FREETRADE AND PROTECTION IN AMERICA.

Feilding Star, Volume XVI, Issue 141, 11 December 1894, Page 2

FREETRADE AND PROTECTION IN AMERICA.

TO THE KDITOK OF THE STAR. Sir,— ln "Patriot's" first letter on this subject, which he prefaces by uncivil, if not impertinent, remarks respecting myself, and charges me with swallowing without thinking what ho calls the exploded creeds of the most profound political economists that have ever existed, promised, in a future letter, to prove that "the very fundamental principles laid down by them are absolutely overturned." He now, in his second letter, published by you on Saturday, professes to redeem that promise (it will be noticed, however, that he only attacks one of those fundamental principles) by asking whether there is a Freetrader bold enough to say that the fact of there having been during the last four years in New Zealand an excess of exports over imports, amounting to £10,000,000, is not a proof of the utter fallacy of the Freetrade doctrine " that the imports must balance with or slightly exceed the exports for the national trade to be healthy." Yes, Mr Editor, I answer there is such a Free* trader (and many of them) and lam one. On the contrary, I say, and all true Freetraders say, that an excess's of exports over imports is disastrous to a country, and contravenes another of " Patriot's " so-called exploded Free* trade doctrines, which holds that in order to restrict imports you must restrict exports and thus diminish foreign trade, upon which the prosperity of all countries depends. I may explain that an excess of exports over imports goes to pay the interest on money borrowed from foreign countries, and this completely shows the absurdity of " Patriot's " futile attempt to overthrow one of his so-called exploded creeds of the political economists. Let him now attack the others; but, perhaps, on Becond thoughts, as he evidently intended by his letter to attack them all seriatim and, as he sayß, epigrammati* caily there and then, he considered that his first and only exposition would sufficiently overwhelm us. " Patriot " apparently sneers at, if he does not discredit, my assertion that personal observation had convinced me (without reference to statistics) of the great improvement in the condition and comforts of the laboring classes in England during the past forty or fifty years, but the following statistics clearly prove not only the improved condition of the laboring classes under Freetrade, but the wonderful increase in the wealth and prosperity of the English nation beyond that of any other country. These statistics are collected and commented upon in " The History of the Freetrade Movement in England." The object of these statistics is to compare the state of England between the year 1840, one of the most prosperous years under the old Protective policy, and the year 1878, which was a year of oommercial depression. The statistics read : — Ist. Population — The increase of the population of the United Kingdom be* tween 1840 and 1878 was 7,372,000. In London alone the increase was 2,100,000 exceeding its total growth during the previous thousand years. 2ud. Trade— ln 1840 the foreign trade of the United Kingdom (exports and imports) amounted to £172,138,000, ox £6 9s ll^d per head of the population. In 1878 it amounted to £614,255,000 or £18 8s 6d per head. 3rd. Revenue— The public revenue for the year 1840 was £51,850,000, in 1878 it was £81,598,000 ; (it is now, 1894, over ninety millions) ; penny in the £ income tax yielded £801,000 in 1848, and £1,947,000 in 1878. 4th. Consumption per head — The consumption of articles, partly produced at Home, and partly imported, cannot be exactly ascertained, but the following table shows the consumption per head in 1840 and 1878 of the following articles :—

me immensely unproved condition or tbe working classes is clearly shown by this table, as the increase in the con* sumption of most of the above articles by the wealthy and middle classes would be insignificant as compared with that of the lower classes. sth. Savings Banks— The deposits in these banks, after deducting withdrawals, amounted in 1841 to £11,475,000, and in 1878 to £75,967,000, a distinct proof of the increased prosperity of the working classes since the advent of Freetrade. 6th. Pauperism —On lßt January, 1849, 201,644 adult able-bodied paupers in England and Wales, out of a population of 17,565,000, were receiving relief; in 1878 tbe number had deoreased to 97,927 out of a population of 24,854,000. 7th. Crime— ln 1840 the convictions for criminal offences of all kinds throughout the United Kingdom were •4,01 } with a population of 26,487,000, in lavti they were 17,088 with a population of 83,799,000, showing that during those thirty -eight years crime had diminished by one-half. Bth. Wealth—Mr B. Giffen, an cmi* nent statist, estimated the total capitalised value of the income of the people of the United Kingdom in 1876 at eight thousand five hundred million pounds, and in 1865 six thousand one hundred millions, showing that during the inter* vening ten years the national estate had increased at the rate of £240,000,000 per annum. It was calculated that the wealth of the country was in 1878 increasing at the average rate of at least £200,000,000. 9th. Commerce, Marine — The total tonnage of vessels discharging and ro« loading cargoes iv tho various ports of the United Kingdom in 1878 was 42,---900,000 of which 80,297,000 were British and 12,603,000 were foreign. I am, etc., SAML. GOODBEHEBE* Feilding, December 10th, 1894. .-

1840 1878 lbs lbs Tea 1*22 4*66 Sugar (raw) 15-20 48-56 Coffee 1-08 0-97 Rice 0-90 7*50 Currants and raisins ... 1*45 4*49 Tobacco 0-86 1-45 rni_ _ • i • . * •$•!_• -j»