THE Thames Advertiser. TUESDAY, AUG. 4, 1874

Thames Advertiser, Volume VII, Issue 1882, 4 August 1874, Page 2

THE Thames Advertiser. TUESDAY, AUG. 4, 1874

Except figures, nothing is so fallacious as facts; as it has been wisely said, and the figures adduced at times before the members of the Assembly go far to prove its accuracy. The hon. the Premier is fully aware of it, aud if lie wishes to throw dust in the eyes of hou. members he is usually armed with columns of statistics, and calls them forth to the astonishment of his hearers. In the'statistics of gold exported, and the revenue of goldfields placed before the Assembly by the Under-Secretary for Goldtields, we find that the export of gold for the first quarter of last year exceeded that of the corresponding quarter this year by 90/195 ounces, the figures being, for the quarter ending March, 1873, 199,442 ounces, for the correspondingquarterthis year, 108,947. From this it might be argued that there was a great falling off in the yield of our goldfields, but on looking rouud for an explanation we find that the reduction in gold duty, under the Goldfields Act, 1872, which came into force during the first quarter of last year, considerably affected the revenue as well as the mining population. It served very materially to increase the average earnings of the mining population, whilst the extra amount exported during the first quarter of the reduction, the yield of some few months accumulated to save the duty, accounts for the difference in the figures of the two quarters. When carefully examined by practical knowledge, therefore, figures are found delusive, and the alarming decrease spoken of by some journals as the result of last year's operations on our goldfields exists only in those worthless figures which may, as occasion requires, be made to prove anything. The figures given by Mr O. E. Haughton in his " Goldfields Report," just presented to the House, show that during the year 1373 every gold-yield-ing province in the colony, with one trifling exception, increased the amount to a very substantial extent, viz.: — Auckland, 14,5590zs ; Otago, : M,7420z5; Nelson, 18,5000zs j Westland, 2,9490z5. Of course it must be borne in mind that the quarter's export of gold does not represent the actual yield of that quarter, but more correctly of the preceeding three mouths.

The prospects of the goldfields of the colony are not discouraging. A perusal of the reports of Mr C. K. Haughton and the Goldfields Wardens will testify that there is little or no reason for anxiety as to tho future of our goldfields. At the same time, our miners want assisting and' encouraging in their hazardous undertakings, Bright prospects and increasing yields are not always their lot, and unless the gangrene of over-taxation and monopoly which is sanctioned by the hou. members of the Assembly is alleviated, this important industry may' ultimately languish and decay. Tho average earnings of our gold miners is still much below what it ought to be, and assistance is absolutely necessary to augment them. The taxation of this class 18 so groat that it affects incomes

barely sufficient to keep up with the inevitable demands for the simple necessaries of life, and in the case of the miner these are laid under heavy contribution to satisfy such demands of taxation. It has been shown that the ; gold miner contribute* five pounds per , annum of special taxation, exclusive of the heavy general taxation usually ; imposed upon him by the increased ' cost of living, aud the tax upon the articles he consumes, whether necessaries or luxuries. Hitherto representatives in the Assembly have been content to award the mining population their "sincere" sympathy when ■ the hon. member for this district has brought forward his annual appeal for a reduction of the gold duty, but nothing more. We are told that the provinces cannot afford to lose the amount of revenue which such reduction would deprive them of, and the Provincial party have been too powerful for the goldlields' representatives. But what will be said this year, should the hon. member muster up courage sufficient to again introduce the question The Provincial Council of Otago voted a reduction of the gold duty in order to assist the mining population, but when the Ordinance was remitted for the assent of his Excellency the Government advised its disallowance, and so nipped in the bud any attempt at reduction by the provinces. The Government acknowledged that it was alone responsible for the disallowance of the Ordinance, and the result so far has been to frighten the hon. member for the Thames from making his usual sessional appeal for a reduction of the miners' taxation. It has been hinted that the members of the Provincial Council of Otago were not sincere when they voted in favor of the gold duty re-payment Ordinance, that they knew full well it would not receive the sanction of the Government, and that the mining community would be called upon to say thank you for nothing. This we cannot credit. We give the Council of Otago credit for greater liberality, aud a more sincere desire to benefit a class which has done so much towards laying the foundation of its future prosperity. Otago is now prosperous beyond expectation, and it is only a graceful act on the part of its rulers to repay the measure of support it has received from the mining community of the out-districts. We only regret the course adopted towards it, and towards all similar communities, by the hostile Government of the day. The first and principal *excuse offered for opposing a reduction of the tax was that the provinces could not afford it, and when any attempt is made to break down this ground of opposition, the Government, which is so reluctant to do an act of justice to our gold miners, step in to prevent it being carried into effect. We await the introduction by Mr O'Neill of his annual motion, to learn the next ground of objection to the tax.