Nuhou, Volume I, Number 23, 7 April 1874 — How Much do the Natives Pay [ARTICLE]

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How Much do the Natives Pay

For tho supporfc of their governme»t ? Souic foreiguers you meet will 6aj,— 11 oh \vc (the fbreigners) pay at leasfc eeven cightlis of the tases, and what ad —-~d humbug to be ruuning a govemmenfc as we do, solely oli oative āCeount, M Probably the gentleman who addrefci6e6 jou is wortli $2Q,000 in realand persona! propCLty, and fbr whieh at the rate of one-half of one per eent, our preeenfc aBsesament, he ought to pajr to the government $100 but as part of his weallh is in the ahape of bonds, or mortgiige nolee, whieh liiß eoneeienee may permit him to think are of a slightly doubtful eliai-aeiei', therefore lie will make his return of propertj in such a «hape, that he does not pay to thegovernment iaore than |50. Now >ve eaii point out on the other hand a barelooted native brother, in patched denim eliiil and pants, who apparentlj ie not worth a tinker's dam } (no proianity intended bj tluB espression, «inee the Gazette informed us laet week, that tliis word is spelt without an n,) but he and wahine and kaikuahine keep five dog«, fbr whieh he pajß fivo dollars and lifty eentB fbr tax and tage ; then he has thirteen horses on the eommon for whieh he pajs nine dollar6 apd threc quarters; he pajs beeides five dollavs for a horee lieense; then his eehool, road, and poll tases are Sve dollars; on his kuleana, or lot, wlueh is a taro pateh, lie payte anotlier five dolla^'V^ in the wa,y of luxurie§, lie pajs fbr a moderate native bust on awa a weeklj license fbeof twentyfive and eometimes fflty centa ; so t!nt t!ie eontribution of our brown brother, who v»ould not be* considered u goodfor $50, to support the government of his country, ie about as mueh as that of the twenty < dol!ar foreign mibob. In looking at thc hst rcport issucd by the Pinanee Department, h) 1872, we find that onr wliolo real cstate tax, for the t>iennia! period, then terminated, was §52,355, whereas the !iorse tax fov the eame period, $53,000, or neavly $1,000 more than is paid for all tho roal estate in thu ielands ; and no one wi!l <S>ubt jjat >v!)at Uie nativee pay fulīy 050,000 of this hort?e tax, iud the the odd thou6andi?. *A<*ain, we notiee that the do| tax, A>r t!ie period jut?t iionod, is $22,271. Now how niueh of that tux # do you t!ii\t thc foitignerH pay? ,We don't beliove that their poilion will amouutfh uiuoh over $1,000 of tho eum. Again, thc name ali of the awa lieenee of $8,205* . Of.the poll tax, whieh §27,841, he iuust all exeept about $3,500, And now when we to sider the great bulk of the revenue6 derived from

iiDported goodt?, m lileh ib $'>95,008,15, do we not know that tbc native people are, as compared with any other peaeantrj, or people probably, fcl»e largt&t aonsuriiers <>f iii:inuractured articles and uicrcliante' wares fc nnywhcres in the worl<L We are 60rry to make tliis 6tateinent of their extravaganee ; :but it is a fact, and we don't think we will be inueh way il we put thc nativc pr()portion of c«>nBun»ption of imported goods at fourrfifths, and so we estimate for them a eoutribution, say $300,000 of* duty paid -on foreign gooda. These stntementB may calctilated to rile 6ur seven-eighths foreign tax paying friend, but if he ean make out a different exbibit of the account we should like to see it. The reportj of the Finance Department prcsents the following tablc of the reeeipts of revenue : Foreign imposts *. $3% 5 418 lo Fines } Penalties and Cost» 47 5 259 13 , i j INTERNAL TAXES. Real Estate Tax $52,355 63 Personal Property 46,329 4S Carnitge£ 3,125 .. Polte.. i 27.841 .. Horses 53,008 Males. j 6,140 .. D0g«.... 22,271 40 Native i^oamen.. 5.804 .. 215,0(52 51 LICFN?RS. Opiam ....$22,248 .. Awa 8,265 15 Spirits. 19.950 .. Stores. 49,665 .. Olhcr I,ir.enses 35,844 30 95,982 51 Fees aud i'erquisites 22,194 45 Govenunent I-ivnd s Rents, Pos=t-otfice, Water, \ViuiriVige, Storaye, &c. 124,071 37 Misrcllnneous toources, llospit;il Fuml, f*overhi)ient Stock, t i ... 60,038 .35 ; Toial. $964,956 35] liv fche following table we propose to give our ■ estiuiatc of tbe probablc proportion of the revcnue| of this Kingdom wlneh is paid for by thc industry of the native people : About 4-5 Foreign lmports. $300,000 00 Abou 1.3-4 Fine*, PenaHiea, &c 35,000 00 1 Affa License. i 8,265 001 Opiuiu, Natives aml Chiuese..., 22,248 00Stores, 4-5 Native Support 19,000 00 ! Spirits, 1-3 Native Consumption * 6,000 00 ' Otlier Licensēs, 'Victualing t Coastin£. Boāt, Butcii- ' 1 er, Auction, say one-thira of $18,000,. 6,000 00 Real Estate, say only one-si\th 5,725 00 ' Personal Proper!fy, one-tenth ........ 4*500 00 < Carriage Xax.. + i r 125 00 j Poll Tax, nme-tbntlis 25,056*00 ' Horsc Tax, do. tlo 00 Mule Ta\, one-lliii.] 2.000 00 ' l)o|r Tax, ninelehi t \vcntieths 21,147 00 Fe*js and reiqu<sites:, S(amps, B;a;kU, A;e., »ay abont one-fouvth 5,5»>0 00 Government R|ealizations, Laiul Rents, Water, ' PosL-oflīco, A:C., say ; * 30,000 "00 MiscelLaneous B|>urccs, Stock, &c., diflieult to esti-' ONite, but say, 30,000 00 $571j266 00 This estiii|atc i§ of courae vcry rougli; atid may 6cem to somc merc gucss work, iu rcspcct tosomc itcms, but W[c don*t bolicvc that any or any showingj will cxbibit a lcss amounl tban half tho iwenue pf thc country, as actunlly paid for by fchc induqtry of thc nativcs. Of coursc a forciguor who |pays $1,0011 for imports niust not elaiui that ats h'us solc cotUribution to thc rcvcnuc of thc count|iy ,~but he uiiuH considcr wlio eonsuuic thc ijnpoiU upou whieh this thousau4 dollars of i«? bascd ; and thcn he will fiud oufc liow lavgcly ftic nativcs contributc to thc rcvcuuc of tjhc couiaty. # Thc of this $übjcct ha.s causcd us t>ouic vsad rc(icciions. We scc that morc is px\kl for cxccpt as rcquivcd for thc industrial ncods of tho oonnjry arc an iitU N rly valtluin !s paui fov i'eal lH'opovty , mul Uio nativo«s jv\y t!»roc thnos as nuieh Por a$ t!ioy Jo for iland> and bou?r>; op!um> and doge coit n* mu£h a? tho who'o cxj s cn3itutc of thc Buroati of rublic Instruction, ostiniatc4 at $85,000" Sviiat a tnUoraVo oouiitry } Htt?c olee i! ptoluood an cxh;ustiu£, and ffcuriiu ana of sngar "or ttuMWue-

tion uf whieh t!ie laborers of thig countrv eom pen«atc themselvcs wlth opium, aWa. rum, hprt?ea. dogs, and a lot of dry goods. - But they do pay a" good share of the taxcß, more than one-eigbth. and that is what we wanted to sav. f ■ #