REPORT OF THE TARIFF COMMISSION.

Evening Star, Issue 9772, 31 July 1895, Page 2

REPORT OF THE TARIFF COMMISSION.

This report, together with its appendices, makes a bulky Blue Book, comprising nearly 500 pages of closely-printed matter. After setting out that they travelled over 3,000 ; miles in quest of evidence, the Commissioners , proceed to say : In addressing themselves to the important , duty confided to them by your Excellency, the Commissioners have approached their task, neither from the point of view of Protectionists nor from that of Freetraders, but, strictly in accordance with your Excellency’s com mission, have endeavored to ascertain wherein the existing tariff nndnly presses upon the taxpaying public, and wherein it is possible to relieve that pressure by reducing the rates on i certain articles, and also where inconsistencies ,in the tariff might be removed, and j they have sought to render the redactions J recommended financially possible by '-imposing countervailing increases on articles which may properly be classed as luxuries. During their investigations it has been abundantly proved ■ that inconsistencies do exist m almost every I department of the tariff to which the attention .of the Commissioners has been directed. As •I will be seen by the printed evidence, from j almost every part of the colony and from all branches of trade complaints have been received i of difficulties of interpretation and of alleged arbitrary classification of goods by Customi house officers, the circumstances complained of ! haying arisen from the frequent ambiguity of the j tariff, and from the practical impossibility in | many cases of distinguishing as between various 1 classes of goods, and as to the rate under which , such goods should be placed. The local Customhouse officers, in most cases, have given the ■ benefit of any doubt in favor of the revenue by placing the goods in regard to which such doubt existed under the highest duty to which they could be subjected, leaving the importer to use hia legal remedy of appealing to tjip : Commissioner of Customs against such action; but it would be more satisfactory, not i only to importers, but also to the officers themselves, that the occasion for such disputes and appeals from local should lie removed by the tariff being made dear ' and explicit. With this view, your Commissioners, in submitting an amended tariff, haVe endeavored to avoid difference in rates as between goods which are either nearly identical or so closely approach one another as to be difficult of distinguishment. They have also endeavored to make the rates of duty applicable to any one class of goods os few as possible, and they think that the tariff, as noW submitted, will largely attain this object. In travelling through the country there have beta submitted to your Commissioners, almost necesrarily, questions either altogether or in part outside the scope of your Excellency's Commission, and, not being authorised to make any recommendations on the matters referred to, they simply submit the evidence thereupon : for the consideration of your Excellency s I Advisers. The matters referred to will be found in the printed evidence. They are ak follow:—The question of assistance to the mining industry in the only district (Auckland) in which gold duty is pa} able, as a countervail , to the taxation turongh the Customs, which is ' alleged to press with especial severity upon the mining population. The question of the ad- ■ visableness of assisting the development of the , mining industry by means of bonuses for pro- ; specting. The question of extending the trade pf I New Zealand amongst the islands of the Pacific! ; The question of the valuation for taxation purposes of riparian rights. The question of im- ■ posing a small ad valorem duty of, say, not , exceeding 2] per cent, upon goods otherwise ; free under the tariff, on the ground that all . imports should pay a share of the cost of the ! Customs establishment. The question of the . desirableness of absolutely excluding import* • , tions of Japanese furniture, on the ground that i many of those articles are infested with a worm j which would be destructive to furniture manu--1 factored of wood if it became established in this colony. And the question of the prohb bition of the importation of fruit trees, on ; account of the cognate danger of the introduction of insect pests and diseases new to this colony". 1 Your Commissioners, however, venture to express the opinion that some of these the last-mentioned especially—are woithy of consideration, and it seems to’ them that It ' might be possible to deal with the matter of imported fruit trees by legislation in a similar : manner to the provision rr.adeby law In regard ' to imported live stock—viz.by requiring in the : case of fruit trees, as in the case.of pattle, a period of quarantine, ; PHOTOGRAPHIC COPYRIGHT.

The Commissioners have also had brought u uler their notice a grievance on the part of photographers, to remedy which legislation would be necessary-viz., in reference to the question of copyright as relating to photographs (ridr the evidence of Mr lies at the Thames), It would appear from the evidence of this witius- that a copyright in regard to photographs costs 3s in New Zealand, and extends to the colony only, whereas a similar copyright obtained in the United Kingdon costs only Is 61, and extends to the whole Empire. This is a matter which would seem to require adjust ment.

Before proceeding to remark upon the amended tariff as prepared by your Commissioners, and now respectfully submitted to your Excellency, they desire to refer to certain other matters upon which they have felt it their duty to make recommendations, NEW ZEALAND WINES.

The first of these relates to the New Zea'and wine industry. The evidence taken shows conclusively that there arc considerable areas of land in the colony well adapted to viticulture. Indeed, your Commissioners have been surprised to find how greatly the cultivation of the vine and the manufacture of wines from grapes and from other fruits has progressed within the last few years. There are in the various provincial districts, from Auckland to Otago, several winemakers who hold at the present moment stocks amounting to from 4,000 gal to fj.OOOgal each. Some of these wines, especially those which have had the advantage of three or four jeaj? cellarage, are of a very palatable nature, and compare not unfavorably with the sheapey classes of Australian wines. It has beep represented to your Commissioners ph many occasions that the extension qf this industry will be prevented if the presept duty be removed from the imported wines j ana it has been further alleged that if the statm qv% be maintained considerable areas, in addition tp those now in vineyard or under fruit cultivation, will be planted, and they have been urged to recommend that effect be npt given to the proposal for RECIPROCAL PHEKTRADB

between South Australia and New Zealand In >a far as it relates to the wine industry. Yqqr Commissioners, without expressing an opinion on the proposed treaty, to which allusion lift} been made, consider that the advantages to b« derived from intercolonial reciprocity are suffh cient to outweigh the local considerations which have been presented. In this connection they draw attention to the fact that some of the wine manufacturers have stated that they would not object to be brought into competition with free Australian wine provided that they were permitted, subject to the licensing law, tfl sell wines of their own manufacture by the bottle; and they venture to suggest that thjs representation should he taken into tion by your Excellency’s Advisers, "=" THE DLTV ON HOP REER.

Another subject nearly related to the fore* going has also been brought under the Com* missioners’ notice. It has been suggested that the duty leviable upon articles known as hop beer and herbal beer, and the like, containing a proportion of hops, and which it has been repre* sented to the Commission have an alcoholic R-rengthof less than 2 per cent., is unreason* able, seeing that the makers of such articles ar# called upon to pay the same amount per gallon as is charged upon beer containing 16 or 12 per cent, of proof spirit, more especially as the value of the former is about lOd per gallon, as against double that amount per gallon for colonial beer. Your Commissioners consider that a good case has been made out in this respect, and they recommend that the Beer Duty Act should be amended accordingly, so as to provide that no duty shall be chargeable upon any of these beers of leas alcoholic strength than 4 per cent* of proof spirit. • _ i TOBACCO.

Very interesting'ev d'eiiee on the subject of the tobacco industry has betn given before the Commission, and will, your Commiasionerjl think, repay perusal. They consider tbit It baa been satisfactorily proved that several parts' qf New Zealand are admirably welt adapted ffa the growth of tobacco, and they have '.beph asked to recommend an alteration of tie Ujf which would permit of the establishment of tf manufacturing industry bn a large scale. Tig proposal* under this begd will be found in t|)ji cvid*-n*e of Mr Cameron and Mr Phillips. In yi«w of the depressed condition of agriculture in New Zealand, n common with the rest of the worii your Commissioners would have beep glad, had they been able tp see their way. to do so, ip recommend fiscal changes which might have had the effect of offering to farmers pnotbw product, - the cultivation of which would probably yield payable remits, bail in view of the large revenue consideration involved, and of the experience of adjacent colonies which bavf

either by reduced excise duty or by buuua fostered the tobacco industry, and which have suffered great loss of revenue thereby (while the cultivation of tobacco °('ems to have passed rather into Chinese than into European hands), your Commissioners are unable to make any recommendations in this direction. T bey desire, hownei, to briny under your Excellency’s notice the isrl. that lor several years pat t-ln* tobacconists ha\e petitioned the Home of Representatives for the imposition of a license fee, and your Commissioners are of opinion that, provided the fee be fixed at a rate not so high as to interfere with the livelihood of small tradespeople, the request should be acceded to. Tire effect would be not only to add to the revenue a not inconsiderable sum, but it would be the means of checking the sale of cigarettes of inferior quality by a certain class of storekeepers to the injury of the youth of tire colony. Your Commissioners, therefore, respectfully recommend that legislation be introduced to provide that all dealers in tobacco most take out a license, the annual fee of which, it is suggested, should be £2.

TINCTI'RES IN EONP. In the course of their inquiry it has boon shown to the Commission, on the evidence of Custom-house officers, that the practice which has hitherto prevailed of permitting the manufacture of spirits into tinctures in bond has resulted in considerable loss to the revenue, and there is reason for supposing that in some instances this privilege has been abused. In this connection they would direct attention to flic evidence of Mr Chamberlain, the Collector of Customs at Dunedin, and they recommend that the permission referred to be withdrawn, and that the Customs and Excise Duties Act of 1883 be amended accordingly. TIMBER.

It has been proved to the satisfaction of your Commissioners that there is room for a largo extension of the timber industry of the colony, provided that satisfactory fiscal arrangements in relation to this trade can bo made with the other colonies. They believe there would speedily be an enormous increase in the export of timber, particularly from estland, and more especially of white and red pine, if the free adrnis ion of hew Zealand timber into Australian ports could be secured. om- Commissioners think that, ibis is a matter of national importance, which deserves the earnest attention of the Government. INLAND t'HAUCKS. Upon several occasions at the different places Visited by the Commissioners there was brought under their notice the matter of certain difficulties which have arisen as between importers and the Customs Department in regard to the duty chargeable upon invoices of goods, especially in the case of goods invoiced from New York and Hamburg, ‘importers have, on various occasions, claimed to have deducted from the total amount of their co>t of inland charges from the place at which the goods were manufactured to the. port ol shipment. Your Commissioners, after a careful consideration of the whole question, are of opinion that the fairest thing to all parties would be to enact that the value of goods for duty purposes shall be tbo value at the port of shipment, and they respectfully reesmmend accordingly. prison-made noons.

Another matter which lias been brought prominently under the notice of the Commission in all parts of the colony by numerous trades is that of the competition of imported prison-made goods with goods manufactured in the colony. It is beyond question that in the case of brushware, brooms, mats, furniture, and, in fact, a Host of articles, considerable importations have been made, either direct from Germany, Austria, Italy, or America, or from those countries via London. Your Commissioners are unable to suggest a remedy for this state of things other than concerted action by the colonies and the Mother Country, and they Venture to' recommend the whole question to the coDsidt ration of your Excellency’s Advisers.

A COAL IMPORT lll'TY. Your Commissioners have been asked to recommend an import duty upon coal; hut, in view of the fact that coal is a prime ncccessity in many industries, and of the further fact that an import duty upon this article would, in the opinion of the' Commission, tend to increase the rates of freight on agricultural produce exported from this colony, on account of the stoppage of the return coal freight, and of the further consideration that the trade is now mainly controlled by one c;u tying company, they are unable to agree to the suggestion.

CEMENT. They have also beon asked to recommend an increased duty on cement; hut they think that to raise the duty would tend to create a monopoly which would* be prejudicial to the inte r eats of Consumers. They are of opinion that this view olf the case will be justified by a perusal of the evidence. Oh the other hand, however, your Commissioners arc of opinion that harbor boards and county councils should be placed in iho most favorable position to carry out the important public works d- voicing tqon them by owing cement imported for their purposes to be admitted free of duty

CHEMICALS. Your Commissioners have received numerous Requests from manufacturers and others for the free admission of a number of chemicals applied to various uses, and which . re now for the most part subject to 15 per cent, duty ; and, as these articles arc of indispensable importance to certain industries and yield but a trilling amount of duty, they have decided to roc- inmend that the requests he acceded to. Som: of the articles j»lace«l in the cxcmplion-lUt Lave Loon previously treated as fv c by Commissioners’ decisions," but it has been thought advisable to them specifically, as well as those now Ipr the first time recommended to bo free.

THE TARIFF. Proceeding now to the question of the tariff itself: As already stated, your Commissioners have endeavored to reduce the number of rates of duty in each class of goody and they venture Jo hone that they Lave succeeded in doing a good deal in this direction. Secondly, they hijve adopted a suggestion which emanated from the Customs Department, a d for which they are indebted to Mr W. T. Glasgow, Secretary fpr Customs (whose assistance to the Commission throughout the inquiry has been of a most valuable character), and, in accordance therewith, have classified the tariff under headings which group the items together in relation to the uses to which they are put, fts follows Foods and articles for human consumption; tobacco, etc.; alcoholic beverages and materials for making same ; nonbeverages and materials for making ’game; drugs, medicines, druggists' sundries, chemicals, etc; clothing and textile goods; leather and manufactures of leather; furniture and household furnishings ; china, glass, snd earthen goods : fancy goods, musical in, ftruraentii, etc. ; paper manufactures and stationery ; manufactures of metal; timber ami Articles made from timber; oils, paints, etc.; cordage, agricultural products ; miscellaneous.

RECOMMENDATIONS. Although your Excellency's commission in no \yay instructs your Commissioners to consider »g a special object the propriety of reducing or increasing the taxation, and though from the opening of the Commission until now no representations whatever have passed between the Government and tho Commission on the subject of their inquiry, the members of the Comfnission, being all members tf Parliament, are necessarily aware of the condition pf the public revenues, and they have pilt thought it wise to propose reductions might have the effect of embarrassing thie finances of the colony. And, on the other fiand, they have not thought it wise, in view of fhe present depressed condition of trade—and of the agricultural industry to repoamend increases of duty purely from a Protectionist point of view. They have endeavored to divide articles which may be fairly described as luxuries from articles of necessity, with a view to bringing the former under the highest rate of duty and the latter under the lowest. Proceeding upon these lines, they have found it necessary Insorncinstances to increase the amount of duty from the highest rate pr viously known to the tariff—viz , 25 per c;nt.—to 30 per Cent. while in some other instances they have raised the duty, not so much for the reason that was considered that the articVs should on their HP rite bear a higher rate, but for the reason that by so doing uniformity of rate throughout a class could be secured. In two or three instances ape dally high rates hitherto unknown to tho tariff of this colony have been deliberately recommended by the Commission from an entirely different point of view. The first of these, and the highest rate recommended, applies to articles of bamboo manufacture, or of which bamboo forms a part. These goods are chiefly imported from Japan, and are manufactured by labor employed at so cheap a rate as to render it a matter of impossibility for Wfiito lubor to compete against it; and your Commissioners are of opinion that tl.c substantial duty (Y5 per cent.) which they recommend is not at all too high under tho circumstances. : • PRINTED MATTER, Another instance in vlqch a high duty (30 per gent.) is recommended is that of certain printed jpatter imported from England, the Continent, qc from Australia, to the injury of the printing jnple of the colony, HRK WORKS. Again, on fireworks a similar high duty (20 per cent.) is proposed. It is considered that these are articles which cannot in anyway be glassed as necessities, and it is considered desirable to discourage their use. SPIRITS, Your Commissioners are of opinion that it is not desirable to maintain the present differentiation in duty as between spirits Imported In bulk and spirits imported in case, and they therefore recommend that the rate of 15s be

struck out altogether, and that spirits of all classes should come under the duty of 16s per liquid gallon. This change will add considerably to the revenue ; but your Commissioners arc of opinion that tlie increase accruing from this direction may be beneficially applied in effecting decreases in other directions, to the benefit of the population of the colony, i mm'.

The question of tlie fruit industry has given your Commissioners cause for much anxious consideration. They have been asked by fruitgrowers in every part of the colony, from Invercargill to Auckland, to increa e the rate of duty on imported fruit. On the other hand, a number of witnesses have urged the opposite view, asserting that a sufficient supply of Now Zealand fruit is not forthcoming to meet requirements, and that an increase of duty is therefore inexpedient. Several deputations on the subject of this industry included in their requests for a duty, or an increased duty, not only the fruits that can tie grown in the colony, but also the fruits imported from the South Sea Islands. Your Commissioners are of opinion that it would ha impolitic, from a national point of view, to do anything that would imperil the extension of the growing trade between Now Zealand and the islands of the Pacific, and they have, therefore, unanimously refused to recommend the imposition of any duty upon the fruits imported from the islands —that is to say, upon sub-tropical fruits. On the other hand, by a majority, they have agreed to recommend that the duty on fruit at present classed as dutiable should bo increased from one half-penny to one penny per pound ; and that there should be included in the dutiable list with the fruits previously enumerated as dutiable the following, viz,: — Medlars, currants, raspberries, gooseberries, strawberries, and blackberries ; it having been shown that these are among the fruits which are imported. MACHINERY.

One of the most difficult questions - indeed, the most difficult which your Commissioners have bad to approach--lias been that of the duties upon machinery. Tbe engineers' societies have represented to the Commission that, a large number of men in this industry are out of employment, or are only working short time; bat. the remedy tbe societies have proposed- viz., large increases of duty—is so drastic that tbe Commission lias been unable to recommend compliance with their requests especially in \ low of the fart that, all other industries, almost without exception, have urged that their machinery should ho admitted duty free, and also of the further fact that the low prices of farm product' which have recently obtained would render any proposal for an increase of duties upon agricultural machinery utterly impossible of acceptance. Your Commissioners, however, have endeavored not to intensify tbe difficulties under which the machinerymanufacturing industry labors, and in only two or three instances have (bey added to tbe list of exemptions as regards machinery. The instances referred la are woodworking machinery, machinery for twine-making, and machinery for paper and woollen mills. With these exceptions they have left the duties ~n machinery !a statu ilii'i. HOOTS, SHOES, ETC. There .are tv. o other large indnsti i which, like the machine manufacturing and producing interests, are, to some extent, interdependent, and, to some extent, mutually antagonistic. These are the bootmaking and the leather-making industries. the bootmakers naturally desire free leather, while the leather-makers, in common with oilier industries, as naturally desire a fair share of protection. The I 'ommission lias endeavored to balance these claims, and ventures to think that it has succeeded in arriving at a failsolution of the difficulty by increasing the rate for boots to 25 per cent., and by giving some further protection to the leather industry. It may be added here that the bootmakers in some parts of the colony have urged the adopt ion of a specific duty at per pair in addition to an ml rnloreni duty, but your Gommissioiicrs arc of opinion that it is very undesirable to have a compound system of duties, and on that ground alone they would have rejected the proposal. But independently of this, and even if the compound system' had been considered feasible, if appears to your Commissioners that the scale proposed would have pressed unduly heavily upon the lower classes of goods and fallen too lightly upon the more expensive.

sni t noons, etc. In soft goods the Commissioners have placed silks, satins, velvets, millinery, trimmings, and laces under the highest rate nf duty, as being articles of non-necessity, and they recommend what they think will he a great advantage to the public —namely, that articles of daily use, and which are required by all classes, such us cotton goods and the lower class nf linen goods -namely, holhinds, forfars, etc.—he admitted duty fret'. This in itself is a relief to the purchasing public to the extent of nearly One of the greatest ditliculties in connection with the softgoods trade has been that of classifying certain items of drapery, especially flannelettes and union shirtings. In some instances these g yds are of such a pattern and make as to he readily usable us ladies’ dress materials, instead of for shirtings, for which they are supposed to he intended, and complaints have arisen because the Customs otlieers have had to say on their own judgment how many pieces out of a given shipment were dutiable and how many wore not. To overcome this diliiciilty your Commissioners have thought it wise to place on both these lines the same rate of duty a:; upon ordinary textile goods (:i() per cent>^^ SHORT I.ENOTITS AND In view of the fact that a number resident in the colour, and especially in cities, arc in the habit of importing for thur usj tailor-made goo Is, or short lengths of’twei d ■ J to the injury of the local manufacturers, it is recommended that those who indulge in this practice should be required to contribute to the revenue in a iomowhat greater degree, and your Commissioners have accordingly recommended the imposition of a special rate of duty in these cases CIO per cent.). "MATCHES. Evidence has been given by the mutchmakers ami importers, to whicli at-rerjtion directed. Taking all the circumstances into consideration, your Commissioners do not think the industry of sullicient importance to the colony to justify the large loss of revenue which will follow its development, and thnv have therefore decided to recommend the reduction nf the duty at present in force.

SVflAIt. Your Commissioners have been approached by thy Colonial Sugar Uetiniug Company, Limited, with a request for the imposition of a higher rate of duty on imported beet, root, sugar, lint they are unable to recommend this, as they do not consider that a ease has been made out for the alteration proposed.

Your Commissioners recommend that the duty on tea should be reduced by 2d per lb, which is equivalent to a remission of £31,000 (present duty fid per lb).

KEROSENE, Your Commissioners also recommend that the duty on kerosene bo reduced by nnc-half—viz., from fid to fid—equivalent to a remission of nearly fis.con.

Salt of all kinds, including agricultural salt, should be admitted free (present duly It’s per ton). EKNCIND WIRE, They further recommend for free admission fencing wire, plain ami barbed. This concession is equivalent to a remission of nearly €14,000, ami is in the interests of c.ountiy settlers (present duty Is per cent, for fencing and 2s per rent, for barbed wire). 01SPF.U TWINE. The statistics show that the importation if binder twine has fallen to very small proportions, the groat bulk of the twine used in the colony being now of local manufacture. The duty (15 per cent.) upon this article is therefore an unimportant item from a tariff point of view, white, it has an irritating effect upon agriculturists, ami it is recommended that it be removed. SWEEP DIP.

The question of imposing a duty upon sheep dip, in the interests of local manufacturers, has bo u very carefully considered by the Co ■omission. (m the part of the manufacturers it is claimed f hat as good an article can bo. and is, produced in the colour as can be imported, and. also that it can be supplied at as low or even a lower price : but it is alleged that preju lice and custom have prevented the local manufacturers securing the control of the trade. On the other hand, these contentions are disputed by a number of witnesses representing the sheep-farming interest; and, in view of all the circumstances, and especially of the depressed condition of the pastoral industry, your Commissioners are unable to see their way to recommend that a duty should be imposed. DORSES AND C VITEK.

It lias been represented to the Commission that recently considerable importations of horses bine been made from Australia, and that there is an apparent probability of lane importations of cattl a'in tho near future. It is felt that, until the sister colonies are willing to admit horses and cattle from Now Zealand free, and so long as most of the other colonies impose duties thereon, it is only fairthatsomocorrcspouding duty should lie levied upon horses and rattle corning to this colony from Australia; the Cominiss’nn therefore reommended tho imposition of a duty of £1 per head upon horses and of 10» per head upon cattle. Altogether the reductions recommCnde 1 in various items of the tariff amount to a large sum £lol,7o7—but such reductions are balanced as nearly as possible by the mcreasesmadcon articles of luxury.

Your Commissioners would have hc-n glad if it had been possible for your Excellency to bavc placed move time at their disposal, so as to have enabled them to more exhaustively carry qnt the important duties entrusted to them ; but, in view of the near annroach of the meeting of Parliament, they quite recognise that, unless the inquiry had been postponed until after next se sinn, this a ould have been an impossibility. They, however, owing- to the brief period at their disposal, are compelled to present their report in a less complete form than they could have desired, it hflving been impossible for them to do justice either to the task or to themselves iu the time available: Ijnt they venture to think that, if their recommendations are adopted, a largo number of inconsistencies will disappear from the" tariff, the work of the Custom-house officers will bo considerably simplified, and much annoyance saved to importers; and that the burden of taxation, without distnrbingthe equilibrium of the revenue, will be more fairly adjusted than it has bean under the existing rcalc of duties.

The report is signed by Major Steward, Messrs Hutchison, Tanner, M'fiowan, ami Stevens. Mr Duthie did not servo, having been absent from the eolony, but Mr Thomas Mackenzie appends the following DISSENTIENT REPORT.

' Whilst thoroughly in accord with, and supporting, most of the exemptions recommended, I regret that resolutions should have been carried recommending some of the increases of duties,

which are obviously for the purpose of protection, notably those on cartridges, bamboo and other furniture, printing, etc. And it is with regret that I find myself unable to agree with my fellowCommissioners on come of the other lending features of the report. Although, speaking generally, the report is in accordance with the evidence given, still, that evidence, where offered in favor (if protective duties, io inconclusive and nnirnstworthy, for the following reasons The evidence given was ,\r parti'; it was never published in detail — often not at all-and thus the other side of the question was not heard. As a result, the manufacturers and those having large interests to serve by influencing the Commission came before it, whilst the much larger class of consumers did not. Again, I felt that in framing a new tariff—which is practically what the Commissioners have done —they have altogether departed from their proper functions. The report shows that, whilst considering the evidence on the one hand, they have constantly kept in view the requirements of the Treasury on the other; whereas it appears to me that their sole duty was to submit the evidence to the Government, with the conclusions based thereon, leaving it entirely to the Government to determine what -nurse should be taken to adjust finance. Even assuming that the Commissioners were within their order of reference, I feel assured that the estimated increases of revenue in the schedule of duties appended to the report will not bo realised, and consequently there will bn a considerable deficiency occasioned by remissions. Generally, I object to the recommendations of the Commissioners on the questions of tobacco license, inland charges, and the limitation of the number of local bodies who nro recommended the privilege of cement duty free.