The Temuka Leader. THURSDAY, JANUARY 5, 1888. VICTORIAN PROSPERITY.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1682, 5 January 1888, Page 2

The Temuka Leader. THURSDAY, JANUARY 5, 1888. VICTORIAN PROSPERITY.

A shoet time ago it was announced by cable that the revenue of NewSouth Wales had fallen .short of the expectations of the Colonial Treasurer by £1,060,000. That meant that that colony went to the bad last year at the rate of £l'in every £7, which, when her extent and resources are considered, must be regarded as very serious. The revenue returns of South Australia are now to hand, and they show that that colony has gone to the bad at the rate of £1 in every £9 during the past half year. Let it be remembered now that, these are two so-called Free trade coloniesj but New South Wales adheres to Freetrade principles more stringently than the other, and the consequence is that she is worse off. Turning now to Victoria—that colony which is so unfortunate as to be governed by people who do not believe in the beautiful theory of Freetrade—we find that instead of going backwards like the other colonies she is progressing by leaps and bounds. According to a cablegram just received her revenue for the year has been £7,054,000, being an increase of £893,000 on the Treasurer’s estimates. Thus her increase is about £1 in £l4, which makes up a most striking contrast to the miserable condition of the other colonies, which are going backward at a headlong rate. The items on which the increase has taken place are— Customs £105,000, land revenue £7OOO, railways £212,000, stamps £5?>000, and miscellaneous £.10,000. The exd ß © duties have fallen off by '£sooo. Now, wb?Qce this extraordinary prosperity of Victoria ? ]?uw is it that while all the other colonies are in 91 miserable state of depression 1 Victoria .enjoys Jbtye most prosperous 1 times she has e,ver experienced? i Some years ago Victoria was regarded 1

as the least progressive of all the colonies. During the first few years after her adoption of a protective policy it was customary to refer to her in contemptuous terms, and contrast her condition with that of New South Wales, which had remained Freetrade and was prosperous. The wiseacres never looked beneath the surface; they never do ; they came to conclusions after a superficial examination of the conditions of both countries, and as time has now proved they were wrong. The prosperity of New South Wales was then similar to the happiness of a drunken man. She was then borrowing and spending money at an enormous rate, and consequently shd was ostensibly prosperous.. ,On the other hand Victoria was in; a state of transition from Freetrade ito Protection, and was still suffering from the effects of the fiercest political struggle that any constitutionally governed colonyjhad hitherto experienced. The favorite answer which Freetraders gave to Protectionists in chose days ■ was “Look at New South Wales .and Victoria; Freetrade New South Wales is prosperous, Protectionist Victoria is ruined.” They never use that argument now, but still they do not go short of an answer when their attention is directed tp the altered condition of things. They say that the source of Victoria’s prosperity is her goldfields, which still- continue to yield good results, and then they are satisfied that the whole thing is settled. Now to consider this point is worth while, because, though it is a shallow, stupid explanation of the great fact of Victoria’s prosperity, it often deludes people. A little reflection will, however, show that there is nothing in it. First of all, when Victoria was depressed a few years ago there was more gold exported from her than there is at present. In 1881 the value of the gold export from Victoria w*s £3,671,104! ; in 1884* it was only £3,114i,4i72. Thus in three years the value of Victoria’s gold diminished by more than half-a-million, and it has been diminishing since—and yet, Victoria’s prosperity continues ,to increase rapidly. The value of New South Wales’ gold did not diminish to any great extent in ‘the same time,while her other min eral resources ha ve greatly increased. Victoria has good goldfields certainly, but she had bettor "ones when she was in a terrible state of depression; so the argument must fall through. The Statesman’s Tear Book, from which we take our information, makes no mention of any minerals other than gold being found in Victoria, but it shows that in 1884 minerals of the following values were exported from New South Wales: —

Total ,* ...£3,160,701 From this it will be seen that the value of the minerals exported from New South Wales is equal to the value of the gold of Victoria, and this gives another proof of - the

shallowness of the gold argument. But if this is not enough let the reader ask himself Why is it that Victorian railways have yielded £212,000 more revenue than was expected ?. Can this have been earned by carrying gold on the railways ? . Certainly nob. The increased prosperity caused greater traffic. Next, Why is it that the stamp duty is £59,000 more than was anticipated ? Is this on account of the gold dug out of the earth ?. No. The increase in trade, and in the buying and selling of property resulted in more stamps being used. Thus everything tends to prove that the prosperity of Victoria is not due to her goldfields. , The real secret of Victorian prosperity lies in the fact that she has protected her industries; that she is supplying the wants of several of the sister colonies, and that the money of the other colonies is draining into her,

“LEAPS AND BOUNDS.” In our leading article to-day we have shown how Protection has made Victoria prosperous. Under it she is, as Sir Julius Vogel would say, “ progressing by leaps and bounds,” and if Sir Julius Vogel had been allowed to carry oat thiapolicy too, New Zealand would soon bd equally prosperous. In 1885 Sir Julius Vogel brought forward measures for protecting the industries of the colony:; but he was defeated by a large majority. The onslaught was led by Mr Sdobie MacKenzie, who raised the cry of “ Keep the Ministry in and their measures out.” Now if Sir Julius Vogel had carried Protection in 1885 we should have begun to feel its benefits now, and the “ leaps and bounds ” which Sir Julius Vogel promised, would have commenced by this time. Victoria has progressed by “ leaps and bounds ” under Protection, although she is not so large or to productive as New Zealand. The average yield of grain in Victoria is only 14£ bushels per acre; the average of New Zealand is double that. Why should Victoria be so prosperous and New Zealand in a state of misery P If protection has made Victoria prosperous, why should it not make New Zealand prosperous also ? There cannot be the least doubt blit it would, and if the proposals of Sir Julius Vogel had been adopted in 1885, we Jiare begun to feel the “ leaps and bounds ” by this time. But Sir Julius Vogel was not illowed to carry out his policy, and low he is abused “ up hill, and down

dale,” because the colony has not gone ahead by “ leaps and hounds.” How could she go ahead when she has not had the chance? Six years ago we commenced to advocate Protection, and if it had been adopted then, we should now have been as prosperous as Victoria is. Three years ago Sir Julius Vogel brought the matter before Parliament, and if it had been carried then, its good effects would have commenced to be felt now. But it was not, and now Sir Julius Vogel is politically boycotted, because the colony has not prospered under his lead. It is sad to think that people are so blind to their own interests as not to be able to see these things, and it is still more sad to feel that no amount of argument, no amount of reasoning, no number of unanswerable facts will convince those whose understanding is darkened by Old World prejudices and ideas. Freetrade was good 50 years ago in England, therefore it must be good for New Zealand now, is the sum and substance of their argument, and it is useless to try to shift them from that position. If the colony has not progressed by leaps and bounds Sir Julius Vogel is not to blame. It would have progreosed if he had been allowed to carry out his policy.

Coal ... 1,303,077 Tin ... 757,213 Copper ... 410,182 Gold... ... ... 590,229