WELLINGTON NEWS

Hokitika Guardian, 27 September 1929, Page 2

WELLINGTON NEWS

EMPIRE UNITY AND TRADE. (Special Correspondent) Wellington; September 25. 1 For years the politicians'in the selfgoverning Dominions have voiced noble sentiments respecting the Empire.* It •was .the late Sir Henry Parkes,, who was Premier of New South Wales in the days before the Commonwealth, who coined the,,happy phrase “The silken threads of kinship,” which ultimately obtained . currency throughout the Empire. Tins expression was translated into action .when, the great war began, when citizens of the Empire the world over flocked to the colours. But that established, only half the service; it is our duty to develop our resources for the benefit of the Empire and the world. ' That development has been retarded by tariff barriers, for had each component part of the Empire been free to produce just those .. commodities for. ' which it is best fitted, development would have been more pronounced. But many of the self-governing Dominions have been seized with thp illusory notion that with a tariff wall secondary and manufacturing industries can be established. The Commonwealth of . Australia, under the late Minister of Customs, Mr Pratten, went a long way towards protection, and it was stated by the Australian Trade Commissioner to the United States, that Australia has dropped America ns its model in' respect to trade and industry. The Commonwealth customs duties are high, in addition there are subsidies and pools and plans, which have al) helped to make the cost of living .very high. Most people' in New Zealand are to some extent familiar with the Paterson plan, which was made possible by raising the duty ,to 6d per lb. This closed the door to New Zealand butter-fat; it- also had the effect of shutting out Australian butter from entering Canada. That butter business has passed to New Zealand and our exports to Canada this season will show substantial expansion, if . all goes well. A cable message from Sydney .a few days ago stated that those' interested in the hog industry in Australia wanted the Tariff’ Board to recommend Increased duties in New Zealand ham, bacon, and pork to enable the Australian producers to work up an export trade in Earns . and bacon. Further claims for increased duties by Other producers have been made. It is stated by a Melbourne paper that the onion growers have been agitating for a duty of £6 per ton on New Zealand onions. According to the paper the tariff 'on onions at present is £6 per ton against all countries except New Zealand, which pays a much lower rate under the reciprocal tariff arrangement with urn Commonwealth. '. .A little more- than a. year ago New Zealand had a valuable preference on butter when the duty was increased to 2d per lb at the request of the Australian dairy farmers. The Dominion also suffered when its potatoes were excluded from the Commonwealth because Of the prevalence of disease. Now onion growers wish to take away one of the few remaining privileges that New Zealand has under the treaty. There is little to’be gained, by such an impost because the quantity of onions sent from New Zealand to Australian markets is comparatively small, and growers in Victoria are often able to make shipments to New Zealand. A prohibitive duty would no doubt lead to retaliation by New Zealand merchants who already have contrived to hamper the trade in Australian potatoes. Heavy import duties against k other countries is dangerous at all JVjmes, and when there is., an outward trade in the commodity on which a .substantial duty i§-levied, it usually means that the business lost through ill-will is greater than that gained by protecting the home market. But, can we complain? Our fruitgrowers want a duty imposed on Aus-. tralian fruit, particularly cherries, the import of which they desire to prevent. The economic effects of trade barriers are overlooked. It is bad enough to hamper the trade of foreign countries but to prevent the free flow of trade between the various partners in the British Empire is reprehensible. America is the greatest example of free trade within the Empire, for goods can be sent from Boston to San Francisco .or New Orleans without meeting with any tariff barriers. The United States is increasing its tariff to preserve its home market, and that has given Canadian business men and politicians the big idea that a greater measure of trade is feasible between the various • Dominions forming the British Empire. In Canada the question has got beyond the academic stage, and it is now certain that a conference of representative business men ifrom the various parts of the EmA pire will be held shortly, probably in London, to discuss the problem from all angles. Trade within the Empire is sure to be a burning question very soon.