BANANAS FROM FIJI.

Auckland Star, Volume LVIII, Issue 234, 4 October 1927, Page 4

BANANAS FROM FIJI.

UNWELCOME IN AUSTRALIA. SUVA SUGGESTS TARIFF. (From Our Own Correspondent.) SUVA, September 30. Fiji is still suffering from sore head in consequence of the Australian import duty, which has settled the export of bananas from Fiji to the Common wealth. Many attempts have been made in various ways to induce the Australian Cabinet to revoke the duty, but all in vain. Recently the Governor received a letter from Mr. Bruce, stating that he could see no reason (or altering the present tariff. The letter was the subject of a lively debate in the Suva Chamber of Commerce last week. The Hon. Henry Marks was the leader of the protest party. He said that if Australia would not reduce or abolish the hated duty, then it was the duty of Fiji to retaliate by refusing preference to Australia in Customs duties. The local tariff should be remodelled. He said that the Legislative Council was about to meet and the matter was urgent enough to be brought up at the first session. Sir Maynard Hedstrom, while formally supporting the proposal, said' that there was no chance of their views being supported by the higher powers, who had the last word. Finally, on the motion of Mr. Marks, the Chamber unanimously adopted the following motion::— "That this Chamber is of opinion that on account of the prohibitive tariff imposed upon Fiji by Australia, the Commonwealth should be excluded in the colony's tariff and that the members of the Suva Chamber of Commerce request that this matter be brought before the Legislative Council st its next meeting." Itjs generally believed that the motion, whim representative of the opinions of the colonists, has no hopes of success, a* the Colonial Office would never agree to any such discrimination.