THE TARIFF. SOUTHERN OPINIONS. (BY TELEGRAPH.—OWN CORRESPONDENT.) Friday, May '13.

Te Aroha News, Volume IV, Issue 204, 21 May 1887, Page 4 (Supplement)

THE TARIFF. SOUTHERN OPINIONS. (BY TELEGRAPH. —OWN CORRESPONDENT. ) Friday, May '13.

OpiHton in Wellington. *Fxn> " Post* turned round on the Oo"em- ; iaent last *fcight. It says the Financial! Statement seems to have evoked «j general \&orus of disappointment and discontent throughout the colony. Tire' tariff proposals are decidedly the mosbj obnoxious and unpopular. They seem' 'to s&tf^fy no one but a few rabid volawosj of Prol-oction, and many of those objeot' strtfng^y to the application of the primftple; swh6*-cs wh6*-c it is likely to affect thcmselveemnffav^wrably. If the House is a reflex of tfoo' public opinion of the country it -will* 'make &liorb work of the Customs Duties Bi&.

Effect of the Tariff on Millinery. I take the following from last night's; l ** I'res-s ": — "It does not appear to be •-as generally understood a.s .it ought 4o bo, that Sir Julius Vogol's proposed new duty of 20 per cent, od valorem ■mil amount in reality to a direct impost of 22^ per cent, and that allowing for customs charges and all eypennos and, additions, tho consumer would not get oil" under 25 per cent, or one-fourth added to tho price of the goods for duty. The following figures wiU show the precise effect of the tariff -on a cane of millinery :—lOO: — 100 trimmed hat> and bonnets nt 10.« each, L5O ; 10 boxes -it 3d, LI .w ; packing case (tin lined) Ll .3s : ■ total, Lf>2 10s. H) per cent, for " trade protit," L 5 ss, 1i57 15s. The duty on L5B 11s 2d makes a grand total of L 69 7s. Thus the actual rate of duty on the goods is over 22£ per cent. When the goods are eynfc to tho packez-s, and their charges are added to the invoice, the duty is al>o .charged on the Trork of thes-e packers. Tins will give some idea of what the new tariff avould tignify in ordinary family expenditasae.

Friday, May 13. Opinion of DuncdiH Merchants. The " Star" reporter infect viewed the leading importers re the tadiif. The general feeling is a dsiposition to wait until the "Financial Statement is finally disposed of before making any cane-Bui calculations as %o the exact ways in which colonial tiade and commerce will be ailhoted. One gentleman who has given much consideration to the anomalies andabsurdities ol the old tariff i»ays his opinion was tkat<ftheTreasurershould liave bestowed attention ito endeavouring to remedy the difficulties have been ■harassing trades in the j»nst. " Instead of that," he said, " Sir Julius Vo»el has brought forward -crude and illadjusted proposals which will satiny nobody. A pioper financier "would Ikuc jgeno systematically through the former tariff, and while expunging those duties Tvhich have yielded a bagatelle in the way of revenue, done something towards removing the incongruities .which nobody can understand, and which have been a constant source of annoyance to tradeis." The reporter next sawiJie leading importers of groceries, win informed him that there was a general atigintion in buriness owing to the increa&e ok prices which had to be made all round. So far as spirit merchant" were, concerned, they had no complaint beyond the disadvantage they were put to through the levying of duty of underproof spirits per liquid instead of,, proof gallon. They were jaiqparccl for .an, in* •crease on duties, and tl\e bonds had heen pretty well cleared, so that generally they "would lose nothing, and ultimately the whole burden must be .berne by the consumers. The alteration .would, howcvei, cause an increase in tbe v, working of their business, and they woukLhavc pref.err.ed a more simple plan adopted for raising. wore revenue. This implies that Jibe method \\ ould have betm to liave increased the tax on tea and sugar, but in regard to tho Jattei It was to be borne in mind that it "was an article of con.=uiaaption in many local industries. So far .as tea was concerned there would liave .been no objection. The cost had been reduced during the la»t few years, and aio one would "have felt an increased price now. An increased tax on itv and .sugar would liave brought in .the required amount to the Treasury, and the system would not have been so complex. majority of ti'aders expected a rise on these two articles, and consequently had burdened themselves with lkrgo stocks. There was no doubt that the poor would ieel the proposed increase equally with the rich. An importer of Chinese goods, complained of the extra 100 per cent, duty put upon sweet spirits, which lie said would prohibit its use in the colony. Fancy goods had been increased from 15 .to 20 per cent. , and the result, lie thought, would be •that the demand would shrink and traders would suffer. He considered that an increased duty on tea and sugar iv&uld have been much preferable, as a benefit s would result to the public at large. The same duty would have to be paid for the. articles •whether of superior or inferior quality, and consequently it would pay best to hnport 4>he former. There was a large Amount of tho cheaper tea thrown upon the market at present. It was perfect rubbish, and if it was altogether shut out it would greatly be to the advan- , tage of the consumers. He thought l?> jper .cent, on fancy goods quite enough, as «ucb .^articles as silk and cotton run into a 10l <of ...money. A soft goods importer was of opinion tJaat .-tbe increased duty from 15 to 20 per cent, would reduce the purchasing power of the community. An increase of 12 per cent, would have to be paid out of the savings of the people, and in the course of a year or two their savings would be largely Teduced. Supposing a firm did an importing harness ot LlOO,OOO annually, the difference would mean i)i& abstraction of LI 1,000 out of the pockets of the people duri«g'/he year. A leather manufacture thought the duty put on leather a very .heavy sum to place upcgi raw material, h\& was not in a X»osition at present to say whether the business, jnich as his, KMild derive any benefit or not, or -^hat the result woutyl be as far as prices were ■concerned. He had consulted, several •bootmakers, /md they were wmewhat ,divided in option as to how tine/ would be affected. thought tiiey could jnanagc very w^ll, while others' xlepreoated the increase on lines of feather which used. Ik » r as hard to say whether new kinds of j&»ASiGY could bfc made with Vhe extra amount of protection afforded, as ea^?h branch of tanning iiind dressing meant & different establish-- 1 ;uent. Each line woul<? liave to be goao, into very carefully, and (the question, in , fact, was a very grave one, inquiring a good i fleal of thought. Some descriptions of American leather might poss&Jy be turned out.

The Increased Cost of Boots. A fropt nn4 sfto£ fnjj^rter informed the reporter that the increased duties would affect the consumer to a yery palpable extent, #q<l gave tlie following inatances of how mw\\ we woultl have to be paid j—

li A tfhftth *l5o& 'Costing formerly '6s j •\vo«M hioV tlHi «7s, -fa, lad's formerly 12e 'bt> T4s, rind a man's formcpty 4 i(>s <WMild l b& 2Ss. His -opinion ! , vr-as that' thtj'old duties were objectionable, diitfproptfrfcicJimte'iii their t operation, and it would- hft*fc been Wise to 'have made an da irilor6mk\\\tfy of ten percent. The Treasilfdr's proposal 6i twenty per cent, was, liowe-flir, suicidal, and would lead to a re(luc*<on in the uso-df 'imported goods, and Wlm'd a^uredly 6vei-sh6ttlie mark.