The Feilding Star. SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 1885 Reciprocity of Trade

Feilding Star, Volume VI, Issue 109, 28 February 1885, Page 2

The Feilding Star. SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 1885 Reciprocity of Trade

At the last quarterly meeting of tho Dunedin Chamber of Commerce, Mr R. Gillies moved the following resolution, which was, after some discussion, adopted by the Chamber : " That the Government of New Zealand be respectfully urged to take such steps as they may doem necessary for extending to this Colony the provisional agreement entered into between tho representatives of Victoria and Tasmania for establishing a reciprocity of trade between those Colonies by which natural products and articles of purely Colonial manufacture Vo admitted into either Colony f ree f rom customs duties." In speaking to the resolution the mover said he found that the Victorian Press endorsed the action taken with regard to the treaty with Tasmania, and further expressed the opinion that that was only the beginning of a reciprocity which was to bo extended to all the other Colonies in these seas, where it seemed there is a spirit abroad that was tending to link tho Colonies to one another, to make us forget petty interests, to cause us to rise with the occasion, and to be part and parcel of one great nation. Ho had looked into tlie statistics pretty carefully, and th.€-5 r proved tkat it -woidd be to tho advantage of both Colonies to have a reciprocity treaty -with New Zealand. The ; Dunedin Star does not agree in thinking Victoria " will consent to a reciprocity of trade in natural products with New Zealand. At present the duty on oats — we tako this article as being a product in wliich, with a free tariff, Victoria could never compete with this Colony — is 2s the cental, i.e., five bushels ; an impost wliich almost prohibits importation, as it is, indeed, intended to do ; and amounts, practically, to a very large bonus to cultivators. By recent statistics, talcing the average yield of oats at twenty-six | bushels per acre, the duty is equal to | a bonus of 21s per acre. Since the Victorian agriculturist has to pay through the nose for the enjoyment of the blessings of Protection, it is hardly to be expected that he will give up the little bit of even questionable advantage which thus comes in his way. This enormous bonus, giving such adventitious encouragement to the growth of oats, has not been found to bring the supply anything like up to the demand, and affords an apt illustration of the absurdity of the endoavor to overcome natural circumstances by empirical legislation." For ourselves we hope that the question will be fairly discussed on its merits in the Houses of Parliament of Victoria and New Zealand, and the proposed reciprocity be accepted.