THE POLITICAL SITUATION.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 213, 6 September 1907, Page 7

THE POLITICAL SITUATION.

- T \ MILLAR INTERVIEWED. Teiegraph.-Parliamentary Reporter.) | py —— i WELLLXGTOX, Thursday, j ha« been caused by the jToiihe Government in so un«im i? nf 5 per cent upon aiming **££** the'latter would, in turn, exclude dairying machinery j K^"dutiable list. There has 1,,,n so far ot carrying out Eft. Ml this reciprocal arrangement. 5 e Premier haring stepped in with fj f o test and a proposal to repor **& Mr. Hemes moved Kndtnent in Committee of Way. *i Means on the Tariff, he met with 77 '* by a substantial majority. 39 J, «3, but Wednesday night's S, a reversed the decision by two SS Messrs. Dillon. Field. Hall. EomsbV, Jennings. Ross and Lewis. had voted at first with the G-wrn-nent cast their votes against their psrtv on Wednesday. Additional interest m the situation was uronsed when a licensing bill providing for revision of the law in case of a diseolution was introduced. Some members resart this as an element in the tariff situation, but the Government has not indicated anything to this effect. , XHE HDfISTEH INTERVIEWED, i The Hon. J. A. -Millar, interviewed l T a "Star"" representative in regard to t je rejection of the item by the 11 ou»t. Slid: "I regret the decision very much. ijecause it has been part of our policy riga( through to give encouragement to locs' industries, and to find work for our own men. Whilst it is true that the item itself (£1000) is nothing of consequence, still, a» a part of the Tfhole policy, it was essential to carry the principle, more especially as the ininingrepresentatives who met had prac- : tically agreed with the tariff 1 submitted to them at the conference, that this 5 per cent duty should be charged. The .smallest rate of duty on any machinery can in no sense be called strictly protective; it is simply an acknowledgment oi the principle that machinery should not come in from abroad to compete with onr own manufactures without paving duty, but knocking mining machinery off the dutiable list, as was i done on" Wednesday night, does not I place it on the free list, because all things on the free list are specifically mentioned, and if it is neither on the dutiable list nor on the free list, it comes under the heading, "X.0.E." (not otherivise enumerated), bearing 20 per cent

when the new tariff takes effect. The' member who carried the amendcent can. I ' of course, move to pat mining machinery on the free list when it is reached. I claim that machinery which can be made in the colony should not come in free from abroad, and I am quite sure this mining machinery can be made in the colony. The biggest machine of the class named would not cost more than £-iooo. and. according to the statement of on.' .of the managers of a largo company. [*. jis only the English companies that' can .g-'t the benefit of the knocking off of the duty, and I consider that the -none, would be of more service to the colony." j