MR CARKEEK AND THE AUCKLAND MERCHANTS.

Wellington Independent, Volume XIX, Issue 2177, 9 March 1865, Page 5

MR CARKEEK AND THE AUCKLAND MERCHANTS.

(From the Southern Cross, March 3rd.) The Colonial Tieasurer has found the " efficien* Inspector of Custorcs" in Mr Carkeek, whose appointment he foreshadowed during the tariff debate. Mr Fitzherbert calculated that a considerable sum extra might be squeezed out of the Customs revenue by the appointment of sucb an officer. And the Inspector bas paid us in Auckland an official visit. As new brooms proverbially sweep clean, and as a great dual was expected from the Inspector by the Commissioner of Customs, it would appear by the undergrovvl of the merchants and commercial classes of the city that the bighly respectable functionary in question is determined not to disappoint the expectations liis patron formed regarding him. Some sweeping changes have been made in the mode of levying the Customs dues, tlie effect being to oppress unduly the trade of the port. In short, Mr Carkeek has revolutionised the Customs department ; and shall we say, electrified inio unwonted energy and activity the Parra Sathas of the. Auckland Custom-bouse. So far it is well. Fresh blood is a desirable accession to departments that have grown respectably slow and heavy ; and a little stimulant now and again would do no harm. But unfortunately lhe energetic manifestations have not been confined to salutary changes in the department. The public out of doors are made to feel that the change is not as agreeable as it might be. Instead of the new tariff being liberally interpreted, the Inspector has gone on lhe opposite tack, and run his pen through the free list, und, by a complete change of system, upset, wiihout a moment's notice, all business arrangements. The mischief of the thing is that there is no approaching this exalted personage. He may not be addressed, by letter or by word of mouth. The decree has gone forth from tbe chair of slate in which he sits enthroned in Shortland-street, and by a stroke of the pen, without as much as saying ''Presto, change," cheese become oilmen's stores, and linseed oil ranks under the same designation. The trick is inimitable ;only it is coming too strong. It really won't do, Mr Carkeek, for although it would suit the views of tbe Commissioner of Customs to have it so, cheese, and oil, and corrugated iron, and mis- ' eellancous articles of that description, are not ' oilmen's stores. But the merchants are told — * " Tbat is onr interpretation : if you don't like it, appeal to the Supreme Court." Well, our ad- ! vice to the importers is to try the question by all 1 means. Let some one refuse to pay, and the ' Customs authorities will of course seize tbe I goods; and then let tbe question be tested bef fore the Chief Justice, where the necessities ol 5 the Colonial Treasury will not be an element ; in the decision ofthe moot point. The action f for damages ought to be conducted out of a ■ common fund, raised by tbe merchants for the - purpose. It is preposterous to suppose that any ' snch arbilraiy interpretation of the permissive 1 clause can be sanctioned in v court of equity 1 Abundant proof can be given that various 1 commodities, classed under the head of oilmen's 1 stores, are nut, and never did come, within the 1 designation. And so of otber articles. If il 1 should turn out- however, that the law as il 1 stands warrants such an unjust interpretation 3 and oppressive application to the commerce ol * the port, steps must be taken to compel a re- * vision. When we state that corrugated iror - will pay £4 per ton ; oatmeal, £4 per ton ; her c rings, in tins, one halfpenny eacb ; and thai " starch, blue, salmon, sardines, and lobsters ii 3 tins, pay 5s per foot duty, it will be seen tha - the cost of living will be greatly increased, ant that the pressure will be more severely felt bi 1 tbe woiking classes. The measuiemetit duty i: * oppressive and unjust in principle, and ought t< n be substituted by uu ad valorem duty; but in 1 stead of being relaxed, it is enforced upon com '- mndities in general consumption amongst tin ( 1 poorer classes ; whilst by levying it off machincr; n fui- manufacturing purposes, the capitalist wil !S be deterred from embarking in manufaoturins speculations. The prize is worth contendin; for, however ; and as tho Government believ they will raise £20,000 extra at Auckland b - the plan just adopted, we may be sure tha )f every effort wiil be made to retain the bold the - at present possess. c By abolishing the old " racking-olf-system, t- as it is technically called, serious loss will b 't inflicted on importers of wines, spirits, and ales 3, Hitherto, wheu officers in the army ordered an is of these commodities, the merchants were pei ■> f milted to send them the quantity ordere

from their duly-paid stock, and the exhibition of a receipt from the officer that the goods had arrived enabled tbe merchant to draw an equivarenl out of bond. Now that system is abolished, lf a cask is broken, it must be at once divided iuto two, five, or ten gallon kegs, as convenient, and left in bond under new marks ; and no drawback will be allowed on dutiable articles sold to the military, unless tbe officer ouloring attends at the bonded store and cci lilies on the spot to the delivery of the good--. Bad as this system is, and opening as it does the door lo the fraudulent trader, its operation is the more objectionable when we add that no equivalent will be allowed to menchants who, on tbe faith of the old system and while it was siill in force, supplied their military customers from their duty-paid stock. In several instances tbe loss will amount to from £200 to £300, and, in very many cases, to sums of considerable amount. This is simply unjust. It is a breach of faith which no Go- ' vernment can commit with impunity; and we are not surprised, therefore, to find that the Chamber of Commerce has been specially summoned for Monday to take this subject iuto consideration.