To the Editor of the "Norru-Cursa Datty News."
Sm—I have read with great interest all that has been written, and listened to much that has been said, on the subject of a 15 per cent Import Duty "to cover everything" and 1 cannot, help thinking there is a perceptible risk of the whole matter being so buried under a cloud of words as to become beyond ordinary comprehension altogether, and that it is quite time the discussion was brought back to first principles.
Tunderstand it, the proposition simplicity its If and amounts to this That on the arrival of a parcel of goods: at any port of entry a duty equivalent (mors or less) to 15 per cent shalt be paid by the Importer and that parcel of go ds and all its component parts shill be absolutely free from any further impost of any description w: atsoever, wherever it may go within the limits of the Empire of China and in whomsoever's possession it may be, and, further, that no person shall be, directly or in directly, liable to any impost of a: option whatsoever on account of his m with that parcel of goo is, or any component part of it."
Now this is very d-lightful, and satisfactory and, all that sort of thing; but we only come hack to the old, od, antee cam the Authori ies interested give us that they have the power—ven if we ta e the will for granted—to secure the exemption they promise When that i sWered to our satisfaction—i_ will be tine enough to consider whether the Devil we now is likely to be really and teuly preferable to the one we de know, but, until then, possibly it woul Te wixer for us to attend our rags and otics articles of sordid commerce and decline to waste out tin in di-cus-ions which—failing thit guarantee—nmust be, or, at least, ought ty be, purely Tau, ete., 2nd A: ril.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.