The Feilding Star, Oroua & Kiwitea Counties Gazette. FRIDAY, JULY 19, 1907. The Tariff.

Feilding Star, Volume II, Issue 321, 19 July 1907, Page 2

The Feilding Star, Oroua & Kiwitea Counties Gazette. FRIDAY, JULY 19, 1907. The Tariff.

The most difficult task a Government can undertake is a revision of the Customs tariff, as there are not only so many diverse interests likely to be adversely affected by a hasty endeavour to meet the demands for alterations, but the pitfalls which an unsuspecting Minister is likely to drop into are innumerable. While it would be impossible, with the space at our command, to enter into anything like an exhaustive criticism of the whole of the proposals, there are one or two matters which have been brought immediately under our notice which deserve special attention being directed to them. For instance, it is pointed out that in regard to hosiery and underclothing worn by the majority of the working classes, the one duty is almost prohibitive, at any rate it means a substantial rise in the price of all the low-priced goods. There might be some warrant for this if the goods could be manufactured in the colony, but as a matter of fact they .are all made of cotton, and while it is desirable to encourage the use of woollen goods as much as possible, it is ridiculous to suggest that when a cotton article at one quarter the price serves the same purpose, those who use the latter should be heavily penalised, merely to increase the revenue. In the case of boots and shoes we happen to be in a position to give more detailed information, the particulars having been framed by an expert in the trade. We give below the prices at which the various articles are retailed, the old duty, the new duty, and the percentage of extra duty now imposed, additional, of course, to the old duty. It will be seen that in every case the cheap goods have had the duty enormously increased, while the most expensive goods are left almost untouched. Take slippers and goloshes, for instance, which are not made ia the colonf «£ »H« c majority of sales run from a shilling to three shillings, and on these the duty has been increased from 3d to 9d a pair (the old duty) to 8d to Is per pair, while the duty on similar articles sold at 4s to 5s a pair has only been increased from Is -to Is 3d a pair (the old diity), to Is 2d and Is 4d a pair. In women's boots and shoes the same anomalies are shown. For instance, the duty on these has been increased from Is 3d to 2s 3d » pair for those sold at from 5s to 9 N to Is ' 9d to 2s sid, while the duty is actually decreased on boots and shoes sold at from 12s to 13s 6d a pair. In ladies' evening shoes the increase is enormous for the cheaper kinds, varying from 3d (the old duty) to Is 2d for Is shoes (the old duty) to Is lOd for 5s shoes ;while 10s shoes are only charged an advance of 2d a pair. Men's boots are treated in a similar way, the duty on 6s 6d to 10s boots being increased from Is 7£d and 2s Gd to 2s 6|d and 3s l^d; while boots sold at 13s 6d are only increased 4id a pair. The following table gives particulars of the anomalies referred to: —

MEN'S BOOTS. o/o of Per Old Netf Extra extra pair. duty. duty. duty. duty, s. d. s. d. s. d. d. p.t---6 6 1 7i 2 (51 114 15 7 0 19 27i 10| m 7 b 1 10* 2 8* 10* 114 8 0 2 0 2 9i 9i 10 8 6 2 li 2 10i 9 9 9 0 2 3 2Hi 8i 8 9 6 2 4J 3 0i 8 / 10 0 2 6 3lf 7J 6i 10 6 2 7* 32J 74 oj 11 0 2 9 33| 6| 5 11 6 2 10i 34f b4 44 12 0 3 0 35J 5| 4 12 6 3 H 36| 54 3i j:) 0 3 3 3 7| 43 3 13 6 34i 38J 44 2* 1 SLIPPERS AND GOLOSHES. 10 0 3 0 8 5 4li 13 03| 081 4| 31* 16 0 4i 0 9 4i 25 19 0 5J 09i 44 20 2 0 0 6 0 10 4 164 2 3 0 63 0 10* 3| 131 2 6 0 <i 011 3i 124 2 9 0 84 0 llf 34 9| ;j 0 0 9 1 0 3 -Si 3 3 0 9| 1 OJ 2| 7 3 6 0 10* 11 24 0 3 9 OUi 1 H 24 5 4 0 10 12 2 4 4 3 1 03 1 2* If 3* 4 6 1 U 1 3 14 2J 4 9 1 2i 1 3J 14 2 5 0 13 14 1 14 LADIES' EVENING SHOES. 10 0 3 1 2 11 913 13 0 33 1 24 .103 713 16 0 4* 1 3 104 574 1 9 0 54 1 34 104 474 2 0 0 6 1 4 10 414 2 3 0 63 1 44 9f m 2 6 0 74 1 5 94 31| 2 9 0 84 1 54 94 28 3 0 0 9 16 9 25 3 3 0 9| 1 6* 83 22* 3 6 0 104 1 7 84 204 3 9 0 114 1 74 84 18J 4 0 1' 0 18 8 164 5 0 1 3 1 10 7 113 5 6 1 44 111 64 10 6 0 16 2 0 6 84 6 6 1 74 2 1 5J 7 70 19 22 5 7 7 6 1 04 2 3 4* 5 8 0 2 0 2 4 4 4ft 8 6 2 1} 2 5 3J 3J 90232 6 3 23 9 6 2 44 2 7 24 2J 10 0 2 6 2 8 2 14 13 0 3 3 3 .13 1* 1 WOMEN'S BOOTS AND SHOES. 5 0 13 1 10 7 11| 5 6 1 4J 111 64 10 60 16 20 6 8 6 6 1 74 2 03 54 64 7 0 19 2 13 43 54 7 6 1 104 2 23 44 43 8 0 2 0 2 34 34 33 8 6 214 2 44 3 3 9 0 2 3 2 54 24 24 9 6 2 4* 2 64 2 2 10 0 2 6 2 73 If 14 10 6 2 74 2 83 14 1 11 0 2 9 2 93 3 4 11 6 2 104 2 103 4 4 Less Duty 12 0 3 0 2 llf 4 4 12 6 3 14 3 03 3 4 13 0 3 3 3 11 14 I 13 6 3 44 3 2| 13 1