THE ENGINEERING TRADE.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1023, 12 January 1911, Page 5

THE ENGINEERING TRADE.

PROTECTIVE TARIFF ADVOCATED. <By Telegraph.— Special Correspondent.) Chrlstchurch, January 11. The ,remarks of the president o£ tie "Wellington Ironfounders' Association to a-Wellington reporter regarding tfce doleful: /putiook of the engineering trade are ; fully borno out by representative emiplOyers in the engineering trade in this •citj% " > - • Mf.; Geo, Scott, jun., president of the •local'.' Ironmasters' . Association, and . a member of the firm of Scott,-Bros.',-.was very {. emphatic in his. remarks on the subject to a "Press'.' representative. ''Locally," sujd Mr. Scott, "the .position lis ten times worse than-it is in Wellington,enough as it is there. The engineering trade is. absolutely, dead, and there .is the utmost urgency for a protective tafiff on machinery. In Australiiir'such • a tariff has been introduced .P? "! lcs °f, 'lie Canadian tariff, and since'_ its inception the trade has prospered- wonderfully. There is a tariff on cookingJranges, apd this'branch of'tho in-' '? satisfactory, ns it is in tho . industry, and other industries Which; are protected. As far as the engineering industry: generally is concern-, ed, however, things are "pretty well bad.'as _ they can !:o, with wages soing up, 1 ; rapidly as they are . doing, at Present, -'npd taking "the other handicaps ipto, consideration, the local manufacturer hafen't got"'a chance against the importe'd',article,".. . . . •

8.. Laurcnson, convener of the Tariff. Committee, which represents practically; the whole of tlm ironmasters' associations throughout New. 'Zealand,, also advocated the introduction of a protective: tariff. .He said ; that Mr. Hobertsoji's.remarks ivere well within .the marlt, .He ,knew of many engineering shops whefe. more than three-quarters :of the machines were, idle, and this in face of thei- factthat most of the shops were equipped with np-to-date machinery, and mariaped by. capable and pushintr eiilploy-sr».-;::M6re thaii one such place'could bo rioted- by him where silent machines and empty benches presented a picture of real danger to the Dominion.