Edible Products, 



404 



[May, 1912. 



landed with a project reduced to writing 

 for the abolition of the " grain tax." It 

 was currently reported that the outgoing 

 Governor (who did not leave the island 

 till 29th May) on perusing this document 

 had informed his successor that the views 

 expressed therein were similar to those 

 he held on arrival, but local experience 

 had changed. 



In September the new Governor's pro- 

 posals combining the " abolition of the 

 paddy tax, the introduction of a land 

 tax, reduction of the import duty on rice, 

 and substitution of import duty on other 

 articles," were printed and circulated for 

 report by the Government Agents, with 

 the intimation they did not " profess to 

 express any definite views intended 

 rather to elicit criticism." 



With one exception these officers re- 

 ported unfavourably on the Governor's 

 proposals, especially the substitution of 

 a general land tax; and the members of 

 the Executive Council also recorded ad- 

 verse opinions. 



In the Legislative Council the unofficial 

 members supported a motion by the 

 plantitg member (Mr. Christie) that "no 

 unnecessary delay should take place in 

 affording such relief as the circumstances 

 of the revenue should permit, and that 

 eventual abolition should be aimed at"; 

 but tbey did not approve of the substitu- 

 tion of a land tax or a reduction of the 

 Customs duty on grain, being of opinion 

 there was no necessary connection be- 

 tween the two imports, as asserted by 

 the Cobden Society. 



In this dissent the official members 

 and indeed all the Civil Service, but one 

 or two juniors, concurred ; but in dis- 

 approving of immediate abolition (and 

 preference for alterations in details and 

 possible reduction) they were further 

 influenced by the fear that this would 

 be followed by an agitation which could 

 not be resisted for a remissioh of the 

 Custom's duty on imported rice. It was 

 also thought that such a big reduction 

 of revenue as this and the absence of 

 the contribution from the paddy culti- 

 vators, would curtail the liberal ex- 



penditure on irrigation which had been 

 incurred for some years past, and 

 which was just beginning to show 

 tangible results. If the official members 

 had been assured on these points, I think 

 their concurrence would have been 

 secured.* 



The Sessional Paper (III., 1892), pub- 

 lished after the final settlement of the 

 question, discloses that the Governor 

 asked for statistics as to the alleged 

 increase of paddy cultivation, and was 

 informed there was no " reliable inform- 

 ation" on the subject. He consequent- 

 ly appears himself to have referred to 

 the Blue Books and formed an unfavour- 

 able opinion on this point, as he found 

 the area cultivated in 1878 was 30,000 

 acres greater than in 1889, though 37-727 

 acres of Crown land had been sold for 

 paddy cultivation in the interval. If a 

 friendly Bodisat had been at hand, he 

 would doubtless have pointed out that 

 the area cultivated in 1878 was excep- 

 tionally large and due to a very heavy 

 rainfall (114 inches), while the reduction 

 in 1889 was due to a much smaller rain- 

 fall which limited the area cultivated 

 especially in the North-Western Pro- 

 vince, t But if H. B, had compared the 

 figures of production he would have 

 found them to be nearly identical, just 

 under 10 M.B.P. and records especially 



* Mr. O'Brien wrote :— " As to this (abolition) 

 I imagine everyone must agree, the only conceiv- 

 able difference being as to how and when 

 (p. 89, S.P., XII., 1892). In this Sir Edward 

 Walker (Colonial Secretary) and Mr. Saunders 

 (Treasurer) concurred. Mr. Twynani G.A., N.P., 

 reported at first strongly against a general 

 land tax as a substitute, and subsequently 

 expressed the opinion that if the import duty 

 was not interfered with and a certain portion 

 of the tax imposed in place devoted to 

 irrigation work, " an effort should be made to 

 get rid of the paddy tax." 



t The figures for this Province alone was 

 117,000 acres in 1878 against 74,000 in 1889. 

 In his reply to the Government Circular the 

 writer pointed out that comparison should be 

 based on the average of several periods of 

 years, and not on the returns of single years. 

 (S.P., 1880, p. 26.) 



