BRITISH MANUFACTURES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXI, Issue 18888, 10 December 1924, Page 8

BRITISH MANUFACTURES.

The arguments by which the Minister for Customs, in a statement published yesterday, endeavours to justify the imposition of the 75 per cent, ratio as the qualification for preferential customs treatment and the waiving of that condition in respect of paper are not at all convincing. Although the Minister dislikes the fact, it' is obvious that the concession. in regard to paper weakens the Government's defence. : It may not have been intended to establish a precedent but the Government will not easily satisfy applications for similar privileges supported by representations exactly analogous to those on which special treatment was accorded in this case. There can be no doubt that such difficulties will arise, for the simple reason that with very few exceptions, British manufactures .are composed of imported materials, most of them partlymanufactured, and that most British factories use both foreign and Imperial materials. For instance, what does the Customs Department propose to do in regard to woollen goods from the' United Kingdom? They may contain wool from any of half a uozen countries, British and foreign, or an admixture of wools of several nationalities, and it is unlikely that the manufacturer of the final product will be able to trace the origin of the material through the whole complicated process from the shearing shed to his | own looms with sufficient accuracy to calculate the proportions of British and foreign value. There would be no occasion for him to attempt the task if a reasonable ratio were adopted* for preferential taxation ; he would easily establish a 50 per cent- ratio, but the demonstration of the additional 25 per cent, would in many cases be impossible. Consideration only confirms the first impression that a mistake has been made- After a calm and unhurried ' examination, the Govern- 1 ment adopted the 50 per cent, basis : then it allowed the Australian Government, whose chief concern is the protection of its own industries, to stampede it into accepting the higher and unworkable figure. Circumstances will eventually compel it to revise its decision : it would be wiser and more dignified to take the step now rather than to wait until the three-fourths ratio is undermined by special concessions to protests which the Government will be unable to resist.