TARIFF GRIEVANCES.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 8209, 14 June 1888, Page 3

TARIFF GRIEVANCES.

fcEA'HEB MANOFACTUEEBS. The following lttter has been forwarded to the Premier, and a copy of it to the Dunedin j Manufacturers' Association: — irs Burnside, June 13,1888. m& To the Hon. Sir Harry Atkinson. . Slr,-We beg re.-pectfuliy to info m you that we cal I arc inauiif(icture:to! fancy coloured lealners suitable ;he ! for and used by boot and shoe manufacturers,! urnl- . turo manufacturers, and bookbinders, We are also he manufacturers of parchment, with which we have for aome lime past supplied the New Zealaud Uovcrnment and the legal profeßaion. ~ Wo have been sit grcac trouble and cost in estab»U lishlng our industry, and are now in a position to Hr supply the respective traders as above wirh goods ed equal in quality with imported fcoods of same kinds. !, We observe tLat, with the exception of roans for j the shoo trade, all other goods Biich as we make are a intended to be admitted free of duty, while the >ls manufacturers .consuming them are to bo protected irs 20 to 25 per cent. . ..... id We would respectfully draw your attention to the manifest unfairness of this arrangement, nud feel confident it only needs to be pointed out to beat ouce rectified. . . .—We have, &c, i/e For J. Baitley & Co. (Limited), D f (J. Bayley, Managing Director.) id The following list oE goods manufactured by ie the firm is sent with the letter: Bookbinders' 3r trade—Paste grained, glared, embossed and iy straight-grained Bkins, straight-grained and ie hardy-grained roans, glassed basils, rough and ie smooth sheep, forril covers and parchment; f urb- niture—roans and hides; fancy coloured roans for "O shoe trade—levant roans, calf, kip, and goat, y Bumao tanned sheep, rough tanned and r, dressed. <1 Accompanying tho letter is one from Messrs o Cowan & Co, the agents iv New Zealand, who 'f certify that the general quality of their manu>f facture is quite equal to that of imported goods, >• and quite suitable for the requirements of the g bookbindiug trade in the colony. 0 AttBICULTTJItAL StACHINBHY. 9 The following memorial haß been forwarded B to the Treasurer, through Dr Fifchett, with a request that he would urge its claim upon the notice of the Government: — 1 To the Hon. Sir Harry A. Atkinson, Premier and " Treasurer of New Zealand. Th« memorial of the artijana of various, trades t employed in the manufacture of machinery for , agricultural purposes in Dunedin, shtweth—That memorialists seek to bring under the notice ot tho Tre.i3urer how the propoted tariff will bear on their case. No represKntation, it would appear, has been a made on their behnlf from any quarter, but they liope that neither the lateness of their application i nor the fact that they are only workiug men—the 1 employed,aud not employers—will bartbeirclaim " from receiving that consideration at the hands of the Government and the House of Representatives which they venture to thiuk its importance demands from an industrial point of view. Tho only agricultural machines or implements not > exempted by the tariff of the Customs Duties Bill f are chaffeutt ers, corncutters, and cornshellers, r which are charged 20 per cent, ad valorem. The j memorialists orenota»areof any reason why certain other machinery for agricultural purposes is not charged at the same rate, but will be imported duty free. They naturally select those machines in thß making of which they themselves are mainly I employed—namely, reapers and binders, threshing machines, and portable engines. And they respect- : fully submit that these should be protected to the 1 same extent us those others abovementioned, for the 1 following reasons :— 1. Because by doing so the employment of lahour, would be largely increased,—See note appended. 2. Because these machines, specially reapers and binders, could with a measure of protection be made profitably and to any extent in the colony. Native timber is found very suitable in their manufacture. 3. Because reapers and bindtrs being chiefly imported from America, wilh which there is no interchange of commodities, their sale leads to a large sum of money being scut out of tha colony. 4. Because the colonial made article would he better for the farmer. If on trial it were found unsuitable, or if it broke down they could fall back upon the manufacturer. In purchasing an imported article there is no such resource. 5. Because, as ralatiug to portable machines, It canuot be said that they are forajrricultural purposes in tho sense of beiDg purchased or used by the farmers. It is true these machines "are employed in driving threshing machines for a short time every year by persons who briDg thorn into the countiy districts as part of their business, but these persons use the same machines as motive power for every variety of purpose, in town as well as in country, all the year round. An unexpected result from admitting portable engines free of duty, while stationary eugineß are charged 20 pen cent,, will be that the former will be used for work up to at least IB h.p., which tha latter has hitherto performed,—thus ksseuiog the customs duties in a double form. Signed on behalf of the meeting of artisans by the Committee, Notk.—A simple statement will serve to indio.ste: tha amount of additional employment which Pro-.' tectlon of the machinery referred to would give. Take the rr.;per and binder. There are, »8 far as can be ascertained, close upon 500 *f these machines annually sold in the cjlony. Of these, between (JO and 70 (say 60) are made in Dunedin by Meaers Held and Gray, the only colonial manufacturer!; leaving' the bJauce, cay 400, to be Imported. Ou themaking of the 60 machines Messrs Held and Gray employ about 50 artisaus of different trades for four mouths in the year. Suppose the other 400 reapers and binders were made in the colony, it ib easy to see its; advantage in an industrial point of view-employ-ment not for four months in. the year for 50 persons, but employmi-nt for the whole ycir for upwards of: 100, with all its ramifications into other branches of trade.