I shall write down 1500 (if we declared 1000),
which will split the difference.' ("Splitting the difference" is the
usual method of arranging an Oriental dispute, as instanced by Solomon's
well-known suggestion of dividing the baby.).
"We shall protest," continued the monks, "and this kind of inquisitorial
haggling will take place concerning every tree, until the valuer shall
have concluded his labour, and about one-third more than the actual
produce of the orchards will have been booked against us; upon which we
must pay a tax of 10 per cent., at the same time that the risks of
insects, rats, and the expenses of gathering remain to the debit of the
garden. In fact," said the poor old monks, "our produce is a trouble to
us, as personally we derive no benefit; the public eat the fruit, and
the government eats the taxes."
There were curious distinctions and exceptions in this arbitrary form of
taxation: if a fruit-tree grew within the monastery courtyard it was
exempt; thus the great walnut-tree beneath which we camped was free. It
was really cheering to find that we were living under some object that
was not taxed in Cyprus; but the monk continued, and somewhat dispelled
the illusion . . . "This tree produced in one year 20,000 walnuts, and
it averages from 12,000 to 15,000; but when the crops of our other trees
are estimated, the official valuer always insists upon a false maximum,
so as to include the crop of the courtyard walnut in the total amount
for taxation."
The potatoes, like all other horticultural productions, are valued while
growing, and the same system of extravagant estimate is pursued.
This system is a blight of the gravest character upon the local industry
of the inhabitants, and it is a suicidal and unstatesmanlike policy that
crushes and extinguishes all enterprise. What Englishman would submit to
such a prying and humiliating position? And still it is expected that
the resources of the island will be developed by British capital! The
great want for the supply of the principal towns is market-gardens.
Imagine an English practical market-gardener, fresh from the ten-mile
radius of Covent Garden, where despatch and promptitude mean fortune and
success: he could not cut his cauliflowers in Cyprus until his crop of
unblown plants had been valued by an official and while he might be
waiting for this well-hated spirit of evil, his cauliflower-heads would
have expanded into coral-like projections and have become utterly
valueless except for pig-feeding. I cannot conceive a more extravagant
instance of oppression than this system of taxation, which throws
enormous powers of extortion into the hands of the official valuer. This
person can oppose by delays and superlative estimates the vital
interests of the proprietors; if the property is large, the owner will
be only too glad to silence his opposition by a considerable bribe; the
poor must alike contribute, or submit to be the victim of delays which,
with perishable articles such as vegetables, represent his ruin. Is it
surprising that the villages of the desolate plain of Messaria are for
the most part devoid of fruit-trees? We are preaching to the Cypriotes
the advantage of planting around their dwellings, as though they were
such idiots as to be ignorant that "he who sows the wind will reap the
whirlwind." If they plant fruit-trees under the present laws they are
planting curses which will entail the misery of inquisitorial visits and
the most objectionable and oppressive form of an unjust taxation. As the
law at present stands, the amount of fruit is ridiculously small, and
the quality inferior, while cultivated vegetables are difficult to
obtain. Can any other result be expected under the paralysing effect of
Turkish laws? which unfortunately British officials have the
questionable honour of administering.
I have heard officials condemn in the strongest terms the laws they are
obliged to enforce. There are few persons who are obtuse to the sense of
injustice, but at the same time the suggestion has been expressed that
an extreme difficulty would be experienced should the taxes be collected
in any other form than dimes. I cannot see the slightest truth in this
disclaimer of responsibility for Turkish evils, and I believe the
present difficulty might be overcome with little trouble by a system of
rating the land ad valorem.
The soil and general value of properties in Cyprus vary as in England
and other countries according to quality and position. There is land
contiguous to market towns of much higher value than the same quality of
soil in remote districts; there are farms supplied with water either
naturally or artificially, which are far more valuable than others which
are dependent upon favourable seasons. Land which formerly produced
madder was of extreme value, and should have been adjudged accordingly;
but why should not all properties of every description throughout Cyprus
be rated and taxed in due proportion? The valuation should be arranged
by local councils. The vineyards which produced the expensive wines
should be rated higher than those of inferior quality. Gardens should be
rated according to their distance from a market; fields in proportion to
their water-supply and the quality of the soil. The Cypriotes do not
complain of the amount of 10 per cent. taxation under the name of dimes,
but they naturally object to the arbitrary and vexatious system of
inquisitorial visits, together with the delays and loss of time
occasioned by the old Turkish system. "Rate us, and let us know the
limit of our responsibility"--that is the natural desire of the
inhabitants. If the industries of the country are to be developed they
must be unfettered; but if weighed down by restrictions and vexatious
interference, they will hardly discover the benefit of a change to
British masters.
