THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 30, 1907. THE BRITISH FARMER AND NEW ZEALAND.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXIX, Issue 8345, 30 January 1907, Page 4

THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 30, 1907. THE BRITISH FARMER AND NEW ZEALAND.

A number of witnesses who gave evidence before the Argicultural Committee of the British Tariff Commission referred to the competition of New Zealand with the British farmers. More particularly was this competition felt in connection with meat and dairy produce. There was one point in the evidence of the witnesses that should form a lesson to the Home farmers, and that was the modern methods that are adopted here in connection with farming. One Irish witness, who had formerly lived in New Zealand, asked, "How can we compete with their ploughing engines, three and fourrhorse ploughs and hay-loading machines? They have to pay more for labour, but it is harder for a farmer to pay £lB here than £7O there." Another witness referred to the factory system of butter and cheese-making in New Zealand, which enabled the best article to be placed upon the market in the cheapest manner. Most of the witnesses considered that the only way to meet the competition of' other countries was by means of a duty on agricultural products, and they did not make any distinction between the colonies and foreign countries. One argument used in favour of .imposing a duty on meat was that, owing to the operations of tariffs and regulations, New Zealand had not succeeded in placing her frozen meat on the French and German markets, which would otherwise offer a remunerative outlet. This witness has probably overlooked the fact that so far as Germany, at least, is concerned the

prohibitive tariff on meat, while do doubt good for the German farmer, has, by the high prices now ruling, inflicted a considerable hardship on consumers. Other witnesses took a more reasonable view, and held that duties should not be too high, for at present the meat and also the butter from Australia and New Zealand, tended to keep the prices down, so that the consumers got the benefit. New Zealand meat and butter came in for some complimentary references. New Zealand grass lambs —the early lambs —were quite as good as, if not better than, anything that could be produced in England. The witness who made this statement said he believed that if a piece of Scotch or English beef were frozen, any person could not tell it from New Zealand or Australian. In regard to cheese, it was stated, that the imported article, including that from New Zealand, was sold for Home-made. So far as the British farmers are concerned, it seems that if they had the say in the imposing of duties on agricultural products, they would not be much inclined to make much discrimination between the colonies and foreign countries. They look upon all as their competitors, and no doubt they are 1 correct. The high rates chained for the carriage of agricultural products in the United Kingdom is a serious handicap to the farmers. The 1 cheaper methods of production adopted in the colonies, and the comparatively low ocean freights, give the colonial farmers a big pull in, the ! competition in the Home markets. Taxes are also much complained of, so that competition from other countries is not the only burden the British farmers have to bear.