Intercolonial Reciprocity.

Te Aroha News, Volume VII, Issue 428, 14 December 1889, Page 3

Intercolonial Reciprocity.

In our correspondence columns a letter appears criticising: our remarks last month on . the question of intercolonial reciprocity as regards Customs duties. It is true. that we referred to intercolonial free trade as though that would be the practical outcome of intercolonial reciprocity, because we hold that true commercial reciprocity between two countries must practically amount to free trade between them. To our mind it would be found impossible to do any good by bargaining about this or that commodity, and setting a concession, let us say, about some Victorian article against a concession from the sister colony with regard co something which we produce. By this means things that it most concerns us to have admitted into Victoria duty-free would very likely be the lasb upon which Victoria would grant any concession. In euch negotiations the value to us of any concession we might gain would always depend upon how badly the other side wanted some Victorian production admitted here duty free. Now, with regard to Australia generally, there is really very little which they can export toNew Zealand which it would do us any good, even from a protectionist point of view, to keep out ; whereas we produce in abundance commodities for which, were it not for protective tariffs, there would be a good market in Australia. Supposing we told Victoria that she might land wheat and oats in New Zealand free of duty on condition that she admitted our butter and cheese free into Melbourne ; she would naturally think we were laughing at her, the fact being that she cannot attempt to compete *" with us in grain growing. As to manufactured goodsf what advantage has any Australasian colony over another in making woollen goods, bpots and shoes, or any other ordinary article of manufacture ? As a matter of fact we believe New Zealand tweeds can beat the Australian goods in their own markets, even in Melbourne, notwithstanding the import duty. In • short we cannot see how we could offer Victoria any Customs concessions of sufficient importance to her to induce her to reciprocate by granting concessions which would be of any great value to us. Mr Fitton refers to the jSTew Zealand duty on imported fruit and on Australian wines as beneficial to this colony. With regard to the former impost it may have created a slightly better market in the Southern towns for fruit grown in the North, and also it may have stimulated in some small degree orchard planting in the South. Bub orchards were being planted all over the colony and the fruitgrowing area was rapidly extending before the duty on imported fruit was imposed. Nothing can stop New Zealand from taking the lead as a fruitgrowing and fruit) exporting country, ' for her climatic advantages will make it) impossible for Australia, except •in exceptionally good seasons, to compete* with our orchardists in the production of fruit other than purely tropical kinds* As to the Southern market for Northern grown fruit, it can only be a very short time until the South will grow mo<*b of its own fruit, the only advantage the North can then have being the earliness o£ maturity of its fruit,