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Enclosure. The Rylands' Glass and Engineering Company (Limited), Sir, — Stairfoot, Barnsley, 7th December, 1903. May we respectfully call your attention to the recently passed New Zealand Preferential and Keciprocal Trade Act. According to this Act it appears from the newspaper reports that preferential treatment is to be accorded to British-made glassware of certain descriptions only, and that ordinary empty bottles of plain glass are placed on the free list. The effect of this will be that cheap foreign-made bottles will be admitted into New Zealand to the exclusion of British-made bottles. We are ourselves one of the largest manufacturers in this country of ordinary glass bottles, and along with other firms engaged in this industry we are suffering considerably from competition of cheap foreign-made glassware. We are not a little surprised that the particular class of goods which we manufacture in this country is exempted from the preferential treatment which the recently passed New Zealand Act gives to other classes of glassware. If you could by any means secure the removal of this anomaly you would confer great benefit on the extensive industries in this country engaged in the manufacture of ordinary plain glass bottles. Yours, &c, Wilton Bhook, Secretary and Manager. Hon. Alfred Lyttelton, Secretary of State, Colonial Office.

No. 27. (General.) My Lord, — Downing Street. 11th December, 1903. With reference to my telegram of the 23rd ultimo, 1 have the honour to transmit to you, for the information of your Ministers, a copy of a memorandum by the Commercial Attache to the British Embassy at Berlin, relative to German views of the New Zealand policy of preferential tariffs in favour of the United Kingdom and other parts of the British Empire. 1 have, &c, ALFRED LYTTELTON. Governor the Right Hon. the Earl of Ranfurly, G.C.M.G., &c.

Enclosure. Memorandum on German views of New Zealand's Preferential Policy. The Borseii Courier of the 27th instant contains a short article on the adoption in New Zealand of a preferential tariff for the Mother-country. After stating that this step was unexpected, the figures of the actual trade done by Germany with that British colony are gone into as far as it is possible to do so. The Hamburg statistics are employed for this purpose, because the Imperial statistical returns have no special figures for commerce with New Zealand, but include that country under the heading of "Australasia." The Bremen statistics are equally useless for the same reason. " The new tariff leaves tea from the British colonies free, a matter which only affects China. For foreign countries the duty on cement is doubled: Hamburg in 1903 exported more than fifty thousand pounds' worth to Australia, but, none to New Zealand. The duty on the following principal goods exported to the latter colony is increased by a half: Pianos, £53,860; toys, £12,768; glassware, £9,436; bicycles, £5,080; fancy goods, brushes, &c, £2,468; watches' £1,115; ironware, £17,135; furniture, £9,436; packing-paper (paper and cardboard), £8,046; cordage and ropes, £4,017; boots and shoes, £1,362; basketware, £713. For the following articles imported from Germany a duty of 20 pur cent, is charged, instead of their being duty-free as formerly: Bicycle-fittings (the exports from Hamburg are included above under " bicycles "), printing-paper, wire ropes, and woven-wire tissues (included under " iron "). It will thus be seen that many branches of German export industries are affected. The total exports from Hamburg in 1898 only amounted to £55,000; they have since steadily increased to £207,850 in 1902." Though the Bremen statistics do not show separately exports to New Zealand, yet as its total trade with Australasia is about one-half that of Hamburg, some £50,000 may fairly be added as exports to that colony. The amount of goods going from the Rhine and Westphalia via Antwerp and England cannot be estimated; but the chemical, metal, and textile trades are certainly interested to a considerable extent.

Date. From To Subject. ;e. th December, The Hylauds Glass Colonial Office... Position of British manufacturers ot 1903 and Engineering glass bottles under the New ZeaOomuany (Limited) laud preferential tariff.