BRITISH SAFEGUARDING.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXV, Issue 20105, 16 November 1928, Page 12

BRITISH SAFEGUARDING.

For the British House of Commons to indulge in a full dress debate on the safeguarding of industries shows that the tendency in the Conservative Party to make it a major issue has not escaped the eyes of its opponents. Mention of iron and steel brought the discussion to a point very much in the forefront of the Conservative demand. This, and the announcement of a permanent tribunal to consider applica tions, together with details of the points on which it must base its decision, are real indications that a practical issue is being shaped Commentators who declare neither for nor against safeguarding in prin ciple have demanded better investi gation than has been possible in the past with the committees employed. This demand it is proposed to meet. There has also been complaint that safeguarding has never yet been properly tested, for though good results arc claimed from its application, it has been approved in the main in industries producing goods which are nobody's raw material, and do not affect the cost of living. The full effects, therefore, have not been measured, and cannot be unless there is safeguarding in an industry which reacts upon others. Iron and steel are singled out as especially appropriate for a test If they arc given increased prosperity, mining will benefit because of the greater demand for coal. If the cost to tho consumer rises, the shipbuilding and the engineering industries may suffer Ardent advocates of safeguarding contend that with an assured home market, increased output will possiblv enable the cost of production and" the price to the consumer to be made lower. These arc some of the features in what promises soon to be a major issue in British politics.