European countries the royalties Jevied on mines and minerals as a rule are far as possible minimwn, in order that he production of the minerals may be the greater, thereby increasing the number of allied industries with increased output of manufactured articles. These countries sec that indirect. taxation on manufactures, though only felt slightly in indivi becomes with the multiplicity tries the mainstay of the State treasury besides giving an increased field for the absorption of labour. It is interesting to note some of these royalties. In the year 1890 the average on coal for Great Britain and Ireland was 3d., or say 14 cents per ton, including landlord royalty or rent; in Prussia less than 1d. or say $ cents per ton; in Belgium about 1d. or say 7 cents per ton; while in France it is o or practically 0. Now what does this amount to in per cent? Tuking an average value of say $4.00 per ton for coal at the pit's mouth, it would practically mean in England about 35 per cent, but even at this low rate the royalty yields an income on coal of $40,083,530 per year, and on iron ores where the royalty is even. less, the income derived is $5,611,220 per and on other metals such as gold, lend, Silver, zine, tin and copper, etc., $870,680. Now these figures refer to 'a country only about equal to two of the smallest pro vinces: of China, or even smaller than Szechuan, A country not one-twentieth as rich as China in minerals. Is it not a shortsighted policy on the part of Chinese offi ism to charge the prohibitive concession fees? For instance, say they charge a concession fee of Tls. 1,000,000, this is a prohibition to. mining and they thereby run the chance of losing $10,000,000" from miminum. Royalties again' they crush mining enterprise by charging cent royalty which compared with Evgland which charges the highest average would mean an excess of 701 per cent over the latter country The 3.5 per cent royalty on the value of the coal output of Great Britain and Ireland looks very small, but when one considers the average output to ran to 153,000,000 tons per annum for England and Wales alone, and about 25,000,000 tons per
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.