OVERDONE PROTECTION.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 837, 8 June 1910, Page 4

OVERDONE PROTECTION.

Some very curious things were said at a meeting between the Hon. J. A. Millar and some leading Dunedin engineers and -ironfounders on Tuesday. The Minister was asked to put an end -to the free entry of certain parts of dredge-mining machinery and to establish the principle that every State railway contract for . material should carry, a stipulation , that' anything-that could be manufactured in the ( Dominion should be so manufactured. One memb'er of the deputation complained that "Home firms had travellers' going -through the Country taking orders,'-' and that "it was unfair that wealthy Home, firms should be placed at an advantage and make money out of the country and spend it at Home." This strange tangle of fallacies was not straightened out and exposed by Mr. Millar. On-the contrary, he showed himself to be in full Sympathy with them. "The intention ho said, referring to the general imports of machinery-, "to keep as much work as .possible in the country for the people." As to the letting of contracts for railway material, "instructions had been given to the Department that- nothing should be' sent for out of the country that could bo made in it." Most people will agree that other things being equal this is a proper thing to do. But the question of price has to be considered. Apparently, Mr. Millar thinks it is better to pay £l .for the colonial article than to pay 10s. for an equally, good imported article. He has indeed laid down this doctrine in respect of coal'for the ■ railways. It is unnecessary to show that such a policy is not only a bad policy from the point of view •of railways finance; nor ought it to be necessary to point out that it is a bad policy from the wider view of national economy. We only note the matter as an extreme example of the lengths to which some of those who want to support local industries will go. To . say that the best policy is "t.o keep as much work in the country as possible," ignoring altogether the class of work and tho cost' of production is .nonsensical. What statesmanship should aim at is to make the product of labour as great as possible, which is another thing altogether. For example, by tlie expenditure of an enormous sum of money and labour, we might grow enough tea to supply our wants. The thing is not impossible. It would provide no end of work for the people. But it pays to do other .work—to grow wheat and wool—with tho proceeds of which we .can get tea and a hundred other tilings cheaper than we can grow them.