AUSTRALIAN FEDERATION

New Zealand Mail, 21 February 1901, Page 57

AUSTRALIAN FEDERATION

THENRW ZEALAND , COMMITSh’. Sion, r ; • fa DijNEDIN," February. 12. the/Federatidri Ooimni'esion this mornphgj Alox.• Burt, head of the firm of A. and T. Burt, was the first witness. He said the firm employed about 500 hands.. Federation would affect his business greatly, as they would hot be able to compete with Australia on even tariffs!; A most important point in his objection to ' federation, from the manufacturing point of view, was the facility with whichj raw material could be obtained in Australia. They had got copper and tin, which we had to import from New South Wales and Victoria. Another thing that handicapped us was that coal and coke, which were largely iri the iron trade, was only about naif Australia that it was here. Then Vin thc matter of freights, the carriage of heavy materials r was much .less to ‘Melbourne and' Sydney'. Another thing was that the larger the manufactures were, the cheaper was the output. Taking all these points together, it would be impossible for engineers, ironfounders, brass workers and copper workers to compete successfully against the Australian manufacturers^;.lf federation were to take place now a great many manufactures that; .were.- -going on in Dunedin wptild jbjd annihilated.. I if: If; federation was entered •• upon it would be necessary for thtr Government to - pay very serious attention to the question of technical .education,; which, -was so liberally encouraged-Jin Australia. (Me did; not despair of, the .New Zealand copper deposits being ultimately Worked successfully, not only from a financial, but from a population point of view. Federation would have a retrograde effect* upon New Zealand. * -

To Captain Russell: If the Farapara field was' properly developed he thought pig iron could be landed in any centre in Neiv Zealand at five shillings per ton. The iron trade' had not been seriously effected c by. legislation, and -the and],; Afbitlation Act had! been ah advantage alike to the trade and to the men employed in it. Robert Glen dining, of the firm of Ross and Glendining, said he had given the question of federation very little consideration. Frcm -ah Warehouseman 's point of view hot think federation would be an advantage, and in the matter of woollen manufactures he did not think we could compete against Australia in that trade. Here we paid higher wages and worked shorter flours than was r the case in Australia. Possibly federation might be ah advantage from the agricultural point of view, but in bis opinion the 1 manufacturing industries were of more importance to the colony than agriculture. ‘ His firm employed nearly a thousand hands altogether, about 400 of them at the mill. From a) colonial point of view he thought it would be more to the advantage of New Zealand to remain out of the Commonwealth.

G. P. Farquhar, leather merchant (Michaelis, HaJlenstein and Farquhar) said federation would be very injurious to the boot trade, and would practically wipe it out. There was enough machinery in one town in New Zealand to supply boots for the whole country, but it was hot kept going. The tannery industry would not be materially affected. With free trade all round, the boot trade could not stand against American competition; in fact, it was not holding ith - owh vjust nowi with duty in - its favour. .v • - r

Alfred Henry Bridger, manager of Sargood, Son and. Ewen’s boot factory, eaid the boot trade in the colony was in a languishing condition, and could not poagibfr v6tfifirt|, against further competition.” Withlfree trade- to Australia could beat the world. John H. Morrison, manager of "the Mosgiel Woollen . Company, said that iso ’fair' as" woollen ' factories were concerned, federation, hp thought,’would, be a benefit, ashiflp little ‘they were now able to send to Australia .would be increased if the tariff " wall Wak ’ broken down. From a political standpoint,!be thought new 1 Zealand could work out its destiny alone. A reciprocal-treaty would be more advantageous than fede-' ration. t

James Jo. Ross, ; manager of the Denton MiJlsf 'saiidi ' if' the ' tssriff was maintained the colonies could compete successfully, with, the putside world, but. with '‘dPlv Pent; - outside competition would hill ■ i trade’ in New Zealand and Victoria. ~

Gv \ rr «,r■*,*, * t v " r , ■s' Percy R. of Sargood, Son ahdiEwen, said,' ihdustriially, he did not think New Zealand was ripe for federation. c * -

L. Isaacs, manager Of the New Zealand Clothing Factory, saidv New Zealand pould not federate without doing a great injury to its industries.. He did not see why the factory hands of New Zealand should not do a® well as the people of' Australia. Robert McKinley, boot manufacturer, said federation would ruin his trade. He viewed the matter entirely from a trade point of view. The boot trade was decKning at present, and the effect of further competition would be quite disastrous.

Practically the whole of the witnesses to-day were opposed to.federation.

DUNEDIN, February 13. Before the Federation Commission today, William Carr, upholsterer, gave evidence. He said that from a manufacturing point of view federation would not suit New Zealand at all. Workmen were spread all over this colony, whereas they were centralised in 'Melbourne and Sydney. Wages did not vary much in furniture-making in Australia and New Zealand, but in Australia more boys and apprentices were employed 1 . Better material was used in New Zealand than in the upholstering work imported from Victoria for dealers. If New Zealand federated the great bulk of the men at present engaged in the furniture trade here would have to migrate or go in for farming. Chinese labour in Australia would be a serious menace to the New Zealand trader i To Mr Beauchamp : No Chinese-made furniture hero just now. - .The present tariff prevented that class rif goods from coming 'in. j T M v ~ V' 'James Cox and timber merchant, had in a general way considered the*. effect/-federation-,would, have bn New .Zealand!, and he”•.thought the balance was in favour ot"federation, inasmuch as we would have a large market close to our doors. If our prosperity was dependent upon working our natural products, to have a large market close at hand would be to benefit the colony, i 'To Captain'' Russell: Was not aware of any tropical country where white labout hadlproved effective. " ; y ‘

Jaimes Williams Faulkiner, 1 - wireworker and galvaniser, said federation would not "affect his trade. His market was fit his door, and he competed against the world. ,=• •. * -•••••. Chisholm,Mayor of Dunedin, being called, said his time had been so fully occupied, that he had not had time to fully consider the subject of federation.

John B. Shacklock, of a general iron foundry business employing 110 hands, said if the conditions (the" .cost of raw material, wages, etc.) were the same he could compete with Australia so far as

his own®'business was concerned. He believed the market would b« enlarged under intel-State free trade. He had to. refuse; orders from Victoria because of the high tariff. He believed in federation, because it would be for the good of the colony as a whole, although it might seriously affect some industries working. At present wages were higher in New Zealand than in Australia.

He thought, t fle~general. -prosperityvand nob the Arbitration Court that. ’He did hot ]thinhi ihetwages question would be materially affected, by federation. - : r - :: T'

Joseph Sparrow, general engineer, said he had done work for New South Wales because there was no duty, but he could not compete against Victoria and its duty. No doubt under federation some industries would suffer and others, benefit. In the iron trade the conditions of labour were not very different in New Zealand and Australia.

He employed 280 hands. The number was not increasing; it stopped six months agoFrederick Mallard, insurance expert, who had considered the subject, thought federation would be detrimental to the whole trade and commerce of the colony. He could not conceive of any gain to the colony by it. Mark Cohen, journalist, gave evidence that after taking considerable pains to ascertain the feeling in Australia with regard to a reciprocal tariff, he thought we were living in a fooFs paradise. jEe had no hesitation in saying that Australia would not agree in any sense to a reciprocal treaty. While he would not definitely commit himself at present, he was rather in favour or federation tvhile the door was open.; -i His -deliberate opinion was that New Zeabe admitted on the same terms as though entering as aa original State. ~ : M. J. Scobie Mackenzie said the federation proposed was to take away the right of self-government iom New Zealand and hand it oyer to Australia. He had read everything as far as possible, and had encountered not one solitary reason why New Zealand should federate wiith r 'AiuSstraJia. That' it would give a better market for oats was a sorid and .contemptible reason ? for abandoning self-government. r . The >mass of the people of New Zealand did not know anything of the mass of the pebple of Australia, and never could, by reason 01 the great extent of intervening ocean, and that was a reason why we should not federate. The loss of the right erf self-government was too big a thing to be' weighed in the balance with oats or manufactures op. anything else. The natural tendency of the Federal Government would' be to seize all the revenue it could and place itself on as firm a basis as possible. -