THE AMERICAN WOOL DUTIES.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1164, 22 June 1894, Page 8

THE AMERICAN WOOL DUTIES.

"With regard to the question of the •woollen duties, now being discussed by the American Senate, the following letter from a gentleman in the United States thoroughly competent to write upon the subject appears in a Sydney publication, and will give a clear idea of the position. He says:— "In predicting tho ultimate results of the efforts now beincr made in America for a change to a more liberal commercial policy through a modification and readjustment, of our tariff laws, a careful discretion should be exercised. " While the last despatches are not unfavourable, they indicate a still more dogged determination of tho friends of reform and a moro obstinate opposition of the Protectionists. Tho battlo is not yet won, though a change is certain. The fluctuating hopes and fears of your people over the despatches ari?e from the lack of knowledge of our Parliamentary methods. ".Remember 'Congress' means the two Houses, known as the Upper and Lower House, or the 'House* and the 'Senate/ All Bills for revenue must originate in the House —the Lower House. When passed by the House they go before the Senate for the action of that body. It is worthy here to remark that great and important measures rarely pass the Senate as they leave the House. When a Bill passes the Senate, it goes back to the House for concurrence. If the House fails to concur, there is usually a Conference Committee, that is a select committee from each House appointed to consider and try to reach a satisfactory compromise. Usually, if a Bill is reported favourably by the Conference Committee, it passes each House without great delay, and with few, if any, changes. Then it goes to the President for his signature, when it becomes a law. " The ' Wilson Bill' so-called because Mr Wilson is the Chairman of the Committer of Ways and Means —has not yet passed the Senate, and nobody on earth knows when it will, or in what shape it will be left when it does pass. There has already been many changes, usually from specific to ad valorem duties. " Remember, under different heads and classifications we have nearly 4000 articles on the dutiable list; wool is one of the most important items. People are misled by the cablegrams who are not ' booked' in our Parliamentary practice. When we read that 'it has been proposed in Congress to postpone the operations of the tariff placing wool on the free list to August lst/ it probably means no more than that some one member of the 88 members had offered such a suggestion in the Senate. This Bill has not yet passed the Senate, as before remarked, and the probabilities are that when it does pass it will fail to receive the concurrence of the House, so the probable delay of a Conference Committee and re-submission to the respective Houses make the date of its final passage problematical. " While I still hope that clothing and combing wool—of which we produce less than one-half we need —will be on the free list, when the Bill becomes law, and that as a revenue measure carpet wools — of which we raise none —will remain on the dutiable list, I fear there will be a compromise of an ad valorem tariff of from 10 to 15 per cent. "However, as the present duty is fully 80 per cent., 10 or 15 would be comparatively free trade, and a great benefit to America and Australia.

'* There is much speculation as to the time or date on which the new law, when passed, will probably go into operation. That is also a matter of conjecture,' as the less we know the more we guess at/ That, too, will be a matter of compromise; for, remember the Protectionists are not vanquished, and they are not all in the party now in the minority." "As new elections will be held in November —a new Lower House elected —it will soon be necessary to push affairs, for the present members are mostly candidates for re-election, and many of their political ' fences' are greatly out of repair* June may see the new law in operation, iliough I hardly expect that much " Christchurch, June 19. Shipments by Christchurch firms to the Sydney Stud Sheep Sales will be despatched per Tasmania, Rotokino and Wakatipu this week. The Loan and Mercantile Agency Company sends about 500 head, namely:— On account of Mr Wm. Boag, stud Border Leicester rams and ewes; Mr Henry Overton, Lincoln and English Leicester rams; Mr C. Withall, Lincoln rams; Mr J. G. Kestell, Shropshire Down rams; Mr P. C. Threlkeld, Lincoln and English Leicester stud and flock rams and ewes; Mr M. Clark, English Leicester rams; Mr F. M. Ricknian, stud and flock Shropshire Down and English Leicester rams and ewes; and for a client, Romney Marsh rams bred by the Hon M. Holmes, at his Castle Rock Estate, all consigned to the Company's Sydney branch, and in charge of their own staff. Mr F. C. Tabart sends:—On account of Mr John Grigg, Longbeach, 300 sheep of various breeds, including 200 Shropshire Down ewes; Mr John Reid, Elderslie, 100 Lincoln-Romney and Border-Leicester ewes in lamb to special stud rams; Mr Henry Overton, Kirwee, 50 Lincoln and Lincoln-Leicester ram lambs ; Mr P. C. Threlkeld, 60 Lincoln and English Leicester rams and ram lambs, besides smaller lines for other clients, all consigned to Pitt, Son and Badgery, Sydney, with Mr Tabart, junior, in charge. Mr J. T. Ford sends English Leicester rams for Messrs Digby and Jeffs, Ashburton, and Mr H. A. Knight, Racecourse Hill. Messrs Pyne and Co. send 408 English and Border Leicester rams on account of Messrs Kelland Bros., Timaru; Mr Jno. Reid, Elderslie; Mr Oliver, Carriodalo; Mr Wm. Boag, Burnsido ; Mr W. A. Boyle in charge. Mr E. G. Staveley, in conjunction with the National Mortgage Company, sends on account of Mr F. C. Murray 20 English Leicester stud rams. The total number is about 1700.