DUTY ON FOOTWEAR

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 9, Issue 535, 28 May 1920, Page 2

DUTY ON FOOTWEAR

SUGGESTED REMOVAL. COUNCIL APATHETIC. The Hawera Borough Council is evidently alive to the necessities o f . its citizens, as will be seen from the following circular letter received by the Pukekohe Borough Council or. Wednesday night:— "At meeting of the council held on the 14th inst, the following resolution was passed, viz.: 'That with a view to affording some measure of I relief to the parents of families dur- \ ing the present abnormal times, and taking into consideration the fact that the New Zealand manufacture! s are unable to cope wifth the demands for adult footweaij, the Government be requested to immediately take the necessary steps for the removal of the duty on children's footwear.' If this duty of sixpence per pai* and IP per cent, additional were removed from the comparative cost of footwear for a child up /to twelve years of age would be equal to infant footwear, which is admitted into the country duty free. It was further resolved that a copy of the Resolution should be sent on to all the other local bodies, asking their support and assistance in bringing the matter before the Government and local members. Trusting your council will assist in this direction." Comments. The members of the Pukekohe Borough Council evidently did no(t sense the importance of the letter, since it was merely " received," and turned down on the file, from which inglorious position the "Times" man rescued it, in ,the interests of parents who find it hard to make both ends meet. The suggestion made by the Hawera Borough Council is on the lines we have advocated from time to time, but our notions on the subject are much more drastic. We think that

the people of New Zealand would be much better off if they pensioned of? for. life all the bootmaking workers in the Dominion, and secured their footwear duty free. The "Times" heartily supports Hawera's enlightened council, and hopes its sugges- . tion will meat with a more intelligent reception at othei« centres than rt has had at Pukekohe.