The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1876-07-08


creased tariff be necessary. tie auiclcs selected
seem, with the exceptions noted, appropriate
and some Of them would bear even a higher
duty than h proposed. II appears 70 me- nov
ever, a sound principle, that whom a duty 10 high'
it should be specific. Take the nrsi article on the
lst,-alc. IL costs say u. dozen al the hrst pori
OF shipment, - per cent. on which woald give
Isle. dozen duty. But II you happened 10 bny
IL In Australia Tor los. a dozen, The q per cent.
duty would be 624c. dozen wonldh mol be better
% levy q specific duty Of 30 cents per doHonE
A speoidc daty u not necoEsafly uniform, ~
y. seems 10 assumc.--And various duties should
be adopted Tor various grades Of a certain article
though II much revenue Is anticipated from $500,
watches, or ercmona yiolina, l fear the result VIII
be disheaTtenlng. The same fear applies 70
jewellery, for no one will be able 10 AFFORD to
keep n good stock. and the tarin will simply
project working jewellers and watehmakers. and
importers will have 20 rely on the factories OF
Birmingham and Berlin.
Y ridieules my idea Of a specific duty on wine,
but Is not the expectation Of collecting revcnue
at the rate Of SIS per dozen on One champagne
equally open 90 rdicnlef II the proposed tarin
will either prohibit imports, or tempt persons OF
unsettled principles 20 commit little frauds In
their invoices. il will defeat IS own end "a a
revenue measure aud N any other scheme Will
obviatc this, IL il not unwiso 20 consider "
l have now only the policy Of the property
tax to allude 10. x claims, az 1 understand him
aright) that 20 long as the government gets the
revenue, II matters not who pays a. ! viii ven
ture TO put another case, which cannot be
described AZ a little mortgage scheme" II ~
we'll known that personal property out Of the
kingdom Is exempt from taxation that IL 10 the
bank has SleO, 900 al its credit Ia san Francisco,
il is untaxcd here bat II the balance be on the
other side, the debit balance IL not deducted rom
the assessment here. IL Is therefore the Interest
OF the bank TO have as large n balance ~ possible
in san Francisco when the assessment Ia made. Ia
other words, TO buy as much, and sell a. little
exchange a. possible, unless II can sell ~ a
rate that will cover the tax. This gives an
unfair advantage 90 persons who control exchange
at all, rs they can send II ont Of the country ana
refuse 10 draw against II until the assessment has
been made up. The government gets the Mh'
but | maintain that the wrong person pays u,
and where a planter IL wealthy enough 10 ship his
sugar and postpone his drafts 90 July even, the
government loses the tax. l have known, too, OF
money lent on mortgage at axed interest, 90
which by stipulation 4 per cent. II added foi
property tax. 80 that instead Of tho tax coming
out OF the property OF the lender. u comes out OF
the income Of the borrower. ! think these things
ought 60 have an interest for statesmen, beyond
the mere fact that somebody pays" Great
objection IL made TO the inquisitorlal machinery
required for assessing an income tax, but ] think
all who have suffered from the assessment ma
chinery Of the property tax In country districts
will be relieved by the exchange. ! believe the
income assessment would be far more trustworthy,
and that Il would yield by it's diffusion, a great
deal more revenue that nj Hrst sight might be
anticipated. IL would not be diflcnlt 10 estimate
its productivenoss, and 30 long as trustworthy
men, who knew that secrecy was n condition OF
their post, were employed, ! believe there wonld
be far less misrepresentation than \. seems 10
anticipate.
In conclusion | have very reluctantly 10 refer
20 my personal interests, little as they can have
TO do with the soundness or failaey OF my theories.
Y. says, II IL had been so easily and fairly
evaded, we should not probably have beard 40
much about H."
Again" This is all that a shrewd man OF
business, who is 10 be seriously and directly taxed
under this scheme has 10 urge against IT,"
Again If there Is one class oil the community
who will be In n position 10 reap a rich harvest
more than another, that class Is the commission
and importing merchant"
Again--"No one knows better than Mr.. Davies.
that the volume of trade OF the merchants, and
the amount on which they will receive their
commissions, will increase from that hour"
Again" The hard doctrine OF the political
economist is true here, that the public veal In best
assured by each man and each class looking
sharp after their own interests
Sir, is that the way 10 discuss thia subject, or
TO encourage the expression OF the views OF the
community When such gloves are worn, tina
visor IL better down.
There seems something Illogical too |. these
extracts, for IL | am 30 shrewd and 10 selfish,
missions, why should ! OF all men seek 10 disturb
an arrangement under which those commissions
will be absolutely untaxed2
| believe the commission merchants who cara
untaxed incomes from heavily taxed property OF
other men, have as much 10 hope M any one, and
more than most from the treaty. and I propose
that they be taxed on all they earn. From such
1 anticipated the greatest opposition. but I
believe there was not one OF them who did not
come 10 me nanfully and voluntarily, and endorse
lettOr--one Of them saying NJ he did 10, yon
know IL will be heaviest on usp
/ feel gratiGed at their approval, but more
at the knowledge that they and ! do not
seek simply the greatest good 10 the greatest
number" bat justice 10 all, and consideration
especially for those who can only stand on the
banks, and watch the stream 20 by.
aepDlV regret tho nargoualltv tullqh has haau
aud i have endeayOred only 20
refute. not 10 retort. My original letter was
penned ia suoh a spirit aud In such terms, Thai I
should have felt no hesitation In reading II alond
10 the Minister Of Finance, convinced that bis
object and mine were Identical.
My chief regret now will be, lest this personality
'hall create hostility TO any suggestion that other.
might have been ioand practicable.
j beg 10 thank you, sir, for allowing me NO
much OF your space and 10 thank the editors 81
he Oosefe and the ADVERTISER for tho courteous
,erms In which their criticisms have been ex-
pressed,
I am sir, your obedient servant.
THEo. II. DAVIS.