The Feilding Star. Oroua & Kiwitea Counties Gazette. Published Daily. THURSDAY, JAN. 17, 1895.

Feilding Star, Volume XVI, Issue 170, 17 January 1895, Page 2

The Feilding Star. Oroua & Kiwitea Counties Gazette. Published Daily. THURSDAY, JAN. 17, 1895.

RECIPROCITY IN COMMERCE. Ii intercolonial trade reciprocity wero ' established the general benefits to each community would be enormous. For instance New South W*lea has I now. a prohibitive tariff (ignorant politicians call it protection) of twopence per pound on hams and bacon, ? efi«jp^-ofieese ; and oj»enßh»HJna;

and sixpence per hundred feet On white pine, while New Zealand shuts j out a staple product of Australia by a duty of five shillings per gallon on light wines. The latter may be perhaps called a luxury, but after all the same may be said of cheese, bacon, and butter. It has been foretold by one who has a knowledge of these things that New South Wales has had four or five years, during which climatic influences have been in favor of the dairy farmers, and it is only reasonable to expect that a period is near at hand during which the weather will not be so favorable. This opinion is based on practical experience and a thorough knowledge of the country. It may be expected therefore that within a measurable distance of time prices for dairy produce in New South Wales will be considerably advanced. It is true that with high prices the article can stand the tariff, but tbe t question is whether the great mass of j the people who are tbe consumers and ; therefore have to pay, will tamely submit to an impost which is entirely for the beoefit of the few. With Sydney an open port to New Zealand a country which is abundantly and perennially supplied with beautiful water, dairy farmers would have a convenient market for their produce while the consumers would have the advantage of low prices, and nobody be a bit the poorer. The introduction of Australian wines duty free into this colony and which could then be sold at prices within the reach of everybody who cares for them, would more than compensate for the loss of revenue by providing more work iv the vineyards, and employment for hundreds of persons who are now liv Ing in a state of enforced idleness. The retail price for wines in Sydney are : Claret ls and Is 6d, port wine Is 6d and 2s, muscat 2s, and hock ls 6d per bottle, while at the retail prices for the same in New Zealand people have to pay four or five times as much. It may be said with truth they are all wholesome, and practically non intoxicating. We havo now before us an invoice for a dozen bottles of Austra lian wine in Sydney which totals 1 9s aud the same could not be sold in New Zealand for less than 60a retail. In 1893 we imported wine in bulk from the United Kingdom 43,805 gallons value £14,321, from Victoria 5793 gallons value £2000, New South Wales and South Australia 639 gallons value £207. Bottled wine from United Kingdom 9071 gallons value £4752, Victoria 3284 gallons value £1418, New Soutb Wales 787 gallons value £359, South Australia 4 gallons value £1, in each instance the duty waa 6s per gallon. Of lighter wines with a duty of 5s per gallon, we imported from Victoria 18,015 gallons value £5333, New South Wales 1010 gallons value £574, South Australia 21,325 gallons value £6598. The whole duty collected by Now Zealand on these wines amounted to £13,779 7s 4d. The duty on New Zealand dairy produce collected by Victoria and New Soutb Wales may be roughly estimated at £5500, and beer at £322 lis. In return New Zealand sent to Victoria 4 gallons of bottled beer value £1. bulk beer 2915 gallons value £278, New South Wales 7072 gallons value £656. Butter sent to Victoria during the same period was 3291 cwt value £14,638. New South Wales 193 cwt value £750, Queensland 76 cwt value £322, South Australia 200 cwt value ,£1099, Western Australia 682 owt value £3322. Tasmania 412 cwt value £1828. The total butter exported for that year, including to the United Kingdom was 58,149 cwt value £254,645. Bacon, to Victoria 1 62 cwt value £485, Now South Wales 152 cwt value £544. Hams, to Vie toria2l cwt value £86, New South Wales 498 cwt value £2111, Queens land 50 cwt value £211. In round numbers then of these staple industries New Zealand exported to the sister colonies net value £26,331, and imported net value £16,490, showing that we have much the best of the bargain. We could therefore profitably dispence with the import duty on Australia's staple products and thereby induce New South Wales, which affords our beet market, to take off the duty now on butter, bacon, timber and other New Zealand produce. The advantages to the whole of the colonies by this reciprocity are almost impossible to estimate, while the loss to anyone of them would be actually not one farthing.