PREFERENTIAL TRADE.

Otago Daily Times, Volume 13696, Issue 13696, 12 September 1906, Page 5

PREFERENTIAL TRADE.

COMMONWEALTH PROPOSALS.

(From Our Own Correspondent.)

MELBOURNE, September 5. There was u surprise in stove for tho community whim, lite Government 'brought down suddenly, on Thursday last, its proposals for a partial preferential tariff between tireat Britain and tho Commonwealth. It was known that tho reciprocal lariif with Now. Zealand was to be expounded, but in view of llie fact that the cession and tho Parliament aro drawing to a close nobody dreamed that continuous proposals, such as are involved in the preference to bo granted to Herat Britain, would be brought down, it. is difficult under the circumstances to give the Ministry credit for all good faith in the matter. Considering that important measures are on hand, and that the Estimates are still to he taken, it can hardly have been hoped that tho Houso would outer upon and settle a question which rcal'.y involves the reopening of the who:, tariff. It looks very like a mere clectio crv. ■ '

Mr Do'akin, tin; Primo Minister, made few introductory remarks lioforc his er league, the Minister of Customs (Siv V '. liam Lyne), sttimmtca in- mi-uial resolutions, Tlio presentation of tho New Zealnnd agreement, he said, had been retarded by the "sudden and cver-to-bo-rcgrctted decease of the great statesman, who for so many years had guided the fortunes of our sister State." Tin's was (lie first stop of tho kind taken l>y this Parliament, iio co. tinucd. and it marked tho initiation-of; most important movement towards a, clo'.r relationship with that community goo graphically nearest to us, and united by the most intimate-tic?. He could not recall any stub ltcciprocnl Trouly in existence between any of the portions of the Empire at the present time, Both the Canadian an< South African treaties extended special conditions lo Great Britain without receiving any return. In the present case two communities.-, neighbours in the Pacific, had come together (o enter into commercial relations of a wider character than had hitherto obtained. The very fact that they were neighbours created difficulties, for they were necessarily competitors in the world's markets. It was no matter for surprise,- therefore, that the completion of tho treaty involved a. long torics of anxious discussions with Mr Seddon. Tho Government was, however, able to lay before the Chamber an agreement which, in ils opinion, should meet tho expectations both of the Parliament of New. Zealand and of the Commonwealth. That meant, of course, that Ministers did not present it .as in any respoot representing a triumph on the, part of the Commonwealth-joined at the expense of New Zealand, any moro than liiey accepted ihe concessions or conditions from Nov, Zealand without counter-balancing conditions from tho Commonwealth. It was in (he adjustment of mutual concessions that the wlio'i! task lay.

In going into the agreement with Now Zealand, the Prime Minister continued, the. Government felt it somewhat repugnant to exclude ihe Commonwealth relations with Uncut Britain. Althottsli ilia political circumstances of Great Briluin were not at present such as to encourage ns to believe that we. were likely (o receive a proposal from them for a mutual (.histoids agreement based upon principles of reciprocal advantage, yet.' Ministers realised tli.it in the _ course of lime the complejfion of opinion in the country would change in ibis regard when once tho electors were satisfied that tho object was not to make a raid 'upon their industrial life or lo invito from. them any raid upon us. The ' proposals were not put forward as moro than more fm-orunnors of preferential trade with Great Britain, They were an earnest of tho advances the. Government was prepared to make if met in the s-ame spirit. It vis not more than Ihe first short step on the road tho Government desired to travel. _ When tho acting-Leader of the Opposition got up he congratulated the Government on having submitted an election platform, oven if it had -ljoen done at the expense of its pledge for fiscal peace, and Mr Deakin replied that the nlatform of. the Government as expounded was "fiscal peace and preferential trade." Sir William Lynn submitted tho two without comment. That pertaining to Now Zealand vou are no doubt in possession of. Tim British sclicdulo deals with about 50 items, each item including a number of separate articles. A few of tho items arc*:—Arms and ammunition, wicker and wooden work, bicycles, tricycles, and parts, boots and shoes, watches, ciocksj compasses, chronometers, and instruments, furniture in parts or finished, engines, paints and colours, and smaller items, The distinguishing feature of the scherno is that in no case is n duty lowered to Gre.it Britain. In some cases the articles are already on tho free list. Those items have a duty of 10 per cent, placed on. them if thoy are not' British or do not arrive direct in British ships. In the articles already dutiable, the duty as agains* the foreigner is increased by 10 per cent. It so happens that the trade in v some of'lho items is already in the hands of" British merchants, so that the preferential duly can do nothing. Tho items included represent worth of imports out of £38,000.000, but.of that 2J millions worth Great Britain already sends 15 milliom, so timt '.here is only half a million worth to 1.0 affected bv tlra Government scheme. Such_ items as bamboos and wickerwork, which Great Britain does riot export, are

not likely to bo affected by tho fact that 10 per cent, duty is-put on tho foreigner/ Of course, it is so much extra, piWcHon to (lie locul manufacturer, and that, ■ iiilcctl.. Is what tho whole schedule works out at.

It iiuist not be thought, however, that, even the Protectionists aru satisfied at the action of the Government. Sir John Quick is chairman of the Tariff Commission, which for 18 mouths has been inquiring into the operation of ihe present scheme of duties with a view of removing anomalies. Some progress reports have been received, and the complete document may be expected shortly. Sir John is very wrath at the Government proceeding in this putehowrlc way. He is u staunch Protectionist, and a. follower of tho Deakin pirty, hut, that, djd not prevent him saying—"ln conirast with the deliberate and systematic work of the commission como the hastily-considered and ill-digested schemes ot reciprocity and preference. Taking the New Zealand agreement first, it bears on the face of it signs ' of haste, and an apparent desire to do some- ' thing or anything at.the sacrifice of.soundness ami reality. Certainly a reciprocity--agreement-.between the Commonwealth and New ZonlnmHs nnl. Hie proper place- to develop a. tariff war ajKiisnt outside countries."' Sir John went on to attack the randJo and the timber dttlies in Ihe Now Zealand 'schedule. Tho timber duties," it may be mentioned, are causing some consternaiion. io those interested in Broken-, Hill mines. They will mean, it is said by experts, a lax of £10,000 a year on the. Hold, the difference of toe increase for the llrofceii Hill Proprietary mine alone amounting to between £4000 and £5000 per year.

legislators are relieved, no 'doubt, at the fact that, t.he Nov.- Zealand treaty .is being poorly recoivo'l in your eoiinhy. • Thoy am not anxious to go into the subject at tho fag end of the session, w'hen (hoy desire to gc\ away to their constituencies, and it. would probably nol cause many of them a pang if tho New Zealand House declined to accept tlipni. However, everyone is' not' prepared to admit that New Zealand gives all and gets nothing This, for instance, in what the Argus said on tho morning after Iho srjierno ,had been tabled:-"What we s«i in Hie present scheme is that the natural producer makes all the concessions and pains nothing. Especially is this bo in the New Zealand i.rrangomouL Our farmers must pay in overy ease; there is to bo no lowering of duties in favour of Now Zealand manufacl tires. Mr Deakin dwelt, on the difficulty of making a preferential arrangement where thu productions of neighbouring countries are alike, ami, therefore, competitive. The difficulty ill tills case was got over by the filroiig-wilkd and persistent Mr Rcddon winning all along tho li' So. New Zetland oats, barley, fruit,. potatoes, hops, bacon, butter, and timber are all tv> come in on easy Icrmx to compete with the productions of Tasmania, Victoria, New South Wales, arid Queensland, whilst the mining industry suffers the increased duties on timber. So long as protection is.tho policy of tho coitritry the natural producer should not be deprived' of the very small share of it he can under any circumstances enjoy. New Zealand dor Jiherately stood out, of federation; then why Tasmania, which camo in, surrender ,t° New Zealand all tho fiscal advantages it has gained through tho ronnection wht.n it has to submit, to some undoubted disadvantages?" ... Of the lending papers of Melbourne and •Sydney only tho Age can be found to give support to" the Government scheme. It is mil likely,, therefore, to make much advance though it may rorv.i the parly as an effec tivo balllo cry in tho elections now approaching.