90
9. The correspondence enclosed in the Colonial Office letter of the 24th of December, mentioned in paragraph 7, shows that an inquiry has been addressed to the High Commissioner for South Africa as to the opinion entertained there respecting the preferential arrangement with Canada. The High Commissioner has replied stating that he proposes to defer his answer till the figures for 1906 are available, about the end of the current month; the answer will be forwarded to the Board of Trade as soon as it is received, and will be laid before the Conference.
10. Lord Elgin is of the opinion that His Majesty's Government may properly adopt a sympathetic attitude with respect to these inter-colonial preferential arrangements, which constitute some approximation to Free Trade within the Empire. It will be noted that the paragraph of the Australian resolution which deals with this aspect of preferential trade assumes that the United Kingdom will receive the same degree of preference in Colonies which are parties to preferential arrangements as the Colonies receive themselves. This principle is one which will naturally commend itself to His Majesty's Govern- ment, and it is observed in the South African Customs Convention and also in the Canadian tariff legislation. There is, however, some doubt as to the position in this respect in the case of the tariff concessions made by Australia and New Zealand to the South African Customs Union, and the Board of Trade will consider whether any statement on the point may be included with advantage in the materials to be laid before the Conference. In this connec- tion the reserved Australian British Preference Act will no doubt be considered as well as the New Zealand Preferential and Reciprocal Trade Act of 1903.
I have, &c.,
FRANCIS J. S. HOPWOOD.
91
3. I find, however, that the following rebates were granted in the last three financial years on goods imported into the Transvaal from the United Kingdom :-
June 30th, 1904
14
1905
11
*
1906
Year ended
Amount granted.
Value of Merchandise.
Percentage.
£ 120,853
£ 14,878,044
⚫81
132,442
14,414,321
.92
153,141
16,597,931
⚫92
As the percentage has increased since 1904, the system must be favourable to British trade (in fact, it could not be otherwise), and I am confirmed in this opinion by the eagerness with which the rebates are claimed. If it has not largely stimulated importations from the United Kingdom, it has in all probability arrested or lessened any decrease.
4. As regards the preference granted to Canada, I have no exact figures, but I am aware that the preference granted under the old tariff on such lines as Quaker oats and preserved milk (large quantities of which are imported into South Africa) has been the means of diverting exportations from the United States to Canada, and that the preference under the new tariff on such rated articles as corn and grain has also diverted certain trade to the Dominion. This advantage will, however, probably be considerably lessened since Australia and New Zealand have become entitled to the preference, as they supply the South African market with many articles, such as flour, wheat, meat, and butter, which Canada also supplies.
5. I attach copies of the Customs Union Tariffs of 1903 and 1906, together with copies of Article III. of the former Convention and of the corresponding article in the present one.
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
Reference :-
EPEL C.O.885
| | | | | | | | | | | | |
17 PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO
12297.
No. 24.
The HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR SOUTH AFRICA to the SECRETARY OF STATE.
(No. 205.)
MY LORD,
(Received April 6, 1907.)
High Commissioner's Office,
Johannesburg, March 18, 1907. In your telegram of December 18th, No. 1," you requested me, in view of the fact that the question of preferential trade had been proposed for discussion at the Colonial Conference, to furnish a despatch or a memorandum showing how the actual preference granted to British traders under the South African Customs Union Convention of 1906 compared with the preference under the 1903 Convention. You also invited an expression of my opinion as to the effect of the preferential arrangement between the South African Colonies and Canada.
2. With regard to the first point, I hoped that when the trade returns of the Customs Union were available I should be able to furnish the desired information; but the detailed statistics for 1906 are not yet published, and when they are they will be for the whole year only, whereas the increased rebates under the 1906 Tariff have only been in force for a portion of the year. There are further difficulties, in that prior to 1903 the countries of exportation were taken to be the countries of origin, and that the system of keeping statistics in South Africa before the establishment of the Statistical Bureau in 1905 was not uniform. While, therefore, I have endeavoured with the help of the Customs Adviser, who has devoted considerable time and trouble to the matter, to gauge the effect of the preferential treatment upon British goods since the institution of the system, I regret that I have been unable to arrive at any reliable results.
• No. 21.
13300.
I have, &c.,
SELBORNE,
High Commissioner.
No. 25.
THE ASSOCIATION OF CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE OF THE
UNITED KINGDOM to COLONIAL OFFICE.
(Received April 15, 1907.)
COLONIAL CONference.
To the RIGHT HON. THE EARL OF ELGIN, K.G., G.C.S.I., Secretary of State for the Colonies.
The MEMORIAL of the Association of Chambers of Commerce of the
United Kingdom, of which the following Chambers of Commerce are members :-
Aberdeen,
Bradford,
Dover,
Anglo-Belgian,
Bristol,
Dublin,
Arbroath,
Burnley,
Dudley,
Barnsley,
Bury,
Dundee,
Barrow-in-Furness,
Cardiff,
Edinburgh,
Bath,
Cheltenham,
Erith,
Batley,
Cleckheaton,
Exeter,
Belfast,
Cork,
Coventry,
Croydon,
Derby, Dewsbury,
Birmingham, Birstal, Blackburn, Bolton,
• Not reprinted.
Falmouth, Gloucester, Goole, Gt. Grimsby, Greenock,
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