REVISION OF CUSTOMS TARIFF.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1495, 18 July 1912, Page 4

REVISION OF CUSTOMS TARIFF.

WHY DELAY IS NECESSARY. ■ In Christchurch 011 Saturday Inst Mr. H. G. Jill stated that an announcement by tho Hon. F. M. B. Fisher (Minister for Customs) that tho Government that would 1101 attempt any revision of tho tariff would not bo popular. Interviewed yesterday oil the subject, Mr. Fisher said that it was not tho entire business of the Government to bo populnr. Its chief business was to do what was right. Ministers had been given three weeks in which to prepare a reform programme, initiate new legislation to deal with the affairs of their Departments, to go through Departmental estimates, and to get a thorough grip of tho business under their control, it. would be absurd, Mr. Fisher remarked, to imagine that any Minister having these duties to perforin could device a Customs Tariff in three weejts which would not be full of imperfections anil another taado disturbance V.'-ii J°s' <ar ' "The Hon. Mr. Millar, the Minister for Customs added, 'r u O - 1 .? '. l 'noiths preparing his rarifj llill, and found that even that, length of tnmc was all too short for the purpose. Threatened tariff reform at tha present time would be bound to causa anxiety on the part of importers, and tha probability of some reciprocal arrangement being made with Australia, which certainly could not be. done within tho noxt three weeks or even before tho end ot tho coming session, would almost assuredly mean another Tariff Bill next year. Ihosc who study the facts will learn what an extraordinary effect upon our imports tho Tariff Bill of 1907 had anil this Government feels that when the time conies to amend the tariff, it should bo done in one comprehensive measure, and not constantly interfered with from year to year." Asked whether ,ho had not found a I Lu&tonis tariff in course of preparation, jvneii ho took office, Mr. Fisher, replied that, so far as lie was able to gather from tho officers of the Department, 110 attempt whatever had been made in the n-i? l 'J' ou oF P re Paring , a .Tariff Reform Bill for the coming session. The Department had a record of certain anomalies Which had been brought under its notico from time to . time, but so far as the preparation, of a Tariff Bill was concerned, absolutely nothing had been done, ihe Minister for Customs added that the statement of !Mr. Ell to the effect that' the public would bo very .disappointed at the announcement that tliero was going to bo no tariff revision • this session must have been made upon, the assump--11011 that the Government of which ,Mr. RU was a member had intended bringing down a Tariff Bill. If that was the case, Baid Mr. Fisher, then perhaps Mr: lit I would be able to explain why it was that there was no record of the draft Tariff Bill to be found. If any such Bill had been prepared, -Mr. Fisher , remarked in conclusion, then the late Government must bo held guilty of neglect in not having made ample preparation for »ft question which Mr. Till seemed to regard as one of paramount importance.