Rejoinder on the relocation of the Tel excise office to Spondinig

Austrian Monarchy.

Tyrol. In response to the correspondence article from Meran dated 20 January published in No. 26 of our paper, the Lloyd-Journal, from which that first article was likewise taken, publishes the following reply:

The correspondence article from Meran dated the 20th of last month, published in No. 45 of your journal, seeks to give the impression that the relocation of the Tel excise office to Spondinig has pacified the discontent that had hitherto prevailed over the measure arbitrarily taken by the Gubernium on 25 October of last year. Through the relocation to Spondinig of the office at Tel—an office that had existed since time immemorial and was reactivated in November of last year—the localities situated between Tel and Spondinig do indeed obtain the exemption from the excise duty, hitherto denied them, on beverages brought from Meran and elsewhere that are not intended for public tapping; yet this by no means affords any relief to the inhabitants of the Passeier Valley, since they must pay excise on all beverages at the St. Martin office, and have thus by no means been placed on an equal footing with the residents of the Sarentino and Schnals valleys. Were the St. Martin office to be abolished, however, and the Mals office moved forward to Sterzing, beverages from Meran could bypass the Kollmann line via the well-known Jaufen road to Sterzing, Brixen, etc., and thus evade the excise duty. Whether there is also an intention to close the Kollmann line and preserve only that of Sterzing—or rather Lurx or Gossensaß—we do not know. Should that occur, a fresh substantial loss in revenue and a new source of complaints would arise. The inhabitants of the immediate vicinity of Sterzing could rightly complain; the closure of the Mühlbach line and its relocation to Niederndorf, etc., would be an inevitable consequence. Yet we hope that this state of confusion and arbitrariness will soon come to an end. — The gentleman corresponding from Meran has not judged the matter thoroughly. The entire measure is deplorable; nowhere in the land does it meet with sympathy, but everywhere with disapproval. Truly, we envy neither the Gubernium nor the administration of cameral revenues for the distinction of having 'proceeded hand in hand' in this affair.