PREFERENTIAL TRADE REGULATIONS.

Evening Post, Volume LXVII, Issue 24, 29 January 1904, Page 5

PREFERENTIAL TRADE REGULATIONS.

Regulations under the Preferential and Reciprocal Trade Act are now being prepared by the Customs authorities, und it is understood that one of them will provide tluit the importer must j)roduco a> certificate that each individual article mentioned in the bivoico is ''bona fide tha produce or manufacture of «>me part o£, the British dominions," in terms ot tha * Act. |n reference to this proposal, Messrs. J. G. W. Aitken and J. Duthie, thp two members for Wellington, waited on tho Commissioner of Customs -recently an<f pointed out that it would entail a con, sidcrable amount of hardship to imporb.ers. A largo quantity of the goods iin- . ported are made by amall makers, tech nically known ns ''garret" makers, and it will bo almost impossible to provide that with each article they turn out foi export to the colonies they shall give tb« necessary certificate that it is "bona. fid« the produce or manufacture of somo part of the British dominions," while, unless such certificate is provided for each artlclo it will have to pay duty. Measrs. Aitken and Duthie urged that till that was ueceesary was that responsible export house*' in London should certify for the whole of the shipment, which would be far better than spreading the responsibility over a. largrt number of small makers w&oxn ii. would be very difficult to reach and enforce tho law against. The Commissioner of Customs asked the- deputation to put. their suggestions in writing, and forward them to the Department, and this ha* since been done.