and Magazine of the Ceylon Agricultural Society, 



93 



clean weeded, but the expense renders the 

 system prohibitive. It comes to this, on a 

 clean estate it ia possible to estimate to 

 within a pound or two what the capital ex- 

 penditure per acre will be, whereas on a dirty 

 estate it is impossible to estimate at all. Mr. 

 Lake refers to Mr Carruthers' article as being 

 " very plausible." I think he must mean " very 

 convincing." I would point out that it is a 

 dangerous practice for theoretical experts in 

 Mr. Carruthers' position to publicly advocate 

 a method which has not yet practically boon 

 proved a success on a large scale. 



C. Malcolm Cumming. 

 —India Rubber Journal, Nov. 30. 



MUNICIPAL TAXATION OF BRAZIL 

 RUBBER EXPORTED. 



H.M. Consul at Para (Mr. R Casement, U.M.G.j 

 reports that the State Legislature of Para are 

 considering a proposal to fix the limit of 

 municipal taxation of rubber, upon export from 

 the placo of origin, at 150 reis (about 2|d.) 

 per kilogramme. At present, according to a 

 correspondent of the "Folha do Norte" of 

 Para, each municipality claims the right to levy 

 whatever tax it may please, and this claim is 

 said to bo supported by the State Constitution. 

 H.M. Consul adds that should the project 

 under consideration becomes law, the reduction 

 of this local municipal taxation to a fixed and 

 uniform charge would be of great advantago 

 to the rubber industry of the lower Amazon. 

 —Board of Trade Journal, Nov. 12. 



PARA RUBBER AND VALORISATION. 



The article we reproduce from the India Rub- 

 ber Journal (Nov. 30) in our daily and T.A. is one 

 which is to the utmost interest to Rubber Gro- 

 wers. If shows how Brazil is doing its best, in 

 anticipation of the immense competition of tho 

 future from the Eastern plantation product, to 

 control the European rubber market : but also 

 sets out the various weak points in the taxation 

 and valorisation schemes proposed. 



MUNICIPAL AND FEDERAL TAXES, 

 It is quite obvious that the Governor of the 

 State of Para and those who took part in recent 

 discussions relating to the Municipal and Federal 

 taxes on rubber are quite cognisant of the future 

 prospect for their staple product. They have 

 been fully informed of all changes likely to affect 

 their main source of revenue, and from the begin- 

 ning of the Eastern plantation industry have 

 manifested a doep interest in all that has oc- 

 curred. Attracted by the premium obtained for 

 Para grades from plantations, the authorities 

 offered special encouragement to those who could 

 improve the method of preparation with a view 

 to obtaining higher prices for their admittedly 

 superior product. Now a much more serious 

 position has to be faced, for it is known to all 

 our readers that Eastern planters have estab- 

 lished estates capable of annually producing, 

 when mature, as much, if not more, rubber 

 than tho whole of Brazil. A decline in price to 



about 3s por lb. for plantation rubber can be 

 faced with equanimity by every wise investor 

 in Eastern plantations; but such a price, even if 

 it only prevailed for a few months, would again 

 place the Brazilian authorities in a very difficult 

 position. It has been previously pointed out, 

 officially, that the prime cost of tine Para rub- 

 ber delivered at the primary markets is not less 

 than 2a 3jd per lb., and that when the Federal 

 and State taxes are taken into account, any 



M AUG IN IN FAVOUR OY THE PRODUCER 

 DISAPPEARS, 



presumably so long as rubber sells at or about 

 3s per lb The low prices of a year ago led to 

 many bankruptcies, and the Governor of Para 

 has had in view the formation of a ''Credit 

 Establishment 1 ' to assist Brazilian producers, 

 providing a tax on the new product (31,000 to 

 32,000 tons) at the rate of 80 reis per kilo bo 

 collected and deposited in the banks and ear- 

 marked for the service of a huge loan sug- 

 gested by him. We are not quite clear as to 

 whether it was intended that this tax was to 

 be imposed in addition to that passed by the 

 Chamber t>t Deputies, or to be recouped from 

 the same. 



The causes underlying the recent activity 

 among the Legislative Councils in Para are by 

 no means obscure. In fact some serious 

 change must be effected at an early date if 

 the various commercial departments are to 

 be kept running on smooth and progressive 

 lines. It will be recalled that during the 

 period of depression of about a year 

 ago the " India Rubber Journal " announced 

 that various English firms had, in con- 

 junction with others, petitioned the native 

 states with the object of inducing the authori- 

 ties to give some relief by reduction of taxes or 

 granting of subsidies to collectors and exporters 

 of rubber. It is possible that the subject matter 

 of this petition and the recent financial crisis 

 prompted tho Governor of Para to outline his 

 colossal scheme. What the final result will be 

 we do not care to predict, as— after conferring 

 with responsible parties in England and the 

 Continent of Europe — we are more impressed 

 with the absence of any authenticated plans 

 than with tho real value of the fragmentary 

 details supplied to us. 



Municipal Taxes, 



The Governor of Pa*-a, in his speech, advo- 

 cated a system, not of valorisation, for he repu- 

 diated the term, but one tending at least to a 

 levelling up, of prices. Several counterpropo- 

 sals have been put forward^ one limiting the 

 municipal duties on rubber to 150 reis per 

 kilo (say, Id per lb.), and another impo- 

 sing the differential tariff detailed elsewhere. 

 The proposals outlined in the Governor's 

 speech have, in consequence, been set 

 aside. The bill stipulating that no municipality 

 in the State of Para shall be allowed to impose 

 a higher duty than 150 reis per kilo, has, we are 

 informed, become law. It is, however, impossi- 

 ble to say what the municipal taxes on exported 

 rubber at present amount to. There are 51 

 municipalities in the state of Para, and, ac- 

 cording to information supplied by H.M. Consul, 

 no one in Para is in a position to state just what 

 tho taxes levied by each municipality may bo, 



