THE FEDERAL TARIFF. SEALING SHIPS' STORES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2490, 4 December 1901, Page 15

THE FEDERAL TARIFF. SEALING SHIPS' STORES.

REDUCING DUTIES

SLOW PROGRESS MADE

THE ISLAND TRADE

MELBOURNE, November 26

The question of the legality of sealing ships' stores as soon as the ship has touched an Australian port will shortly be tested. Mr Kingston has directed the issue of a writ claiming £150 penalty for a breach of the Customs Act against the mail steamer Oeeana, which recently broke the Government seals between Sydney and Melbourne.

November 27.

In the Federal House Mr Kingston's motion that the duty on biscuits be reduced from Kd to Id per lb was carried. Sir W. M'Millan carried an amendment reducing the duty on blue from 2d to Id per lb.

'The action brought by the Minister of Customs against the steamer Oceana for breaking the Government seals came before Mr Justice Hood on a summons. The claim is £100 for entering the port with broken seals and £50 for using stores while the «hip was within territorial waters. By consent of both parties the case wa.s referred to the Full Court.

November 28

In the Federal House Mr Kingston carried his proposals to reduce the duty on candles and the raw materials used in their manufacture (lard and refined animals' fat) to one penny a pound. Mr Watsou carried his amendment reducing the duty on cocoa and chocolate and cocoa butter and caramel from twopence to one penny a pound. The duties on coffee, chicory, and eggs were carried. The Government agreed to withdraw the duty of two shilling per dozen on New Zealand oysters, after a protest from Sir W. M : Millan that he considered they had gone far enough in the way of prohibiting New Zealand products. The House is still sitting, and at a late hour was di&cussing the duties on fruit and vegetables.

The duties on fruits aud vegetables in half pints, pints, quarts, and gallons was agreed to.

Sir W. M'Millan moved that fruits not elsewhere included be placed on the free list, but this was negatived. The Government, however, accepted Is per cental instead of 2s, as proposed. The debate waxed hot. Sir G. Turner angrily told Sir W. M'Millan that he would not make a single compromise in tha tariff, because he might get fruit on the free list instead of accepting the Government offer of Is.

Mr Watson moved to reduce the duty on Bananas to fid per cental. The Government accepted Is.

Sir W. M'Millan vainly asked the Government to adjourn, as the House had been sitting since 10.30 yesterday. He then moved that the Chairman leave the chair.

A vigorous stonewall followed, the intention of the Opposition being to prevent the resumption of the consideration of the tariff till this afternoon.

The stonewall was kept going till the luncheon adjournment. On resuming at 2 o'clock another hour was spent- in explanation of the position of both sides. Sir W. M'Millan said he was satisfied at the Opposition having forcibly expressed their protest against the action of the Government, and withdrew his motion.

Consideration of the tariff was then resumed.

The duty of Is 6d per cental on wheat and malting barley was passed after an attempt to place the former on the free list. The Government agreed to a reduction to a halfpenny per pound on oatmeal, rolled oats, wheatmeal, pearl barley, and Scotch barley.

Mr Watson carried an amendment reducing the duty on maizena and cornflour to a halfpenny instead of one penny.

Bran, pollard, sharps, Is ; and grain and pulse not elsewhere included, 2s 6d per cental were passed.

November 29.

The sitting of the House of Representatives concluded at 11.30. Good progress was made in the last few hours, a large number of items being passed unaltered, including linseed meal cake, hay, chaff, fresh meat, fish, poultry, potted concentrated meat, potatoes, onions, hops 3 and malt. Sir G. Turner agreed to special exemption in regard to frozen meat and linseed. He intended to have the oil duties and those on fruit juices reduced to 9d £, gallon, and those on honey and jellies to l^d a Ib, in place of 2d as proposed; whilst those on special preparations for infants and invalids would be struck out.

In the House of Representatives an amendment in the tariff was carried reducing the duty on salt from 20s to 10a per ton. The Government accepted the substitution of Is 6d per cental on canary, hemp, and rape seed in place of 15 per cent, ad valorem.

Amongst other items passed was the duty of 5s per ton on .straw. The House has adjourned. SYDNEY, November 27.

Representatives of 57 mercantile firms and shipping companies in Sydney have forwarded a petition to Mr Kingston stating their views with regard to the almost certain destruction of trade between Sydney, Fiji, and other Pacific islands if the Federal tariff is adopted. They ask the Government to take into special consideration the trade of the Commonwealth with the islands, and place on the free list such products as copra, cocoanuts, bananas, peanuts, pineapples, beche-de-mer, vanilla, pearlshell, and turtle-shell. The petition reminds Mr Kingston that recently, when New Zealand was trying to bring about the federation of Fiji with New Zealand, the Federal Government strongly protested to Mr Chamberlain against the movement. It would therefore appear to be inconsistent on the part of the Federal Government now to so tax the products of Fiji that trade muf-t undoubtedly be forced to New Zealand and lost to the Commonwealth.

November 28.

The petition to Mr Kingston from 57 mercantile firms and shipping companies points out that Sydney is the natural entry port for the island trade, and that the value of the imports to Fiji from New South Wales alone is over 86 per cent, of the whole of the imports from Australia and New Zealand. Since the tariff has been in force the steamers, which had previously come laden with fresh fruit, arrived practically empty, and the obvious result would be that steamship owners must either i-elinquish the trade or so increase the freights that it would be unprofitable for Fiji merchants to operate in this market. The duty on island bananas was absolutely prohibitive. They certainly are produced in North Queensland, but by the Chinese, and it is urged that it is not the policy of the Federal Government to encourage aliens to settle in the Commonwealth.

Messrs Burns and Philp state that as a result of the tariff they are communicating with New Zealand, as they may find* it necessary to open a branch there .

November 29.

The Daily Telegraph, dealing with the effect of the tariff on the Island trade, says that, after oil their pi'ofessions about Commonwealth guardianship when protesting to Mr Chamberlain against New Zealand's desire to annex Fiji, the Federal Government are doing absolutely the most effective thing imaginable to cut the Islands adrift, and ,so justify their union with New Zealand.

(Fkom Ova Chrx Correspondent.)

WELLINGTON, November 30. Mr A. Moritzson, grain and produce merchant of Dunedin, who has just returned from a visit to Australia, thinks if the New Zealand Government approached the Federal Government something in the direction of reciprocity might be arranged. "Business men in the Commonwealth are, he says, in favour of such an arrangement, and especially the fruitgrowers of Tasmania, Victoria, and New South Wales. He thinks our produce trade with Westralia will continue as heretofore. He objects to retaliation, and points out that already we have sufficient protection in this colony, more in fact in some cases than Australia has under the Federal tariff. Ho does not think we should federate, as the people of the CommonweaUh and these islands have little in common.

Both Mr Kennedy (local manager of the Union Company) and Mr Murrell (of Huddart, Parker, and Co.) think the outlook, so far as the New Zealand produce trade with Aiistralia is concerned, is a very black one indeed. Mr Murrell says it is quite possible that the present weekly services of the Union Steam Ship Company and the Hnddarl-Par-ker Company from Auckland, Wellington, and the Bluff will be made fortnightly during the coming winter. While the summer season continues the weekly service will be continued solely for the benefit of the travelling public, but the two companies -will lose heavily, by carrying them on. He feels positive that the carriage of produce from, New Zealand to Australia will soon be a thing of the past. The Australian farmer will grow everything for his own market, and the New Zealander shut out entirely. Take potatoes, for instance. The grower in Tasmania can land a cargo of them in Sydney for £1 a ton less than the New Zealand producer, and the freight from Tasmania to New South Wales is practically the same as from out own colony. Mr Kennedy states that the cargoes to Australia have fallen away to an alarming extent. Last year seven steamers carried to Australia, in six weeks, 4040 tons more than has been earned correspondingly since the tariff came into operation. ' The New Zealand coastal service, too, is in a bad way. Smaller cargoes are being carried and a less number of passengers are travelling. If you add to all this, says Mr Kennedy, the fact that, as a result of the recent decision of the Arbitration Court, my company will have to pay £2500 a year more for coal work in Wellington alone, you will get some idea how gloomy the future looks for us. The increased demand for holidays and the payment of overtime to men working on holidays is becoming a serious one for some of the larger employers of labour.

AUCKLAND, December 1.

The Hon. E. Mitchelson, who has just returned from Melbourne, where he has been on a business visit, questioned as to the reasons why the proposed duty on white pine exported from New Zealand tc Australia was removed, stated that it was due to the agitation of the farmers and fruitgrowers, who feared, if the duty were imposed, the prices of butter and fruit boxes would be raised considerably. The Government yielded in spite of remonstrance from Queensland to the effect that suitable timber for these ivutOS could ha sot in fliai aolanv.