FREETRADER AND LOCAL PROTECTIONISTS.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1904, 28 July 1888, Page 2

FREETRADER AND LOCAL PROTECTIONISTS.

TO THE EDITOR,

Sib, — In your last night's issue appears another letter from Mr David Bellhouae, and by which he shows that he inteuds to ignore the questions at iasue altogether. Ho has taken a vast amount of trouble and nearly a column of your apace for the purpose of showing thai the wotkiug men m America are batter off than the same class m England. Now, Sir, I ask Me Bsllhotne m all seriousness if he ever heard a single Individual deny that such was the faot. I have no doubt, however, that Mr Bellhouse wants to infer that the cause of this is Proteotion. But he does not say so, neither do his figures show it m the least. Sir, I ask Protectionists, for the third or fourth time, will they show us what was the rate of wages and the cost of the neceaairles of life twenty yeard ago, both m England and America, and compare them with his present tables, and then we will see wbloh has advanced and which has gone back. I defy Mr Bellhouae to prove the true position In any other manner. I also again ask Protectionists, Why will they not take ourselves into consideration } Why not get a table of the wages rate to show the miserable condition of the working class of New Zealand for the last twenty yearß as compared with Victoria ? To these two questions I invite a reply. A word or two on another subjeob and lam done. Mr David Bellhouse objects to any correspondence under a norn de plume ; so also does Mr David Thomaß, who some time ago was going to smash me up, but whether he wrote the letter to frighten me, or Blmply to tell people that ho was very busy considering the dull times, I don't know ; but itiseems he had thought better about it. However, I aßk the two Pavlds this simple question ; Can they point oqt a single newspaper printed io the English language that does not uphold the priDoiple of anonymous correspondence. But perhaps the two Davlda consider themselves higher authorities on that matter than the London "Times." I also ask them do thoy or do they not uphold the vote by ballot ; it is also a part of the samja principle. I suppose, Sir, they thought I waa aon,e wholesale importer whom they wanted to hold up before the working classes as a sample of who were the Freetraders, but I can assure them that my whole fifteen 'years m the colony have been spent m local production^, and I would bo well pleased to continue the same for the next fifteen under the old Tariff, It is to my interest to uphold local Rjannfaotgres as mnoh as any who advocate Protection, bub I will never be guilty— although a Freetrader— of advocating m public the purchasing of local made articles, and then collaring the first farmer I meet to try and get him to buy an imported maohine.

Now, if Mr David Thomas thinka that by the few letters I sent you that I have ridden my hobby to death, I will now Invite him-— if he can yet spare the time —to discuaa this question with me, and he will find there la a good deal of running left m the old horse yet, and that I am quite prepared to negotiate any fence thai he will o>ar, and if 1 do come dow.n a> oropper I will then apologfga 1 jke a gentleman, §nd at opce send In my eubeoriptlon to the 4l?hburton branch of the |*roteotloh League wheii it is Btjjrte^.' " Yours, etp'j. Alias Frbetkadb. Aahbutton, July 28th, 1888,