Galvanised iron (corrugated) is quoted:— Great Britain 24g. in bundles, per ton £11 to £11 5s.

Sydney 26g. in bundles, per ton £30 5s.

Perth (recent quote Western Australia), per ton £31 5s.

Duty on galvanised corrugated iron is now 110s. per ton British, 150s. per ton foreign, against 20s. per ton British and 30s. per ton foreign in 1913.

                                       1913.        1931.

Fencing Wire— British. Free. 52s. 0d. Foreign. 5%. 170s. 0d.

F.O.B Antwerp or Bremen, No. 8 plain galvanised wire now quoted £6 5s. per ton. Approximate quotations in Australia to-day from £18 12s. 6d. to £19 18s. 6d. for foreign wire. Australian made No. 8 black £17 15s. Galvanised £19 5s. 6d. per ton, Melbourne.

                                1913.     1931.

Barb Wire.— British. 10%. 68s. 0d. per ton Foreign. 20%. 180s. 0d. per ton

Australian made is quoted, 12 gauge, at £22 7s. 6d., 14 gauge, £23 17s. 6., Sydney. German quotation, April, No. 12 gauge, £8 12s. 6d. per ton; prices in Germany of the 2nd April, 1931, Antwerp or Bremen. The following figures show pre-war prices at Bremen and Antwerp against those of 1931:— April, 1931. July, 1913. Bremen— Plain Galvanised Fencing Wire No. 8 £6 5s. 0d. £7 10s. 0d. Barb Wire No. 12, Galvanised £8 12s. 6d. £10 0s. 0d.

In addition there is absolute embargo on barb wire, etc., viz.:—

Barb Wire. Cultivators. Harrows. Stump-jump Ploughs. Drills. Reaper Thrashers. Horse-drawn Hay Rakes. Chafcutters and Horse gears. Scarifiers. Bolts, Nuts, Nails.

In addition to all direct charges there are the added charges to the farmers which are common to the whole community such as food, clothing, and the added railway rates necessary to cover added costs of material. It is quite evident to your Commissioners that embargoes on essential goods and high tariff duties combine to penalise the basic industries of Australia, viz.—Wheat and Wool. The primary producers on whom Western Australia practically depends have to sell their produce overseas in the markets of the world at overseas prices while the manufacturer is sheltered by tariff walls and can adjust his prices to meet increased cost of production. The tariff also affects the primary producer in other directions. It greatly limits the amount of cargo coming to Western Australia, thus affecting greatly the earnings of the men employed on the wharf. On the basis of the principle in regard to wharf labour, laid down by Mr. Justice Higgins, that these men must earn a living wage and consequent on broken time a rate per hour was devised to meet this handicap. The less cargo handled creates the demand for higher rate per hour, which must therefore fall chiefly on the export of primary produce and the primary producer. Again a severe limitation of imports consequent on the high tariff necessities vessels coming to the port with light cargo or in ballast, which is reflected on the rates of freight on exports, as the earnings of the ships are limited to the homeward freight and must necessarily be increased to meet reduced earnings on the outward trip.

TARIFF IN RELATION TO EXCHANGE.

Further the tariff by limiting imports is always a menace to the favourable rate of exchange at present current, by lessening the demand for money to pay for Imports in London where the proceeds of wheat and wool are available.

It is to be noted that if exchange were eliminated to-day the price of wheat at sidings would be round 1s. 3d. per bushel. Your Commissioners recognise that the wheat and wool industries are the blood stream of Western Australia and as this is greatly impeded it behoves all interests, political, industrial and commercial, to insist on the State's self-preservation by combining and consistently impressing the Federal Government on the injustice the tariff is inflicting on Western Australia.

Further, it may be practicable to combine with the primary producers in the Eastern States to bring home to the Federal Cabinet, and even to the manufacturers in a sheltered industry, that unless some relief is given it is impossible for financial institutions to finance primary producers, who must continue to drift financially because of the high costs imposed by such an iniquitous tariff. It is a heart-breaking job for any primary producer to fight against such odds but all must remember that the primary producer originates the purchasing power of the Commonwealth. Port Charges.— We have made exhaustive inquiries into the relation to the port and handling charges as they affect the rates of freight and it has been confirmed by several witnesses that is such rates were reduced it would be correspondingly reflected in the rates of shipping freight. We particularly desire to emphasize this fact. The following comparative statement is illuminating:—

Costs of loading wheat including berthing dues, stevedoring, income tax on freight on ships:

                       — Per ton.    Per bushel.

Australia. 11s. 6d. 3.7d. South Africa. 5s. 11d. 1.9d. South America 5s. 6d. 1.75d. Canada and U.S.A. 3s. 4d. 1.05d. India. 3s. 8d. 1.2d.