The Press Friday, January 21, 1927. The Tariff Problem.

Press, Volume LXIII, Issue 18905, 21 January 1927, Page 10

The Press Friday, January 21, 1927. The Tariff Problem.

As reported in The Press yesterday the Acting-Primc Minister, who is also Minister for Customs, repeated his opinion Hint the Departmental Coni- ! mittee which is going into the tariff question is a more suitable instrument of enquiry than a lloyal Commission. " Experience with Commissions in the " past," he told a deputation of Labour representatives, " seemed to show that '' where men of obvious interests were "thrown together a fight developed " between them, each arguing his own "standpoint. In 3021, the Govern-I "ment set up a Departmental Conimis- " sion of Government officers who had "no avowed political leanings—men "accustomed to studying the history "of New Zealand industries—and the " result Avns that when the Commission "reported, to the House on each item*! " that came up for dispute, the facts "Avcrc hardly open to dispute. The " tariff went through with record ease, "because there were no minority "opinions or conflicting reports from " the members of the Commission. He "therefore maintained that far more "satisfactory results could be achieved " from a, non-political body than from "one representing political interests. "Thore was a difficulty that in setting "up Commissions the Government encountered no helpful critic/ism until "after the personnel was announced. "It was practically impossible to "secure confidential information by "holding a public enquiry, and he iviys "certain that so far as tariff matte/rs " were concerned, the best results cordd " be achieved by pursuing the present ! " policy." This appears to mean that a 1 Departmental Committee can obtain

" conadential information " from Eianu- b facturers upon which it will base its ri recommendations. The " confidential fa "information" thus supplied is j, almost certain to amount to figures v showing the need for higher: protec- b tion and very little else. The Depart- j mental officers may, and probably do, Q \ lack the power to investigate technical methods and to estimate <he extent to t which improved organisation and technique could take the place of tariff g protection. Further, t/iiey would not t be disposed to consider closely the effect of high protection for any in- { dustry upon other in/Justries, sheltered s or unsheltered. A l/ioyal Commission, i which would, or should, include at least r one member to represent the general t consumer, could obtain much useful and necessary imformation on theße { points. It couty not do it by means , of a hasty tout of the Dominion; it ' could not do its work properly with- , out prolonged investigation. The need i tor an upward revision q£ the tariff, if such a need exists, is very far from being so urgent that Parliament must deaTwitb. the question thii year. There have lately been many signs of uneasiness over the inclination of the Government to fall in with the ■ strenuous demands of the Industrial Association for higher duties on manufactured'articles. When the tariff was .lapt revised—in 1931—people did not tjhink very much about the effect of these high duties upon the primary producer, who ha» no means of adding his'increased casts to the price he receives from Britain and other countries. It is now, however, very widely understood th/xt high tariffs do adversely affect the farmer, and that no benefit which: could be conferred upon the secondary industries at. the ex-

pease of Viie primary producer could be a national gain. • This growing opinion T,vas expressed this week by the Auckland Chamber of Commerce, which adopted a recommendation, presented 'by a special committee o£ the Chamber, that "as the prosperity of "New Zealand depends mainly upon "an increased primary production any "change in Customs tariffs which "would tend to increase.the cost of "production should be avoided." There nre, we beUevc, isolated cases in which a slight increase in the duty would provide the local manufacturer with a homo market that would enable him to sell his goods without raising the price., and we understand that in one or two of these cases the manufacturers concerned are willing to give a specific guarantee. Such industries ought to be helped. Generally, howevor, higher duties will mean only higher pnees, and every increase in prices is an extra burden upon primary production.