It will be universally agreed that the making of the roads is the first
necessity; but if the island is in such financial misery that so
important a step must be deferred, the grievances of the vine-growers
should be immediately considered. The first question to the cultivator
would be, "What reforms do you yourself suggest?" He replies, "Fix an
annual rate per donum, and leave us free to send our wine wherever we
choose, without the abominable vexations and delays caused by the
present arbitrary system; let the tax per donum include every charge for
which we shall be liable: we shall then know at once the limit of our
liability." I cannot see any practical difficulty in such an
arrangement; a highway rate might be an extra when the roads should be
completed. A small export duty at the various ports would become a
material source of increase to the revenue when the wine trade became
invigorated and extended by government encouragement, and although such
a duty would indirectly affect the grower in the price which the
merchant would pay for the new wine, it would be a collateral tax that
would not be felt individually.
Unless the present oppressive system shall be abolished the wine trade
of Cyprus will languish, and an industry that may be profitably extended
to an important degree will share the fate of a commercial and
agricultural depression which has resulted from the vague conditions of
the British occupation, and from which no recovery can be expected until
confidence in the future prospects of the island shall be established.
Pages:
346
347
348
349
350
351
352
353
354
355
356
357
358
359
360
361
362
363
364
365
366
367
368
369
370