TARIFF COMMISSION

Hokitika Guardian, 28 September 1933, Page 5

TARIFF COMMISSION

: CH RISTC HURCH EVIDENCE. (Per Press Association— Copyright. J - CHRISTCHURCH, September 27. Evidence concerning imported doors, barbed wire, watches and brusnwi.ro was given , before the Tariff Comm ssion to-day... Harold • Ernest Otley, director of C.;E.. Otley Ltd., said t ! .e present duties on doors were 30 per cent, or 4s British ,and 55 per cent or 7s 6d general. - The witness,'replied t° the* evidence of A. J. Maxwell-at Auckland, in which the latter had quoted the price of a house floor in. America as 6s 6d, and,- on Mr. Maxwells’ figures,, a door could be landed in . New Zealand for 14s Bd. These, figure's the witnesschallenged. They queant that; clelnn, kiln-dried Douglas jfir. was sold in Canada for 6s 6d ,per ..hundred super feet. This, lie said, was clearly • impossible-. The best price’obtainable today for Oregon door stock from Canada was 13s .3d a door., : This was raw .material without manufacture. Mr Maxwell had suggested, that the complete -door could be, landed at 14s Bd. which a 1 lowed only Is 5d . for 'manufacture. Winess said that there was no reason for reducing - the duties; but- , rather reason, for increasing them. He denied that the tariff bad increased the cost of locally made doors., ..

Tan Lindsay l Roswell/ owner of the Cyclone Fence Co., said that the present duties; on barbed wire were: British, free ; foreign 10 per, cent. He wanted; duties as follows: British, free; Australian 5 per cent or £1 per ton, and a duty on -Canadian and American wife sufficient to make it dearer th"h the local product. This, w’oiild have fcn bo done with a sliding scale. lie ask el that the duty on ’wife exceeding olioeight' of an inch be British; 20,per.cent, Australian 20 per cent,, general .45 per cent. • • ' '

Irving Whitworth Sladen,: managing director of Frederick Sladen and Son, Ltd., asked for a reduction of the duty on watches. He’ said the present landing charges on ..watches - were so high that it was impossible to sell a good watclij because tbe customers were unable to pay the price; *Hc asked for ft reduction, of the duty to 20 per cent, irrespective of 'the’ country of origin; the duty to ; be levied at par, and not on the depreciated currency. •'