OUR CONCESSIONS

Evening Post, Volume CXIV, Issue 91, 14 October 1932, Page 8

OUR CONCESSIONS

Britain has certainly dealt generously with New Zealand in the turn she has accepted for the valuable concessions given to our prink ary producers.: Only four items in the tariff are subject--.to change in the^ specific duties in favour of the United Kingdom "and six others are altered for the benefit of Crown Colonies. Two of the four items are made subject to a reduction which would have come into effect under earlier legislation-six months hence. None of the changes is so great as to be termed drastic. That whiclr bears chiefly on New Zealand secondary industry is the reduction by 5 per cent, of- the duty on apparel and hosiery; but these goods will still enjpy a protection of 27i per cent Apart from this, the surtaxes removed, but that was imposed only to obtain revenue 'arid.not to afford protection. It had- a ■ protective effect, but/the-.aid was purely adventitious arid no justifiable complaint can iiq; on;its withdrawal. \ There is nothing in tfie v t6 war? rant a' charge, that "the secondary industries have, been ruthlessly sacrificed." Members who; made such a charge '• brought themselves und^r suspicion of having prepared- their speeches beforehand, with a determination to condemn the agreement whatever it might contain. The Leader of the /Opposition made much last, night of .the agreement to hold an".inquiry into protective duties and where necessary reduce them so as to place Britain in the -position of a domestic competitor. • But can exception Be reasonably taken to a proposal to permit the "United Kingdom producer full opportunity of reasonable competition on the basis of the relative cost of economical and efficient production"? It has never been New Zealand policy to exclude the possibility of such competition. Indeed, that policy could not be adopted unless we.were prepared to go a great distance toward Mr. Holland's goalabsolute exclusion of any goods which can be made locally. The danger of Mr. Holland's policy is that it would set at naught the principle of trade—the production and manufacture by a country of those commodities and articles which it can produce or make most economic-: ally. There are many things which could be made in New Zealand that are. not made because we can import them to better advantage. It is possible that we are now attempt-1 ing to maintain industries which the country would be better without. That remains to be discovered by thorough investigation. Mr. Coates made the emphatic declaration last night:

There is nothing in the agreement or in our' obligations under, it that will prejudice the establishment or the growth of sound industrial enterprises.

Sound enterprises, efficiently, conducted, . should therefore have nothing to fear in an investigation of the protection which has been granted td them. ■-•■'.