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TUB WAYS AND MEANS.
Now, we would wish our readers to
cnrof'uUy bear in mind, that in contend,
ing for Protection, we never onoe
intended to imply that we would ad*
vocato PnomumurT, We have seen
that there has existed a great miscon
ception od this head. MaDy people
imagine, that those who advocate pro
tection are for excluding altogether
from the ports, articles of use and of
luxury, such as could not he produced
here - xcapt at an extravagant cost al
together beyond the means of the
average colonists. Bo fatal an error
wan uever made. The great idea is to
raise a revenue from articles imported
to this colony, such as could be manu
factured wiihin, — or such as are noi
common necessaries.
We have seen that the prnctic1
liifher'o of (lie public financier, has
been to impose, taxes upon snub, or
lici.s of every day consumption 119 lire
abaulut' news ariea of life — care being
zealuuely taken that everything tint
could be produced by our farmers, or
our manufacturers is admitted free,
in us tbe Customs Revenue is princi
pally derived from duties upon leu,
nugar( malt, wines nnd spirits. .Now
we would not for one instant interfere
with thismodoofraisingreveuue. Altho'
if there is an exception to our rule, it
is in favor of tea, coffee, sugar, and
tobacco, — These articles being espe
cially the necessaries or luxuries of the
poor, wo would admit, if wo admitted
any to our ports, free of all duty. But
we repeat, that we have no desire what
ever to interfere with the Tnriff ar
rangements in this respect. Wo know
j full well that to keep up a government
I — money must be raised for every re
quirement, and it is our duty now to
show, how it may be raised so that the
laboring classes of the population —
' the bold peasantry tbeir country's
pride,' may be cherished, and main
tained.
?Supposing then, oar legislators, anx
ious to provide means for the require
ments of the public service were to
commence by imposing a duty of Ten
pounds upon every four-wheeled, and
Three pounds upon every two-wheeled
carriage or vehicle, imported to the
colony. Would any great hardship be
inflicted by such a tax ? Wo think not ;
for
' Whun wa'ro rich, ws vide in chaiseB,
When we're poor, ire walk litto lilazaa.'
us the poet observes. From such a
duty ag this, we have no doubt that sir
to eight thousand pounds could be
raised, and an impetus given to the
business of our coach, builders ? Let it
be tried.
Then again, another and a most im
portant revenue might be raised by the
imposition of a trifling tax upon Bills.
It has boon estimated that in ibis
colony, during tho year I860, no less
an amount of Hill transact! mis took
place tlmn £5000,000! Transactions
upon Bills on England, Bills torei^o,
and Exchange. Would ono penny in
the pound be missed by parties to
those transactions ? Here at once is a
revenue of £20,833 6s Oi. Nothing
could bs fairer than such a tax, and
none would object to it. It might be
carried out by means of stumps.
But coming to the grand object in
view. The revenue raised by pro
tective duties. A calculation has been
made of certain goods entered inwards
in thia colon v during one year, and it
has been found that they amounted in
value to close upon eight hundred
thousand pounds ! Thus : —
£.
Appireland nlops... ? 120.742
Arms nnd Ammunition ? 6.140
Boots and etioes ? 65,(544
Caoiiles ? 18.290
CtrpetB ? 8773
Uuttoas and liooDU ? 92 303
Drapery ? ? 2J3.8I2
Oilmen'* Storoe ? 82,000
8»ddl«ry ? 81.003
Slatinnory ? 5G 000
Woollen ? 73,000
£'39,604
Upon lh°sa articles wa won Id place
a email ad wtlorcm duty. If five per
cent, were placed thereon, tha revenue
would be at onco forty thousand
poutidx ! Well. If the people chose
to patronize foreign productions in
prefernnc' to their own, then of course
the money would come from their
pockets fre -ly and voluntarily. It is
absurd to say that tho imposition of
five per cent, upon those articles of
import, would amount to a prohibition ;
— that because of such a duty people
would not have shoes to their feet, nor
clotheB to their backs. They have them
in California, — they have besides
money in their Badts and goods to
export. And in California the import
duty is 33-J par cent ? Surely the
foreign manufacturer could ftffjr-} 5
per cent, for the people ol tho colony
from whom he obtains his profits.
Tho experience of Canada, one of
our British Colonies, hna taught its
people, that the very be-st principle of
taxation is that of advalorcm duties.
Tho imposition of such duties actua'ly
cheapened the articles upon which they
were charged, by drawing to that
Culony, not only from England, but
from every country in. the world popu
ln*ion, c»pHM, industry, onorgv — and
what we so much require — Machinery.
And would they not have tbe same ro
sult in these Colonies upon which are
fixed the eves of the world ? Where
is there a place well nutted to give
a man of enterprise and energy a home,
if it be not Australia. In ilieso colo
nies a man cau look his brother man in
the face, and feel that he walks the
earth by God's will and not by ihe
sufferance of the rich Give therefore
an inducement to the enterprising to
eettle down here; Let there be Free
Trade in the products of industry
when established wiihin. And let
that be the only description of Free
trade we will hear of. 1 heck the im
mease trade which ia thrown into the
hands of ono or two agents for largo
firms in London, who at their whim can
fairly stultify at nny moment,
the local shoemaker— the tailor— the
saddler— the eoachmakor — tho carpen
ter—the cabinet maker, — and all others
by whom alone a population can be made
up. Tax the rich— who can afford to
pay the taxes Bo well ? Let the poor
and the industrious live as free of
tixeg as possible, and thus Tasmania
may yet. go ahead.
We trust that we are not too prolix
in our remarks. The subject is one
that cannot be handled in ono article,
but we propose to conclude our obser
vations upon ir in our next.
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