110 
THE TEOPICAL 
AGRICULTURIST. 
[Aug. 1, 1902. 
classes there was still the limitation that the 
means of bare livelihood should not be touched, a 
limitation recognised in the income-tax exemp- 
tions. Tea ought to be excluded from the 
operations of ihe Chancellor of the Exchequer. In 
the slums of London and in the congested districts 
of Ireland it was one of the .main articles of food. 
Yec it was not only iieavily taxed but the tax 
was levied unequally, being imposed alike on tea 
at Ss 6d and tea at Is 6d per lb. 
Mr. Lough (Islington, W) said that if the 
financial position had remained unchanged since 
the introduction of the Budget he would not have 
supported the amendment. But he supported it 
because the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with 
his surplus of £6,000,000, could easily spare tiie 
£2,000,000 vvfliich woaUi be taken off the taxation 
by the acceptance of tiie amendment. 
Mr. J Dewar (Inverness) said he was unable 
to support his lion, friend on this occasion, as he 
thought the Chancellor of the Exchequer was 
taking up a sound position in refusing to remit 
this tajiation. He opposed the corn tax, but the 
tea lax was in a very different position. As to 
the incidence of taxation, he maintained' that in- 
direct taxation bore very unfairly on men with 
small income*. 
Mr. Grors (Salford, S) said the Chancellor of 
the Excliequer was applying first business princi- 
ples to the consideration of tiiis question— namely, 
that one should pay off debts before contraeting 
liabilities, and be just before being generous. 
(Hear, hear.) 
Mr. J A Pease (Essex, Saffron Walden) sup- 
ported the amendment, believing that they would 
be wise if they called upon the agricultural 
labourers, as well as other classes in the com- 
inunity, to pay by a system of direct rather than 
by a s7/stem of indirect, taxation. 
Tlie Committee divided and the votes were — 
For the amendment 137, Against 229, Majority 
against — 92. 
Mr Lough moved to insert af^er the word 
"sixpence" the word "net." He said that the 
tea duty was not really sixpence, but sixpence 
with an addition of i per cent to cover the cost 
of collection. This charge had been abandoned in 
respect of every other duty, and no reason could 
be aiven for its maintenance in regard to tea. 
The Chancellor of the Exchequer said that 
the hon. member had confused two totally dif- 
ferent things. There was a small warehousing 
charge of :} per cent, on all clas*;es of goods which 
had continued for the last 40 years without com- 
plaint. If the hon. member had any particular 
grievance in regard to tea, it should be inquire t 
into. 
The amendment was by leave witlidrawn, and 
Clause 2 was ordered to stand part of tlie Bill.— 
London Times, June 14. 
^ 
RUBBER IN PERU. 
the DIFFICULTIE.S OF TRANSPORT, 
Vice-Consul Robilliard, in a report from Mollendo 
(Peru) states that the rubber industry still occupies 
a good deal of attention, and although the quantity 
siiipjied this year only exceeds last year's out- 
put by 15 tons, tliis is accounted for by the fact 
that large quantities are being prepared in the 
interior ready to ship when the dry weather sets 
in — from the beginning of April, A few remarks 
on the difficulties tha,t attend this industry may 
be of interest. From the time of landing here 
about 15 days will be occupied in travelling by 
train, steamer, mule, and canoe to get to the 
rubber districts. The first range of the Andes 
has to be crossed at 17,500 feet above the level of 
the sea before the descent into the valleys can be 
effected. Sorata, in Bolivia, is tlie place at which 
nearly all the roads into the rubber and mining 
districts converge. The traveller will often be 
delayed for several days, as all the owners 
of beasts of burden take advantage of the 
scarcity of the means of transport, and ex- 
tort the highest possible fititrlits for their 
animals. Once work lias been started, the 
cheaper plan is to buy mules and horses. All 
supplies have to be carried in, as scarcely anything 
can be purchased there. However, stores are gra- 
dually being established on the different claims. 
The descent is very dangerous in some places the 
incline being from 30 to 45 degrees, and the ani- 
mals oft;en slip and are thrown over the precipices. 
This part of the road 23 miles in length, takes 12 
hours, when Pararani is reached, 4,600 feet above 
sea level. From Pararani to Mapiri tlie road is 
more practicable, and rubber, Peruvian bark, and 
coffee plantations are met. Mapiri is the centi'e of 
these regions, and from there one strikes off to 
wherever tlie claims may be. At least 90 per cent 
of the travellers fall sick with malarial fevers, 
more or less intense, although seldom fatal. From 
Mapiri, Guanay is reached in canoes, or rafts made 
of nine sticks fastened with vines ; three of these 
rafts formed what is called a callopo, capable of 
carrying 1^ tonte of cargo. The distance is 62 miles 
and can be done in one day, going down stream, 
but coming back it takes three days, the current 
running six miles an hour. The Indians can only 
pull at the rate of mile per hour. From 
Guanay there are roads that lead to the filacer 
mines on the rivers Tipuani, Covahuira, Challana, 
etc, in which regions gold is found in abundance, 
but macliinery is badly required, especially to 
dredge the rivers. — M. Mail, June 28. 
« 
RUBBER IN PORTUGUESE E. AFRICA. 
Beira. — Exportation of india-rubber shows an 
increase on previous years, but this is mainly due 
to the action of the Mozambique Company in 
employing a large number of natives to tap the 
country in every possible direction for this par- 
ticular ai tide of commerce, by which they have 
no doubt injured this resource for many years to 
come. — India-Btibher Journal, June 9. 
DUTCH COLONIES. 
The following statistics are taken from the 
Indische Mercuur, of 30th May last : — 
THE DUTCH EAST-INDIES. 
Area: 735,000 square English Miles. Population: 
about 29,000-000. 
Agricultural Estates : coffee 836, tobacco 410 ; 
sugar 254; sugaibibit 141; indigo 176, cinchona 131 
tea 112; spices 215; rice 430; cocoa 173; coconuts 
289 ; groundnuts 53 ; kapok 93 : cassave 12 ; gutta- 
percha 40 ; timber 122, coffee hulling-mills 18 ; rioe 
hulling-inilla 53 sundries 61. Mining: grants up to 
Jannarv 1902 : 205. Railways : Govt., length about 
2.622 miles, private 6,205. Steam-tramways : Govt. 
38 miles ; .private 1809,5. Capital : joint stock, 
£99,000,000, (besides capital in private commercial 
and industrial enterprises). 
