Taxes — Monopolies — Pove rty 



secondly, the extraordinary state of things which 

 may be brought about by monopolies created 

 in the supposed interest of one set of cultivators, 

 but probably originating in the desire of the 

 politicians to have their fingers in every possible 

 pie. These two facts are closely interwoven, 

 but as instances of the first may be mentioned 

 the injudicious taxation of the " raw material " 

 of export trade, such as the duty on wood from 

 Norway intended for immediate re-exportation 

 as crates for fruit, a tax which has killed the 

 cultivation and export of bananas ; the duty on 

 bottles to be used for the export of bottled 

 wines ; the duty on artificial manures necessary 

 for the successful growing of vegetables, in 

 which an enormous trade might be done ; and 

 what is more serious, the effect of the sugar 

 monopoly on the price of the alcohol which is 

 largely used in the preparation of wine. The 

 authorities do not appear to understand that an 

 export trade is one of the chief sources of 

 wealth ; that people cannot live " on taking in 

 each other's washing " ; or that exporters have 

 to compete in foreign markets with the pro- 

 ducers of other countries ; that the price they 

 obtain for their wares is chiefly regulated by 



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