THE PROTECTION CONFERENCE.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 8145, 31 March 1888, Page 2

THE PROTECTION CONFERENCE.

3PUTATION TO THE PREMIER s delegates who were assembled at Wellingi consider the tariff having completed their rs; waited upon the Premier on Wednesday :scnt him with a report of the proceedings, 'ollowiug gentlsmen composed the deputaaiesars'Sueplard (president), Auckland; • fluid (vice-president), T. Kennedy Macti, Hildreth, Chalmers, and G. M. Luke, ngtou; Kirk and Bellhonse, Christchurch ;. c, Dunedin ; and Stuart, Invercargill. Wo the following extracts from the New Zaa.i'imes: — Shephard explained that the object of the talieu was to present the Premier with aof the resolutions arrived at by tho confer- ; raid they hoped the Government would steps to, as far as possible, protect local and ial industries, so as to provide employment le people. He aslred Mr Macdonald toiead eport. ■ Macdonald then read tbe report of the rrenco. It set forth inter alia that conference was called into existence irs iqueuce of a feeling that the present 1 gave little encouragement to the de--irnent of colonial industries, being ed mainly for revenue purposes. It had ascertained that in consequence of them;- --; competition in Europe and America, ufacturers sent out large quantities of Burstocks, thu.s interfering with ordinary 2 operations, embarrassing colonial manuirtrs. The result of this might be seen in present depression, which also caused y artisans tv seek work elsewhere. The it feature in this connection was that those left the colony were not only those vitb tal, but also many of the youngest and most getic artisans. In order to remedy this state" lings the conference had drawn up and now ented suggestions for amendments in the 1, having confined themselves to manufacs closely connected with local industries. : conference believed that the Jchanges proid by them would stimulate every existing istry, give a larger wage-earning [power, and the means of establishing new industries ly to prove of great economic importance. : report then went on to enumerate the josed changes in the tariff, dealing specially l the following items as being of special ortar.ee: — Apparel and slops, imports in 0, £203,003; propcsal of the conference that duty be increased to 30 per cent. Boots and es, imports in ISSO. £157,445; increases proud under different headings to make the duty h as would promote all classes of manufaeein the colony. Machinery, including locotives, imports in 18S6, excluding certain kinds ; made in the colony, £130,000. The greater ■tion of this machinery could be made in New ■liaud. and the advantage to skilled artisans in n would be immense. In the present state of iiiis apprentices left tho country as soon aa •/ hsd served their indentures, where they ickly found the employment denied them re. It was pointed out "that when the conct for 10 locomotives was recently carried out Christchurch £1100 out oi every £1300 o! the jtract price was spent in the city for wag*s. ooUens and blankets, imports for lfcsSo, 04,853. In ihis lino goods equal to any liarted article were made inrthe colony, but it is found that many buyers preferred the ported article at ft greater cost than at locally made. Coal imports in ISSo, •'3 345; proposed duty, 5s per ton, except leu used for intercolonial trading- Furniture id upholstery, imports in 13SG, £43,523. With iiindance of fine woods at their command, and any of the raw materials at hand, our work:ople were walking about idle. The only ire for this state of things, aggravated jw by American prison labour and cheap hinese labour, was to raise the duty as projsed. Caudles, imports in ISB6, £42,117. Praised to raise the duty from Id to 2d per lb. i«h, imports in 1886, £28,033. Proposed to use the duty from Id to 2d per lb. Linseed il, imports in 1886, £20,572. Proposed to raise ie duty from 6d to Is per gallon. Hats and IPS impoits in 1886, £10,343. This industry ad become a flourishing one in South Australia nder a protective duty. Precious stones unset, aports last year, £i&. Proposed that uncut tones should be admitted free, and thus enourage the working jewellery trade without xss to the revenue. After making several sugestions with reference to the Customs department, the report went on to recommend that he railway rates on fruit and fish should be reluced; that amendment should be made in he "law so as to do away with the property tax on ndiistrial machinery and plant; that with refernce to Chinese labour," the united voice of labour alls' for such Parliamentary action, in conunction with the Australian Governments, as will ■ffcctually prevent the further settlement o? ,hese people in Australasia" ; that the Governnent shouid provide suitable sites for industrial mils iv various parts of the colony, to be used or the purpose of exhibiting samples of theManufactures and productions of the colony,, inch halls also being capable of being mademxiliaries to a much needed system of technical ■ducation. With reference to mining regula--:ious, it was pointed out that those at present in; force prevented the use of capital, interfered with the development of mining districts, and limited the enterprise ot the working miner. It was proposed that every miner should be allowed to prospect the ground as so-.'ii as he has applied for the holding, without waiting for the formal license; aud that with a view to remedying the present state of things as regards capitalists, the American system, which gives the holder a patent right upon the expenditure of a fixed sum, should be adopted. Mr Macdonald, having finished the reading of the report, banded it to the Premier, who remarked that the conference must have been very active to get such a report prepared. Mr Shephard said that as this was the only copy the delegates bad of the report they hoped the Government would see its way to print it; and hand them a few copies. The Premier remarked that he presumed it was v public document. He was glad to seethat the proceedings of the conference had now reached a stage when they could be made public. He had been in hopes of enjoying some of thedebates of the conference, but he supposed they did not think it' advisable to have them published. Did he understand the deputation _ tosay that they had only dealt with the question as it referred to local industries, irrespective ot everything else. Mr Shephard replied in the affirmative. The Premier asked whether they had considered tho course manufacturers were said to be pursuing in employing children, and that children were practically doing the work of artisans. This specially applied to the boot and shoe and iron trades; aud he should like to know whether the conference had considered that question—the measures to be taken to protect the men, if a protective tariff was adopted, after the factories had educated them. Mr Luke said that what the Premier referred to had been tho result of bad trade. The Premier said the same thing was going on, he was told, in trades that were not depressed. | Mr Luke said he could only speak from his own experience iv the iron trade. He knew of many of the very best workmen in the country having left because they could not get work. The Premier said that would always occur Mr Macdonald said that as regarded the boot and shoe trade, the tariff was so ingeniously framed as to practically exclude the best men in the trade. It paid very much better to import the best class of goods than to get them manufactured on the spot, and so a great deal of the work had dropped down to the second, third, and fourth-rate nature. The conference had divided the trade into different sections to meet the difficulty. The Premier said the deputation did not think then that the tendency was to substitutemachinery and boys for men. Mr Luke said his experience was that he would much rather have a number of men about him than boys. The question of furniture having been mentioned, the Premier expressed an opinion that tho fact that the cheaper article was most generally made in the colony was due to the demand for cheap goods. The difficulty in a great measure was how to deal with the purchasers, aud with manufacturers who were determined to fight each other. Mr Hildreth thought the day was drawing near when a better class of article would be manufactured. The Premier thanked the conference for tho report. He thought the colony generally might also thank them for the labour they had given to their work. Without in any way committing himself to the scheme, he might say it was evidently an earnest effort to do what the deputation thought would relieve the colony from depression ; avid whatever the final result might be, that effort could not be useless. Other gentlemen thought differently upon the question, and gettiug the report published would controvert the matter aud assist in arriving at the truth. The Government vyas giving the matter the most earnest attention, and would propose a tariff which, he hoped, would meet with satisfaction. It was not likely that a tariff of any Government could be proposed which under the circumstances would meet with the approval of either rabid Protectionists or rabid Freetraders, but at any rate it should not be for want of consideration or of the belief of the Government in the desirableness of local industries. Everyone, of course, was agreed as to the importance of these industries, and tho only question was as to how it should be dona. H« was very much obliged to them for the trouble they had taken in tho matter, and tho report should be printed. The-deputation, having thanked the Premier, then withdrew. « Rough on Corns."—Ask for Wells'" Rough on Corns." Quick relief, complete, permanent cure. Corns, warts, bunions. 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