THE TARIFF.

Te Aroha News, Volume XII, Issue 1772, 21 September 1895, Page 2

THE TARIFF.

The House of Beprcsentatives has at last managed to get through the unprecedentedly numerous and irritating preliminaries, and has now seriously grapplejl with the Customs and Excise Duties Bill itself. The Treasui’er opened the debate on the second reading of the Bill, which has been amended'in accordance with the decisions of the House on the previous evening as regards Island fruit, boots, and linseed oil.' Though the firm hand of the Speaker kept well in check those excited fetli igs of members which were rather prominent, the frequent interjections and expressions of dissent or approbation showed that the interest of members upon the subject is by no means dying away. The Treasurer warned members that the free hand promisr d by the Premier was only conditional, the co idition being that* the Government would reserve themselves the right to object to any amendment that would materially affect the revenue of the colony. The Treasurer’s speech was purely an explanatory one, though he dealt a deatn-blow to the report"that the Government intended to make up for the loss of revenue caused by recent votes by increasing the duty upon colonial beer. In order fiat the party element might be ex eluded as far as possible from the debate, and to save members from being whipped into the lobby to vote against their consciences, Captain Bussell declared that he would not move the amendment of which he had given notice, but would deal with each item as it came up. He did not seek a party triumph, but only the good of th<? colony. The second reading of the debate proves exceedingly dreary, members reserving their interest for the more practical handling of the measure in committee.