CANADA AND AUSTRALIA

Press, Volume LXVII, Issue 13936, 9 January 1911, Page 7

CANADA AND AUSTRALIA

RECIPROCITY AND THE VANCOUVER SERVICE.

United Press Association—By Electric Telegraph—Copyright. MELBOURNE, January 7. One of the grounds raised by the Fedeial Government against the inclusion of New Zealand in the Vancouver mail service was New Zealand's preferential tariff arrangement v,ith Canada.

Mr Ross, Canadian Trade Commissioner, suggests that the difficulty might be overcome by the Federal Parliament, immediately it assembles in September, passing an Act to extend to Canada a set of minimum duties equivalent to the minimum tariff that the Dominion Government could then apply to Australia. He understands that if satisfactory arrangements are adopted to include New Zealand in the contract, tho Union Company will at once pace orders for one or two additional steamers of 10,000 tons for the service. Thcso steamers are not likely to be ordered unless Auckland is ma do a port of call, because the contractors would not: obtain the compensating advantage of the additional subsidy.

Mr Fisher proposes, when he meets Sir Wilfrid Laurier in London, to raise the question of tariff reciprocity with Canada. Any action the Federal Government is likely to take is, therefore, dependent on the result of those negotiations.