TARIFF TROUBLES

Evening Star, Issue 19662, 15 September 1927, Page 6

TARIFF TROUBLES

AFTER HARO STRUGGLE FURTHER SET BACK GIVER THE STAINED GLASS INDUSTRY. With the removal of all duty on stained glass, oven from Amferica and Germany tho stain glass artists of tho dominion are badly hit. As their glass has in bo purchased from Home they cannot see how their finished article will bo able compete with tho imported product. Strong criticism of the Government’s neglect of a struggling dominion industry was made to-day by Mr Arnold Brock, of the linn of Brock and Eaifits. Mr Brock said his firm had had a strong up hill tight to cultivate the taste for the New Zealand-made art produced on dominion lines. The local product was much more suitable for the dominion than the old orthodox work which had been coming_ in yeat after year from outside countries. New Zealand should have a stained glass and lendlight art in keeping with its rlmrdies, public buildings, and homos. He maintained that tho American and German manfactiirers could not fill the want, and the removal of the tariff crave a freer hand to those who had always imported their requirements. This suppression of a desire to create individual New Zealand art and industry was felt very much. Ho could "iiarantec tho New Zealand manu.acture of equal merit to or greater went than tho German and American productions. All productions were on the lines and of the class tf tho earliest work in stained glass. , “Another reason why _ wo Icel ymt the removal of tlu> tarilT is 511 t uniau measure is that this is an industry that helps in a great degree the expression of the sentiment ot tho country in artistic work, ’ said Mr Brock. “There is no reason why the art, if given encouragement, should not develop along its own lines.” v \t the New Zealand and South bcas Exhibition most people were struck with the signs “Support New Zealand industries ” in tho various courts. It was a great cry, yet the stained glass industry, which was essential for tho artistic welfare of tho country, was to ho penalised for the want of a_ little care on tho part of Crown Ministers. To him it was very evident that the Tariff Commission had not gone _to (lie right quarters when investigating tho subject. Although recognised as the dominion’s authority on tho mduslrv, ho hod not been invited to give his opinions before the commission. MOTOR BODY BUILDING “ Wo realise that tho Christchurch builders are up against it owing to the tariff,” stated a member of a, Dunedin firm of motor body builders to-day. “In Christchurch tho firms go m for body building on a big scale, as Christchurch is tho distributing centre. There they have an_ order for fifty bodies at a time, while wo have only one or two. So far as wo arc concerned the tariff docs not affect us very much.” A RECOHMEKOATIOH IGNORED

A leading Dunedin manufacturer, aslmd vesterdav what he thought of the'revised Customs tariff proposals, said:—“The one thing I am sure ol is that Dunedin (and I suppose other centres) has spent hundreds of pounds amid a lot of time in conferring and thinking out how to advise in the general interests, and all our trouble has gone for nothing. Tho Government has just thrown all our work into the waste-paper basket. We were asked to help by going into detail, and we did so. for tho common good, and the result is nil. I am not speaking out of pique nor a leeling of disappointment at too Otago advice being thrown aside. Olher places will feel tho same. We made recommendations as from the whole dominion that arc apparently quite ignored.” BRITISH PREFERENCE xo i'll a imiTOK. Sir, —1 trust you will allow mo space Lo add a lew remarks to your correspondents in your issue of Wednesday, 14th hist., on tho above subject. 1 notice that most of tho correspondents are dissatisfied because the Government, m their wisdom, did not hand out enough protection for their lino of business. There is not the slightest doubt tho powers that bo intended to give the British preference. This is clearly shown by the Minister, when lie stated in tho Honso tho following remarks: “This amount of remission may bo still further increased if tho effect of the extension of British preference is to divert trade from foreign countries to Britain.” Hero we have the foundation of the revision pertaining to the Customs tariff. _ A glance at the imports of Now Zealand dearly shows that foreign imports are increasing at an alarming rate; in fact, 1 am sate in stating that thousands of pounds are going out of this country and New Zealand received no further benefit than having her markets loaded with cheap, shoddy goods,_and, further than this, not one penny is returned to this country. If this money had been spent in a British country wo would undoubtedly have had some return for it.

To my mind the foreign trade is taking the sap out of British industries, and a lot of the depression one hears of is caused by preloreneo being given to foreign goods. Had this money been spent in tho right markets our credits would have been much better to-day. The Government is not blind to these facts, ami, to save the market, has hit and hit hard in the right quarter, being quite conversant with the position as \vc find it to-day. I shall not disguise tho fact that I am an importer and have done my utmost to give preference to British goods, but many times it has appeared to mu that many buyers give preference to foreign goods, and no British need apply- I defy anyone to stale that any country can produce better articles than tho British manufacturer. I do not wish this matter to bo passed over lightly, for, by experience, I am in a position to know. 1 had tho experience of seeing two orders, amounting to close on £30,000, go out of the Soutli Island to a foreign country when tho British price was lower Sind the goods very much better. Only yesterday 1 cam© across a foreign article, and thousands have been sold in New Zealand. This article would not do the work required of it, so I sent along a British article costing half tho price, and proved it was 50 per cent, more efficient than the foreign; needless to state, a sale was tho result in the face of once bitten, twice shy. I could cite many such cases, but these two will do in the meantime

One has only to lake a walk through our city and see the enormous amount of goods being sold that are made by foreign manufacturers. To deal with this subject properly space would not be available, but I hope and trust that now the Government has taken the lead public bodies, the Manufacturers’ Association, and kindred societies will do their utmost to stabilise our credits by inducing tho public to buy British goods, and +v, eir labors will not be in vain. Before concluding, I should like to ask some of your critics in Wednesday’s

paper arc they guilty or not guilty? If they were to go over tho whole of their plants and sort them out I think it would surprise Ibeui to find how Hindi or how 111 lie is British, and remember we, who represent t he British manufacturer, have to live as well as they, and realise if the Government has given us a little long-lookcd-for protection against foreign goods, and, with all due respect to our local manufacturers, if tho bool pinches they arc only gelling a dose ot their own medicine. As the past shows, they have done very well, and they need have no fear of tho future as’far as British goods are concerned, and remember, when buying, if they cannot procure goods of New Zealand manufacture, (heu buy British goods, and by their assistance wo shall see and hear less of “no British need apply.”—l am, etc., Buy Bextisu Goods. September 15.