RETRENCHMENT V. FREE TRADE

Waikato Times, Volume XXXI, Issue 2544, 30 October 1888, Page 2

RETRENCHMENT V. FREE TRADE

TO THE KDITOIt. Sin,—Two days ago 1 wrute you a letter, but I ran out "of paper, ami had to cut it short; I have now Rot a supply, so I will lie able to express my thoughts more fully. It is always being said that low prices are the cause of nil our evils, and if prices would got up the depression would vanish. No doubt this is true, but we have not in our own hands the making of the prices; these are from outside causes, over which wo have no control. But, Mr Editor, it we had better prices that is no reason why we should have foolish and squandering legislation. Under prosperity our duty would bo to husband the country's resources, so that the country would goo rich. What a difference it would be if the country was rich, but as we are not yet likely to become a rich country, all the more need for us to be wise and have rigid retrenchment. If wo have not this retrenchment wo are doomed, nothing will save us. It will end in property being worth nothing and that would be an evil so great that we could not conceive the tremendous crisis which would ensue. It would be a complete overturning of the whole fabric, social, moral and religions ;in fact we would run wild. Now, .\lr Editor, lam quite of the belief that we will never have retrenchment and so have the country saved except we do away with the .toOO Property-Tax exemption. I will tell yon v/hy. The £4!)9 man in his shortsightedness docs not want retrenchment; looking at it in a short-sighted way, he would be a fool if he wanted this retrenchment, because it is quite evident that owing to the exemption he receives more than he gives. He is unable to see through a stonewall, and sec that if the country goes to the dogs his £-11)0 will not be worth 4fl!l pence, and this is what it will be if we do not turn over a new leaf and have our requirements bronghl down to what is soitable and to what is needed bv such a small community as our; in New Zealand. I lived in Michigan ; the nearest town to me was Milford. Tim town was twice the size of Te Awamutn. The postmaster thi'ie was an old saddler and when you wept for your letters he rose from mending an old collar, bander you your letters, and went back to his old collar. This is how America hecamt rich. Ido not think Tariff taxes will make us wise ; these taxes don't come home te us in the same way as a Property and In oome-tax does, ([ omitted Income-tax in mj last letter, that was a, slip}. It may be sait that I am contradictory in so far ai America is concerned, she being great n Tariffs ; but before America became the Tariff upholder she is, but will soon not be she was two hundred yc.-ers old, and hai laid the foundations which enabled her ti withstand the evils of Tariff and Protection It may also be said that by not havmj Tariffs', we would put all the taxes of tin country upon the £101) man, and that thenn propertied clas, would pay nothing. Well I say that the man who has nothing ha no stake in the country, and has no righ to pay taxes, and upon the same ground say he has no right to have a vote. You readers may depend upon it, the benefit h mankind from keeping those men from hav ing votes would be ten times greater thai the loss of the revenue which would be ve 1 ceived from them. When I say mankind include these unpropertied man. It wouli be good for all mankind that these mei had no votes. It will be so till politica knowledge is better understood, and evei then it might be good that they should no have votes. However, that lam not pre pared to contest. I Inivo a hope that as th world gets older wisdom and justice will ex tend. Political reformers may say that by th no-propertied class having no votes th men who have property would so make th laws that they would keep themselves up and the others down, in fact keep the latte always poor. I deny this, theage of this i past; it is a something which I canno rightly express. Perhaps, Mr Kditor, yoi could do it. Somehow I feel as if it was case of cause and effect wrongly judged However, you, or some of your readers might help me on it. Mr Editor, I will g on to Preetrado. I think, for the countr to get rich, Freetrade is almost as great necessity as retrenchment. I say, down wit local industiies unless they are self-suppot ting. I fay, down with them as yo< would with any other absurdity ain monstrosity. Unless local industries ar self-supporting they are a robbery and hindrance to the country getting richrobbery of such great magnitude that n matter how great may be the natural re sources of the country, these resource? great though they may be, would never b able to stand the cost of the bolstering in of a lot of fictitious and not self-supportiii: industries. Every reason brought forwart by Protectionists in favour of Protectioi has been shown to be false ; but these Pro tectionists are devoid of shame, and thougl shown to be wrong in every instance, with out a single exception, they will stil hammer away. Pirst, they said i would raise wages; this has bee; shown to be false, for in Englam under Pree-trade wages have immense!; risen, and in America in the unprotectee trades the wages are highest, and there ar no strikes; whereas in the protected trade the wages have fallen. In the protectee trade of iron there are thousands of poo Bulgarians, Italians, and Hungarians livim more like beasts and working more lik brutes, while their masters like Camegi havo become millionaires. Of course Carnegie is a Protectionist. Some Auck 'land, Dunedin, and Christchurch men als want to become millionaires. Second: It i saiel by Protectionists that we want te provide work for our boys. It has boei proved by statistics, which cannot be, no are contradicted' by Protectionists, tha in Victoria under Protection th male' adult population has become less, while during the same year the male adult population in New Soutl Wales, under Free Trade, has increasoe 3 per cent. It has been said that bv havini weavers to weave our blankets it woule be providing eaters for our wheat, butte and cheese. My answer is this: It ha been shown, and uannnt be contradictei by the Protectionists, that though nil w used was made in the colony, it coul: have no effect on the prices, because the production of farmer's produce will, fo the next thousand years, be greater thai the consumption here, and that the over phis must go Heune; consequently it ii the Homo prices which rule the marke here. Mr Kditor, many other reasons de they give, but every one has been provec false. In CMticJusion I will say if I air wrong I will be very grateful if anyone will put me right; very grateful will I be, fni I do not want to hold wrong id°.as.—Youri very truly, Habafifi. Harapipi, October 25,1858.