OUR POLITICAL SPECIAL

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Issue 9833, 4 August 1900, Page 5

OUR POLITICAL SPECIAL

{FROM OWR FAniIJMJENTJRY REPORTER.) [BY TELEGEAfU. j Wellington, Last night.

DIFFERENTIAL TRADEI

This afternoon Mr Monk a sked the Premier whether the Government had abaudonec? the proposal he made aome tim« ago to differentiate the application of oar 6ustoi»9 duties in favor of commodities prodaeed from within the confines of the British Empire ? Mr Seddon »aid he certainly was still of opinioa that somethiug should be done- Other countries took push action l , and a result of this had recently been seen in the fact that New Zealand owned vessels were not allowed to trade with Hawaii, and that trade was- shut to us unless our goods were sent in American-owned vessels. During the last few years the British Empire had been, increased by a million mile*-, and we ha«J of course increased in population, butt-British manufacturers had not increased in the same ratio, and they were not able to supply the increased demand. The colony had proved this recently, when it wanted to secure some locomotives, etc., the English manufacturers not 1 being able to supply the orders within eighteen months or two years, while they could be sesured in Americ* in from , sis weeks to three months. What we wanted at the present time was to call the attention of the British manufacturers to this, namely, that we desired to take their goods trom them but they muss be in a position to meet demands for goods of all classes suitable to colonial requirements. When they were in a. position to supply us we should give them the preference. As they took our products so we should take their manufactured goods and make the nation more self-containing than at present. He was prepared at any time to move in this direction, but he must be certain that when we have given this preference they will be able to meet our demands. Mr T. Mackenzie : They can do thai now with everything but machinery. I Mr Seddon said he believed ihey f could. It was a big question, and he was quite prepared to try the experiment. Canada had tried it successfully, and there was no reason why it should not be a success here. DANNEVIRKE RAILWAY STATION. Laft year Mr G. Hunter on several occasions urged upon the Government the necessity for improving the Dannevirke railway station. To-day Mr Hall made a similar plea, and received an answer very much on the lines of the replies given to Mr HuDter, namely, that the accommodation was certainiy inadequate, and that the work would be classed with the more urgent works requiring attention. The only question was one of finance, and Ministers hoped to place a sum on the estimates for the work. THE AUSTRIAN INFLUX. The question of an influx of Austriaus into the colony was raised in the House this 'afternoon, and the Premier stated that it was assuming alarming dimensions. Forty Austrians had been brought to Auckland recently, and the Government allowed them to land on a bond of £10 for each man being given that they would not become a charge on charitable aid. Some fifty more were now in Sydney, the steamship owners having refused, to bring them over under the conditions imposed. Altogether some three thousand Austrians were in the north of Auckland districts, and he considered this an undesirable state of things and inimical to settlement there. Moreover, he had been informed that some two hundred more were on the way out from Austria. He uuderstood that those men were coming against the wishes of the Austrian Government, and were not the most deßirable class of persons to have in the colony. While desiring to keep on friendly terms with the Austrian Government, the influx must be cheiked, and he intended to ask Parliament to pass legislation on the subject if necessary.

KHARKI UNIFORMS FOR VOLUNTEERS.

Replying to Mr R. MeKenzie this afternoon, the Premier said a circular had been issued by the Defence Department ordering aU volunteer corps to adopt the kharki uniform without delay. The Government had imported about 50,000 yards of drill kharki, which would be supplied k> corps at 10d per yard. He was not prepared to allow payment for same to be a change against j capitation extending over two years, but would consider the question of allowing it to be extended over one year under proper safeguards against loss to the department. He had been told that the kharki was cold and unsuitable—(hear, hear) —and he was also informed by an officer who had returned from South Africa that it shrank and turned white, and that being the case, he thought it would be better for the department to relax the order for all corps to adopt the kharki uniform. He did noc desire to stand in the way of private enterprise or local manufacture. THE DUTY ON KEROSENE. Mr Wilford this afternoon urged on the Government the advisability of remitting the Customs duty of 6d a gallon on kerosene. The duty, said Mr Wil- j ford, amounted in 1899 Lo £59,320, while the value of the kerosene imported info the colony only amounted in value to £90,525. They talked about usury bills and 60 and 100 per cent, but it appeared equally necessary to relieve the people from such a burden as that. The Premier said the duty had been collected for many years, and he had not heard of there being any general outcry against it. He would consider the question, and give Mr Wilford a definite answer later on. SLAUGHTERHOUSES. Several amendments have been made by the Joint Stock Committee in the Slaughtering and Inspection Bill. Clause 3 ia altered so as to permit a farmer to kill one head of cattle and five head of other stock a weak (instead of a month) without coming under the provisions of the bill. It is also provided that a sum not exceeding £10,000 may be lent to the local authorities in anyone year for the establishment of ivbbatoirs under the Government Loans to Local Budies Act. Amendments are also made dealing with the difficulties arising through one local body desiring to establish abbatoirs in a neighboring city. Clause 37, which provides ihat the provisions regarding the export of meat shall only have eflcct on ihe petition of one or more licensees of meat export slaughterhouses, is struck ou , . It is provided that swine must not be fed ou any meat or offal unless it is boiled.