RATIFIED BY HOUSE

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 2, Issue 360, 22 October 1932, Page 5

RATIFIED BY HOUSE

("Post" Special Commissioner)

LABOUR AMENDMENT TO PROTECT. INDUSTRY IREJECTED BRITAIN'S GENEROUS ACTION

Wellington, Friday. The House of Representatives tonight ratified the Ottawa agreement. There' was no division on the final yote. The Labour amelidment, designed to maintain the. presient protective duties for secondary industries, was rejected By 44 votes to 24. In reply to the debate the Rt. Hon. ■ G. W. Forbes said he would have lilced f members of the Labour Party to have j j adopted more of an Empire outlook. j i Great Britain had been very generous j in her treatment of the Dominion gen- | erally and New Zealand in particular. One would require a magnifying glass to see the concessions which New Zealand had granted. The agreement i amounted to a reciprocal trade arj rangement which had heen advocated in New Zealand for years and years. The Labour amendment was only a subterfuge in order to allow a vote to he taken on the agreement. If the amendment had heen carried it would have been tantamount to a vote of no confidence in the Government. Mr. Forbes said there had heen a Iot of talk about sacrificing the secondary industries, hut the so-called sacrifiee amounted to 2i per cent. in the case of confectionery, a concession that would have heen made in any case in April next. The Labour Party had made itself ridiculous in the eyes of the people hy the attitude which it had taken up in regard to secondary industries. One could listen to the speeches of Labour members if they would only he moderate in their statements. The Labour View In moving his amendment the Leader of the Opposition, Mr. H. E. Holland, quoted from the resolutions of manufacturers' organisations to support his contention that the Ottawa agreement constituted a definite danger to the Dominion's secondary industries and he deelared the whole of the industrial workers were opposed to the agreement as it stoou at the present time. He drew attention to the report of recent trouble in London and said he did not think it was exaggeration to say that if the agreement resulted in increased prices in Britain without a corresponding increase in wage rates, he was afraid the Old Country would be orought dangerously near to revolution. It was quite evident that secondary industries would become subject to competition, which in many cases would result in their extinction. He quoted the section of the Ottawa rep-ort dealing with butter and said that Danish exporters had first been alarmed by the preferenee which was to be granted the Dominions. Later, however, they had expresesd the conviction that they would still be able to compete against the Dominions in spite of the new arrangements and if this were so how was the arrangement

going to benefit New Zealand? There were also indications that the Argentine Amhassador in London was about to negotiate with Britain, and although it seemed to be indieated that the advantage which New Zealand would obtain would not be very great after all. The restriction on meat imports would be a questionable advantage so long as rising prices and falling purchasing power continued. Purchasing Power What had struck him was the wholly indefinite nature of the discussions x-egarding purchasing power and its relation to prices. If prices did not rise and wages were not' increased it would simply mean that the cost of living would go up, but the workers of Britain would not have the means to purchase our mutton, lamb and other commodities. This would result in the danger of strife to which he had previously referred.