The Waikato Times AND THAMES VALLEY GAZETTE. Equal and exact justice to all men, Of whatsoever state or persuasion, religious or political. THURSDAY, JAN. 2, 1890.

Waikato Times, Volume XXXIV, Issue 2726, 2 January 1890, Page 2

The Waikato Times AND THAMES VALLEY GAZETTE. Equal and exact justice to all men, Of whatsoever state or persuasion, religious or political. THURSDAY, JAN. 2, 1890.

In a previous issue we referred to ' the fallacy of supposing that Pro- ■ tection '"'kept the money iu the '■ country." We pointed out the absurdity ol the idea that people could "be prosperous and wealthy on ' the money in the country being kept in it. aud not exchanged with any other country just as any other product would be exchanged. Protectionists, in order to blind the agriculturist—who in this, as in all other countries, not essentially _ or exclusively manufacturing countries, is the corner stone of genuine and solid prosperity—say very glibly that a protective tariff raises the price of his produce. How far that statement is borne out by results may be seen by the fact that in Kansas, United States, America, last month, oats at Abileur were worth only ten cents, and wheat forty-five cents, a bushel, or, in our money, fivepence and one and tenpence half-penny, respectively. These were the rates at the town, and from this has to be deducted the cost of cartage or rail freight. If Protection does all that is claimed for it, why does it not raise the price of farm produce in that most protected of all countries, America? Protection is, in all cases, modelled and framed in the interest of monopoly and restriction, and does not succeed in the object which it is claimed to effect, viz., the restriction of imports; it only increases the price of goods to the unfortunate consumer, to the sole advantage of the manufacturer. Of what advantage would three or • four pence, or even six pence a bushel be to the fanner if he has to pay more than a corresponding increase for those things that are not produced by him, and which are necessaries of life as much as bread and meat are, but facts go to prove that no advance is obtained by Protection for any of the products of the soil. To show the fallacy of the assertion that a high protective tariff means high wages, we shall quote statistics of the taxes paid through the Customs in America on imported hosiery, and also show the capital invested in its manufacture, and the wages paid in 1886 ; what applies in that year will also apply in subsequent years as the numerous strikes and the formation of that widely extended society, " The Knights of Labour," amply prove. In the year 1886 the value of imported hosiery was 7,711,23+d0k, and 'he duty on this was 3,445,333 dollars. In 1889, the census year, the production of American - made hosiery was 20,167,227dn15., and assuming (our authority that the production in 1886 had increased to 35,000,000d0i5., which is, he says, largely underestimated, the, tax on thai would be some 11,666,000d015., or, in other words, that is the amount of tax which the luckless oonsuroer paid to the producer over

and above what the articles couta be produced for at a fair profit. In 1880 the total amount of capital invested in this industry was 15,579,501d015. The tax paid in the form of a bonus to the manufacturers in 1886 was, as stated, 11,666,000d015., and the Government for the imported articles 3,445,331d01s —total 15,111,331 dola—or, within 468,000d015., as much as the whole capital invested iu 1880 in this industry. The wages and" salaries of all kinds paid in this industry in 1880 was 6,701,475 dollars, and if the wages in 1886 should have risen to 8,000,000 dollars, it would follow that the tax paid in 1886 was over 7,000,000 dollars more than the whole wages pjiid. In 1880 the total number of hands employed was 28,885, made up as follows : — Children under 16 years old ... 3,681 Men over 16 years old ... ... 7,517 Women over 15 years old ... 17.7U/ Total 28,885 The wages paid, as stated above, was 6,701,475 dollars, which would he a trifle less than 7 dollars, 4 dollars, and 2 dollars a week for each man, woman and child respectively, the whole being a ridiculously small proportion to the total value of the year's production. Where are the

promised high wages in this instance? Even supposing that the rate of wages in America is double what it is in foreign countries, what better oft is the working man when he has to pay more than double what they do in other countries for the necessaries of life %

Protection has enabled Andrew Carnegie in the course of a fewyears to amass a fortune of no less than five million sterling, and this by the labour of men who were paid starvation wages, so tbat at last they had to strike, and when other men, driven by stress of hunger—in this wonderful and most prosperous (?) country in the world—accepted the pitiful wage offered by the iron king—by the way the term "iron" is most appropriate for such a man —the strikers turned on them, and the aid of the Pinkerton police had to be invoked. If anyone justly merited punishment it was the merciless tyrant who was amassing wealth wrung from the life blood of his fellow creatures. He subsequently employed Hungarian women at his coke ovens, women who by the very nature of their employm nt were unsexed, whose only clothing was a piece of sacking fastened round the waist, for the starvation wages paid would not permit of better clothing being worn. What a scathing statire on the statement of blatant and selßsh monopolists that Protection would raise the rate of wages. The short space of a column does not permit of our <nvin" any more illustrations than that °of the hosiery industry in America; it is only one of the many that could be given, and was not specially selected, but taken at random from among many others. A glance at the exports of the various colonies will show that Free Trade does not cripple industries. We desire to excite the interest of the back-bone of the country, the farmers, in this most important subject. The thin end of the Protection wedge has been inserted in the colony by selfish schemers, and unless we are watchful and alive to our own interests we shall find that we shall be stepping stones for monopolists to walk into wealth upon. "Self preservation is the first law of nature," and self preservation should induce the farmers of New Zealand to turn a deaf ear to the blandishment of scheming knaves who care for nothing but the acquisition of wealth no matter by what means. Let the farmers make a determined opposition to Protection, a prominent plank in the platform at the next election and this ,curse to fair competition will be warded off.