PARLIAMENT

Press, Volume LXX, Issue 21255, 29 August 1934, Page 12

PARLIAMENT

DEBATE ON CUSTOMS BILL CANTERBURY MEMBERS PROMINENT REFERENCES TO WHEAT DUTIES [From Our Parliamentary Reporter.J WELLINGTON, August 28. Canterbury members were prominent in the House of Representatives to-dav in the debate on the second reading of the Customs Acts Amendment Bill. The speech of Mr D. G. Sullivan was perhaps the most interesting made by any Labour member during the debate. He spoke for nearly an hour, drawing the Minister for Customs (the Rt. Hon. J. G. Coates.) into a series of interjections when lie attempted to persuade the Government that its interpretation of the Ottawa agreement was altogether too favourable towards Britain, when compared with Ihe interpretations placed on the agreement by other Dominions. Mr Sullivan also criticised the Prime Minister (the lit. Hon. G. W. Forbes) for allegedly changing his attitude towards secondary industries since the formation of the Coalition. Mr P. C. Webb (Lab., Buller) again developed the theme of the unprotected crude oil industry, a subject on which he has spoken several times already this session. Mr it. Holland (C, Cnristchurch North) said a word in favour of the Government, particularly for its decision to restore a measure of protection to electric cookers; but Mr TE. J. Howard (Lab., Christchurch South), who followed him, claimed that New Zealand's tariff was shaped to benefit the British manufacturer rather than the New Zealand manufacturer Mr J. Connolly (Ind. C, MidCanterbury), speaking in the evening, returned to the widely-dis-cussed subject of the wheat duties, accusing those who denounced the sliding scale of noi being conversant with the conditions under which the farmers were working. It was inconsistent, he said, for members to ask for greater protection for an industry and in the same breath to urge the abolition of the sliding scale of wheat duties. Mrs E. R. McCombs (Lab., Lyttelton) attacked the Minister for Customs for reducing the beer duties. The reports of the Administration of Western Samoa and Niue Island were tabled in the House this afternoon, each revealing that trade during the year has not been all it might have been. Both Samoa and Niue have suffered £reatly from the world slump in copra, and the exports from both places have been on the decline for several years. Samoa's copra exports are less than half to-day what they were seven years ago, while those of Niue Island are little more than one-third of the average for the last 10 years. The more cheerful sections of both reports, however, refer to im—oving banana trade with New Zealand. Samoa exported £26,999 worth of bananas last year, compared with £11.219 worth six years ago, while the Niuean trade has practically trebled since 1931. The recent report of the Administration of the Cook Islands, New Zealand's other outlying group, showed similar tendencies, and indicated that special efforts were being made to develop a fruit export trade to balance the loss of the copra market. The House of Representatives js now observing longer sitting hours on Tuesdavs. Wednesdays, and Thursdays. Sinr'e the beginning of the session the House has adiourned at 10.30 p.m.: but the debnf.es will now last until midnight, a half hour adjournment at 9.3 H p.m. for Slipper.