The Temuka Leader TUESDAY, JUNE 25, 1889. THE POSITION OF THE COLONY.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1908, 25 June 1889, Page 2

The Temuka Leader TUESDAY, JUNE 25, 1889. THE POSITION OF THE COLONY.

Shakespeabe says that " ignorance is the eurse of God." We do not wish to seem profane, but if Shakespeare steered anywhere near the truth we cannot help thinking that many live , and die under such a malediction. Ignorance is a pitiable thing anywhere, but in high stations of life it is really deplorable. When it is the result of empty-headed conceit, it is the most firmly-grounded fixture on earth, Mountains may be moved, rocks may be rent asunder, but nothing on earth can move ignorance bred of conceit. The head which carries it about mj|y be broken; but patch it up again, and I immediately therein ignorance takes her seat, and is as deep-rooted a fixture as ever. Instances of this have recently come under our notice. Speaking in glowing terms of the brightening prospects of New Zealand, the Melbourne Argus of a recent dare | said: '' If New Zealand went on for a j hundred years exporting goods which she valued at £8,000,000, and receiving in return goods valued at £6,000,000, she would not have much ( to boast about at the end of the chapter. A trader who sent out £BOOO every year, and only received £OOOO back, would soon cease to be satisfied with his business, and there is no. difference to be drawn between the community and its parts." The meaning which the Argus wants to convey is, that it is an unfortunate thing for us to be exporting £8,000,000 while we are importing only £6,000,000, and, to illustrate this, it says that a trader who sent out £BOOO worth of goods, and only received £6OOO of goods, must soon "cease to be satisfied with his business." Can anyone match that for stupidity ? There is no analogy at all between a trader and a nation. A trader must buy before he can sell; a nation—at least this colony does—produces the goods herself. Thus there is a vast difference between them, and to place them on a parallel betrays colossal ignorance of their relative position, which anyone possessing the most rudimentary knowledge of economic principles ought to see at a glance. The exports of a nation consist of the surplus of products extracted from her bosom which remain over after the wants of her own people are satisfied. That is quite different from a trader, who must buy before he can sell. But, taking even the trader to illustrate the position of this colony, what do we find ? He buys only £6OOO worth and sells £BOOO, and thus makes a profit of 33i per cent. He has £2OOO in his pocket, and yet the editor of the Argus is ready to shed tears over the misfortune which awaits him! That is the position of this colony at present. She is exporting £2,000,000 more than she is importing, and she will have that money to pay interest on her borrowed capital, and she would find use for another £2,000,000 if she Lad it. Now, we should have been inclined to think that the editor of the Argus had " gone on the burst," and left the article-writing to the junior devil, only that we know that this is exactly how Freetraders always reason. They read Political Economy without being able to understand it, and arrive at exactly the same conclusion as the book, no matter whether it is applicable or not. Their books were written in England, for Englishmen, by Englishmen who were influenced by surrounding conditions. The conditions of things in this colony are the very converse of those in England, and the same economic principles cannot apply in both cases. Yet our friends the Freetraders apply them whether they suit or not, and then go about, with their proboscises high in the air, calling their stupid interpretation of these principles a science. All these deluded political economists are affected in the same way, as will be seen by reference to the recent speech of Mr Scobie Mackenzie, M.H.ft. Mr Fisher, the ex-Minister, recently congratulated the colony on her exports having exceeded her imports by nearly £2,000,000, and said that only for that we would not be able to pay interest. To this Mr Scobie Mackenzie replied: "Mr Fisher, the late i Minister, the other day committed himself to the absurdity of congratulating the colony on the fact that our exports exceeded our imports by nearly two millions. It is true, but it is scarcely a subject for congratulation." Mr Menteath, another genius of the same species, spoke in a similar strain, and thus it will be seen that the Melbourne and New Zealand Freetraders are affected exactly in the same way. The colony is going to the bad because her exports exceed her imports. Now of all these Mr Scobie Mackenzie's ignorance is the most culpable'and ridiculous. In the very next sentence to that in which he refers to Mr Fisher he says: " The total amount we now pay as interest and sinking fund is £1,833,494, which means that produce of the colony to that amount goes to pay interest on our debt." Thus Mr Mackenzie sees that we require nearly £2,000,000 to pay interest on our borrowed capital; he sees also that this must be paid out of the surplus ©f our exports which remains to u» after paying for our imports—yet he says it is absurd for' us to jfeel glad that we liave the

surplus. He is nearly in as deplorable state of mind as the editor of the Argus, who almost shed tears over the misfortunes of the tradesman who was making a profit of 33| per cent. It is really sad to see men—who on other subjects are passably intelligent —led away by such delusions. As we have said, it arises from a misunderstanding of political principles which have no applicability to the conditions of this colony. Political economists have said that coin seldom passes from nation to nation; that commerce is but an exchange of goods, and, therefore, unless these exact notions are realised, the nation which sins against them must go to the bad. While admitting that commerce is an exchange of goods, and that coin plays, a very insignificant part ia it, we deny that a nation must neceesarily lose by her exports exceeding her imports. So far as we in this colony are concerned, we must have a surplus of exports to pay foreign creditors; it is not a matter of choiee with us—we cannot get on without it. But, even if such were not the case, we would be gainers by having the £2,000,000 surplus. If we had it, the result would be that we would become money-lenders to other nations; that in addition to the surplus of exports we would have the interest on it coming in to us, and that we would soon become immensely rich. This is what makes England rich. She has money lent all over the world, and the interest keeps constantly pouring in on her. If New Zealand were a nation which could not produce the necessary requisites for her own people the circumstances would be completely altered, but here we have a country capable of producing all the necessaries, and a good many of the luxuries, of civilised life. " We want very little except money, and yet we are told that we are unfortunate in getting that. Money we want to pay our foreign creditors, and it is a great blessing- to us that we have this £2,000,000 surplus of exports, for otherwise the colony would have been in a very critical state.