TRADE WITH GERMANY

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXI, 26 June 1926, Page 6

TRADE WITH GERMANY

NTIW ZEALAND IMPORTATIONS VIEWS OF HARDWARE MERCHANT (By Telegraph.—Special to The Mail.) CHRISTCHURCH, This Day. Doubts have been raised during' recent months a s to the quantity of trade going on between New Zealand and her late foe, Germany, and statements have been made to the effect that Germany is rapidly regaining her old trade and flooding the British dominions with her goods. Special reference Jins been made to the competition of cheap German cutlery, tools, etc, shipped from England with 'British goods to New Zealand and Australia. These goods, it was stated, were imported into Sheffield, re-packed by Britishers of peculiar patriotism and sent to other countries as Sheffield products, sometime being invoiced with real Sheffield made goods. A representative of the Press brought this under the notice of the head of a well-known ( hristehurch hardware firm yesterday, and was given the reassuring information that the proportion of German goods entering New Zealand was very small. "Certain of the lessknow English firms." he said' "put in their catalogues German articles and do not mention the fact that they come from Germany; but it is impossible for those goods to land in New Zealand without being declared to the Customs authorities. When it comes to the pinch they must be declared as German or else the local firms would suffer equally with the exporters. Of course i lie Customs people must depend hugely on the declaration made by the shipper and sometimes the mark "made in Germany" is placed on the wrapper and not on the article itself. Wry few reputable houses in England stoop to that sort of thing, and we know what we are getting. There are cerlain lines imported from Germany, such as gimlet bits, and there is no doubt that these are of better quality Ilian the English article. Some firm's import these deliberately because the English manufactured implement has | not the s.n.me quality of temper as the German." He continued that the better class of the hardware firms imported a very small quantity of German manufactures, but the reason for the im- | portation of certain German lines was on account of the novelty which was absent in some cases from British goods and therefore they sold more readily. Fancy goods especially came under this category. The matter was not a serioua one. as the German proportion of the whole of the hardware imports was very 'small. Indeed the tools that came from i big English linns were well known and !fhc average artisan would not buy tin I less there was a particular English name branded on the tool. In other cases German lines competed in both quality and price, but there are certain articles in which Germany competes with America rather than with Great Britain. Probably they were copied from Germany by America in the first place. Germany displaces America in these goods because England has not bad the trade.