, 1888-01-18

jectS to the plan approved by all the other
Powers as a substitute for the bounty sys-
tem,-the plan Of manufacturing the sugar
in bond. Now the essential feature of any
plan for dealing with the bounties on
sugar is common action. Speaking broad
~, the Powers are bidding against each
other for the English market. They find
this competition growing %ruinOus, and
each is willing to stop, provided all the
others will do the same. Now, unless Bel
GUM agrees to treat the bounties exactly
as do her neighbours, no Power will feel
certain that Belgium is not really compel
ing unfairly Ivy concealed bOuntipS. We
can hardly suppose, however, that when
Belgium realizes that, unless she agrees
to adopt the common system, the Con-
ventiOn will fail, there will be amy
further difficulty, for she, equally with
the other Powers, is anxious for the aboli-
ton of the %bOunties, and only adheres to
her own system on grounds OF convenience
AS matters, then, stand at present, all
the Powers have condemned b"untieS i'll
principle, aud have agreed to propose their
abolition to their respective ParliamentS.
The result Of these proposals is to be mott
fed to the English Government before
March LIST, and in case the result is favour
able, a statement will lie made Of the
AnOuC III Which u IL pIopOStu 10 carry OuO
the abolition. Ii we consider the extra
ordinary fiscal complications which have
been produced abroad by the bounty Sys-
TEN, the only marvel is that some agree
meet of this sort was not come to earlier.
In Austria, the policy of fostering the
sugar industry by hOuntieS has reached
such IL pass that more is actually paid
away in bOuntieS on the export OF Sugar
than is raised by tie tax on sugar itself.
That is, the consumer Of sugar in Aus
tria is taxed, and the whole proceeds of
the tax are applied not to the admins
tratiOn Of the country or to its defence,
but to the chcapening Of sugar fOrthr Eug-
fish consumer. When an economic fallacy
has stripped itself naked in such d fashion
as this, even the foreign taxpayer begins
to suspect that he is not bcnrtitting by
this form at least Of indirect taxation, and
wonders If his money is not being diVid Il
between the manufacture and the foreign
cr. When it is seen that a large tax
could be RENTED without embarrassing
the EXChequer, men begin to long for
its repeal. 1t does not follow, however,
even when hard facts such as these have
made the Austrian taxpayer anxious to
be rid OF bOuntlrS on sugar, that he can
escape at once. Nations who create in
duStripS out Of nothing by means of bOun
ties, are like those SOrcererS OF romance
who made living creatures by their art
Frankensteim, once called into existence,
became Il terror to the very mnn who had
hrcathed life into him. So when Il vast
industry like that OF the Austrian sugar.
~refinerS and b%tetrOot- growers has once been
started, it becomes Il danger and Il terror
to its creators. For Austria TO withdraw
her bOuIHies while other countries kept
theirs, and so to hurl Sngar.retining and
all lis dependent industries 10 the ground,
would spread ruin far and wide through
the trade Of the Empire. Until, then,
Austria can get the other Powers to lay
dow their arms at the same time as she
lays down hers, She is pOwerleSS to control
her FrankenStein. The case of France is
almost as bad. Her EXchequer is nearly
G3 100000 out of pocket each year owing
to her system of bOuntieS. The German
Empire, again, suffers no less severely
from the insane competition in b0untieS
on which she has entered like her great
neighbours of Russia, Austria, France,
and Italy. This madness, however, is
not a monopoly of the Great Powers.
Belgium, Denmark, Spain, Holland, and
Sweden were once equally anxious to
stimulate their sugar industries by boun-
ties, and are now equally DESTROYS for a
common agreement which may deIiv-
or them from thA bnrleu The SVS.