DECLINE OF IRON TRADE.

Timaru Herald, Volume XIIIC, Issue 14328, 19 October 1910, Page 6

DECLINE OF IRON TRADE.

CAUSES AND CUKES. The- state e" the iron '■•.'. do-■[.->■ n: 'He Dominica has been the race.;, o; .-.*.- siderable ci laic. .:::« sratemeut baas lieen iceely ao-.v.-.- uidt'iungs are in a very i-.ao. way. -vn AucSand "WeeKly .News' man on Mr George Fraser. a -Vuckland irontour.der. ami i.a.l a --.a with him on the subject Mr. l-ra, i-is lington, he said, there hit.i oee> A , great der.res,ion, and he '.. owld l l Tike to se'e the same cor.d.ttams 01u.„.t----ing in Auckland . '•-Your uroposed remedy is an an.inoment of the tariff, Mr. Fraser. . •-To a certain extent, it, i-. -■■■'. Fraser replied. '"At present uis almost impossible for us to compete .._ ui Home firn-s on level terms As .•: 1.-eke has pointed out- m the ltou-e New Zealand employers have to ;-a> wa-es, for shorter hours of won:. percent, greater than they do :r Scotland, while material is in main ra -e< UK) per cent, dearer. The cost of landing a piece of machinery it New Zealand does not nearly annum' to this difference, so that the llonr, manufacturer always has a huge ad vantage. The consequence is that A-.-.i Zealand foundries are iast becomim mere repair shops, although they an equ!]>ped with the most up-to-dat, manufacturing plant, and have tl:i necessary hands. Any manufacturiip. tvork which is done yields a very .ittl. profit, and is undertaken by 'irni chiefly, in order to keep their hand together tsi meet any big repair jol which might be • sprung on ' the.n a short- notice. Thirty years ago on firm tendered for the manufacture c 'Certain machinery. Nowadays, wiie. such :iiac-h;nery is required, we cai tender, not as mamifac-turers, nu

me'-ely as importers. And yet c-:e would" have expected t" make .-:•>. progress in SO years. V.'hat is nccdesi is a tunic winch will allow us ,o compete fairly and on oven terms. We are not afraid of competition —in 'act tve recognise that it is essential to trade and progress —hut we want to compete amongst tourselvcs, not .villi people, outside the country. However, a determined movement is being made in the direction of au amendment, of the tariff, and one very pleasing feature or it is that the employees -ire taking an active tiart in it. ■•A great Lugey in the way of our pre.gre&v-' Mr. Fraser vent on. '"is the j'armer. V.'e all leeognise that the farmer has bad a £ic:\t deal of hard pioneering work to do, im: he is not iA'-:-;.-*.mc! ; .t of Agriculture has don- a ;.:reat deal of good for the farmers, and v.iei he- kept that Department ge.ir.gr '"'h-e v.iiole'ccuntry : ami half of the -eta! population of the Dominirn reside in the cities. Those' people liny the faro-er.s" pr.idur-e—and not : !;e best or it. brcause tile farmer take-, rtr> that all his test product* are ex- :;■?;!&'!. V-'e have helped him. ivet new he dr cs nothing for us. Our industry Woodd thrive and dc well if only people, and especially the farmers, veld biiv from us as manufacturers, i -sl»:id of eoatiuua'ly going outside of tho oour.'-ty."