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101

158. That applies only to gold jewellery ? —Tes. 159. The (3hairman.~\ You do not do anything with silver jewellery ?—Oh, yes ! we make cups. 160. Still, you have to import silver? —We have plenty of silver—cheaper than, we can get it from Home. We get it at Auckland from the banks. 161. Mr. Bain.] Is it the fact that the local societies and local bodies prefer to send Home for their articles of silverware, such as medals and presentation cups ? —Yes ; only a short time ago the Agricultural Society sent Home an order for a hundred and odd medals. One of the shopkeepers here got the tender for their supply ; and, rather than employ local workmen, who had got the necessary machinery and everything ready for making the 'medals, ho sends to Scotland to have the order executed. He is Scotch himself. Another representative of the jewellers brought under the notice of the Commissioners that in India and Brazil native stones had an export duty placed on them if sent out of the country to be cut. At the present time our greenstone from the West Coast was sent in largo blocks to Germany, there to be cut; and the work was done at a price that placed the local lapidary and the jewellers who worked in greenstone at a great disadvantage. 162. Mr. Bain.] What you want is an export duty similar to what is put on gold ?—Yes. It is usual to protect the local manufacturer, and to tax the rough stone going out of a country. Letting it out duty-free is encouraging the making of the article abroad.

LEATHEE TRADES. No. 117. Mr. C. C. Fleming to Thomas Peacock, Esq., Mayor of Auckland. Sic,— Auckland, 14th April, 1880. Observing your advertisement asking for suggestions to forward to the Local Industries Commission, I beg to submit that the following articles required in the boot-manufacture should be exempt from duty, as they are not interpreted by the Customs as included in grindery, which was agreed to be admitted duty-free last year: 1, machine-silk ;2, linen threads; 3, was threads ;4, solesewing thread. (The first three items are essential to the manufacture of uppers equally with hemp, and these form a large item in the cost of bootmaking. I believe that the difficulty in this branch is to discriminate between that used in bootmaking and that required by drapers. To meet this, if yellow silk was exempt, it would take nine-tenths of what is used by boot-closers, and this would be a great concession, if not possible to get all the silk free.) 5, dressing-blacking used for finishing boots, also boot-inks for same use; 6, copper toes for boots (not for soles) ; 7, heel and toe plates ; 8, wax pitch ; 9, boot-powder; 10, shoe-horns ; 11, leather laces ; 12, dubbin ; 13, kid-reviver ; 14, gloss ; 15, leathercements ; 16, patent toe-caps ; 17, sharpening-stones and boards; 18, French-calf boot-fronts which cannot be made here; 19, boot-trees; 20, boot-stretchers; 21, boot-measuring slicks and tapes; 22, cashmere and lastings for boot-uppers ; 23, (shoe) felt-cloth and slipper-shapes ; 24, short lengths of carpet only fit for slipper-making. In regard to the silk and linen thread for machine use, it would be a boon alike to the clothing manufacture were all such admitted free, and would certainly tend to give local industry an advantage in competing with imported clothing. I have, &c, C. 0. Fleming.

No. 118. Messrs. A. E. and P. Goodacee to Thomas Peacock, Esq., Mayor of Auckland. Sic,— Auckland, 16th April, 1880. Having seen the notice in the paper, we take the liberty of sending you our views of what is needed in our branch of trade —namely, boot and shoe upper manufacturers. We think that the duty should bo taken off the sewing-machine threads and silks, also off kid-skins and French calf-skins, and boot-looping, as none of these goods are made in the colony. We do not think that the duty should be taken off the common sorts of leather, as that would interfere with the local tanners. We should recommend the duty on boot and shoe uppers to bo 25 per cent.: this would only just be enough to allow us to compete with the English and American goods. Hoping this will be of some use, We have, &c, ■ A. E. and P. Goodacre.

No. 119. Mr. James Wiseman to the Chairman of the Local Industries Commission. Sir,— Auckland, 19th April, 1880. In compliance with the request of the Royal Commission on Local Industries, I have the honor to state that I have, for the last eighteen years, endeavoured, in making saddlery and harness, to use as much locally-manufactured material as possible —such as brown and black harness-leather; white, brown, and coloured basils; brown, black, and split kip; sole-leather; white and green hides ; colonial hogskin ; beeswax, &c. Materials used by me, but not manufactured in New Zealand, comprise all kinds of saddlers' and harness-makers' general ironmongery and mountings, saddle-trees, patent and enamelled leather, English hogskins, felt, collar check, kersey, serge, Prince's check, linen and woollen webs, machine and other thread, hemp, yellow silk, twine, brass locks and fittings for portmanteaus and bags, woollen flock for stuffing, waterproof canvas for gaiters and bags, saffron, &c. There was a manufacturer of harness-mounts here, but he could not make it pay, so had to leave the colon}^. I paid him about £140 in a little more than two years. 1 consider that all the last-mentioned goods should be imported into this country free of duty, so that saddlers and harness-makers may in