Morey to the colonial secretary, December 22, 1883
Mr. Morey to the colonial secretary.
Sir: I have the honor, in referring to the proposed levying of an import duty upon kerosene oil, as intimated in the speech of his excellency at the opening of council, to beg leave to present for the consideration of the government the following propositions which I conceive may have an important bearing upon the subject, viz: The measure would certainly be unreciprocal towards the United States, inasmuch as that country admits free of duty every considerable Ceylon product, to the value of over 2,000,000 rupees per annum; whereas of the perhaps 300,000 rupees’ worth of American products introduced here indirectly annually, only kerosene, valued at 119,000 rupees is admitted duty free; and kerosene as a commodity, instead of competing with any local products, is a valuable auxiliary to other oils, and a positive boon to the inhabitants, especially the poorer classes, as it enables them to light their dwellings in a cheap, effective, cleanly, and otherwise commendable manner, in striking contrast to the inferior and slovenly results and modes connected with the use of native oils; and its use as a substitute for cocoanut oil sets free an equal quantity at least of the latter article for export, which, realizing more than double the cost of kerosene, leaves the colony a handsome profit from the transaction, in addition to the benefit derived from the American product being a more perfect illuminator.
It is more than probable that a duty on kerosene would militate against its importation, for, as a matter of fact, I believe the only direct shipment from America here, though admitted free, failed to yield a profit. It was expected, however, that the transaction would open the way to future dealings, and it appears that another small shipment is now en route from New York, which probably would not have been sent had the shippers anticipated its being subjected to an import duty.
In marked contrast to the relative position of kerosene to local products here are the circumstances governing the produce of this island in the United States, for the principal articles of it consumed there, viz, plumbago, coir, and cocoanut oil, compete with and lower the value of American products, without yielding superior results. It is true the use of cocoanut oil as a substitute for tallow sets free an equal amount of the latter article for exportation, which in principle is analogous with kerosene here, but different in degree, since in the latter case the imported article is superior to the native product for the uses it is put to, and so much cheaper that a large profit is gained by the exchange, whereas the difference between the value of cocoanut oil and tallow in America is so small that very little is gained by substituting one for the other.
I need not, I am aware, point out the trifling amount that a duty upon kerosene would yield, for the Government would have noted its insignificance, and if, as I have the highest authority for concluding, the object of levying a duty is to bring the article more completely under Government surveillance, I do most respectfully ask and earnestly hope that some less onerous mode of accomplishing that purpose may be adopted than so unreciprocal a measure as the levying of a duty upon the only free product of a country which buys so largely from Ceylon and admits the latter country products free.
I am, &c.,