The Daily News MONDAY, JUNE 4. AUSTRALIAN-NEW ZEALAND RECIPROCITY.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVII, Issue 8126, 4 June 1906, Page 2

The Daily News MONDAY, JUNE 4. AUSTRALIAN-NEW ZEALAND RECIPROCITY.

New Zealand has its eye on ita en- ; terprising and successful Premier, I whose mann appears to be as great in . the States of the Commonwealth as it is in this country. If Mr Sod lon's triumphal tour of the great island continent has the very desirable effect of opening up reciprocal trade relationships between the ontinent and these islands, his trip will not be in vnin. The people of New Zealand have never been such vast admirers of Australia as Australia appears to be of New Zealand, and it may be that, like insulars all over the world, the New Zealander is too apt to regard his pile of scoria as thti hub of the universe. It is a very excellent feeling indeed in relation to internal trade, parochial undertakings, and inland commercialism, but in the larger sphere of intercolonial dealing it is not conducive to the well-being of the bulk of the people. » * # #

There has never been any reason in the world why a New Zealandor should consider his country or his produce a better country or better produce than Australia or Australian goods; and there never was any reason why there should be auy tariff wall between these islands and that continent. Still, the duties on Australian produce coming into New Zealand are as heavy as the duties levied on goods coming from foreign countries, Australia has heavy duties leviable on New Zealand goods, but the peculiar part of the business is that Australia can get along very well indeed without importing a single thing from New Zealand, and Australia embraces every kind of climate and every kind of soil. What ever any part of the earth can produce, so can Australia. Her sole lack is water —a lack that will one day be met by irrigation, and the increased rainfall that always comes with closer settlement.

The Australian tariff exists to tax New Zealand goods, but it doesn't operate because it gets very few New Zealand goods to tax. New Zealand climate is temperate. It will not grow tropical fruits. Its grapegrowing industry is small. It has no sugar plantations, no arrowroot, no rice. It cannot dry figs, raisins, currants, and such like fruits, because' it hasn't enough sun ; and it doesn't make wiue and spirits to am large extent. Australia can supply our very needs in this direction, and cheaply, and it is pure selfishness on

the part of the powers that be that compels -New Zealand to do without Australian products, or pay an enormous price for them. There are no finer wines in the world than the South Australian wines. There are no better raisins or currants than those turned out in Victoria. Now Zealand gets hei supply from unearthly places, where the niggers are sweated to death at the business. Grapes sell at from |d to 2d a pound in any of the Australian cities. Thoy cost 2s Gd or 3s here. Why ? liecause New Zealand growers may " have a chance."

Why not give New Zealand people a chance ? Why protect half-a-dozen grape-growers and keep half a million people without this common article of food ? We venture to say that New Zealand, instead of being a whiskydrinking people, should - if they must have alcohol —bo a wine-drinking people. The wine-making industry is firmly established in Australia, and, as we said before, the product of the Australian viueyards is second to none. The fact that these wines haven't a jaw-breaking name on the bottle is possibly the reason why most people prefer any sort of horror from Europe with a French name on it, We are not going to be a wine-mak-ing people for some years, because the climate doesn't suit the grape so well as the Australian climate. Why can't we get Australian wines cheaply ?

Bit the removal of the tariff against Australian goods the people of New Zealand would score heavily. By the removal of the Australian tariff against New Zealand goods the people of Australia would not be affected to any extent. So its removal might as well take place as not. We want cheap, tropical products from Australia, but Australia does not want cheap, temperate products from us, because she can grow them herself, and has illimitable country in which to do it. Australia grows better milling wheat than this colony, and can sell it more cheaply. There should be no duty between colonies under the one flag where the " staff of life" is concerned. In the late potato scarcity (indeed the scarcity still exists) Australia had plenty of potatoes. It made no difference to New Zealand, which paid, and is still paying, a sum vastly too great for this necessity. Instead of getting Australian potatoes cheaply, we get American potatoes dearly.

A commercial federation, not only of New Zealand and Australia, but of the Empire, would immensely help to keep the brotherly relationship, and improve the lot of the people, the quality of their food, and the purchasing power of their wages. It is something of an absurdity that people of the same blood, borrowing money from the same old John Bull, and presumably all pressing to the same goal, should have cut-throat tariffs to handicap each other, and to impoverish the people who pay the high prices. Mr Seddon told an Australian politician that he intended to take the tariff off Queensland sugar. Overlooking Mr Seddon's "intention," which evidently is the intention of the people, tho House, and the Ministry, it will be a very excellent thing. And if we are able I to get Australian products and any ] other foods introduced into New Zealand at a reduced tariff or free, there is just one thing that Mr Seddon might also intend to do. Even though articles may be landed cheaply,itis not atall certain thatthey would be sold to tho people cheaply. Everybody combines now-a-days. It is tho people of New Zealand who want to score on tariff reductions, and not little rings of New Zealand boodlers, who, even at the present time, are becoming very wealthy by combining to keep up the prices of meat, flour, bread, and other things. However faithful these boodlers are, we hope it will not bo Mr Seddon's intention to enrich these people by tariff reductions, the full benefit of which should bo shared by the people.