The Timaru Herald THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 1907. IMPERIAL FREETRADE.

Timaru Herald, Volume XIC, Issue 13448, 21 November 1907, Page 4

The Timaru Herald THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 1907. IMPERIAL FREETRADE.

Once buck in Australia, .the Federal Prinii*Minister finrk it necessary to curb the extravagant flights of fancy in respect to. Imperial trade in .which he indulged iit-..t1i0. v last Colonial Conference in London. The industrial interests of the Commonwealth, as ho frankly admitted in tha House of ( Representativefl yesterday, make freetrade' within tho Empire a rank impossibility, and no colonial politician could afford- to, advocate it unless he , was desirous of,' putting an end to his public career.. Not even the author of the tariff reform campaign in Great Britain ventured to suggest that, the colonies should; imperil their own industries by exposing them ...to.the untramelled competition of the British manufaeturejn who, with cheaper labour and a. ..vastly greater output, would .have', little trouble in annihilating -the ■ industrial concerns, of Australia if tiii? : protective tariff were: withdrawn. In his speech at Glasgow, when lie laid- his preferential policy before the nation for the,first time, Mr Chamberlain made..no pretence of expecting the colonies fo admit British manufactures duty free in return for the "protection which >ie asked the United Kingdom to grant to the food products supplied by the oversea ...dominions of the Empire. He recognised <]uibo well that such a collection, would be equivalent to thu death warrant of colonial industries, and thiit it was usekss to nek the colonies to sign it. But what he did ask the colonics to do was J to.'linvst their industrial development in order .to provide, an adequate return for the preferential treatment of" their raw materials in the markets of . Great Britain. "Keep the industries you have

at present," he said. "but. do not- startany more.'" If he ever had any sort of belief that the colonics would consent to remain in a state of suspended animation he was tpeedily undeceived by the reception accorded to his Glasgow sugge.-\ioii. which was never rejieated at any of the subsequent addresses in which (with e-uch disastrous results at the last general ele----tion) he endeavoured to convert the British taxpayer to his own fiscal doetrino. The latest phages of tariff icvision. both "in New Zealand ami in Aretralia. should leave the- Unionist leaders at Home i:i no doubt about- the intentions of the colonics with regard to their own industrial development. The tariff which was put through the New Zealand Parliament this session was avowedly framed with the object of encouraging local-industrial and of providing employment for Xew Zoa'and operatives. It is true that in the schedule of preferential duties. tliL- British manufacturer lr. given some advantage over foreign competitors, but he is still regarded as a dangerous rival against whom the Xew 7ealander must, bo well projected. And it. is much the same with the Australian tariff. The Hon,- has considerably modified the duties proposed bv the Federal Government, but the.principle is retained of regarding tlu- Heme manufacturer as a positive enemy. The publication in England of the Federal GovernmentV- tariff disabused the warmest admirer of Mr. Deakin's oratory at the Colonial Conference of the idea that Australia- was going to do anything for the Jienctit of Imperial trade which would inflict the slightest injury upon her own industries. The " Three." which has given itself wholly over to Mr Chamberlain's cause, and which derived much satisfaction from the speeches of the Federal Prim,' Minister when he was in London, admitted that the new Commonwealth tariff wai, a knock-down blow to its favourite scheme for the promotion of rnmni?rcia! intercomse between thy constituent members of thv Empiie. "The tendency of the whole tariff." it said, "as-, in the "direction of largely increased protection: and although, in a considerable number of cases, the duties levied upon British goods, will be somewhat less than those upon goods of the same description arriving from other countries, the general effect of the whole is in » direction which must be detrimental to our:trade." And in the end. the "Times" was obliged ,to rely upon quality, rath.-:- than tariff discriminations, for a, continuance ct Australian patronage- of' British manufactures. "We can only hope/* was its somewhat melancholy conclusion. " that British goods, though th* advantage which they r-ceive as again;* foreign ones is in many eases almost cferfcory. may In sufficiently in demand to prevent tb<" volurm «f our Australian.trade.,, from undergoing appreciable diminution."- Mr Dcakins latest statement removes the last ground for hop? in the mind of the British manufacturer that there io.a chance of Australia going back upon the po-icy or establishing and developing native Industrie behind the shelter of * tar-.ff wall.