267

A—s

Sir JOSEPH WARD : I am going to refer to that a little later. Mr. ASQUITH : Do you say there is a diminution upon the imports from foreign countries to New Zealand ? Sir JOSEPH WARD : There are six classes in the return in which there has been an increase from England. Mr. ASQUITH : I thought your statement was that on the whole there had been an increase. Sir JOSEPH WARD : I did not say that. i Mr. ASQUITH : And a diminution from foreign countries. Sir JOSEPH WARD : No, I did not say that. I said that in six classes there had been an increase under this tariff. Mr. ASQUITH : I thought you meant on the whole. Sir JOSEPH WARD : No, I did not say that. I propose to refer to the point of the decrease of the trade in British products to Australia and New Zealand presently. I want to say that the result of a preference to British goods importeel into New Zealand, from information furnished to the Government Department in New Zealand, has not brought about an increase in the price of those articles to the consumers in New Zealand. On the contrary, the increased opportunity for competition between British traders by having a preference, by putting a duty against foreign countries, has kept the price of those articles down. That is one of the points in connection with preference as against the general system of Protection that I specially want to keep before myself, and before others, in considering this question of the tariff. New Zealand has also extended a preference tariff to Canada, and Canada has done the same to New Zealand. New Zealand has also entered into a preference tariff treaty with South Africa, and South Africa with New Zealand. So we are in the position at the moment of having fully 10 to 20 per cent, against foreign countries in favour of Great Britain. We have entered into a reciprocal treaty with South Africa and a reciprocal arrangements with Canada by which we each make a concession upon our respective tariffs. I refer to this in order to show we are in earnest in our desire to bring about mutuality of trade within different portions of the British Empire. In reference to this question of the trade to the Colonies, I want specially to refer to an aspect of it which I think is disconcerting, that is the trade from the United Kingdom to Australia and New Zealand. The Returns supplied to the Conference give the average between the years 1899 to 1901 as against 1901 to 1906. There is a very remarkable feature about it in my mind; it is headed " Relative Importance of British Colonies and Foreign Countries as Consumers of United Kingdom Produce." Mr. ASQUITH : It seems a rather useful table. Sir JOSEPH WARD : Yes, it is. lam reading from page 3.* It will be seen there that the only countries where the products of the United Kingdom have been exported to, the only countries in which there has been a diminution of trade, are the Australian Commonwealth and New Zealand in the respective periods of three years in each case—to the extent of 610,000/.—and a diminution of 2,041,000/. to Russia. I make no comment

* See No. XXIV o [Cd. 3524]: Pape.-s laid before the Con'erence.

Ninth Day. 1 May 1907.

Preferential Trade.