The Oamaru Mail WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THE NEW ZEALAND AGRICULTURIST. FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 1879.

Oamaru Mail, Volume IV, Issue 1060, 12 September 1879, Page 2

The Oamaru Mail WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THE NEW ZEALAND AGRICULTURIST. FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 1879.

A J{ov«iMK.vr of some significance Iva.* ; recently been made in Christchnrch, | which deserves more than a passing | notice. We allnde to the League on | AsS'-'ciatEnn for the encouragement of \ Enc*l indctstriesand manufactures. It has jtta officers, its rules and regulations, its I programme or manifesto, and lias ex-1 ; plained itself in a pamphlet of consider- J j able length- To those who carefully scan i the political horizon, and are on the watch I f«r the signs of the times, such a inove- • merit was inevitable, anil such an association is the mere aggregation of the i numerous atoms which were plainly vUiWe in a® many fjtmtersf. The objects of this ; Association are to be accomplished, so i say the ruled, by " every means in their pnwer." That, of cottrae, »# large statement, and would include means good or bad, defensible or indefensible. We presume it is the latter only they propose t,» employ, and we notice that one such means has been employed to influence thur various candidates for Chrisichurcli. We notice, too, that at least t wo of tin; four candidates declared themselves to be thoroughly with the Association, while Mr. Stevens made nitty some small concession,and Kir G.Grey appear* to fiavespokeii over titer head- 4 , t>>r tltcy, at lir.ist, profess not to have understood him. We ours-.lvcs, whilst no more able than so many others to see through a brick wall, are surprised that men of common sense and men possessed of ordinary business knowledge, should have had any difficulty in mastering the answers' of Sir George, cither at the private interview or the public meeting. The latter we have read over again with great care. It is, of course, the language of a gentlemau, a scholar, and a statesman. Ue spoke as he thought, and, perhaps, had he been les3 elaborate, would have been more easily understood. The Association should, however, accept the compliment so delicately offered them.

They were not as other men are. He felt under no obligation in speaking to the founders of such an Association to condescend to commonplace language, and their resentment is " the uakindest cut of :d!."' Hut what was it that puzzled the brains of these unsophisticated souls so deplorably •' The report i 3 before us, and we really fail to see anything in the least inexplicable or bewildering such a full and frank explanation a3 Sir George Grey vouchsafed to the question inspired i»v thn Association. He explained the :-i; it.iti«.!i clearly and elaborately. We are at once accessible and inaccessible, he said—accessible to each other by means of our railways and rivers, and surrounded as we are by the ocean's great hi'jit way ; we arc inaccessible to foreign nations by reason of our great distance from them. In judging of the adaptability of New Zealand to become conspicuously a manufacturing country, such considerations are surely of the utmost importance. He said, further, that in his opinion every effort should be made to develop our manufacturing industries, while at the same time we should be carefid not to fetter our commerce unnecessarily. "What more did the Association want I Did they extract anything moreexplicit or more decidedly favorable to the objects of the Association from cither of the other candidates? \\ c think not, and wish the Association had taken greater pains to penetrate Sir George Grey's meaning, and had resolutely refused to be beguiled by their own party feeling, or misguided by their political prejudices. A careful examination of the programme of this Association 13 much less satisfactory than the much-maligned explanations of Sir George Grey. What do they propose ? What do they mean by " every means ?" Do they go all the length of " protection " as understood in these Colonies, or are they freetraders ? Promotion of local industries ! Who does not desire to promote local industries 1 The question really resolves it3elf into the " means " of doing S o. The freetrader tells us free trade is the infallible means. And have we not got free trade? If they are freetraders what more do they want? If it t3 protection they mean, why not say so explicitly ? This aspect of the question i 3 one we shall be glad to discuss. Tn England there arc abundant evidences of nneasines3 in many influential quarters as to the results of their freetrade policy. In Germany a very decided movement has been made in the direction . f protection. In our -own Colony the theory has many advocates, many of them men of large experience in public affairs, and the disposition to revert to a protectionist policy appears to be spreading ; very rapidly. In Canada, with the example of America bef-rc their eves, protection is inevitable, and in the neighboring Colonies the protection party is a larsro and influential one. If it is this tin; Christchurch Association means why not declare themselves boldly and frankly. For ourselves, we shall at least : irive them a fair hearing. We arc prepared to consider the matter fairly and impart tally. V>e have long since recognised the principle that Political Economy is not an exact science. Ac the best it is but tentative and experimental. We arc in the midst of ever-changing conditions, and it is not by a blind idolatry of am" abstract theories, however sound they may have appeared at the time, or however well adapted to the conditions of society at the time, tiiat the progress of any ottntry, under conditions altogether different or perhaps nkegethor reversed, can be conserved. Yoiintr communities .should iranie-stlv cultivate the unspeakable blessing of self-reliance. must think for ourselves rather than blindly worship the imposing theories elaborated in a condition of things which have no parallel in these Colonics. We shall, therefore, be prepared to deal with this movement on its merits. It is the welfare of the nation we have at heart, and if it can be shown that ottrdroopirg commerce and industries can be revived by any fiscal changes which will not inflict cither loss or injur}' upon any class, we shall gladly welcome them. There is indeed much need of improvement, room enough for accelerated progress, and, according to Lord Jiacon, if the old way 3 do not suffice, we should try to discover " the belter way." We have no reverence for any shibboleth whatever. Authorities, however venerable, do not overwhelm us, and theories, however imposing, are losing their charms, prefer the good old Roman maxim to the watchwords of any old world pari ies whatever, " The welfare of the people is the supreme law."