FREE TRADE AND PROTECTION.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 12, 15 April 1871, Page 2

FREE TRADE AND PROTECTION.

The recent elections in Victoria and the debates now taking place in the Parliament of New South Wales indicate a "rowing feeling in favor of protection in Australia. The conflicting arguments of the free traders and protectionists show the folly of those who claim political economy as a fixed science from whose laws every deviation is a loss and a mistake. Perhaps nowhere and by no man was this ever so arrogantly laid down as by the Hon. J. C. Kichmond in his electioneering campaign in Wellington. In his speech in the Odd Fellows' Hall he ridiculed the protection policy of Mr Vogel as a violation of certain principles which in his mind were as fixed and unalterable as' those of geometry only to, be explained by the fact that " he "had never read a work on political economy." To attempt by a little protection to foster native industry was in his eyes to attempt the impossible. By putting a duty on imported articles capable of berwg produced here, and so encouraging their manufacture until they could do without protection, seemed to him as absurd a proposition as that the three angles of every triangle are not equal to two right angles. It is true that when we brought to his recollection that he himself had brought in by far the most protective measure in our statute book —The Distillation Act—and by the protection he had himself given to colonial beer had fostered a great industry to the loss of much revenue. He attempted an explanation ; but so far as we could understand it (and it was not easy to do so),

it only amountedto this, that he succumbed to his colleagues in the House, and that on this, as on many other questions, he thought it was more important for the country that he should remain in office than that measures he approved should be only passed. He was " prepared to face separation;" as he had formerly stated in the House, so we were then left to infer that he was prepared to face protection " rather than ' see the country plunge into anarchy ;'" or, in other words, rather than see Vogel Commissioner of Customs, vice Richmond, resigned. His dogmatising i-n the face of facts of his own creating we exposed sufficiently at the time, and we only refer to it here as an illustration of the untenability of the arguments of free traders based upon suoh " unalterable principles " as these, that " free trade, if it is bad in an old country, is bad in the colonies," that difference of latitude cannot make that right which is wrong ; that political economy is a science the first principle of which is free trade—a principle eternally and everywhere true, and that to legislate upon sound principles is to pass laws admitting foreign produce and manufactures to compete with our own. The Commissioner of Customs in Victoria has lately issued a summary of the import, export, transshipment, and shipping returns for the year 1870, from which much useful instruction may be gathered. The .exports for the year 1869 were £11,895,950 ; do 1870. £11,156,806 ; decrease, £739,144. Of this decrease £471,978 is to be set down to gold, .and £105,979 to gold specie, leaving only £161,187 chargeable to all other articles of export. This is attributable very likely to re-exports, the returns not distinguishing, for instance, the gold and wool fro'm New Zealand or elsewhere. The imports in 1869 amounted to £13,908,990, and in 1870 to only £12,455,757. The decrease (£1,453,233) is scattered over an immense number of articles. We shall instance a few which will show a very satisfactory reason for the difference, viz., that those articles are being either produced or grown in the colony:— r 1869. 1870. Apparel and Slops ... £335,642 £272,943 Bottled Beer 213,774 179,919

Boots and Shoes ... 407,273 303,437 Woollen piece Goods .. 1,035,485 736,856 Should any doubt the inference that we have drawn that Colonial manufacture of these articles has reduced their imports, we shall put down a few articles for which Victoria cannot yet provide native substitutes :

safely infer that the diminution in the articles enumerated above represents an actual gain to the colony. But this will appear still clearer when we compare the imports of breadstuff's and farm produce for the same years. . 1869. 1870.

To sum up. After providing for an increase of abofit 27,000 in the population, there has been a sum saved to Victoria in 1870, as compared with the outlay for breadstuffs and feeding grains in 1869, of £525,752. It may be instructive to note the articles which have yielded an increase of revenue in 1870. These are malt, oil, opium, gin, rum, whisky, cordials, salted provisions, soaps, starch, carriages, glass, millinery, and the articles which pay 5 per cent,, and constitute the raw materials of some manufactures. Both the increase and the decrease bear testimony to the advantage Victoria has gained by protection, and we can now understand how any alteration in the tariff will be made in that direction. Sir James M'Culloch seems to have shown too little earnestness on this question, and it is just possible that he will soon have to hand over the reins of Government to a more decidedly protection Ministry.

1869.. 1870. Drapery ... >••• £141,587 £141,443 Brandy 225,747- 259,407 Sugar 689,324 666,016 Tea 500,140 496,623 We may from thes* 3 figures therefore

Bran ... ... £16,260 £736 Flour ... • 71,221 2,418 Barley... 36,898 25,604 „ pearl Maize 4,803 4,923 ... 241,879 81,733 Oats ... ... 139,584 100,531 Wheat ... 162,476 22,542 Potatoes 20,318 4,983 Butter 68,070 30,554