TARIFF PREFERENCE

New Zealand Times, Volume LI, Issue 11876, 9 July 1924, Page 7

TARIFF PREFERENCE

RECENT COMMUNICATIONS TELEGRAMS BETWEEN BRITISH AND NEW ZEALAND PREMIERS. MR MASSEY STILL HAS HOPE. Hitherto secret correspondence, be tween the New Zealand Government and the British Government, on tho preference question was read in the House by the Prime Minister last night, as follows: Mr Macdonald to Mr Massey: “The position in regard to tho proposals of tariff preference in this country which were placed before the Imperial Economic Conference its meetings last year has been receiving the consideration of Cabinet. Although final decision on all the points can only betaken in connection with the Budget which will shortly be presented to Pailiament, Cabinet has meanwhile asked me to inform you and tho other PTime Ministers, of our general attitude towards these tariff preference pro posals. THE CONSIDERATIONS.

“This attitude will be determined by the under-mentioned considerations: “(1) Th© many declarations made on behalf of the Labour Party on this subject make it impossible for this Government to propose any new or increased taxation of food.

“(2) We will continue to observe, as regards the existing taxes on food, th 3 principle of Imperial preference on th-s present statutory basis so long as those taxes remain. We wish to -make it clear that this policy is without prejudice to the retention of absolute freedom to propose to Parliament the removal of taxes on food if and wheu we deem this expedient from the point of general and financial policy “(3) With regard to the proposal to stabilise at about one halfpenny pel pound the preference on sugar, we feel hound to say that we cannot admit the right' of any Government to bind future Governments and Parliament. But we should be willing in conformity with the observations mad*, un der paragraph, (2) above to adhere to preference on the. present statutory basis so long as a duty is retained on sugar “A despatch summarising the position on the other resolutions of the Economic Conference, which we en dorse with the exception of that re garding the establishment of the Economic Oommittee, is being forwarded by the Secretary of State for the Colo nies.”

MR MASSEY’S MESBACE t “FOR l™ ’BENEFIT OF EMPIRE AND PEOPLE.” Mr Massey to Mr Ramsay Macdonald:—“l presume from your message of March 25th that you intend to submit the recommendations of the Imperial Economic Conference regarding tariff preference to the House of Commons as non-party questions without any Government support. I do not deny, of course, that His Majesty’s Government has a perfect right to deal with these recommendations as it may think proper, but to British countries overseas there seems little doubt that a course of action such as you suggest will be very disappointing, and will not be regarded by those countries as in the best interests of the Empire as a whole. The dominions have never failed in their duty to the Empire, and I firmly believe they never will, but I cannot help thinking and saying that the treatment which your telegram foreshadows is not what they expected. THE FEELING HERE. “In her Customs tariff New Zealand gives preference on 425 articles imported from Great Britain. At present' Great Britain gives preference to Dothing imported from New Zealand. The feeling of this country is that this is inconsistent with the true Empire spirit, and that it is not likely to encourage British citizens at Home and in the dominions in their work towards the attainment of a self-supporting Empire. The extent of the recommendations of the Imperial Economic Conference on this subject is hut a small instalment of what many people who retain vivid recollections of the situation at the outbreak of the Great War would like to see. It was brought home to us forcibly at that time that we had been depending a great deal too much upon enemy countries for a large number of the commodities essential to our everyday life which could have been produced within our own Empire. INIMICAL TO EMPIRE INTERESTS.

“It seems to us in this country inimical to the Empire’s interests that British money in large sums should go to foreign countries Jor the purchase of goods that can be produced in abundanoe by British people on the unoccupied lands of our Empire. If the prosperity of Britain is to be completely restored, we believe that the overseas countries of the Empire must buy more from the United Kingdom, and the United Kingdom buy. more' from the dominions and Crown colonies than is the ease at present. My strong conviction is that our unoccupied lands will not be peopled, nor the industrial supremacy of the Empire he maintained, by a policy which permits the purchase in foreign countries of a largo proportion of our requirements. It has frequently been said, and, in my opinion, correctly, that we should think less of the welfare of the inhabitants of foreign countries and more of those of the .Empire in which we live. Wo may not—you and I—regard all political questions from the same viewpoint, hut I hope, as I believe, that we are at one in our 6ire to work for the benefit of the Empire an:l its people, and' while I freely acknowledge the right of the Parliament'of Great Britain to manage its affairs in its own way,.l have, nevertheless, considered it to he my duty to present to you in this telegram the viewß of the great majority of the people of this Dominion, views which, I believe, are shared' by millions of citizens in other parts of the British Empire.” “I was in hopes,” added Mr Massey, “that the telegrams would have influenced the British Government, but, unfortunately, they have not Anyhow, I still have hopes, and the indications are better now than previously.”