THE NEW TARIFF.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXV, Issue 2140, 24 July 1907, Page 2

THE NEW TARIFF.

— v ' '-Wi - Press Association. •v :r ||gl WELLINGTON, Yesterday. A deputation brought under the f | notice of the Minister for Customs to-day grievances that local bodies i;, are under in consequence of the re-Jfe vised tariff increasing the duties on* cast iron pipes and electrical applian-. • ces. It was pointed out that tariff would result in a heavy loss, , to the City Council, and other local;;-, bodies which had various public works 4 in hand. The Minister in reply said-,, the policy of the Government was to find work for its own people before finding it for anyone else. Jin- * couragement should be given to an [ industry which had already been ' | started in the colony.' The total remission of- taxation 'amounted to ~, £370,000 under the Government pro- jjpj posals, and the increases to £132;000. f, It was absolutely impossible for the . L Government to sacrifice any more . revenue. There was no justificat-rX ' jon for steam machinery paying, 20 A per cont. duty and electrical, machinery being allowed to come in at 10., , ’ per cent. Me had,’ fruitlessly eu- - deavoured to get electrical engineers ' to differentiate between electrical" i appliances and electrical machinery. Probably something would be : done to give relief as far as copper or int sulating wire was concerned, and g-5 If electrical engineers would assist hud in the way he required he would be ■ t ■ abl-3 to give the matter better con- „ aideration." , . XX-' MASTERTON, last night. ■ * ?... The Borough Council to-mghtXlis- :<;j cussed the increased, duty on irAp >,: pipes of a greater diameter than inches. The duty on this pipes has been increased from 5 pee -j/f cent .to 20 per cent. This was con-, 'gg f; sioered a very serious matter for local, p j bodies when carrying out gas;,’ “j|: £ and drainage works. A motion was- f ‘ carried entering an emphatic ]>rotesiyy; against the increased duty. It -WaSsX:. / also decided to seek the co-operation . < of all local bodies in the colony in ■: ■: protesting, and to forward the reso- • lu.tion to the member for the district. ■ “If a man wants comfortable slippers to wear while going down to ’• his free breakfast he will have to. pay '/* an exhorbitant price for them under r' the new tariff,” said Mr. James Hannah to an Evening Post reporter. .x, He gave an istance of English goodiU***— that would be appreciably increased fi in price. Women’s felt slippers*. | formely subject to 25 per cents duty, are to carry an impost of 100 pet. : *f cent., which : will swell the 'presentr?" ,l selling price from Is 3d to Is _.lld._ *- The duty on children’s felt slippers 1 had gone up to J. 50 per cent., accord? : «-• ing to the Government proposals, f|S bringing the price to the wearer ftbm _ JJh Is to Is 9d; women’s evening shoes, JJ3 with a rise from 25 per cent to .80 |S|*| per cent., would advance from ,3s Jjfiif, 6dtossapair; gymnasium shoes• with iß|v| rubber soles would jump from 3sto : |p? : g Is 6d under the stimulus of a 65 v bferjpjf || cent, increase in the duty. Some.. ' H lines of gymnasium shoes not obtain-j able in-England are got, from Arife-lSi ff| ica. Under the old tariff they paid'. i, • 37J' per cent. ;-but they are at T4B per cent, in the hew list, 7 y and this will lift them from 4s|6d’j' 1 to 7s 6d a pair retail. “The local- ? manufacturers won’t touch these, ji"' lines,” said Mr. Hannah. “They are .Jig-low-priced stuff, and there is no ". money in it. Felt slippers and even-),, a ing shoes can’t and won’t be mana- , . f actured here) and there is no chance - * of making gymnasium shoes at all."' >J(]W P . Mr. W. H. Hazard, of Auckland, on being interviewed regarding the !| new tariff proposals in respect to - i,| cartridges, said:—“The position .Si;:?- S that the previous duty on sporting cartridges having been raised to -2s 6d ijer hundred wilT'increase the cost.i of the cheaper grade of such' <sirtc| ridges (which are mostly used) 50" per cent, .on tho original cost'at -/> Home, whilst the increase on original ebst of empty cartridge ctfscs ’iwill be 75 per cent. This is the big- - ' ■" gest duty in the world. The Go-i iyl vernment insists- upon the farmer . 1 keeping his land , clear -of rabbits. If f he does not do so he is fined, or the- -|| destruction is carried out at his cost; ,< yet now he must pay 2s 6d per hund-; ;; red duty for his cartridges. Poison- ij ing or trapping rabbits is nothing _ j like as effective as shooting, because | the former methods account for a- if far larger proportion of male rab- *1 bits .only. Another point is that, - 4 quite an industry has sprung up it -> locally, in the loading of cartridge J? J cases.. Shot is made in Nelson, and/If shot is protected to the extent .of 4 £lO iier ton duty, and yet the GrO-?” f vernment charges Is 6d per hundred | {! on the empty cartridge cases wMch 7 formely were heavily enough weight-,' f i « ed at 9d per hundred. The tariff ~ * promises not only to kill the local' , £ imported trade in cartridges, but- tho -, r shooting, too.” ,