Feb. 1, 1899.] 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST 
567 
and as the auriferous bodies havo now been proTed 
of a permanent character, there should be little diffi- 
culty in getting the necessary capital to develop 
them. Few of the mines, even in tbo richest districts, 
are likely to yield immediate or mammoth returns 
to those interested in them, but the fields offer a 
aecnre sourcs for th« investment of capital. In 
Coolgardie itself all that is wanted to make many 
of oar mines payable is judicious management, 
through development, an adequate supply of water, 
jind fair treatment. These oonditioiia granted, the 
goidfields generally can look forward to a seaaon of 
steady prosperity that to the community generally 
will prove more acceptable tlian the strongest tnd 
l«Dgeat-aaatained boom that ever yet existed. 
THE IMPERIAL DUTY ON TEA: 
«'A FEW REASONS WHY THE PRODUCER 
SHOULD NOT AGITATE FOR A RE- 
DUCTION OF THE TEA DUTY 
IN GREAT BRITAIN": 
HOW TO COUNTEEACT THE BLENDERS.— 
THE BEST BELIEF FOK PLANTERS. 
We very readily p;ive prominence to the 
following paper, compiled by one of tlie most 
thoughtful members of our planting community, 
in order to sliow reasons why tea planters should 
hesitate to promote the redaction, mueli more 
the abolition, of the imperial Customs duty on their 
product. We confess that our own view lias been 
in favour not of total abolition, but of reduction 
by a penny or at most twopence a lb. But what 
is said here of the effect of the last reduction 
from sixpence to fourpence tends to upset our 
belief in tiie advantage of any further reduction. 
However, for the present, we may content our- 
selves with laying before our ))lanting readers 
for their careful consideration what the compiler 
modestly calls " a few reasons " why the producer 
siiould not agitate for a reduction of tiie Tea 
Duty in Great Britain : — 
Total consumption per head in England of 
tea is now nearly 6 lb. This represents 
about 360 pint.? of lif^uor. Can we expect to 
increase this amount? If we could, would it be 
in our own interests, seeing that the abuse of tea 
might seriously affect the industry? I venture 
to think there is not any large class in England 
unable to buy the cheapest form of liquor in the 
form of tea. 
The reduction from 6d to 4d per lb. did not 
affect the price of tea. The average ])rice of tea, 
according to the Loudon Custom House returns, 
was in 1889 10'79d, a year before the reduction ; 
in 1891 lU-79d ; 1892 10'07d— so that tiie reduction 
in duty did not affect the producer as far as 
price goes. 
In 1879 the total consumption of tea in tlie 
United Kingdom was 160,432,000 lb. or 4-68 lb. 
per head, of which 78 percent, was China tea anrl 22 
per cent, Indian. In 1889 it was 18.3,600,000 lb. or 
4-99 lb. per liead or a gain of '.SI lb. in ten years ; 
but the proportions had chringed : — 33 per cent, 
of China tea, and 67 per cent, of Indian ; in 1889. 
seeing that Indian and Ceylon tea make lialf 
as much li([uor again as China, the increase of 
liquor i)er head was much larger than the figures 
bIiow, 
From 1889 to 1897 the consumption lias vi.sen from 
4 99 lb. per head to 5'S2 lb. per head and the pro- 
porlioii.i in 1897 were 90 per cent, of Indian and 
C'eylou ami 10 per cent, only of Cliilia; 30 that we 
must admit tiiat consumption has increased more 
steadily during the last decade than in the previous 
decade ; hut the increase is more due to the 
cutting of prices of the blenders— who knock 
out our teas to suit their blends rather than to 
the blends suiting the tea,— instead of the de- 
crease in duty, the latter fact enabling the blenders 
to cut the trade liner as the duty locks up 
one-third less money than previously. 
(Your contemporary's argument that " he will 
not be satisfied until' tea and coffee are taxed the 
same" is childish, seeing that 1 lb. of tea makes 
50 pints of strong tea, and 1 lb. of coffee eight 
pints only of good liquor). 
The only result I see if the duty on tea is 
reduced to 2d per lb. is that the blenders will 
lower their blends by 2d per lb., and being a few, 
against thousands will knock down the prices of 
teas another Id and make more money than they 
are now doing. \Ve want the wholesale country 
tea dealers to realize that the blenders are doing 
them out of their legitimate profits, then perhaps 
they will come into the tea market in London 
and make a more open market of it than it is now. 
With the Colombo market yearly expanding, we 
may hope that the reduced'quantisy sent to the 
London market may tend to harden the markets 
generally in the world. But it will be a hard 
light for Ceylon ; for, with present prices and 
high exchange, a goodly number I fear of estates 
round Kandy and other parts of the island will 
show no profit this last year, and [ think these 
old districts want more help even than distant 
Uva and should have railway rates reduced 
generally and all grant-in-aid and private cart 
roads taken over by Government. Thi^ would 
help the planters most. This latter will require 
no increase of staff as Government do the work 
now, but only supply half the funds. 
Wo are clear that" tiie older planting districts 
(including Uva) should be specially considered 
in extending relief ; but we fear the natural 
corollary of Government taking over the grant- 
in-aid roads would be the exten.sion of the poll-tax 
to the coolies. Still there are some anomalies 
connected with road taxation which loudly call 
for rectification. To find a single estate paying 
Rl,50(.' a year or K3 per acre (as we have heard) 
seems nionstronsly heayy if not unjust. 
« 
NU WARA ELIYA AND HAKGALA GARDENS. 
The visitors' book at Hakgalx Gardens gives 
a fair idea of the diversity of tourists (and 
others) who include the Ceylon Sanatariuni in 
their Eastern or world-wide travels. Ten nation- 
alities represented since the opening of the pre- 
sent year make a fair show : and we feel sure 
on one who makes the excursion from the Plains 
on a sunny afternoon, such as recently prevailed, 
will feel disappointed. There is mucii to gratify 
the observant traveller cn route : — The Hazlewoo'd 
field of tea ©f the pure China variety with its 
trim, squat bushes and small leaf — one of the few 
I>iaces in the island where the pure China type 
of tea can be seen at its best ; the wonderful 
growth of the introduced Australian trees (Aca- 
cin.s and Eucalypls) surrounding the square plot 
of tea lower down the road ; also the splendid 
bank facing the road of New Zealand llax 
(Phiinnium tcnax) from which a rich harvest of 
h\'ivn.H miglit be gathered to te^^^ a libre cleanin>j 
111 ichine, if one were e:;tablished on the side of 
tin- stream a little lower down the dcliio. By 
mid bye t>(; huve lUe ivuu\atic ^jleu, duwu wLic^ 
