THE Evening Star. TUESDAY, OCTOBER 19, 1869.

Evening Star, Volume VII, Issue 2014, 19 October 1869, Page 2

THE Evening Star. TUESDAY, OCTOBER 19, 1869.

It is much to be regx-etted that impox*tant subjects like those suggested by the report of the Chamber of Commerce, ai’e usually so little interestixxg to the public that they are allowed to pass into oblivion. Many men are too busy to be able to give time to tlxeir considex-ation, many think that they are not interested in them ; some ima-

gine they cannot uixcferstand them, and therefore ■will not trouble themselves about them, and others are quite content to leave them in the hands of those who have undertaken to legislate for us. Thus what is x’eally interesting to all is left to be dealt with by the few, and very often arrangements are adopted to meet a temporary emergency that -are productive of most serious social results. Had the people of Is ew Zealand generally possessed even a remote idea of the consequences .of the Customs tariff as now settled, they would never have allowed it to pass. Unequal in its bearing upon different classes, it lays heavy burdens upon those who are least able to bear them. Its absurdity is manifest in the restrictions it places upon trade, tho barriers it presents to the development of industry, and the encourgement it gives to the manufacturers of other countries, instead of promoting manufactures suited to the the time and circumstances of our own. One of the most glaring mistakes that have been made is that of offering bonuses for the encouragement of industries not suited to our present stage of development. Two years ago the favorite project was the manufacture of sugar from beetroot. Some writer in a Melbourne paper conceived the idea that because it was found to answer in France, Belgium, and other countries of Europe, and because the process had been so simplified that beet-root sugar could be produced at moderate prices there, it would prove equally beneficial in these Colonies. But one grand element of success was wanting an equalisation of conditions. Connected with the manufacture of sugar from beet-root, other arrangements are needed to make it pi’ofitable. There are many other products of labor, to bo obtained at a cheap x’ate xxecessaxy to the success of the process before it "can become profitable, and even after all the sugar that can be obtained is extracted, the refuse must be advantageously disposed of or the expense would be too great. Evexx in Ireland, with every advantage of science, capital, and skilled labor, it has not been found to answer. In these, as ixx all other cases, the natural course of industry points out the best applicatioxx of labox’. In the northern part of the Austi’alasian colonies the sugar cane is found to grow to perfection, and those who understand the matter, know well the superiority of cane sugar to that of beet root. Next came the xxxaxxia for the manufacture of woollen cloth. It seexxxs very specious indeed to say that woollexx nxanufacture oxxght to pay, because xxow, wool has first to be sent home and woven into cloth,- and thexx to be sent back again here ; and by maxxufacturiug on the spot all these expcnces would be saved. The same mistake occurs in this x’easoning as in the other case, the conditions are not equal. Had New Zealand a population so dense as to compete for wages —were labor so mixxutely divided as to apportioxx certain mexnbers to specific processes —were machinery so much ixx demaxxd as to attract those to our shores capable of xnaking the most effective machines at the lowest possible price, axxd. lastly, were there markets waiting for our pi’oducts and depending upon us for supplies, investment of capital in that industry would ixot only be judicious bxit advisable. But at presexit xxoxxe of these conditioxxs are present. The Chamber of Commerce truly observe, “ there is xxo probability that, “ with the single exception of the “ Colonial tweeds, any textile fabrics “ will be profitably manufactured in “ this Coloxxy for many years to come.” But there is a manufacture for which the Colony is ripe, the development of which the px-esent tariff tends to hinder. The example of Yictox-ia was at tempted to be aped by the pi’esexxt Ministry in one of its xxxost objectionable features under the plea of retaliation, whexx it was sought to impose a bread tax, but in that shelving of the protective principle xxecessaxy to fostering of an industry that might be px-ofitably prosecuted, our legislators have beexx absurdly blind. When the MUulloch Ministry proposed the tariff of Victoria that was to do so much much for Colonial industxy, it was intended to impose a duty upon woollen cloths imported. But to this an unexpected obstacle appeared : Silently, axxd almost unobserved, a branch of nxaxxufacturc had growxx xqx, that proved too ixxxportaxxt to be tampered with and made the subject of experiiiieut. hoi’ many years, the Colony was sxxpplied with articles of clothingknownas “slops" —-ready-made clothes in such variety as to fit men and boys of all conscievable sizes and shapes. It became quite a tx’ade at Home to fixxd cast-off vestments, not too far worn., to clean thexxx and give thexxx a xxew face for the Colonial market. Maixy axxd xxxany a man in evexy Australasian colony has unconsciously encased himself in the outer adornmeixts of Lords apd Dukes. Anything would do fox' the Colonies. The Dewsbmy devil, with its tearing teeth and clanging xxoise, reduced clothing too far worn to shoddy, axxd with all

their dust and dirt knocked and washed out, their greasy stains removed, the soiled and well-worn garments of the English mechanic and artizau, re-wove, re-made, and burnished up, sometimes adorned the Victorian merchant or squatter. This did for a time ; but it was found, when people began to settle down and work, that it was cheaper and better to import woollens and make them up in the Colony than to import handsome-looking, good-for-nothing goods; and long before the mania for protection turned the brains oi legislature and people, capital to a large amount was invested in the manufacture of clothing, and hundreds of people depended upon it for a livelihood. Those made themselves heard, and it was Avisely decided to retain and encourage an industry that already existed, rather than adopt a protective policy in favor of one that might or might not take root amongst them. Woollen cloths are therefore admitted into Victoria on favorable terms, and that Colony now largely exports ready-made clothing to the other Australasian Colonies. In this respect the Ministry were wise in their day. The Chamber of Commerce point to a like policy when they say, “In all new countries “ the manufacture of clothing should “ naturally be one of the earliest de- “ veloped. In New Zealand, however, “ the severe duties levied upon piece “ goods discourage this branch of in- “ clustry. They have, in effect, afforded “an opening of no inconsiderable “ moment to the manufacture of the “ neighboring Colonies.” And again : “ It is absurd, therefore, to discourage tl an industry for which the time is “ ripe, and which would give employ- “ ment to many hundreds of persons “ already on the spot, in the vain hope “of inducing the establishment of “ manufactories involving expensive “ plants and necessitating the employ- “ ment of skilled labor.”