The Farmers and Free Trade.

Manawatu Herald, Volume III, 16 March 1891, Page 2

The Farmers and Free Trade.

♦ It is astonishing says the Hawera Star, how frequently one is met with the assertion that Freetrade is not a question of practical politics in New Zealand. We Venture to say that if the farmers and producers of this colony can oriCe be nlade 1 to realise the amount of taxation which they have to bear under the present protection system, they will not be long before they follow the example of the farmers in the United States^and make up a free trade party of their own. For instance (excluding gold and specie) there were imported into New Zealand in 1890 imports to the value of :nearly £6,090,000. The Customs duties amounted to £1,500, 000, so that the Government added a tax of 25 per cent to th§ cost of all goods, equal probably, to 33 per cent, on all dutiable goods sent to New Zealand in exchange for— what ? In return in the first place, for the following farm products sent

So that, in effect, before' the exporting farmers were allowed to receive their six millions of imports in return for farm produce sent, away the New Zealand Government required them to pay £1,500,000 towards the cost of Government. It is true that all those who assist in this production whethei as farm laborers, merchants, agents, bankers, carriers, threshing machine and mill owners, road men and railway men, have to goods between jjaUffl^^^BJ^B ia^ Customs dnti^fOp^^^^O^^ipon i that trade; -i'f^z 7 0^^:3,5 _„ If New Zea|tnd fa^^^opld learn to band4heinselveß4d|fether as the Granges and Farmed'; j^lliance Clubs have done in the United States depend upon it there would be very little disputing about whioli party in New Zealand best deserved ~\he title of Liberal ; and New Zealand farmers would be found as ready to to fight against trusts and combinations, against tariffs favouring the large towns at the expense 'of "the country, and to^elect representatives determined to see. that the producer who creates trade shall not pay. more than his fair share of the taxes. New Zealand politicians make a great fuss about 'the £350,000 of pro* perty tax. but mighty little is said about the four times larger tax levied through the Customs on every man irrespective^aflMs/^a^ns, and increasing in proportion- to his necessities. Thus the wages earner with a wife and large family pays probably four times as much Customs duty as a younger working man earning equal or greater wages, but without the calls of a family on his earnings. These ideas are scouted by. Mr Ballance and his friends, who say that they are outside the region of practi* cal politics. We depricate protection because it hampers the free interchange of surplus tea from Indian tea growers, surplus sugar from Mauritius and surplus oranges from Sydney for our New Zealand surplus of meat, wool and grain. Experience has shown that it is futile for any nation which sends away surplus goods, to attempt to shut out foreign articles. Even if gold coin alone could come in, in exchange, that gold, if it is not required for every day use, must either be sent away in exchange for goods from other countries ; or, if it be retained will disturb internal trade by raising prices : g>ld being plentiful a producer in that country '"will receive more gold for his produce .tnaji before. But the gold he has received when he goes into the market will not buy or exchange for any more goods than before the rise. (Freetraders maintain that if all the gold and silver in the world were thrown into the sea, trade would still go on much as before. The producers furnish the material for trade and it is surely to their interest that trade shall be as little hampered by special taxes as possible. The United State* farmers have learnt this lesson — some day New Zealand farmers will also learn it ; when that day conies the extreme protectionists, of whom Mr Ballance is the leader, will have a rough time.

away : — 1890. Wool .. .. .. £4,150,599 Grain .. .. .. 958,878 Flour, oatmeal, &c. . . 180,816 Tallow M2,45l Meats, frozen and preserved 1,174,372 Live stock 40,879 Butter and cheese > , 207,687 Babbit and sheep skins . . 284,670 Total .. ..