IMPORTS FROM BRITAIN

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3053, 14 April 1917, Page 15

IMPORTS FROM BRITAIN

POSITION EXPLAINED. * "Half a dozen members of the chamber have been in to find'out "what the position of importers .of goods from Great Britain is," said Mr. H. D. Vickery (secretary) at yesterday's meeting of the council of tho Wellington Chamber of Commerce. "Some of them thought that the position had been altered by the Gazette notice of March 16. I have looked into the matter and found that is not the case. The latest notice does not affect goods of a general nature) and only applies ■to those goods, the export of -which has been prohibited—steel and such goods that were used as munitions of war." In a memorandum to tho council tho secretary stated—"The notification does' not alter what has been the practice for tho past two years, namely that importers of certain articles, _ tho export of whioh 'can only be, obtained from the United! Kingdom under license, have, first to apply to the'Minter of Munitions for approval of tho order. Before this notification came into force,- what happened was that. the order was inquired into by the experts advising the Department and the Advisory Board, who made their recommendation to the Minister. The Minister then forwarded his recommendation to "the Home "authorities. The present notification intimates that tho Minister of Munitions in New Zealand becomes (at tho request of the Ministry of Munitions or the United Kingdom) the final authority to grant approval of orders. The class of goods affected is qhiefly engineering supplies, machinery, explosives, etc. It is not necessary for orders for such articles as soft goods, glassware, or small manufactured artioles to be submitted. I am informed that the Minister of Munitions is prepared at all times to assist importers and others to obtain products or manufactures from tho United Kingdom, where it can be shown to him -that it will he impossible to get them direct, and where such articles aro' essentials tosiindustries or to producers in New Zealand."