HUMOURING TRADE.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1878, 11 October 1913, Page 7

HUMOURING TRADE.

BRITISH COMMISSIONER'S REPORT. BREAKING PREJUDICE. ■ THE IMPORTERS' ATTITUDE. In Wednesday's Dominion appeared the following Press Association cablo messago from London: — "Mr. Wickham's report on New Zoaland trade for 1912 has been published. Ho counsels English manufacturers to humour tho whims and of_ colonial customers, even if their stipulations soem absurd." "Why, that's six weeks old," Baid Mr. W. G. Wiekham, British Board of Trad© Commissioner, on being shown the messago. "Hero," ho continued, "I have all the cuttings from English papers which arrived by the last mail. Most of it was published and commented on by the London press towards tho end of August, and now comes a cablo messago. Extraordinary I" Concerning the message; Mr. Wickham said that quite a wrong impression may bo gathered from the deduction mado by the cablo man from the report. "What I am endeavouring to do," said Mr; Wiekham, "is to put the manufacturers right in regard to certain goods required in this country, which other manufacturing countries have been readier to grasp, and at the same timo to.convince people that the British-mado article is as often as not better and even cheaper than tho foreign-made one, which they may have a particular liking for. The' British Board of Trade does not exist to foist trado on an insecure basis, but whore we aro making an article as good, or better, and as cheap, or cheaper, than foreigners, then wo conceive it our duty to lot the trading publio know. Individuals are sometimes hide-bound with prejudice in respect to the origin of certain goods included in their and will not bo convinced that thoy might do hotter by fostering tho trade of their own country. "Perhaps the publio do not know of the extent of tho British Board of Trade's operations. I was for years in the Home office, and havo often had to make the inquiries mysolf, so I know something about it. Whenever a merchant or tradesman makes an inquiry from a British Consul in any part of the world for, a particular lino, that Tequest is forwarded on to the British Board of Trado, and .every inquiry is made to get the fullest and most reliable reports. If there are reliable English makers of tho goods .wanted, wo send the address with all the particulars. If, on tho other hand 1 , wo cannot find good honest makers of tho article in demand, wo make inquiries abroad and supply information accordingly entirely without prejudice.'" Attitude of the Importor.

In tho course' of his annual report, Mr. ( Wiokham deals interestingly with the attitude of the importer. He says: "In my report of last year I referred to tho fact tliat buyers in New Zealand show a preference for British The tariff itself provides for prelerential duties on JBritish goods o'n about one-third of the total import?.. Preference for British goods is also shown by the Government in the purchases, of Stato Departments, and by municipal bodies and harbour boards —some of which will not buy elsewhore than in the United Kingdoin j many agency firms i will not if they can possibly help it take agencies for other than British manufacturers; retail as well as wholesale flrmS may bo found who will not handle anything kit British goods wherever this is possible; and among the purchasing public generally many may be found who will put themselves to considerable troublo in. ordeT to procure what they require of British make. Peculiar Prejudices. "This must bo but thero is another sido to the question'. I have mot firms wTio, having as they think been badly treated in the past, whether over agency arrangements or over shipments of bad quality goods, and having magnified their grievances into sweeping and wholesale statements against British methods of business, announco a determination to procure all future requirements from foreign countries. With these isolated instances, however, I do not pro r pose to deal hero. 1 There is a very much more serious and more common attitude, traceable in so mo cases to indubitable facts, but facts of a past day. Tho belief that British makers cannot mako good boots, for instance, is, I think, dead; I have not heard it expressed for somo years.- But the view is widely held that British makers in certain directions need not be taken seriously. When views of this kind havo got entrenched behind conservative instincts, nothing but an explosion will dislodge them." After citing several instances, the report proceeds: —"These instances go to show how hard'it is to dislodge foreign competition onco it is firmly rooted, and especially so when it takos the form of being first in the field with a new articlo. Widespread Ignoranco. "Preference for tho known and appioved article, or for the country which has first invented and perfected an article is, up to a point, only reasonable. It is, perhaps, less easy to accept as excusablo the curiously widespread ignorance as to comparative prices and their composition. With the exception of importers who clear their own goods through the Customs, few peoplo in New Zealand seom to nave any idea as to what goods aro dutiable and what are not. Outside their own lino of business duties are not regarded as a matter of interest, and tho general public as a rulo does not concern itself with the question of whether or not duty is included in the price of any article. A vague idea that it is the duty which accounts for tho price of an article being high is a sufficiently close scrutiny for most people, whether thero' bo a duty of 25 per cent., 10 per cent., or none at all. One very clcar lino of policy adopted in framing* tho tariff is | tho total exemption from duty of everything that can be called an agricultural implement' or machine, and yet I have been assured several times by men closely connected' with agriculture that I there is a. duty of 25 per cent. Similarly, buyers of books aro frequently satisfied that tho price they pay for books includes duty.'' The cost of commodities may bo high in Now Zealand, and tho subiect is a frequent topic for discussion, but hitherto the stress has not been sufficient to cause tlio average person to investigate! closoly the comparative prices in other tho component parts of prices here.