AUSTRALIAN PREFERENCE PROPOSALS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVII, Issue 81862, 11 October 1906, Page 3

AUSTRALIAN PREFERENCE PROPOSALS.

SUDDENLY END IX SMOKE.

SHIPPING PROVISO FORBIDDEN' BY TREATIES.

Received nth, 1.5 a.m.

Melbourne, October ro.

The House of Representatives waE proceeding to consider the Senate's proposal that the Bill forbidding preference excepting to goods carried in British ships, manned by white crews should not come into operation til. August 31st next, when Mr Deakin announced a sensational development. He had received a cable informing him that the British Beard of Trade had discovered that the proposed discrimination as regards British ships wafc forbidden under a number of treaties, some of which were binding on Australia. These provided that the ships of one nation should not re ceive preference over those of another. There was no record of such treaties in the Customs Department They were all drawn in general terms to be detcrmtned by the Foreign Office. Circumstances had not arisen to causi tneZ"! ,0 be communicated to Australia. Such treaties had been accept •»d before .Federation. Under the cir •cumstances lie was not able to ask the House to make the alteration >ug jjested bv the S«riatc. The matto't could be'dealt wi'h at the forthcoming Imperial Conference. Meantime, there was no alternative but to remove the whole proposal. He then moved that the provision giving preference to British ships be omitted. This was carried. The Bill nowjeads simply that preference •hall be on dutiable goods, the produce or manufacture of the United Kingdom.