INDUSTRIAL PROTECTION LEAGUE.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1908, 2 August 1888, Page 2

INDUSTRIAL PROTECTION LEAGUE.

A meetiug called m connection with

ho formation of a branch of the lodus

trial Protection Lsagae was held at the Orange Hall last evening. There was a large attendance, and the Mayor was voted to the chair. The Chairman briefly opened the meeting, and Mr Bellhooae, tha Secretary of the Ohriatchuroh branch of the League, detailed the advantages which he contended would follow the adoption of a policy of jidloloua protection towards locU Industries. Referring to a correspondent of a local paper, who had aßked for o comparative table of the rates of wages paid to various tr»de3 m England and America twenty yeara ago, he said that that Information w.'.B not obtainable m the colony, but he had written to the Board of Trade m London and to the Governments of Canada and the United States. When he had obtained this information he would be happy to farnlah it t> the gentleman who had naked for It, and who h d promised that if it bore ont Mr Bellhoutse's aide of the case he would join the League. With regard to another contention of the correspondent he (Me BellhouBe) was willing to admit that Victoria waa not muoh ahead of New Zealand m the matter of the rate of wages paid, but it muat be remembered that tha Viotorlan working man waa fully employed, while the New Zealand mechanic was not on an average employed more than three or four days m the week. Mr Bellhoiue read a lengthy paper on the subject of Protection, by raeanß of which, be argued, we should find employment for our own people, and keep them m the colony, instead of findIng employment for the people of foreign countries and driving our population to protective colonies to there seek the means of livelihood. Protectionists

advocated the increase and extension of the agricultural and manufacturing industries, they advocated progress m manufacture, and a more minute, perfect, and ? extended system of cultivation m agriculture, and they wished to put those Industries on such a footing as to stimulate m every way possible the production and consumption of home manufactures and to dUoourage the introduction of the foreign article. Manufactories were the means of giving the farmer hia.beat and auras'; market. Protection secured an Increaae of production— or m other words en increase of wealth — and he was sure that only by means of It would thia colony take a premier position m Australasia. He asked if it was not a most unnatural thing that the young men of this oolony, which waa endowed by Nature with every advantage, should have to go to other lands to eeek that birthright this country should hive given them. j,The only means of remedying this state of things was, ha Yn»lntaln9d, by Protection for the encouragement of local Industrie?* There were certain tbiDga which must necessarily be imported, suoh as tea, sugar, salt, cotton goods, etc., which we could not make or produce ; the Protectionists did not wish to tax theae.' But motst thlnga we could produse or manufacture here, and when Nature haa plainly aald that we could do so he said that the State had a right to do all It could to aid Nature. After dilating on the advantage of a local market, Mr Bellhouse wont on to speak of the experience of Victoria m the matter of protection, that colony haviag, maialy m ooneeqaence of heir policy of encouraging looal industries, emerged from a state of pauperism and inc'plent bankruptcy, and was now the only really prosperous oolony m Aastralasia. Thousands of our beat mechanics and many of our youths educated here at oar own oost had flocked to Victoria to swell the ranka of her population and inoreaae her produolng and manufacturing powers, Mr Bellhouse then

proceeded to deal with the objections arged against a policy of Protection. The ohlef of thane was that one portion of the community was taxed for the benefit of another, bat the experience of America and other proteoted oounfcrles showed that aa a dlreot result of Protection, manufactured articles were enormously reduced In price and Improved m quality. Local competition, an enlarged trade, greater skill, and Improved applianoes, were all elemeats brought into exlatenoe by suoh a policy and better value was an infallible onseqnonce. Another objection was : If local manufactures are as cheap and good aa imported articles what necessity was there for protective duties ? The answer was that were It not for these duties, the markets of the colonies wonld be flooded with speculative consignments from foreign count'laa at the close of the'r

season s trade. They need not fear the competition of any legitiimta trading ; what endangered local manufactures were the purely speculative consignments, often tho verle3t rubbiah, which may have aocu-

raulated In the foreign markets and whioh

were shipped to tho colonial markets regardless of the loaa which may be incurred. A protective tariff waa the only barrier they could present to ouch a ruinous etate of things. None were more Interested m

the question of local industries than the

farmers and landownors. The former would have a looal market for their products, and the latter were affected by reason of (he standard value of land being involved. Mr Bellhouse spoke at length on the advantages to be derived from a protective policy, and oonoluded by expressing his willingness to answer any questions.

Ii regard to Mr Bellhonse'd remarks about the comparative rate of wages, Mr Peter Walker atated his reasons for asking

the queßtiou. He had hlmaalf ascertained the rateß, from the offers made by employers of labor, the fairest index they conld have. Twenty years a;»o, m Canada and the United States, the average rate of wages for enplne smiths was $ t a day ; now It was about $2, So much for the increase under Protection. In England, at the

time of the repeal of the Corn Laws, blacksmiths got 1?3 a. week ; 10 years ago

they got 343, or an Increase of nearly 300 per cent, and m spite of depression that rate was still maintained, In Victoria, when the engine sheds were opened about 20 years ago, locomotive blacksmiths got 183 and £l a day j now it had come down to 7a Qi a day.

A great many were asked. In reply to Mr P, Walker, Mr Bellbome stated that he was not aware that wagea were lower m Germany than m England.

Mr Keir said that he had, through the paper, naked Mr Ballhoase if Freetrade was theoretically right and practically wrong, and he had received an answer which he took to mean that It was so. He would ask how a thing oonld be theoretioaliy right and practically wrong.

Mr Bellhoaae maintained that Freetrade oonld not be put into practice. Freetrade was a misnomer ; even England did not practise it.

Mr Kelc aeked if Frjetrade would be correct if It wero nnlvowally carried out.

Mr Bellhouse said that was not his opinion.

Mr D. H. Brown asked who paid the Increased duty on an article. Mr Bellhouae Bald the foreign exporter, who had to pay tbe duly m order to be able to compote with the looally maaufao tured article, Mr Brown said that Mr Bellhonae had dwelt on the benefits of a looal market What would the population r< quire to be before lbey could consume all the wheat, mutton and wool raised here.

Mr Bellhoaae did not expect that they oould consame all tbat was raised, bat there was no question that a local unrkob waa the best for the faamera.

la reply to Me Brown m reference to Borne remarks tbat bad beoa made on the great development of Internal locomotion and carriage m Amerloa, Mr Bellbouee said that be was aware that foreign ocmpetltjou wib eutjvely sbyt out, Jn, answer

to another question of Mr Brown's, he maintained that apokea, Bhaffce, etc., for oartlages, were properly termed raw material when imported In the rough, because we had not the proper wood here, Mr Brown wished to know sis industries that could be started In Canterbury at the preaent time and tba L . could employ 600 people. Mr Bellhoaße said that he oonld not answer on the spur of the momenb, bat he undertook to supply Mr Brown with the Information he asked, Mr Ireland said that Mr Bellhouse Imputed the depression to their own fault. It was an established fact that waves of depression and prosperity overspread the civilised world, and how did Me Bellhonae arrive at his conclusion ? Mr Bellhooßa maintained that protectively countries did not feel the depression so keenly as freetrade ones. Tn reply to Mr Ireland, Mr Bellhoase said that he was uuable to state the relative positions of the working mm m Germany and England. Mrlrelaod said that he did not look on Freetrade as inducing prosperity, bnt he contended that it removed hindrances to the natural conrae of trade. Me W. B, Moaa seked how they were going to get their surplus productions to an outside market. They would have Bhut oat all exports. Where were they going to get the extra ships from, and who would pay the extra freights. Mr Bellhouae aa'.d they would have plenty of ships. Of course there were many things that oonld not be produced here and so there would be no lack of ships. Mr Mosa asked If Mr Ballhouse be lleved that Protection would encourage monopoly. Mr Bellhouse Bald that he did not. In reply to Mr R. Murray, Mr Ballhouse B»id that there were 250,003 paupers In New York, but they were paupers who had been sent over from England. Mr Leadley said that he had bought barbed wire and kerosene since the Imposition "of the new tariff, and had to pay more than had previously been the case. The amount of duties' alway3 had to come out of the pockets of the consumer. Me J. Orr asked if they had sufficient industries to employ all their population wonld the farmera get more for their wheat and dairy produce ? Mb Ballhcaae said they would. The Canadian farmera get 3 cents a bushel more for their grain In the Toronto market after the adoption there of a protective policy, Mr Brown denied that this was bo. .A great number of other questions were asked. Ultimately a motion was proposed by Mr BeUhouae--" That a branch of the Industrial Protection League be formed m Ashborton." Tbia'wasiseoonded by Mr Lnblow. Some dlscnsslon took place as to whether the motion was necessary, It being contended that those favorable to the formation of a League should remain after the meeelnq; had been ooncludad. The seconder refused to assent to the motion being withdrawn, and It had acoordlngly to go to the vote. Mr D. H. Brown desired to move an amendment— " That while it may be desirable to start other local industries, m the opinion of this meeting, the proper way to do so is by subsidies annually decreasing til) extinct." The Chairman could not consider this as an amendment, bat would take it as a separate motion. Mr W. B. Mosb opposed the motion. Protection encouraged nnnoply and its outcome must be monoply. It was the moßt selfish of ae'fish policies. If-Proteo tlon waß good for a country it muat also be for a locality, and an Ashbarton man should not be allowad to purchase goods m Ohrlatoharch unless he paid duty at the railway station when he oame back ; that wrn d be carrying Protection to Its logical outcome. .

Mr Lsadley thought thty had as much Protection as they wanted m the Bhape of the 13,000 mllea of water which aeparated them from the old country. Protection would not raise the price of farmera 1 produce ; so long as a bushel of wheat, or a pound of mutton or wool remained for export, ao long would the price be determined by that ruling m the Home market. Protection, he said, was a hideous abortion, the joint Issue of ignorance and selQahneßS.

Mr Kelr denied that America's prosperity was due to Protection, for out o e : ghteen million producers only hali a million were engaged la proteoted pursuits. -

Mr Brown quoted statistics to show-that poverty and orime had diminished to an enormous extent m Great Britain since the repeal of the Corn Laws, and the working man's purchasing power had m creaaed more than four-fold.

Mr R. Alcorn thought they had quite enough protection at the present time. If 'the present duties failed to encourage Industries they wera not worth encouraging. He ridiculed the Idea that the increase duties were paid by the wholesale merchant and the retailer ; it was needless to say that the money m every case bad to come out of the pooket of the consumer. Mr P. Walker said the working man got no benefit from Protection; the Manufacturer grew rioh at the expense of the rest of the oommunity. Mr W. J. Silcock snpported the motion because he believed a polioy of Protection wonld be good for the uolony. Mr Murray and Mr Buohanan having spoken, the motion was pat to the meeting, the result being that only seven voted for, and an overwhelming majority against.

The motion was lost. Votes of thanks to Mr Bellhonae and the obair concluded the meeting.