TARIFF REVISION

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXX, Issue 21506, 1 June 1933, Page 10

TARIFF REVISION

A heavy task lies before the tariff revision commission. Its first and particular duty is to advise the Government as to tho methods by which the country's word, promised at Ottawa, is to be applied in the easement of British tariffs. Its order of reference is wide, much wider indeed than the special task calls for, and a great deal of evidence will be heard to aid the commission in its recommendations as to general fiscal principles. It must be emphasised, however, that a general revision is not the first concern of the Government. The commission comes to a definite task, a task to which there must be a time limit if the Ottawa obligation is to be honourably discharged. It is a task of unusual magnitude. The Ottawa agreement must be implemented in the true manner of its conception. The commission must exercise special knowledge, but at the same time must remain judicial in its outlook, as alive to national interests as, for instance, the May commission of England. The comprehensive review that is required under the order of reference is almost essential because no particular matter of tariff can be determined without full weight being given to all relevant circumstances. It must be emphasised, however, that the commission must keep to its definite task and adhere to a time-table, because the country's honour is involved. Full acknowledgment must be made of the trading importance of all decisions affecting duties, but sectional and, possibly, prejudiced opinion should be most carefully considered on this occasion. Apart from the Ottawa agreement, an effort should be made to deal with tariff questions in a more scientific manner than has ever been the case in the past. It is not the custom of the country, however, to give any kind of running rein to academic investigators of the tariff scale. The whole question ought to be far beyond the bickering which has been common on such occasions in the past. It is for the commission to maintain a high standard of argument in the tariff question.