PROTECTION.

Waikato Times, Volume XXIX, Issue 2341, 12 July 1887, Page 3

PROTECTION.

TO THE EDITOR. Sir,— What duos protection mean for New Zealand ? it means the greater part of the inhabitants of the country paying an enhanced price for many of the necessaries of life to a small portion of the community.—l say advisedly, a small portion of tho community, The protected manufactures of New Zealand will never go to any extent beyond the limits of Now Zealand, if they go at all. Therefore they will never employ more than a small part of tho population. They will never employ a sufficient number nf people to make any pvoceptible. difference in tlic demand for agricultural produce. Therefore tho only effect of protection will bo to enhance tho price nf many of the no esaaries of life to that portion of the population supported directly or indirectly by agriculture, and those in a newly settled country like New Zealand must always bo by far the larger part of the population. There is good news from Taranaki that the ironsand has been successfully dealt with. If we wish to keep that industry a dwindling industry, whoso products shall never go beyond New Zealand, protect it; but if we wish it to grow into a great industry which shall successfully compote with all rivals and send its products abroad, then don’t protect it. There is a great deal of nonsense talked about keeping the money in the country. What is the money of the country ? Most of it is paper, and as long as it represents business transactions it just does as well, perhaps batter than anything else. If anyone thinks protection would keep the gold in tho country ho is very much mistaken. It would go abroad just the same as it does now. As long as it brings something intrinsically worth more than itself it is better gone. It can scarcely be exchanged for anything worth intrinsically less. We can neither eat it nor drink it, nor wear it, except as useless ornaments. But nothing will keep tho gold in the country except a law forbidding its export, which would be a very foolish law. What better should wo be for doing away with our imports, if we paid more for the same articles which were produced hero? The agriculturist should have a bonus on everything lie produces to enable him to meet the greater cost of his purchases. This is nonsense, but it in not greater nonsense than protection. It is only fair that we should receive our imports from tho country to which we send our exports. The only fair trade is free trade. What does protection mean! It means the c.donies snubbing the mother emuitvy by hostile tariffs, fighting each other with hostile tariffs, trying by tariffs to overreach each other as far as possible, and in the end overreaching themselves.—Yours respectfully, J. J Bakiuk. Wattle, Tamahcre, July Dth.