"MOST UNREASONABLE."

Auckland Star, Volume LXII, Issue 118, 21 May 1931, Page 21

"M OST UNREASONABLE."

CANADIAN BUTTER TARIFF.

NEW zealand'S OHLY choice • BOY IN THE HOMELAND." .Trade must be mutual, and our r I therefore is as far as possible to P Le our woods in those markets m pur . v w e sell 0 our products," said the -uinister Bt. Hon. G. W. Forbes, prim o Min t ' ni(jlltj when dealing with ato ntktions for the adjustment of £ SSSTw on New Zealand l> uttcr ' the history of the negot6 R 'the Prime Minister stated that tiations, , the rate on New ZeaCaD i'tatter from 4 cents to 8 cents a land J ?the day he arrived in Canada. rfff'lt tot it »« a very nice Option t Sive n,e,» he added. 1 They must have known yon We Se C Se Minister: I knew all about !t He the matter; withthe Canadian Prime Minister and his MmisK Customs, but it had been made w that a satisfactory arrangement M not then be reached. It had been C °" out to the Canadian authorities E'lw Mand <M > considerable TL with Canadian manufactured articles, and that the balance of trade S veen the two countries was greatly !n favour of Canada. The point had also Jn made that if New Zealand butter wis excluded from the Canadian market Canadian goods could not expect to find a market in New Zealand. Narrowing of Markets. "The Government considers that trade must be mutual," said Mr. Forbes. "We believe in the principle of buying where we sell We will have to send that butter to Great Britain, and such goods as we obtained from Canada should be bought from; the Old Country." Negotiations between Canada and New Zealand were .still in progress, and it was hoped that Canada would agree to some reasonable arrangement. To impose a duty of 8 cents on New Zealand butter was most unreasonable, since it had meant the killing of the butter trade New Zealand had built up with Canada. * "The position is now arriving," he added, "when we have been shut out from Canada, we cannot get into Australian markets on account of the heavy duties there, the American markets are closed against us, and our market is narrowed down to Great Britain. By purchasing what the Old Land manufactures we will be giving to it somotliing with which to buy. our products. Anything we can do to assist Great Britain's trade means assisting mutual trade."

Mr. Forbes said-'the public could rest assured that the Government was taking every possible step to bring about "a satisfactory arrangement with Canada. There was not, as.far as he was aware, any justification for the suggestion that any concession likely to be granted on butter by Canada to any other country would not he accorded to New Zealand.