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question of further extensions of the same bind with all delegations. I will therefore state; briefly what, as the; result of these discussions, we should be prepared to recommend as early as possible to our Parliament to do. The Conference will remember that I made;, on behalf of the Home Government, an alternative proposal with regard to tobacco, either to stabilize the preference or, alternatively. to increase it from one-sixth to one-quarter, and that was to be considered by the; tobacco-producing parts of the, Empire. 1 have now received the considered opinion of the Dominions and colonies, and it is unanimous in favour of increasing the rate of preference from one-sixth to one-quarter, and therefore we; propose to invite Parliament, to do that. The Test to be applied in the Grant of Preferences. We have oonsidered certain additional items. I think it woulel be generally agreed that, as in the items which we have alreaely had under discussion, the important factor to consider is, Is this a matter of real interest to the Dominions, and, if an additional preference, is accorded, or a new eluty is put on and Dominion produce is to come in free, is there reasonable probability that the Dominions will be able to supply a large bulk of the commodity in question ? And we have applied that test to some suggestions that have; been made. Raw Apples. Now, the first of these; is apples, raw apples. We have alreaely agreed that there should be, a duty upon the tlried fruit and upon the canned fruit and that Empire produce should come; in free. Now, with regard to apples a case is clearly made out that the Empire, e;an supply practically all. the apples we require. They are supplying a very large, quantity at the present time. I think the figures of the importation are familiar to the whole Conference. Last year we- were importing 2,555,600 cwt. of Empire-grown apples, anel we- were importing from non-Empire countries 1,916,000 owt. More than one Dominion is interested in this. Canada has large imports- 1,643,000 cwt. Australia, has large imports- 836,000 cwt. New Zealand is interested anel will, I think, be increasingly so. Mr. Massey: only commencing. The Chairman : Exactly, and Newfoundland and the Union of South Africa are' also interested. What we propose there is to invite Parliament to impose- a duty of ss. per hundredweight upon raw apples and to admit all Dominion apples free, absolutely free. I think that you will find that is a, duty which is reasonable commensurate with the scale of preference which you will obtain on the dried and preserved fruits. Canned Salmon. Then there came; the epiestion of canned salmon, which is of particular interest to Canaela. Now, it was represented to us strongly that while the Canadian exports to this country are not to-day as great in volume in proportion as are the Empire exports of apples, yet they are very substantial. For instance, in 1921 while 406,000 cwt., roughly, was coming from foreign countries, 170,000 cwt. almost was coming from Canada, and the development in Canada can be indefinitely expanded. The supply is there in overwhelming quantities, and in a very short time the industry can be developed to supply the whole of our requirements. I think Mr. Graham will confirm that. In these; circumstances we would propose that there should be a duty of 10s. per hundredweight upon canned salmon imported from foreign countries, and that the Empire canned salmon should be admitted free of duty. Fruit-juices. Then the question was also raised about fruit-juice. It is not a very large point, but, on the other hand, it was represented to us that it works in very conveniently with the general stimulus which is being given to the elrying and preserving and fruitgrowing trade generally in the Dominions, and it is also of particular interest to some of the colonies in regard to such things as lime-juice and lemon-juice. In that case, we>, shall be prepared to recommend a duty of 6d. a gallon on all fruitjuice which can be reasonably supplied within the Empire. The list can be settled without any difficulty. I know limes and lemons are involved, and there are a, number of other juices. Sixpence a gallon upon these juices and the Empire produce to come in free. Honey. Then another question was raiseel, anel that is honey. Well, that is a thing of interest to the settler, and it was represented to us that we were going to put a duty upon the jam and the fruits. Now, honey is a very similar product, and it is quite plain that the Empire can supply without much difficulty a very large proportion, at any rate, of whatever imports of honey there may be. New Zealand is interested in this; she sent us last year 12,000 cwt. The West -Indies are interested; they sent 14,000 cwt. The Empire e-.xportations to us last year were 26,000 cwt. against 32,000 cwt. of foreign. And it is quite clear that that is capable- of great expansion because in 1919, when there was a great demand for honey in this country owing to the- scarcity of sugar, Australia sent us 63,000 cwt., and Canada sent, I think, 5,000 cwt. Therefore in that case, in the; case of honey, we; should propose to recommend to Parliament a eluty eif 10s, per hundredweight, anil the Empire produce to be admitted'free. Wine. We also propose to make certain further recommendations for improving the preference; on wine, but those I should like tei announce derlnitely to-morrow after the Chancellor of the Exchequer returns. The larger part of them is settled, but there is one point still outstanding upon which I
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