FEDERAL TARIFF.

Press, Volume LXII, Issue 12569, 11 August 1906, Page 10

FEDERAL TARIFF.

NEW GOVERNMENT PROPOSALS. ADDITIONAL DUTIES ON AGRICULTURAL MACHINERY. United Pre*. Association—By Electrio Telegraph— Copyright. {Received August 11th, 12.10 a.m.) MELBOURNE, August 10. Tlie following new duties proposed by tho Government to the House of Representatives take effect from two o'clock to-morrow. In addition to the duties imposed by the Customs tariff on tho following goods, the following duties shall lie imposed:—-Stripper harvesters, stump jump plouglis, strippers, disc cultivators, winnowers, horse or otiier power, 12. per cent., ploughs, ploughshares, barrows, chaffcutters, horse gear cultivators (other than disc), scarifiers, malleable and other castings for agricultural implements, 7. percent-.; combined coriibhell buskers and Iraggers and combined corn sheik-rs and hu_kers, 2-3 per cent.; plough mould boards, 20 per cent•; corn-h-.U-.rs and cornhuskcrs, 20 per cent. Tho following goods shall be free of Customs duty :—Hand-worked rakess, ploughs, combined hay tedders, inaizo harvesters, maize hinders, maize planters, mould heard plates in rough and not cut into shape, potato sorters, potato raisers or digg ol " s - Sir William Lyne aaid that he was compelled to toko action to protect the revenue. Ho luid not had time to go into the Tariff Commission's recommendations, and it was poc-siblc that at a future timo the Government might modify its propo-ais. The Government proposed to adopt the following recommendations of tho Commission :—Tho retail or selling price of any implement or machine sold in Australia similar to that on which additional duty is imposed was to be raised abovo the prices ruling in Australia in : 1905. The Governor-General, on receipt of a joint address from both Houses, might suspend the collection of additional duties for such time as was doomed advisable. The second was, that if manufacturers, after expiration of one year from the passing of the Act did not pay their workmen fair and reasonable wages, the Governor-General might suspend tlie collection of additional duties upon any such machine or implement deemed advisable. The third provided that if in two yeare from tho framing of the Act the retail price of strippers had been raised above £81, or if it had not been reduced to £70, tho additional duty of 12. per cent, might be similarly suspended.