Manawatu Standard (PUBLISHED DAILY.) The Oldest Daily Newspaper on the West Coast. MONDAY, MAY 19, 1884. THE "COMMERCIAL DEPRESSION."

Manawatu Standard, Volume IV, Issue 146, 19 May 1884, Page 2

Manawatu Standard (PUBLISHED DAILY. ) The Oldest Daily Newspaper on the West Coast. MONDAY, MAY 19, 1884. THE "COMMERCIAL DEPRESSION."

The following is the concluding portion of a very able letter on Major Atkinson's Speech, which appears m the Hawera Star :-— The Major tells us that there is uo real depression, but only a commercial j depression; that he admits to be serious. Well, what other kind of depression could exist ? The those commercial class includes all who produce or deal m products. What other class is there ? Only one other — the capitalists. The Major is right ; there is only a commercial depression. There is no depression m the business of the capitalist : for when times were good for commerce the capitalist got only 6 per cent. for his money, whereas now he gets 9 per cent) And who has to find the 50 per cent., increase on the borrowed capital,which amounts to something like i? 30,000,000 ? Of course it is the class that borrow, which includes nearly all the producers. Is thi

not reasonable grounds for depression ? It may be said, "It is easy to pull down, but difficult to build up ; what better can we do than keep the present Government m office p 1 " This subject has as many sides as a prism; ail the more reason why they should be faced ; and then the Major has told us to make up our minds. Some would have the tide of progress turned back, and New Zealand converted into another Arcadi. For my part. I prefer the "leap of the torrent to the stagnation of the swamp." If the country is worth living m, it will bear the strain of progress and competition borne by other countries engaged m the same keen struggle for existence. That kind of population must be increased which is capable of adding to the production of the country. We buy and sell m the markets of the world. We can have no other prospects of prosperity than by increasing our production and trading facilities to an equal with the countries with which we compete. If we cannot sell our products at a profit under the general strain of competition, there is no amount ot retrenchment of frugality that will help us. If we push our frugality to the extreme, that requires the standard of living m this country to be brought below par, then we prohibit the introduction of the most valuable class of population, and reduce the producing class that we have. Without further population we cannot hope to come into more intimate communication with the markets of the world m which products are disposed of at the best prices, and capital procured at the lowest rates. So if we continue as we are, the masses of the population will still be the puppets of land rings and monetary associations, without the advantage of a fair field and no favour. We cannot expect to have special advantageous conditions m New Zealand that are not enjoyed by other countries. To lock up the country m conservative bonds m the belief that the good things m it will be much to each, while the population is small, would \>2 to assert that we are capable of creating property independently of the great commercial interests with which we are surrounded, and of which we are a mere atom. Is it possible that anyone can believe that this country under present conditions can develop independently, and ultimately arrive at a state similar to that m which Pizarro found Peru before the Conquest? And yet those who oppose progress and population, and support retrenchment and frugality,can mean nothing less. The " pressure of pupulation on the limits of subsistence" is felt m a sparse as well as m a dense pupulation ; but m the sparse population the pressure is felt by nearly all, whilst m the dense population it is only felt by some. There are surely better ways of getting out of the mud than by going to rest m it till it dries up. — Yours, &c, — Ex.