THE FEDERAL TARIFF.

Gisborne Times, Volume VI, Issue 236, 14 October 1901, Page 3

THE FEDERAL TARIFF.

By Telegraph—Pies? Association —Copyright Brisbane, Oet. 12. Mr Philp, the Premier, addressing a meeting of commercial men. said he had fought to secure a majority vote for Fed- j oration. If they had the same question to decide again ho would be a strong i unti-Fedc-wIiH. The action of the Federal ; Government from the first reflected j no credit on the gentlemen who pretended j to be statesmen. He appealed to the people to resist to the utmost interference ( with the sugar industry. He did not j advocate a civil war. but they should j follow the Hiii from the House to the ; Senate, and then to tiie Imperial Govern- j ment. j FEAR THAT NEW ZEALAND MAY It ETA El ATE. j

By Telegraph—Press Association —C pyright Sydney, Oct. 111. Fruit-growers are becoming anxious Jest New Zealand should place a higher tariff on fruit us a reprisal for the Federal tariff, thus destroying New South Wales' best market. The opinion is expressed here that New Zealand being strong enough to stand by herself, it is unwise to stir her hostility because she did not see her way clear at present to join the Federation. A CUM Pl.t ME N'T TO NEW ZEALAND. By Telegraph - Press Association—Copyright ! Sydney, Oct. 13. j

The .Sunday Times says the tariff in ;uhcrtcntly compliments New Zealand inasmuch as the producers of the Com monweaitli proclaim to the world thai they cannot compete with her on leve. terms. The loss of the trade is not likely to cripple New Zealand, although it may lead to ill-feeling and possibly to retaliation. COMMENTS ON EEDEUAL TALI J'F. Of one tiling we may he perfectly sure, and that is that Australi i lias never dealt with us merely for the sake of pleasing us; she has taken our- oats, our potatoes, our timber, and such other of our surplus products as we have shipped to her ports, not because they were ours, hut because she hud need of them. And just so long as she has need of them she will continue to take them, tariff or nu tariff. But the tariff as proposed is not yet a settled thing. It lias first to run the gauntlet of political discussion, and there are indi- I cations that the light around it will rage I with a bitterness unprecedented in tile | history of the Australian colonies.—Wan- j gaum Chronicle.

Tile Commonwealth tariff, in so far as it i- designed to strike at New Zealand, will lie a complete failure. If retained in its present form it will barely affect outtrade. ( If all our exports, less gold, only about ten per cent have hitherto gone to Australia. lif that ten per cent, nearly tile hail went to the ports of the Protective colonies. As the tariff.now brought

down is less drastic than that of V ictoria used to be, it is fair to hold that we shall retain all that portion of our export trade wuW Australia which did not go to Sydney. As for what Australia will shut out, supposing the tariff as brought down is agreed to, there ought to lie room for it in Africa. Besides, there is another {way of looking at this matter. Australia proposes to shut out Fijian products, bananas particularly. They will to a large extent come here. The Fijians will take our

goods in return. Tims we may, if our legislators are wise, capture all tiie Fijian trade which has heretofore been done with Sydney. —Napier Telegraph.