The Evening Star TUESDAY, JUNE 5, 1924. TARIFFS AND MANUFACTURE.

Evening Star, Issue 18650, 3 June 1924, Page 4

The Evening Star TUESDAY, JUNE 5, 1924. TARIFFS AND MANUFACTURE.

SrKAK'iNi: nigh! ns (he guest of t.lie JAuneiiin ‘■Mii'iufivtiirerT A-wciation, Mr Massey, a! i<'■ r stressing the leeessiiy of encourag-ng in every way not only primary industries. but secondary industries, si,id that in Huncdin, he was glad to notice, belli brandies of production, wore working hand in ham! for the benefit of the province mid of the dominion. Herein ho paid ;i neat compliment to Otago and its people, and at the same, time took the opportunity to refute the idea, occasionally expressed in some quarters, that the present Administration is pretty well exclusively a, farmers' Government. It primary and secondary production here are making common cause, which in a general way we are not prepared to dispute, the position is rather exceptional, In very many parts of the Empire, especially those which have gone in for a highly I’rdlectkmist tariff policy, the town versus country issue is becoming really acute. In Australia the Federal Parliament and most of the Slate Parliaments possess well-defined and restlessly active Country Parties, numerically strong enough in some eases to make and unmake Governments—to hold the balance of power, if not actually and officially to wield power. Partly because of the high tariff and partly because of the increasing competition Australian staple exports meet in overseas markets, the conflict between town and country interests is perpetually going on, and even now it is threatening political disturbance on a considerable scale. High duties mean that the farmer has to pay high prices for many of his requisites. This handicaps him in meeting foreign competition in overseas markets. Farmers complain that they have to contend with pampered secondary industries. As far as can I>e gathered, the leading representatives of primary producers in Australia discountenance appeals for Stale aid in th? shape, of bounties, lint they are demanding that others shall be treated in Iho same fashion—i.e., that protective duties shall be removed. And while the fanner is agitating for Freetrade the Australian manufacturer is calling for sti.il higher protection to prevent the flood of imports from overwhelming local industry.

Symptoms of the same eonfiict have appeared in New Zealand, hut, in far milder form. Tiiis is perhaps chiefly due to New Zealand not having gone in for anything like so pronounced a Protectionist policy as Australia’s. The present experience of that country may perhaps afford an object lesson to our political rulers and industrial leaders. High as is Australia’s tariff wall, it is not keeping out imports, whoso present volume is causing alarm in many minds, nor is it proving of real assistance and benefit to Australian: manufacturing interests. Beyond a certain point a protective tariff appears to defeat its own purpose and merely increase the cost of living. As duties are raised so are the prices of the locally-made article, but .its costs of production also go up, since Labor, Highly Protectionist in Australia, demands that higher wages shall be paid for its production. Now go high a wage scale has been reached that some Australian secondary industries cannot pay them, and have had to close down, leaving the heavily dutiable imported article in possession of the field.

Mr Downie ,Stewart was able to point yesterday to a healthier condition of affairs in New Zealand. Whereas in 1922 Australia drew 55,5 of her taxation from the . Customs, New Zealand drew only 33 per cent, from that source. Since Hum ih.has fallen even below that percentage. According to (ho statement of receipts and expenditure for the financial year recently ended the ordinary revenue was about twenty-seven and a-quarter millions, towards .which Customs, contributed about....

seven and a-quarter millions, or ,about 27 per cent. of tho total. This result was achieved despite tho fact that the Customs rovenno during tho year was swollen through over-importation having recurred throughout tho dominion. This fact was mentioned in the annual report of the Manufacturers’ Association presented Last night, for, as has lately been stressed in those columns, it is having a serious effect on local manufacturing industries. There was a suggestion that something in the nature of dumping was going on, and Mr Massey later on indicated one possible explanation for heavily cut prices of certain imports when ho spoke of tho efforts German and other foreign firms wore making to place goods on this market with tho advantage of admission under Urn British preferential, instead of tho foreign, tariff duties. Undonbtely, if it has not boon going on both here and in Australia for some time past, something very akin to it has been practised, and, as Mr Massey said last night, it ought to bo stopped, those host able to stop it being the British Parliament. Some months ago a Melbourne paper stated :

The Customs Department and the Tariff Board have abundant evidence to prove that goods of foreign origin are coming to Australia from the United Kingdom and being entered for' Customs purposes under British preferential rates of duty. Hosiery and other knitted goods made in Ktigiand from cheap foreign yarn are being landed in Australia at a. price against which local manufacturers cannot compete. In quite a number of case:; action has been taken under tho dumping regulations to protect the Australian trade of the United Kingdom. Australian industries, however, arc endangered by dumping from Great Britain, many of whoso manufacturers arc taking advantage of the European exchange situation to secure tdieap semi-manufactured goods from the Continent, upon which they place the finishing touches only. These goods arc lining exported to Australia, and the ironv of it is that they are landed at preference rates of doty. Up to the present the Customs Department has chosen to ditnv no distinction between tho genuine British manufacturer, whom the Commonwealth rightly protects, and

other British manufacturers who arc securing a grip on iho Australian market bv a, n/unde.liout method of foreign trading.

.From what Mr Massey staled, his Government Is now taking stops to prevent tiiis abuse from being perpetuated in New Zealand.