IRON INDUSTRY.

Oamaru Mail, Volume XXXIX, Issue 10902, 20 October 1911, Page 2

IRON INDUSTRY.

LEXGTHY REPORT TO PARLIAMENT. A LANGUISHING INDUSTRY. PROTECTIVE TARIFF THE REMEDY. By Telegraph. (From Our Own Correspondent.'* Wellington, October 19. The Minister of Customs to-day iaid before Parliament the report of Mr M. P. Cameron, a hardware expert, on the condition of the engineering and kindred industries as . requested by t'le Minister last- December. The Report, which is dated July 31, is the res'i't a series of personal" interviews with the heads of firms in Bluff, Inverc;'rgili. Goto. Dunedin. Chnstchurch, Oreytr.ontii. Westpo: i, Nelson. Wellington. Wanganui. Napier. Auckland, Thames, lluwera. New Plymouth, and Palmerston North.

Mr Cameron states that the evidence lie gathered showed that the older established engineering works were suffering from a decided degression brought about in many ways. For instance, the heavy export of dredging plant to Australia had ceased owing to the Commonwealth protective tariff, and dredging plant was now being imported. With some reason, therefore, the engineers asked that the low duty of 5 per cent, should be increased to 30 per cent, and 15 per cent. The stoppage of the dredging boom had also laid much plant idle. The making of steam engines and boilers is fast passing out, Mr Cameron adds, owing to the introduction of oil and gas engines and electricity, and ts most of the stationary gas-engines imported are British, and, therefore, free, local engineers cannot compete, although they have manufactured firstclass marine engines in competition with American firms which pay 20 per cent. duty. He strongly urged the Government to encourage the iridustrv, which has been established under adverse conditions and employs many hands. ' . , , Another contributing cause of the depression, Mr Cameron says, is the fact that so- many public bodies send abroad for aIT their requirements, even though New Zealand prices are the same as for tlie imported article. He suggests thit where the' Government gives advances to local bodies, or companies, for bridges or similar work, preference to local manufacture's' should be insisted on, all things being equal, In_ bridge or structural ironwork the engineers asked for a higher tariff than 20 per cent,, contending that most of the cost went ,n labor at more than twice the rates current in England and on the Continent. .The use of concrete, Mr Cameron adds, "hns led to a decrease in the casting of columns and cases. Blacksmiths and boilermakers are complaining of the lack of trade due to the falling-off .n tne work done on Home steamers, and tlie establishment by many large firms ■ such as the Union Company, the Gear Meat Company, 'and the Waihi Mining ■'Company, of their own shops. Although this does not mean that fewer hands are employed, boiler-making is languishing, and a duty of 30 per cent, and 15 per cent, preferential was asked for. Implement manufacturers, Mr Cameron says, have the hardest row to hoe in the faco of the free import of all implements as. against the Commonwealth tariff of 15 to 25 per cent-., enabling it to export to New Zealand in. five years implements valued at '£54,405, as against New Zealand's exports to Australia value at £17,963 largely of patented articles. The_:udustry is capable of enormous expansion., and the implements ar e not inferior t j what is imported. The manufacturer had studied local conditions and general implements had been sent abroad as copies. Messrs Booth and Macdonald s disc harrow was being imported by two foreign agencies,, and, with a free tariff, they were underselling the original inventor, which could be done easily owing to the difference in wages. The annual importation of agricultural machinery and implements for the last five years had averaged £127,129, and all of 't could have been manufactured locallv, witli protective tariff, except in the case of reapers and binders, which were not attempted locally. The costl- principle of sending out agents to scour the country had increased the cost from 15 to 20 per cent., an amount saved to the farmer prior to the advent of the Harvester and Massey-Harris Companies. The manufacturers argued that, with tariff, they could guarantee that prices would not be increased so long as wages and materials remained as_ at present. The same remarks are applied to dairying machinery and implements, and the value of a 20 per cent, tariff is quoted for the success of the cooking range industry. A protective tariff is also urged for malleable steel and crucible castings. Mr Cameron praises the growing :n----dustry of steamship building, which, he says, lias been revived in and he suggests a tariff of 30 and 15 per cent, on vessels up to 500 tons. He also praises locally-built locomotives, and expresses the opinion that every engine should be built in the Dominion, although lie does not recommend an Increased duty. He states that manufacturers have informed him that if a reasonable duty were put on motor cars, as a whole, their manufacture would be undertaken. At present the chassis,including the under-carriage and engine, is admitted free, while the body is dutiable. This, however, has not assisted carriage-builders, as. not % single bodj" has been built for ah imported chassis. It would be better, therefore, to declare complete cars either free or dutiable. A protective tariff is recommended for the brass-foundry industry, and for barbed wire, staple, and standardmanufacturing. With a lower tariff than Australia this industry could ! je successfully launched. Mr Cameron praises the' iron bedstead industry, and states that imports are decreasing, and a further protection is not- asked so long - as freights from England are not in- | CTCQSSdt "I cannot conclude," Mr Cameron states, "without urging the national importance of assisting the development of iron and steel deposits in the Dominion, with outside capital if necessary. Upon no consideration whatever shou'd the Government allow the exportation of-these ore deposits. Th© Government shojild, therefore; view this matter from a- liroad standpoint by offering bonuses of Sufficient magnitude to induce capi•talists from abroad to establish works, not .only for smelting, but also for manufacturing iron and steel." He suggests bonuses for £60.000 as follows: —First 30,000 /tons of pig iron or ingot steel, 15s per ton, or £22,500; first 20,000 tons bar; fod, angle, or other iron, or steel, '- 2os per ton, or £25,000; first 10,000 tons-sheet or plate iron or steel, 2os per ton, or £12,500. This, he says, would .ensure the manufacture in New Zealand of all iron and steel which was imported in the following quantites in ■ the last five years:—Pig iron, 51,504 tons'; bar and rod, 109,532 tons; sheets and plates, . <12,074 tons. Mr Cameron's conclusions are that the.engineering;industry is at a standstill,., with-an inclination to go backwards; owing to enormous imports.