LOCAL INDUSTRIES.

Evening Star, Volume VIII, Issue 2382, 19 November 1870, Page 2

LOCAL INDUSTRIES.

To the Editor of the Ever inn Star, f in—Under the heading of “Local Industries ” in the columns of your contemporary, a letter appeared a few days since, signed “Young Spiers,” on the subject of the depressed condition of the Colonial cabinet-making trade. Like all men who have not sufficiently thought out a_ subject, the writer deems it a terrible calamity that, in the interests of the cabinet trade, some considerable prohibitory duty is not imposed upon all imported cabinet articles—such a duty indeed as, whilst effectually shutting out'all Kuropcan or American goods, wou’d foster the efforts of local industry. To a mind trained to think, such a ’proposition, even after a superficial glance, must appear absurd ; but to a mind curiously constituted, as appears to be that, of “Toung fepieis, the logic of facts will bring home no convio tion. It were labor thrown away to seek to convince him of error; but there is a principle underlying the subject of which lie may be ignorant, but in which the public are deeply interested. In the first place, what is involved in “Young Spiers proposition, and what would, if it were adopted, be the "cneiai effect upon the people’ The duty imposed, we are Hold, should be of sqel} q character as would prevent local industry beiu" interfered with by foreign competition : or, in other words, that, with a view to protect the manufacturing power of the Colony, ’the importation of foreign goods should be effectually restrained. To say that in view of the consequences there is clap-trap in the proposition, is not sufficient ; I will therefore proceed to illustrate my meaning by & » few figures. There arc probably in the Pro. viuce fi() cabinet journeymen, whilst we will assume the total population to ho 50,000—0r one journeyman to every thousand persons, These 50 men arc modestly asking

that a duty of at least ten per cent, on the value of all imported goods be imposed, thus increasing by something more than the same per centage the ultimate prices to the consuming body. Now, assuming the present expenditure of the whole 50,000 persons to be at the rate of L 3 per head per annum for Colonial goods, we get a total annual outlay of USD,OOO. The increased outlay so modestly asked for, would simply represent an impoverishment of the people to the extent of L 15,000 per annum—and this is the b«on which these lifty cabinet artisans would confer upon the Province ! It will be probably answered that the amount here represented to be lost to til's people would be gained to the Province - that the increased amount expended in the first instance would bo recouped by the Government in the form of revenue. This, however, is a fallacy. High tariffs never can increase the revenue of a country. Foreign manufactures are brought into the Colonics, because after the cost of production, freight, and duty are taken into account, they are still able to compete with Colonial productions ; but to impose heavy duties for the sake of fostering local trade, is to close the Colonial market against all foreign commodities, and thus shut out all revenue from this source. This is, no doubt, firecisely what the fifty cabinetmakers would ike to bring about ; but whilst advocating such narrow and illiberal views, they must not expect much sympathy from the public. It is a revival of the old story of Protection and Free Trade- of the selfishness of the few who seek to benefit themselves at the cost of the many. No one can doubt of the ultimate triumph of free trade in the Colonics. Its principles are of universal application ; and if, as the journeymen cabinetmakers assert, they cannot compete with their brethren in Europe and America, 1 would advise them to turn their efforts into some other channel in which they may possibly hope to be more successful. Much as we would like to befriend them, we cannot submit to the additional burthens they would like to impose. I am, &c., Bai.cu. Dunedin, November 18.