cHAP: vi] TRADE RELATIONS AND CURRENCY 1167
the Colonial Governments will not regret to have an oppor-
tunity afforded them of further friendly discussion of the
whole subject after learning the views of Her Majesty’s
Government upon it, before any final conclusion is arrived at.
I will therefore proceed to notice points which seem to Her
Majesty’s Government to require particular examination.
The Government of New Zealand appears, from the Bill
laid before the House of Representatives and from the
financial statement of the Treasurer, to have originally
contemplated the granting of special bonuses to goods
imported into New Zealand from the other Australasian
Colonies. As, however, this expedient was not eventually
adopted, I am relieved from the necessity of discussing the
objections to such a mode of avoiding the rule against
differential duties.
The proposal now before me raises the following questions,
namely ;
1. Whether a precedent exists in the case of the British
North American Colonies for the relaxation of the rule or law
now in force ?
2. Whether Her Majesty’s Treaty obligations with any
Foreign Power interfere with such relaxation ?
3. Whether a general power should be given to the
Australasian Governments to make reciprocal tariff arrange-
ments, imposing differential duties, without the consent of
the Imperial Government in each particular case ?
4. Whether, on grounds of general Imperial policy, the
proposal can properly be adopted ?
The Attorney-General of New Zealand, in his Report
accompanying the reserved Bill, observes that its main pro-
visions are almost a literal copy of provisions which have
been for some time past in force in Canada and other North
American Colonies ; and I observe that, in the various com-
munications before me, the argument is repeatedly pressed
that the Australasian Colonies are entitled to the same treat-
ment in this respect as the North American Colonies. It
may be as well, therefore, to explain what these provisions
actually are,
I enclose extracts from the Acts of Newfoundland! and
Prince Edward Island! of the vear 1856: but I need not
* Prince Edward Island, 19 Vict. c. 1 ; Newfoundland, 1856, ¢. 1. The
former Act gave preferential terms to Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, New-
foundland, and Canada. The latter gave by s. 5 certain preferences exclu-
sively to the Maritime Provinces. See Canada Sess. Pap., 1869, No, 47.
"ro
