As Others See Us.

Te Aroha News, Volume VII, Issue 380, 26 June 1889, Page 2

As Others See Us.

Prom an article which appeared in a recent issue oE the Sydney ISvenin* News, under the heading " A Glance at Maoriland," .the writer having jnst returned from a visit to New Zealand, we publish the following extracts :—: —

CHEAPNESS OP LIVING. The cost jE food is, on the whole, little more than half what it is iv Australia, and i'c is superior ia quality, beef and mutton especially. To those who are familiar with the too often dry and fibrous animal food sold in Sydney, it is a treat to try the tender, succulent beef and mutton of Maoriland, which has the reputation of being second to none in the world. It is a reproach to New South Wales, with her splend'd pastoral resources, that while she produces the best wool in the world, she also produces the worst b^ef and mutton. The New Zealand pioperfcy tax, however, is not an nnmiligated evil, for while on the one hand it haR the effect of driving capital out of the country and discouraging investment in industrial enterprise, on the other it makes house rent reasonable, steadies the money market, discourages wild speculations, and prevents the undue inflation of land and house property. As a consequence, land booms are unknown there. But a property tax in a protectionist couutry is

AS ANOMALY, for while heavy duties through the Custom House are designed to encourage manu* factures, the property-tux neutralises their intended effect by driving capital out o£ the country, and preventing the investment of it in those industrial enterprises whose existence is supposed to be only possible under the artifici il stimulus of a protective tariff. Hence, New Zealand presents to the world the anomaly of possessing a highly protective tariff which does not protect. But New Zealand has had to adopt its protective tariff, not from choioe, but from necessity. It had to raise reven ue somehow, and the inevitable custom house, with its restrictions upon commerce and the interchange of commodities, was the first resort. Of all countries in the world, New Zealand should suffer most by the adoption of a protectionist policy. With its vast powers of production, and its varied resources — its wool, flax, grain, minerals, meat, fruit, vegetables, etc., and its capacity to supply its own people with all the necessaries of life — it has the most to gain by facilitating the interchange of products with other countries ; and the most to lose by shutting out such products or manufactures of other countries as it may require. One cannot eat one's cake and have it, and no country can hope "to sell to other countries and buy nothing in return. Hence, if the high tariff of New Zealand has had any pi otective effect upon its industries, it has been bo small as to be imperceptible — chiefly 'for the reason stated — and has been more than counterbalanced by the injurious effect upon the natural development of the country's re-« sources.

"WHAT THE COUNTRY WANTS MOST is, of course, population and capital. If it can only attract population, capital will follow in due course, even in the face of the property-tax; but without an increase in the number of industiious frugal people, who will go oa the land and develop its riches, stagnation, if not actual retrogression, is certain . The country is, however, bo naturally rich, and the conditions of life are so favourable, that in addition, to the natural increase it is almost certain that Now Zealand will ere long attract streams of desirable immigrants Ifrom the mother country, and the probability is that when the tide begins to turn, as may reasonably be expected, the progress of Maoriland will 'be rapid, and its future prosperity assured. -

TE ABOHA — THE HOT SPRINGS. One of the established, favourite resorts in the North Island is the hot springs town, Te Aroha. For invalids this place has special attractions, and the town is crowded with visitors during the warm months of the year. As a health resort it is unequalled, its special value for those in, search of health being the fact that the region is not volcanic, and nervous ladies may enjoy their mineral baths and drink the waters without the subterranean rumblings and other evidences of volcanic activity that prevail in other hot spring districts . The town and springs are situatod at the foot of Te Aroha Mountain, and the place has direct railway cominuni" cation from Auckland, with which it is 115 miles distant. The springs and bathg > are under the management of a local board, There are in all about twenty springs, the waters manifesting an alkaline character,