The Ensign. TUESDAY, APRIL 22, 1913. THE TIMBER RATE.

Mataura Ensign, 22 April 1913, Page 4

The Ensign. TUESDAY, APRIL 22, 1913. THE TIMBER RATE.

The influential deputation which waited upon the Minister for Hailwayt at Gore in reference to the half extra • haulage rate on foreign timber elicited • a definite pronouncement from Mr Her- • ries of which we have no doubt Mi ; Anderson, will remind him when the > Customs tariff is under consideration ' next session. The building and wheelwright industries of (Jore are sorely hampered by this extra rate on foreign timber. The matter was brought forward in the House by Mr Anderson in the session of 1909, but he did not get any support from Hon. J. A. Millar, wlio was then Minister for Railways. The present Postmaster-General enthusiastically supported him in 1910, : but he was still opposed by Mr Millar. The same fate again befel his endeavor to impress the Government with the necessity of imposing whatever duty was considered necessary to protect the New Zealand millers when the foreign timber was being landed, and that the country manufacturers should not be, \ handicapped by the extra railage imposed upon the imported timber. Last year, however, Mr Herrics was more | sympathetic. Mr Anderson was supported by practically the whole of the country members in a deputation which t waited upon the Minister in reference to the disabilities suffered' by the local bodies as well as the country builders r and manufacturers. The same extra railage is imposed upon foreign coal and is a handicap on the country iron- » founder, who sniffers also from" other p anomalies in the freight charges on the , railways. The case's cited by Messrs ) Kelly and Speden, both men of extcn- , sivo experience and enterprise, impres- > sed the Minister with the effect of the extra railway freight upon imported timber better than hours of talk could have done by men who were not ex- ' ports. The Minister and the General Manager of Railways evidenced a sad want of local knowledge when they ex- ( pressed their opinions regarding' the suitability of our local timbers for doors and window sashes. The exnefienee of . years has taught the local win tractors that these timbers are quite unsuited for our climatic conditions, whatever may be the case in the North Island. Mr T. Rhodes mentioned a case ■ where a truck of imported timber had jcost him £ll in freight from Dunedin. Such an extortionate rate simply means that the country contractor or wheelwright has to give up manufacturing the requirements of his customers and to buy from his more fortunate fellowtradesmen in the cities along the seaboard. The Minister is not prepared to do anything that will handicap the milling industry, but it is hardly a case of protecting the milling industry. If that is to be done it should be undertaken through the Customs. The railways, as was pointed out by Mr A. Speden at the deputation, should not be used for the collection of taxes, ft is rather a case of providing protection to the factories in the cities. We hear a great deal about encouraging people to reside in tho country; but Governments of recent years have not considered the country woodworker in this matter. The encouragement has been all the other way. We trust that Mr Herries will not wait until the tariff is revised to alter the anomalies that were brought under his notice by the contractors and carriage-builders of Gore, but will at once rectify what is a gross injustice to the country towns and the local bodies. =