HAS FREE TRADE PROVED TO BE A WONDERFUL SUCCESS AFTER ALL?

Waikato Times, Volume XXIV, Issue 2026, 2 July 1885, Page 3

HAS FREE TRADE PROVED TO BE A WONDERFUL SUCCESS AFTER ALL ?

TO I UK I.DiroH. Sir,— Would you kindly giant me spr»co for ;i few retrial ks upon tln-> Mibject. This question is widening and deepening in public interest every day. At maikut days and .it chinch gates, the ono enquiry h, What is to become of us ? Oiy hurrah foi Su Julius VogeP Majoi Atkinson uid Mi Ballancu have pronounced the saviug ditty. They nay it m the first duty of a nation to we that her people me piolitably employi d, and l>y piotection .ilone can a young conn try establish industiie-i. Even in England tins subject is again excicitung our gnat mind-, and tho opinion is paining ground th.it 100 much importance li.ih been given to fiee ti.uJe us the cinio of England's greatness. Mr (Jladstone, in addressing a mooting of 10,000 people at Leeds in 1881, Haul that although England hid dono nn well, yet Anu'iici was pacing them in a canter, and it was never dieamt that tho Ameneans would panihze the industiios of England. In IS 18, when fioo tiade was earned in the House of Common*, the three lender* of tli.it pnneiple, Cobd.m, Peel and Blight, visited Fiance, Spain, Italy and CJcrtnany (in a, fiectiade expedition, and were received with <t|)en <u ins. Yet after a3O year's ti j.il tho icmiU is that to-day theso counttios at e mole piotectivo than ever they wore. Now, it is also curious, while England adopted free trade in 1818, the Americans adopted a policy of vigouious protection about the s.uiic time, and here aie tho glorious results. In 1831 the United States import* weie 70,000,000 dollars more than her exports, but in 1880 the o\poits were 200,000,000 dollars more than her impoits. In 1881 President Hayes, in Congress, said that no countiy at any peiiod was in .such a nourishing condition. All industiiex thriving, rate of mteiest low, vast emigration, numeious now industries afloat ; icvenue, 333,000,000 dollars ; expenditure, 21)7,000,000; balance to go to theiedemption of loan ; current year's revenue, 350,000,000 ; hui plus, 90,000,000. Well done Piesideut Hayes and protection ! Freo tiade no doubt did amazingly foi England tho fiist 2o ycais, but wise political economists foretold that ultimately it would be at the expenso of the Knglwh labourci and aitisan, ;nid certainly foi the last 10 yeais wo have continually hen id of depressed Britain. Lanoashuc and Yoikalnre manufacturing population aie only working four day* weekly, duo to duty free and impotted l.ib-nir, consequently the wondoiful English Uidgits dosed about tho year 1872, and since then Engliud's yearly exports ha\e deeieased one fiftli, and her impoits aie £100,000,000 o\ei expoits. t'300,000,000 of English cipit.d advanced to foieign countries bungs back about i' 70,000,000 \eaily, which still leaves a \eaily deficit of thnty millions. 1 know free tradeih say you mu-t import more tlian you expoit to be doing well, but I maintain that that politic il economy is bad. If we iinpoit £1000 woith of food and clothing for our labour, and only export £*)00 as the pioduco of that labour, undoubtedly we arc pooler jy £"500. Coming nearer homo to ourselves in New Zealand, wo have lived foi 30 years \ipon borrowed money. Wo have wonderful natural resource* ; a climate unequalled in tho world. Indu^tiius fiequently Htart only to bo crushed out, not undei sold, the, demand not being suihetent foi both the impoitcd and colonial ai tides. The turns in coining when wo must piovidu )iuiinaiient oinploymcnt for our people. Our hoitowed millions have been obtained to tide over times of depression, ?o as to piovidu temporal y employment foi our l.ibom. The womt is not yet come upon us Afoie dcpics*ion, more million", inoic industuos ciu^>hed, but in the end compulsion will foico us to demand pintcctinn. At present the one gi eat ciy is, Settle the land ! Yet the l.i^t statistics show that out of a lnlf a million of people in New Zetland, 3J3,!>38 aie living by agitcnlttual pin suits, and only 11,41'» jn twenty lnanufactuim^ lndustiiei. Wo are told that no countiy in tho woild ever buc.une gicat by agncultuie, and a country living by aguculturo alone is a pool countiy. Then give us wise lawn so as every natural industry shall becaiiied on in this glorioiiH country, and within two yearn wo should be able to boast of oui 100,000 hands employed in manufactures. It is a, cruel (diaim to bring people to this country with piomisoof employment, and then wild inn vvoik to some foicigu pott. In this way (wo have to pay our oh n taxes and the i.ixos of thu foreigner. Kiee trade Hays that piotection me ins that a higher pneo nhall be charged than neeil lie, but reni'-mbor clioap food and very little clothing w very littlo comfort without the cash. Piotection gives us employment and wages ; food and clothing, is huio to follow. Free trade gives you a lo.if for Id if ym have got tho caul). Piofection given you a loaf foi 4ld and hndsjyou tho cash beside". Kvciy tIOOO tent away fioin this country for foieign labour is just £1000 taken away from our wages cl.issoH. Again the freo tiador sayn, tho consumer must pay the duty, but this in not so in many cases. For instance our boot and clothing faetoiitss me Rtruggling and competing successfully with the imported articles at the present time. Now I nay if a further duty is put upon the*e articles, the importer muHt pay tho duty if ho ntill wishes to sell in the market. No coimtry in tho world over become great under free trade. England 'h industries wero establinhod under protection. Let it be remembered that there wan no hiicli thing as a steam locomotive in England until 1830, and th it gieat jnventor Georaro Stovonson was the instrument of England'^ wonderful Htudes in induHtry. Now freetradeis .ilm> fiequently ask protectoro to account f>r the KitccQHHful and h\mrinhing condition of Now South Wales under fieo tradu, oh against Victoi in under protootion. A rich agricultural country like Now South Wales is mifHuent to partly account for the hiiecuMs. Viotoii'i in a poor agiiuiltinal co 1 m try, but under piotcction, vast mdustiies sue being sufficiently established there, which at present are only in their infancy, and must ultimately bung tli.it pi ospeiity which all countries enjoy when a laigo numhor of manufactories are established. 15'jsidus, i.s it not a groat deal against Victoiia to ha vo a free trade «tato just aeioss the road or river? If | freetradors auk me for a further explanation, I say, go to America. In advocating protection, I admit there is one difficulty, because all nn'ii iivo naturally nolfish, but this is w hen tho State can ntop in and hay if you uio willing to soil by protection you must buy by piotuction. and fuither, it in not a matter whethei tinn oi that manager of a woollen factoiy doprocatoH protcotioti for fear of inducing oth<>i factories to stait in the colony. J'rotootlon will pfivo us, and we want thuty woollen factoiies in i\ew ZeaLtiid, with thousands of nianui f.iotoieit* conse(j\Hsntly a fubstantml and ! lusting benefit to tho wholo community.— lam, <fee, .T. Foiikkst. Cambi idgo, 25th Juno, 1885. P.M.— For English and American trade returns and othvi mfoimition, I am indebted to that liist class paiiei, the Noith Butish Agricultural Jouin.u. - .f. Il'.I 1 '.