, 1868-11-20

cellor of the Exchequer woIld see it in the
same light. We are promised that a Commits
sion was to he appointed To take into conSide-
ration and overhaul all the machinery of our
expensive Government What this Commits
sion ought to do and what he hoped it would
do, would be to greatly curtail the expenses of
the Country and consequently reduce the tax
alton. 1t would seem therefore that We might
safely commence 10 reduce The taxes, and in
doing this, could scarcely do better than take
off the tax on the chief article of food of the
poorer classes, and In beneftting Them, also
grant a boon 10 the overtaXpd planters who
were much in need of it. He would therefore
recommend the Ordinance to the favorable
consideration of the Council.
The Governor agreed fully with the pro-
poser, that taxes ought to be reduced when
circumstances permitted it, but he would not
agree with him that they do permit of it just
now. 1t is stated in the motives To the draft,
that when the duty on Cornmeal was imposed
in the year 1919 in consequence of the then
existing state of affairs, it was understood, that
it was only to be a temporary tax, soon to be
removed. He must state, however, that the
official documents on the matter, as far as he
had found, mention not one single word about
such a Suppo>ition having existed or been add
vancpd. According to then Governor General
IL nSen'S report regarding the reasons that had
led to the emanation of The Provisional Ordin-
ance of the Doth March lS49, whereby the
duty on Cornmral was first imposed, Simulta-
nlOuSly Win several other new enactmentS res
ppcting the Customs Dues, &c, the principal
motive on which the Ordinance was based was
the consideration that the large free-laboring
population that had arisen through the emanci-
patton, ought to bear IL portion of the general
taxation, and that the planters, who would be
having pretty heavy dayS-wages to pay to
their hired ldborrrS, ou-ht to obtain some de-
crease IN their burthenS. For this purpose the
lmpor Duty was partly remOdlrled. partly in
creased, and the hitherto dGiy-free articles
Cornmeal and Corn We're taxed with a fixed
duty, while on the other hand the Export
Duty on Sugar was reduced from respectively
ST and Is pCt,-accordingly as it was export
ed to Denmark or to foreign placeS-t0 res
pectively 5 and 10 pct. 1t is. however, diff
cult to explain how, even here in the Island,
where the Labor Regulations of Goth January
1S49, --preScribing in their 9th 5 letter c., that
where the usual allowance of meal aud her
rings has been agreed on in part of wages, full
weekly allowance shall be taken for ) cents
a-day, had been in force 2 months before The
duly ON Cornmeal was imposed (from The LIST
April same year,, The idea could ever have
been entertained, that this duty would be fall
ing on the emancipated l%aborersj but, as alrea-
dy stated, this was the notion entertained not
only here but also at home, where it was adj
vanced during the discussions in the Imperial
Diet in the year 1850, where even the Com
mittee raised some objections against this I'm
post, which was considered to amount to about
Is pct, because it was feared that so high an
Import Duty might restrict the importation of
the article, and either produce the want of food
or cause the tailoring class themselves to take
to cultivating provisions. whereby a large por-