A PROVINCIAL COMPLAINT.

THE Budget, although so generally acceptable, is not without some features which require consideration in Committee. The provincial grocers, wine and spirit dealers, are asked either to sustain great inconvenience in evading an impost for Custom's service, or to pay on removal from the bond warehouses on

s. d. s. d.

Tea, per 100 lbs 1 4 Tobacco, per 100 lbs . 1 0

Sugar, per cwt .. 0 4 Wine, per 100 gallons.... 5 0 Coffee, per 100 lbs 0 6 §_pirits „ „ .... 5 0

Repacking the package 1 0

a d. 8. d.

Bottling, pell‘-100 Reweighing ditto 0 4 Disgorging case

Filling up casks 1

0 Repacking Racking ditto 2

0 Regauging

-Vatting ditto

2 0 Other operations Cocoa, „ „ / per 0 4 Pepper, „0 6 Other goods, per package 0 3

The effect of 'Lis schedule of payments upon a large retail grocer would be that he would contribute upon a weekly sale of six chests of tea about ten shillings in addition to the duty, or in fact pay a tea-tax of 261. per annum, exclusive of his license. So with respect to the other articles, he might have to pay the additional imposts, and not unfrequently grocers would thus con- tribute from their profits to the Customs 100/, per annum. The charge of ls. 4d. on 100 lbs. is so small, as only to amount to two-thirds of a farthing per pound upon tea, whioh it is impos- sible to levy on the public. The trade would evade the charges by bonding in London, Liverpool, Bristol, and Glasgow, which are ports into which these articles can be imported. But they would have to keep. larger stocks on hand, duty paid, and suffer the loss of interest in consequence.

A variety of operations are effected in bond. The Chancellor proposes to charge wine and spirit and bonded store merchants for

0 2 0 6 0 6 1 0 0 6

The trades will of course achieve modes of management by which to escape all these charges. New and more convenient modes of packing will be adopted. But meanwhile the bond warehouses will be deserted, and their owners ruined. For these buildings have been erected specially to meet the storing of Customs' mer- ohandize, and if all the bonding is to be transacted in the import- ing cities, hundreds of buildings erected at a vast expense, will be rendered almost valueless.

It is useless to expect that a revenue can be collected from a source capable of evasion. But to evade, the trades must submit to great inconvenience, and some loss of interest. The only cer- tainty seems to be that the revenue will gain little, the trades be hampered, and bond warehousemen lose nearly all.