TARIFF HINTS

Evening Star, Issue 19632, 11 August 1927, Page 10

TARIFF HINTS

MINISTER ON PROTECTION LIMITS FOR LUXURIES [From Odr Parliament art Keporter.] WELLINGTON, A ugnst JO. The impression-among legislators tha* the' Government will not seek to raise heavy additional revenue from the tariff revision, but will coniine itself largely to the removal of anomalies received some support from the remarks on this topic by Mr'Hawken (Minister of Agriculture) in the House to-night. “The Labor people have commenced to, worry about the farmer.” remarked tho Minister, “ hut f don’t know to what extent they stand for high protection for industry. It seems to mo that high protection and the farmer will not agree. They seem to manage it somehow in Australia, but in New Zealand our farmers will be too wide-awake to bo caught by any protectionist case sought to be put before them.” Mr Fraser (Wellington .Central); Bettor tell tho Minister of Customs that.

Mr Hawken went on to remark that the Customs returns presented some illuminating features, especially the amount spent in luxuries. Mr Forbes: What do you call luxuries?

Tho Minister replied that he meant not only luxuries, but some things not actually necessary. Many good farms wore going to run motor cars, and he was certain wo could not keep up tho expenditure of the last three years on ears and benzine. New Zealand was tho third highest country in tnc world for cars per inhabitant. Mr J. A. Lee: What about the luxury of a. Reform Government? Mr T. W. Rhodes: That’s a necessity.

The Minister concluded by suggesting that if we continually bought goods which we could not pay for with our exports, hard times must he experienced. The cause of the recent unemployment was over-importation, but the figures for the last five or six months showed that imports were much lessened and exports had improved. If tins continued, he felt sure that it would not be long before times changed for the better.