The Evening Star WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 2, 1876.

Evening Star, Issue 4191, 2 August 1876, Page 2

The Evening Star WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 2, 1876.

Tbs letter published in our columns descriptive of San Francisco is suggestive of what may and will be the result of opening up a trading connection with nations bordering

the Pacific Ocean. We do not suppose there ever was an international trade established through a far-sighted calculation of the exchangeable commodities produced by each. Many circumstances must combine to render trade profitable thatycannot be .arranged at a single effort. Ttad« is difficult to iiitjbrt from chanhets ; in which it Las rmi for a length of time. New business i>>layions have- to be formed, competition eio countered, and very' frequently some loss oustamed before a favorable result can ■ e attained. The first inducement to form a business connection with Pan Francisco has been postal accommodation. To the complete success of this, other branches, almost W se T»rablei from it, .must ,bo.. 3^,a specific route Affords facilities for rapid and economical transmission of'correspondence, it is fair te presume that it also gives the fairest of passenger traffic. .The earliest effortsto secure Zeala id were directed to the route by Panama That but very limited benefits could bate been dented from continuation of that route was demonstrated by our hhbrt experience of its working, while the more that is known of the capabilities for traffic with San Francisco the more likelihood there is of a profitable trade being established. The question naturally arises; what can we trade in? From the first settlement of New Zealand until now, almost exclusive attention has been given to the production of raw material. Wool and com and gold have been our staples; and, naturally enough, the old established,. markets for. these commodities have been those to which ovfa producers have looked for disposal of their goods. There are advantages in this arrangement, hut there are also heavy drawbacks. Certainty of sale and first-class business security are attained, but for these heavy has to be given, beside being subjected to fluctuations of price arising from the monetary derangements and political complications of the European nations. ‘ Many of these, expenses might be avoided were there. wider markets for our produce, but to secure these additional mercantile and manufacturing capital is required and a knowledge of the claas of commodities likely to find ready and profitable sale in the markets sought to be opened up. It is evident from the observations of our correspondent that there are two leading industries that ifould find ample employment in the Sail Francisco trade. Coal of good quality will command a ready market, and cornsacks, if supplied at a price, are in increasing demand. There may bo other commodities discovered as trade develops itself, but those two are pretty well for a start. In all probability wool may be added, although our belief is that, with a good supply of labor, New Zealand possesses the means within itself of competing with the world in the better qualities of woollen manufacture, and eventually probably with every description of it. If wages are higher there are many compensations : the raw material is at hpnd of very first-class quality, there is abundance of coal, and the first cost of a woollen mill is not so great as that of the enormous factories of the Old Country j while the perfection to which machinery is now brought tends very materially to equalise the cost of labor in production. Against these must be set the disadvantage of not having similar organisation for distribution. This WC'uld have to be created, but would soon come Into existence were the necessity for it recognised. Had New Zealand been a woolmanufacturing as well as a wool-growlng country the present depressed state efth« market at Home would have had comparatively but little effect; But manufacturing enterprise has not yet developed itself among us to any great extent. Many times the idea has been presented to the community that New Zealand Flax might be utilised in the coarser manufacture of sacking. Our Flax has not found favor at Home, for it is found! inferior tie many other fibres for articles for which it was imagined it would be specially adapted. Very possibly this may be because of the machinery in use having* been adapted to certain classes of fibre with which the market is abundantly and regularly supplied. But from w atever cause, production of it has languished; and many of the mills that were worked a few years back are closed. New Zealand still continues to import its own sadks and wool baling, apparently nqt even utilising its fibrous plants for the supply of its own wants. This seems the more strange, as the freight and charges on goods of coarse and inferior description must necessarily form a heavy premium on manufacturing here. Possibly the drawback may have been the limited market, added to the absence of manufacturing skill and disinclination to invest capital in untried enterprises. Our correspondent has shown that this need be no barrier, California affords practically a market for all that New Zealand could manufacture ; and so far as competition is concerned the advantage, as compared with Great Britain, is in our favor in time and facility of communication. No doubt to the few items mentioned many others might be added which would tend to open up a profitable trade. Otago can send ale and beer equal to any that can be produced. At present the American tariff is antagonistic to extended trade ; but that is common to all other countries outside of the United States, and although in experimental shipments mercantile charges were found to interfere with profits, these are capable of modifica-tion,-and would be modified were it found to the interest of consignees to facilitate exchange. The subject is worth the attention of the Chamber of Commerce.