THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE TARIFF.

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume 6, Issue 294, 3 August 1865, Page 1

THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE TARIFF.

[From the Lyttelton Times."] The abolition of all understandings hitherto existing between the Customs authorities and the mercantile community, as to the interpretation of the tariff, will have a widespread and very important effect upon trade. Up till this time the letter of the Customs Duties Act has been almost lost sight of in the convenient superstructure which has been raised upon it by the accumation of interpretations systematized into a catalogue. The words of the Act are almost the same now as they were in 1858, although the tariff itself has been altered since that time. It divides all articles under fourteen categories, one of which is a list of free goods. Of the other thirteen, eleven describe certain well-known and easily recognizable articles, such as tea, wine, tobacco, beer, firearms, and so forth. As to these, the tariff is explicit enough, and little difficulty is experienced in its interpretation. But the 4th and 7th, with the list of free goods, have caused a vast deal of difficulty, They are as follows : 4. Cutlery, hardware, plated ware, holloware, ironmongery of all sorts, and candles and soap of all sorts, per cwt., four shillings. 7. Manufactures of silk, cotton, and woollen, and all articles manufactured therefrom ; drapery, haberdashery, hosiery, millinery, furs, hats, boots, shoes, confectionery, bottled fruits, dried fruits, mustard, olive oil, pickles, preserves, sauces, spices, and oilmen’s stores of all kinds, measuring outside the packages, per cubic foot, live shillings. 14. Anchors and chains, and rod, bolt, bar, sheet, and pig iron and nails, sail-cloth, cordage, twine, cotton jam, bags, sacks, and woolsacks, spirits of tar and turpentine, tobacco for sheepwash, nuts of all kinds, powder lit only for blasting purposes, and all urn-numerated goods, wares, and merchandise, free.

In these three curiously jumbled lists the difficulty of the tariff consists. What are oilmen’s stores ? What is ironmongery, amt what is hardware, and what is uut y What articles are left out, that a man may eat, 01 drink, or use, or wear, so as to come under the head of " uneuumerated goods, wares, and merchandize ?” The Customs authorities have hitherto entered into the solution of these questions with readiness, though perhaps merchants have not always thought the decision when announced at all too generous or just. At any rate, the question of construction of the tariff had been taken up on both sides ; reference had been made to the higher authorities of the department when necessary; a record of the decision in each case of reference had been kept; and these, compiled together, formed practically the tariff m use by ‘the mercantile community. It is printed in full in the Southern Provinces Almanac ; and when the Chamber of Commerce the other day set about reconsidering the tariff, this was the list which they took for the basis of their enquiry. It is worthy of remark how absurdly inconsistent some of these decisions were with •one another. On the debateable items of the Act, many decisions seem to have been given at random, some in favor of free importation, others enforcing a duty. We need not quote instances; every merchant knows them well enough; but if not always rational, at least the decision was intelligible ; it was known to every trader, and no one need have any doubt, in ordering goods, passing entries, or arranging for his payments, what the uuty upon any particular article may be. In general, the interpretation Was so made as to favor what appears to be the principle of the Act itself. It seems to have been meant by the Legislature, for instance, that a distinction should be drawn between raw materials and manufactured articles. That is, where a commodity is imported, to be used up in some process going forward in the colony itself, it was to be free. The exceptions in favor of iron in an unmanufactured state tend to confirm the view. Again, it seems to have been thought that bulky articles, requited for processes such as building, become necessaries of life, and should be admitted free. Timber and wooden furniture are both so admitted. Consequently, when the question arose whether iron building and fencing materials should be taxed, the interpreter appears to have followed the same rule and'

declined to class them under “ ironmongery. 3 ’ Iron wire of a small kind, such as that in use for bell-hanging, was interpreted to be dutiable ; but the same article of larger dimensions, such as that used for fencing, was permitted to be free. The law, of course, bad made no such distinction between one kind of wire and another ; but the rule had grown up, based only upon a view, quite irrespective of the law, taken of the necsessities of the country. There is no doubt that in a country so bare as this is of natural timber, the imposition of a heavy duty upon building and fencing materials would be a material hindrance to its prosperity. Such an imposition has hitherto been avoided, whether the Act meant it or not; but it is to he avoided no longer. Ail hitherto admitted interpretations are now withdrawn ; and the Customs authorities will give no information as to whether any article does or does not come within the meaning of one or other of the fourteen categories named in the Custom Duties Act. The letter of the Act will be rigorously employed us the only standard by which to ass-ss the duties. Each importer must determiue himself whether the articles, in any entry passed by him, do or do nut fall within the meaning of some term in the Act; and if the Customs authorities do not agree with him, then he will either have to submit, or carry the question into a court of law as the only authorised interpreter of the law. At the same time it is understood that the Customs authorities have adopted at first the most rigid view of her Majesty’s rights. Everthing that can be called ironmongery, or a manufacture of silk, cotton, linen, or wool, or oilman’s stores, and is not distinctly excepted in the 14th clause, will be made dutiable until a court of justice says it is not so. For instance, it is metioned that railway iron, which has hitherto passed in free, will be taxed in future; and as the duty is .£4 per ton, the price of rails will he materially increased Four thousand tuns are estimated to be required for the liakaia railway ; so that an addition of AIO,OOO would be made to the cost of this work in the duty payable to the Crown on the materials. Fencing wire and standards, the cost of which up-country is already only endurable on account of the absolute necessity for fencing, will be increased in cost about 30 per cent. In smaller articles, some very common householder supplies will be doubled in price by being called oilman’s stores. And newspapers have a grievance of their own, because the paper which they use, has hitherto been free; but. as it is a manufacture indirectly from cotton or linen, it becomes amenable to the 7th section of the tariff.

We could multiply instances; but those which we have named are of sufficiently wide application to serve every purpose. We have already pointed out that no good can come of attacking the Customs department, except in a court of justice when the meaning of the law is disputed. Taking for granted, for the present, that their reading of the Act will always be correct, it remains to be considered what course can be pursued to remedy the great hardships which will undoubtedly be inflicted on the country under the new system. Fortunately, the General Assembly is soon to meet; and a revision of the tariff has been promised by the Government. It is hardly possible that the instances of pecular oppressiveness which we have named above will be left without redresss by the Assembly if its attention be directed to the subject. But this must be done; and Canterbury must speak for itself. Each province knows where its shoe pinches, and perhaps others may not be affected in the same way. The work lately done by the Chamber of Commerce is now rendered nearly useless; for the list which formed the basis for their consideration is done away with. May we suggest that the same body should go to the Act itself, point out the proper terms to be used in each section, so that the articles may be so closely defined, and add to the free list such articles as for any good reason ought to . e exempted from taxation though comeiug under one of the dutiable heads. We should like to see practical men in each department, of business take the the items which belong to that department, and separate between those which wonld bear a heavy duty, those which can be

brought in under a light duty, and thoae which would bear no duty at all. Except by the excercise of such pains, the Assembly will scarcely have before it sufficient information ; and the only result of meddling with the tariff will be another piece of twilight legislation.