The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1890-12-16
HOW OUR NEIGHBORS AID SHIPPING.
Low Rates of Taxation which Are
Not RigidIy Applied.
what 1t Costs To Build Fishing ves-
sells In Nova Scotia.
How Hannibal Hamiin Once Got a
Friend an office.


WASHINGTON. December 15.-Tbe Consul
General of the United States at Halifax is
resident of the State of Maine, Hon. Wake
field G. Frye. of Belfast. For many years
Belfast has ranked as one Of the leading
shipbuilding cities of Maine, and Mr.. Frye
has a natural interest in this branch of
Maine's industry. Among the most valuable
reports made by the consuls of the U nited
States to the State Department this year is
one by Consul General Frye, on the ship
building industry OF Nova Scotia. The por-
tion of this report dealing with the Nova
Scotia system of taxation for vessel property
may be Of considerable value in Maine at a
time when the legislature is expected to en-
ter into somewhat exhaustive inquiry into
methods of taxation.
vessel property lin Nova SCOTIA is by
law assessed at only nalf its value" writes
Mr.. Frye, "and is taxable at the place where
the owner resides or has his place of busi-
ness. But there is no doubt that cOnsidera-
BILE shipping has escaped taxation altogether
in some places Upon the writ en- applica-
tion OF all the owners, vessel may beregis-
tered away from home, in district where
none OF the owners reside. In that way the
property escapes assessment and taxation In
some cases. L am informed that a very
large proportion Of the shipping owned in
Halifax escapes taxation altogether. La the
smaller ports, where the assessors personal
ly know more about the property and affairs
Of their neighbors and townsmen, such
property is More likely to be On the asses
sors' books; but, from the best in ormation
can obtain, considerably less than one half
of the vessel property owned in Nova Scotia
is taxed. An intelligent correspondent in a
distant part OF the province. who is Interest,"
ed IN shipping, expresses tbe opinion that in
his district vessel property Is not assessed
1t over one-fourth, or at most One-third, of
its valre. In one ship-owning town, the
pracllce of the assessors h is been to make
a reduction each year OF 10 per cent on the
assessed valuation of the year preceding.
For example, a new vessel custing $4,000
would be assessed $1,000 for taxation pur-
poses the first year, $45O0 the second year,
$4O5O the lhiId year. and so on. From the
tact that the law of the province llmits the
assessment of vessel property to one-half its
actual value, 1t is evident that the people of
Nova Scotia are disposed to favor this class
Uf property and encourage the building and
owning of shipping. The relief from full
taxation thus granted is in the nature of
subsidy, and might be useful hint to or
people in the States, who are making efforts
to stimulate our shipbuilders and revive our
commerce. The rate Of taxation v 'ries in
different places, and somewhat In different
years. In the city of Halifax for 1883 the
rate was 81 "a M 800; in Lunenburg 1t was
81 10; in Maitland, 96 cents in Windsor,
66 2.3 cents and in Yarmouth, rs cents"
Mr. Frye has also collected statistics of
the rate of wages paid In the ship yards of
Nova Scotia, which he thinks somewhat
lower than the wages paid in Maine va ds.
In Nova Scotia wages vary in different
yards, as will be shown by the following
table Of the nine principal ship-building
towns of the province: