding period of 1891. The returns from this source account for nearly the whole sum of £841,000 by which the revenue from stamps in the quarter ending March 31, 1892, exceeded the amount received in the first quarter of last year. A missionary fresh from New Guinea, reports that a great moral change is coming over the people, who no longer regard the missionaries with suspicion, but, on the contrary, evince the greatest anxiety to have them amongst them. At the present time there are seven European missionaries in New Guinea, but there are still 400,000 natives untouched. The missionaries of different denominations work most harmoniously together, and when a new church was opened on the shores of the harbor recently, the lessons were read by a clergyman of the Anglican Church, the dedicatory prayer was offered by a Congregational nu'nist er, a Wesleyan performed the communion office, a Presbyterian preached the sermon, and a Roman Catholic presided at the harmonium. Dr. Grace, M.L.C., who has just returned from Sydney says that he observed everywhere what he thought jealousy of New Zealand, its people, its products, its climate, and its progress. He gave the following as an example : — At a meeting of the A.M. P. Society he took advantage of the opportunity to demonstrate the financial soundness of 'New Zealaud. He pointed to the fact that the A.M.P. Society had loaned in this colony the sum of £878,115 over a period of about twenty years, and had tlfat aggregate amount now out on loan here, yet during the whole twenty years it had not a shilling of interest in arrear, nor lost a shilling of the original capital. He challenged the whole world to produce greater evidence than this of commercial morality and financial soundness among a people. Though this speech was in reply to an attack made upon the solvency of New Zealand, the Sydney " Morning Herald " never published his reply, contenting itself with the baldest reference to his remarks. A few days later he saw an exhaustive leader in the " Herald " regretting that New Zealand was about to become the dumping ground for the criminal classes of England, and demonstrating this proposition by a scries of arguments inaccurate in principle and detail, and betraying the utmost ignorance of our own land laws. He could not help feeling that if an important paper like the "Herald" knew so little of our affairs, and neglected to publish a defence when our position was attacked from public platforms, there was every reason to took askance at federation proposals. If words go for anything, it is probable that Mr Eugene O'Conor, M.HjR., will be found in Opposition next session. When he was presented with an address of welcome at Westport he referred in disparaging terms to the manner in which public works had been carried on in his absence, Step by step the working classes were being sacrificed. It was hypocrisy to talk of driving away capital when the workers, who were the producers of capital, were being driven away. It was tiresome that public works could not be carried on without constantly throwing masses of men out of employment. In addressing his constituents a few days later he said the Government had really done nothing in the way of legislating for the bone and sinew of the country. He wanted the Mokihinui railway left to the Habor Board to construct, but the Minister of Public Works wanted to do it himself. He strongly protested against the way the railway works had been delayed and the extra and unnecessary expense to the Harbor Board. He might call for a committee of the House to enquire into this matter. He had always protested against maladministration from Wellington, and the present Government was no better than others. He also asserted that Buller county had been dishonestly treated in the matter of the road vote. When a vote of confidence was proposed in Mr O'Conor, one elector suggested that the Government should be added, but it was not thought wise to bind their member, who evidently does not believe in being merely a delegate. An Auckland resident recently returned from the West Coast of the North Island, who had been paying it a visit after a lapse of some years, expresses himself comDletely surprised at the steady progress which has been made in bona fide settlement all along the coast. On the Manawatu railway line the sections are being taken up as fast aa they are put into the market by the company, and intending settlers going back seven and eight miles from the' line. At every little township house building is going on, and at three different townships on the line a large hotel is being put up in each. He was talking with a large shareholder in the Manawatu Railway Company, and, judging from the conversation, there is no likelihood now of the Government acquiring the line, save at a substantial advance. At Paltnerston North there has been a good deal of house-building, and there is some talk of the authorities lighting the square with arc electric lights, using the surplus power of their gravitation water supply. Hawera has also taken a fresh start, and new buildings are going up. Land has changed hands, he states, at £40 a foot in the main street. Through the energy of the Wellingtonians, all along the Coast the trade is surely but steadily gravitating Wellington wards, even as far as New Plymouth, but it is statad that if. Auckland was connected with Taranaki by rail it would get the beat part of the Taranaki trade.