HIGH COST OF LIVING

Gisborne Times, Volume LIII, Issue 5539, 22 July 1920, Page 5

HIGH COST OF LIVING

IMPORTANT DEBATE IN THE HOUSE. SLIDING SCALE OF CUSTOMS , DUTIES SUGGESTED. MR MASSEY REVIEWS POSITION AS TO-CUSTOMS. v ■ WELLINGTON, July 21. Tho House had an opportunity of talking about anything and everything this afternoon on a motion to introduce a Bill. It was Mr. McCallum’s new “Protection” Bill under a new name—this time the Excise Tariff Bill. It is a measure that must j he ruled out under the Standing Or- j dors so soon as it is printed” or sub r j mitted to Mr. Speaker in final shape, | because it is, as its name implies, a taxing measure. Mr, McCallum’s idea is that Customs duties should be regulated, by a sliding scale according as the prices of commodities rise or fall, the idea being that the,tariff shall be retained at a high level so. long as this shall be necessary for the protection of a local industry, but that, when an industry is well established, the owners of it shall not be’ allowed to use the protection of the tariff* as a means of extorting from the public prices which are unwarranted. He suggests to the Government that th costs of commodities manufactured under the shelter of a protective tariff wall shall he watched until they reach the- consumer. Tho Bill was taken as opening tli e way to a discussion of the need for a revision of the tariff, and the Government was pressed to amend the tariff without delay. Then other members sought to show how the revenue which might be lost by a revision of Customs duties might be regained by an imposition of higher death duties, especially on large.es" tates. This was. of course, a subject foreign to the Bill, hut the discussion of it" went on for most of the afternoon. Other topics were introduced! later in the debate, which had even , less to do with the subject-matter of the Bill. j

The only important utterance in j tlie debate was that made by the i Prime Minister. There had been an • expression of opinion from Mr. Wil- j ford that the Customs duties might j to be revised in view of the higher | costs of emomodities and that if the present rate of taxation should be continued the people would not be able to sustain the burden put upon j them. Mr. Massey said that the honorable member had said that if j prices continued to soar this country j would he called upon to bear a heavier burden than it would he able to hear. But the honorable gentbman J knew that it would not be possible . for prices to soar as they had during i tlie past five years. References had: been made to footwear and woollen i goods. They knew that the price of I woollens had risen phenomenally, hub they knew also that, recently, the price of wool had fallen and that it was still falling. Air Brown : The price of the' manufactured article has not fallen. Mr. Massey maintained that there had been a fall in the price of manufactured woollens in the past few weeks and this was inevitable. . The price must drop if the price of the raw material fell. He admitted that the fall in the prices, of woollens had been so small that it had scarcely" been felt by tlie retail customer, ' but the price of the manufactured article could not he held up if the, price of the raw material continued ; to fall, and this must happen men if the price of wool fell. Further, it would lie rather a bad thing for this country if tlie price of wool continued to fall, for wool was one of those commodities on which * lie Bominion lived—one of the principal export products. Tho lion, member had seemed to suggest that if a revision was made of the tariff and if the Customs tariff were reduced in the way ho asked the burdens of the taxpayer in this country would be lighter than they were at present. He (Air. Aiassey) wished to tell the House that tlie Government could not do without a shilling of the money it collected at present. >ll the tariff were to be revised to-mor-row they would simply have to increase taxation in other directions. A revision of the tariff was not a thing to be lightly, undertaken. it was "the easiest thing in the world to cause an industrial depression in a country like this. He had lived lorm enough in the country to see depressions and he knew how serious they could ho. It was not possible to introduce a scheme of tariff reform without six months preparation. As head of the Government he was not prepared to. bring down a Tariff Bill and see members scramble for advantages as he had seen happen on other occasions. . Air Brown: Can’t you increase the death duties? . Air. Alassev: That is another story and the lion, member may have an opportunity of discussing some dung of the sort this session. r Mr. Brown: Bo you think i am croing to drop out, then "Air Mas say : I don’t want the lion, member to drop out I should he very sorry indeed, but I hope that, when lie does go out; which J. Hope will not be for many yesrs, a con-siderable-sum will come to the Mate in consequence. Air. Massey went on to say Unat the country could not do without anv of the revenue at present being collected. It would not be possible to reduce this session the duties on woollens or on hoots. There was no doubt that there was going to be a reduction in the prices of woolens and in hoots in this country, feupposiuir the duties were reduced Irem twenty per cent to ten per cent, and | prices returned to normal, v here would the people employed in' ihesc industries lie?—Special to Lines.