n. T. J.J:ammond, 4'7782. The excise alone-but has not the imported fallen <strong>of</strong>f to a correspom1ing amount ?-I do 26t~ 0 ~~~·~t1Ba3. not think it has. 4'7783. Do you know if that inc.rea~e is in proportion to the increase <strong>of</strong> population ?-I ha.ve not gone into it so minutely as that. 47'784. Have you the estimate <strong>of</strong> the tobacco for tins year-financial year 1883 ?-For the nine months. 4'7'785. You gave us an estimate <strong>of</strong> the excise duty to 30th ,June ?-Yes. 4'7786. Have you any estimate <strong>of</strong> the import?-I have not got the estimated import duty, but I can give the figures for the last nine months. · 4 '7'787. I want to compare with the last year to see the change in the import revenue. You cannot gi,·e us it ?-No, I have only got it for the nine months. 4'7788. B!l111r. Walker.-Have you got the amount collected upon unmanufactured tobacco in 1880? -No. 47'789. You have not that separate ?-No, I have not got it since the excise duties were imposed. The duty in 1881 was £10,000 collected upon unmanu:factured toba.cco. 47790. We have that £7,726. This statement must be altogether wrong?-That may be the year from ,January to December, I speak <strong>of</strong> the financial year to the end <strong>of</strong> June. 47'791. B.11 the Hon. Jlr. Lorimer.-This is the year ending 31st December ?-That is the reason then. 4'7'792. By the Chcdrman.-Will you let me have those figures again. In the year 1877-78 you say the weight <strong>of</strong> tobacco imported was 613,659 lbs. ?-Yes. 47793. Was duty paid upon all that, or was some <strong>of</strong> it re-exported without paying duty ?-Duty paid upon the whole <strong>of</strong> that weight at 2s. a pound. 4'7794. That does not include what was imported and re-exported ?-No. 4'7'795. In the year 1878-79, the quantity imported was 489,262lbs. ?-That is it, that is the quantity duty paid. 4'7'796. All the figures I am using now come under that head. The year 1879-80, the quantity was 376,125lbs. ?-Yes. 47797. The year 1881-82 was 411,482lbs. ?-Yes, at 3s. 47798. And nine months <strong>of</strong> the present year, which ends upon the 30th June next, has been 353,359 lbs. ?-358,169. 4'7799. The year 1881-82, you say the total amount obtained from excise was a total <strong>of</strong> £65,000?- y es, upon the manufactured article. 47800. You deduct £10,000?-Duty paid for imported leaf. 47801. Leav-ing £55,000 ?-Yes. . 47802. You deduct £2,500 from that as the duty paid upon the cigars ?-Yes. 4'7803. Leaving £52,400 paid at the rate <strong>of</strong> Is. excise upon tobacco?-Yes. 47804. Multiplying that £52,400 by twenty will give us the number <strong>of</strong> pounds weight made-will it not ?-Yes. 47805. That is 1,0,18,000 lbs. <strong>of</strong> it manufactured in the colony ?-Yes. 4'7806. And 411,482 imported ?-Yes. 4780'7. So that the consumption has increased ?-Has increas.ed. The witness withdrew. 1412 George Burrows sworn and exmuined. GeO'I'ge Bm•rows 47808. By the Chairman.-What are you?-A cigarmaker. l!tlthAprlll883, 47809. Cigar manufacturer?-No, I was a cigar manufacturer before the duty came on. The duty coming on <strong>of</strong> £50 put a stop to me. 4'7810. Was it the £50 licence-fee that you are unable to pay ?-Yes, and the £2,000 surety. 47811. What surety?-£2,000, or rather the two <strong>of</strong> £500, that makes £1,000. 47812. Two £.500 bends ?-Yes. 47813. And a licence-fee <strong>of</strong> £50 ?-Yes. 47814. Then you were compelled to close your little work?-Yes. 47815. How many hands were you employing before that ?-Two besides myself. 47816. You are employed now in one <strong>of</strong> the factories ?-I am employed now in one <strong>of</strong> the factories, as one <strong>of</strong> the journeymen. · 47817. Are you doing any worse as a journeyman than you were doing before ?-Yes. The licence has injured me v-ery much since it has been on. I do Dot want it to be taken <strong>of</strong>f eniireiy. I want it to be on a sliding scale, or the leaf all go into bond, and take a shilliDg <strong>of</strong>f the manufactured cigars and put it upon the colonial and imported leaf, and buy the leaf out <strong>of</strong> bond, and pay the same licence as they do at home-fiv-e guineas. 47818. You want to transfer the supervision <strong>of</strong> the Customs Department from the manufactory to the field where the tobacco is grown ?-Yes. 47819. How are you going to do that ?-All the tobacco that is grown up-country, instead <strong>of</strong> going into the stores here, to send it into bond. 47820. Suppose they evaded the Customs, and sent it somewhere else, and not into bond, how is the Customs Department to keep a supervision over every fat·m where tobacco is grown, and see that it does go into bond ?-The present system they seem to evade in regard to the stalk, and one thing and another. 47821. There is no evasion about the stalk, that is done openly and purposely ; the stalk is not used, and they are not charged excise upon what they do not use ?-The only thing I can say is that the present .licence is not fair ; it is a monopoly <strong>of</strong> the trade 'into big men's hands. . 47822. \>Ye can all see that, but we want to know if you small men cannot propose some feasible ··plan to alter it ?-If it acts at home upon £5, it would act, we think, here. 47823. That is only thinking. Why do not you small men, ~ve or ten <strong>of</strong> you, hire a large building ~and divide the duty?-We could not agree to get on together.
l4:13 47824. Y on did not need to agree if you took a large building, and split it into ten rooms. You George Btll'rows, could buy one licence for the building, and the Cttstoms Department would be delighted P-I think I heard 26t~ 0 ';,_~~'ft'~ss3. this afternoon that sinee the large masters have the trade in their hands, the cigars were much better, bnt if it is put into the hands <strong>of</strong> the small men agaiu they could buy the same leaf and make the same quality, but there are two masters here that want to have all the trade in their hands, that is Feldheim, J !',cobs, and another one. 47825. You small men have the remedy in your own hands. You have only to club together and take a large bnilding and divide the expeme. That is the only feasible plan that has been proposed-have yon any other proposal to make ?-No, I cannot make auy other proposal better than the one I stated. 47826. You propose that the leaf should go into bond ?-Yes, to pay license according to the number <strong>of</strong> cigars you make. The witness withdrew. SuGAR. J oseph l:
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