Original Correspondence.

Auckland Chronicle and New Zealand Colonist, Volume 2, Issue 72, 19 December 1844, Page 3

Original Correspondence.

* To the Editor of the Auckland Chronicle. Sir,

Pursuant to my promise I now proceed ro shew your readers, that an increase in exports is not generally attended with prosperity. From which my fellow countrymen may very plainly calculate what kind of speculation it is to leave this colony, where there is a plentiful supply of land, and where eventually labour will be required to return to England where Capitalists and Manufacturers of every discription have been during the last twenty years, and are now, snatching at, and embracing every opportunity, are trying evey scheme which genius can discover, for the purpose of obviating the necessity for manual labour of every kind.

If say, two or three years ago, parties in various parts of England and Scotland, concluded that employment was likely to become scarce. How do they expect to find the country after being absent so long when they return ? I would wish them to consider seriously before they determine upou sach a step. I would impress upon their minds the almost certainty so far as regards employment in England or Scotland, of its being not only more difficult to obtain in many branches, but that owing to the gigantic strides in mechanical appliances, they will be under the inevitable necessity of performing a greater quantity of work for less wages —yes in many instances less than half of what they themselves were receiving but two or three years back.

The building of Poor Law Houses in every county in England—the great reduction in wages -—the txistenoe of a powerful, intelligent, numerous body, called the Anti Corn Law League, who can collect a hundred thousand pounds for political purposes, who compose a great portion of the Manufacturers in England,and Scotland, and who are rendering, Collectively and individually, by pen, tongue, votes and influence, all the opposition they Can to the present ministry to wring from them a repeal of the Corn Law, and if possible a measure of free trade. The existence of a very numerous body of the working classes, who are sending Lecturers through England & Scotland to persuade their fellow men to unite, for tlre purpose of obtaining an exten sive organic change oi extreme democracy, the disturbed state of the Manufacturing districts, thegreki turn-out-in 1842 and the great competitive race we have to run to meet other nations in the market; the putting on of the Income Tax; the emigration of so many to America, Sydney, New Zealand, and other parts of !j\je world ; the manufactories stopped, olheis working short time, the great Dumber of ships in evey sea port and no trade for them ; the improvements in machinery which have thrown thousands out of work ; rates rising, publicans and shop keepers selling ofFbeoause they cannot carry on any longer, tire bankrupt list increasing in number every week, and the agitated and fermented state of the country for the last few years ; ail the above taken into consideration tend to shew to every reflecting observer of passing events, that there is a screiv loose some where relative to the mother country.

I do not wish to see people breaking their necks to England again if they can earn a living in this colony. What I wished to expose was the false statements made in London of the prosperity of this colony, which has done incalculable injury to the oolony and our fellow country men. Now they are here, I would advise them to be sober, industrious and persevering in their efforts to gain a footing and comforiab'e homes. Let a true stale of New Zealand be laid before ihe people of our mother country. Viz, that if they come hither without capital, they must be content to wotk with ihV axe, the spade, the plough or the oar, and that such need not fear of obtaining employment and a respectable living.

Sir, —If we were to allow the impression to be made that an increase in exports is evidence of the prosperity of the colony, thousands will still come hither in consequence, who" will be of no manner of service here. To increase the exports of New Zealand, it does not require so many shop keepers, quill drivers, and persons of professions, and callings, entirely unconnected either with the enterprize of the land or the mines.

Increase in exports has not benefited Ireland. Publicola has been there, it is certainly a rich, and fertile country. There is a great quantity of flax, oats, barley, sheep, cows, pigs, poultry, of every discsiptiou, eggr&c, exported to England,while the labouring portion of the community are living in mud houses, earning whilst jo work not more than sixspence per day aud rations, and ten-pence without rat ons, which consist of potatoes and butter milk, and it is considered a luxury if they now and then get mea! and bacon, we cannot there*

fore conclude that Ireland has been enriched or its countrymen made more comfortable inconsequence of inenased exports. I would also refer you to our bestsati.stical writers and parliamentary documents, to shew whether England has gained by increased exportations. I say it lias not, and lam confrmed in my opinion by McCullock, Porter, Speakman, Chambers, and McQueen, and a host of others in addition to government reports. In the year 1800, our exports were 24,000,000. Wheat at time was 110 s. per quarter, and the wages paid for weaving twelve yards of cambric 14s. In 1810 our exports, official value were 34,000,000. The price of wheat 103 s, per quarter, and the wages paid for weaving twelve yards of cambric was 10s. In 1820 our exports were 37,000.000, the price paid for weaving twelve yards of cambric was 4s. 6d. In the year 1830, the official value of exports was 61,000,000, price of wheat 645. per quarter, and the price for weaving twelve yards was Is. 9d. In 1840, exports official value 132,000,000, price of wheat 665. 6d. In 1844, the price for weaving twelve yards lOd The above shews an increase pf trade from 24,000,000 to 102,000,000 and a decrease of the price of labour of 13s. in twelve yards of weaving, and the decrease in the price of corn was from 110 sto 665. Here then is the folly of supposing exportation increases wages. There is a difference made between the official value and the declared value of goods. The official value is taken upon some determinate principle of value known and acted upon in the Custont House for a long time, but the declared value is the value which the merchants put upon the goods they export. Now when our foreign trade is in a wholesome condition, the declared value is always greater than the official value, thus in 1800, 24,000,000 official value yielded 49,000,000 declared value. So .that according to this table between 1800 and 1840, in consequence of the increase of exports in foreign trade, we have lost 114,000,000 of value upon the goods exported. For if 24,010,000 produced 39,000,000, 102,000,000 should have produced 165,000,000 instead of only 55,000,000. Sir, there was a,time when we had a supremacy of commerce over the world—when we were called the work'shop of the world—when almost every nation was dependent upon us for our manufacture, but now most of those nations which took ifery large quantities of our goods, are in some instances not only manufacturing for home consumption, but are competing with us in other markets by exportations. Here let us take the account given by Mr. Gre e ’ one of the best informed of the Manchest er manufacturers to the Manchester meeting, whic* 1 went through the English Press, and now lies befor e me in print, and which has not been contradicted. ** The United States which he says, manufactured 100 bales in 1814, now manufactures 300,000, as much we then did ; further, 16 years ago the forest of Low Hill in the United States, echoed no sound but that of the cataract, but now there is a water power of 5000 horses there, applied to cotton manufactures spiffing 40,000 bales yearly. The United States he adds, not only manufactures to consume, but to export; they send 34,000 bales of cotton goods to South America, and 17,000 to the Cape of Good Hope, Calcutta and CanadaRussia, Mr, Grey further informs us, manufactures to the extent of one third the quantity that Great Britain now does, perhaps 350,000 bales. France «e know manufactures 300,000 bales and Germany &c., 200 000, altogether 1 150,000 bales, a number greater than our whole cotton manufactures.

Then again hear what Dr. Bowring says in his report on the Prussian commeicial Union, page 57. “ In some respects Germany may boast of superiority to Great Britain in ber means for manufactures. Tire arts of design, and their application to various fabrics are better understood. Metals are more successfully wrought and worked , chemical knowledge. in its various branches is further advanced than with us. Steam Engines are formed on all sides,'and mechanical improv nients have made rapid strides, and have served to open a wide field for the characteristic development of German intels ligence. One impolicy has c ontributed much to make Germany our most formidable rival. Our extravagant system of Government, together with our debt, requires a heavy amount of taxation to be levied upon almost all foreign produce ; the Germans by the law of retaliation, impose heavy duties upon our manufactures, at the same time they foster and encourage their own manufactures; and from the influence they possess in the English Con ft* they experience no difficulty in procuring an order in Council for the exportation of any particular piece of machinery. So we have been swindled out of the profit of our labour, and now we are being swindled out of our trade altogether. 0

“ In Saxony, one of the German Unions, with an area 0f5,748 square miles and a population of 1,565,608,there were, in the year 1836, 229 factories, 116 woolen, 113 cotton, 38 bleaching establishments, 278 hosiery establishments, 125 ribbon establishments, 25 chemical works, 48 iron works, 45 printing establishments, 332 lace blond &c„ 18 machine making establishments with many others, making in all 2,899. Much attention has beeu paid of late to the manufactures of machinery in Saxony, the Sachuschen Maschimenban campagne, Saxon machine making Company, with a capital of one million of dollars, is said to be in a flourishing state. Other similar establishments have been formed; machines and models have been imported, both from England and other countries ; and English artizans have been engaged to give instructions to the Germans and to undertake the superintend dence of their works. Two years ago it was calculated that there were in England, machinery lying dormant equal to the band power of 150,000,000 of people that could be again brought into operation at a very short notice, and there were at the least calculation, mechanical power uot yet brought into the market equal to the band power of 200,000,000 of people. Improvements have taken place in the blowing machines, (see Lord Brougham’s work on the progress of machinery) the carding engine, the Jack frauces, the American belts, the drawing frames and stretchers. The warping machine, the winding

doubling and throstle frames. From the spinning mules they have made self actors and double ducks, and instead of dressing frames many of the manufactures in Manchester and the towns contiguous are useing size. There are also improvements in the/ weaving aud printing department, and every fresh introduction does away with manual labour.

There is another class of useful meu who will be seriously injured viz, carpenters, cabinet and picture frame makers. Shortly before we left England which was in May last, a company at Sutton Colfield, about six miles from Birmingham, sent circulars round to all the master builders, carpenters and furniture brokers, in which they inhumed them that they had completed their machine, and offered to execute work cleaner than could be done by hand, and also truer for panel doors. Architrives, mouldings of every discription, baiding from either hard or soft woods, and work for picture frames and every other kind of choice work for building or furniture. They offeted to lay them at their doors free carriage less than half the price the employers were giving for journeyman’s wages, • ltd the machine was sufficient to supply all the parlies requiring it in Birmingham and the towns and villages for miles at the same price.

Anj' one would suppose if he was a stranger to these things, that with all ihese facilities England would be, enabled to complete with the world. It was thought so in 1819 when the parties who are now cal ling out for a repeal of the Corn Laws in England, were some of those who led on the Yeomanry to disperse the meeting at Peterloo, and boldly asserted there was no danger of foreign competition. High rents, high taxes, and low wages will rnin any nation however rich, and powerful at first. And if we are to meet other nations, in the same tqarket,we ought in order to be successful, to have the same advantages. Instead of which we nave to carry greater burdens than the people of any, and in many instances more than all the nations against which we have commercially to compete. Our National Debt is 158,900,f00 more than the National Debts of France, Austria, Holland, Spain, Russia, Belgium, Prussia, Naples, Denmark, Greece, Portugal, Columbia, Mexico, Brasil, Peru, Chili, and Buenos A v res put together. Our State Church costs £500,000 per annum more than all the state churches of the world. Our beloved .Queen receives more in one year than would pay the salary of the American President for more than 150 years. The Artizans of some of the above countries are taxed per head no more than 125., whilst in Great Britain the taxation per bead, is more than £3 10s. Our capital skill, machinery, and Artizans have gone into countries which we formerly furnished with our manufactnres. In America many of the mills, indeed most of them, are worked by water power ; the same power which costs the American manufacturers only ,£2 10s. by water,would cost the English manufacturer £l2 10s. in steam. We have to go into that country to fetch the cotton ; bear expense of carriage, and run all risk of loss and damage ; expenses of carriage shipping &c. back ; whilst they, our competitions, have the water, the cotton, machinery, plenty of good land, light taxation, plenty of coal, find iron, as good English Artizans as we have, and a market under their noses. Here then is the odds against us which is certain to work for England. From which I conclude that it is similar to a stone set going from the top a hill—every turn it takes increasess its velosity. There cannot be much prospect for any who have to earn their living by labour in going home again, hense I would advise them to do all they can to make themselves comfortable here. I am, Sir, yours truly, PUBLICOLA. Auckland, Dec, 16tb, 1844.