PROTECTION—THE LOGIC OF IT.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1890, 11 July 1888, Page 2

PROTECTION— THE LOGIC OF IT.

Last night's meeting cannot on the wholo bo said to be altogether satisfactory, but the effort put forth to bring the advantage of Protection before the electorß here is a very welcome one. Unless the merits of Protection are brought prominently before the public by means of such an Association as it is contemplated to start, no other means will be of such service. Wo should liked to have seen a larger attendance, but though the meeting was Email it may lead to larger things. Wo have just read an extract from an article published m the " N<ew York Tnbuno " which wo think gives & yepy fair idea of why Protection should bo *cU>pjted. The writer is Emil Scholk and ho Bays inter alia : — Protection m every form, m its fullest meaning, applied to every sphere of life is the distinguishing feature of civilisation. Without protection society and civilisation cannot exist ; barbarism, savage life, the life of a brute, alone prevails. Protection is tho slow; working agency which gradually lifts men to higher plane* of civilisation. It reduces the dangers and chances m the strugglo for life. Society charges itself with guarding the individual against dangers and difficulties by which ho may bo beset. Jn tho natural stato each individual has to fight hunger and thirst, the inclemencies of climate and \wejbtber, and his mortal enemies beside, who are flyer plotting his destruc tion. It is by meansxjf protection that tho life of man differs from that of the animal ; for protection is the result of man's highest intellect, of his faculties of reflection and forethought, We build

houseß to protect ourselveß by day and right from the inclemencies of the weather. Wo make clothes to suit the season, now to shield us from the scorching rays of the sun, and then to protect us against the freezing wind of the north. We cultivate fields and orect storehouses ; we raise cattle and collect provisions to ward off starvation ; we create insurance companies against accident and fire ; we create life insurance to protect the brood should the wage earner die ; we create savings banks to prevent want m our old age, and thus through every phase of civilised life protection may be traced. Governments, laws, institutions, are but fco many arrangements for the protection! of the individual m his life, Umbs, possessions, and m his right to enjoy life and happiness. Civil laws dotine his rights, and courts protect him m them. Criminal laws are enacted to ■hield society from the efforts of the wicked ; police and courts are there to enforce the protection. Armies and navies serve no other purpose than to protect nations against other nations. But the protection which civilisation to-day accord 3 the individual goes far beyond that of life and limb and material possessions. Names, honour, thoughts, writings, inventions, business, even the name a man may choose to give his goods or merchandise, are protected. And among civilised nations some go still further and accord to individuals protection m their occupations, their means of earning a living, against the inroads made by individuals of other nations. These countries take to heart « Shylock's " words :— You take my house, when you do take the prop That doth Bustain my house ; you take my life, When you do take the means whereby I live. And just as this protection m thn means of earning a living is but a natural and logical consequence m the advance of civilisation, another link m the chain of protection which makes up civilised life, so is Freetrade the very reverse of protection and civilisation. It is a return to the methods of barbaric life. It is the fight of each agiinst all ; of individuals against the species, and of entire organised species against the individual. It means want of forethought and reflection m the individual, and m society as a whole. We hardly think the argument m the above can, m principle, be controverted.