PROTECTION ON FRUIT.

Waikato Times, Volume XXXVII, Issue 3027, 8 December 1891, Page 2

PROTECTION ON FRUIT.

♦ TO Tim KDITOU. Sir, —The petition of tins Whangarei to the Minister -if Lands is quite pat.hetic, settiug forth as it dues the trials and si.i-mjws of these disappointed gentlemen. The actual profits of orangegrowers do not come within coo-ee of the amount they were led to i'.\ peel from the rose-coloured reports 011 the industry written by sp",ciiil commissioners and pubhshod by authority of the Gov, rimient. In these reports the profit* ot orange-grow-ing were s-t down with as much assurance and confidence as the estimated yields of t'ie Pnhipuhi silver (?) mines wore set forth in the prospectuses. Pnhipuhi is in the neighbourhood of Whangaroi. To calculate these profits was a» easy as shelling peas—so many trees, yielding oacli so many oranges; so many oranges at so much per dozen ; total return, so much. Nothing could he simpler. A man had only to plant ten acres with orange trees; in five years, by the above method of calculating, tho er >Vt) would have paid for itself, and in suven the pi mt'T would be able to enjoy a d >lce far uieute with an assured income of £1000 a year. The fact (hat there are not mom or nine grove* in the Nor'h betokenx ■\n alarming want of faith on ilie part of the bulk of the settlers in report,' of special commissioners. The fact that, these coin-mis-ioners were appointed bv the (Joverninend does not seem to carry with it any _'u ■rant"o. However, jnd.dng from the i Mivntations of those who had sufficient taith to embark in the industry it would appeir that the r'turns from ormge growing are as unccitiin as the yields of silver from the Pnhipuhi mines. The orange growers have learned that, it, is not a'l cold that, glitters, as the holders of Pnhipuhi serin now realise that it is not all silver tint. scinti dates. It is a matter for congratulation therefor- 1 . that more settlers were not induced to plant orange trees—it is evident that there are more than enough Growers alvej'lv, and, were there any chance of the prayer of the petition referred to being granted, we would have Veil much better oil without any uf them. If an import duty were pla::ed on Is] md fruit (an unlikely contingency, I hope), it would, to fulfil the object of its imposition, require to be sufficiently heavy to stop the importation of such fruit; and the handful of orange growers round NVhang.'irpi would be the only persons in Xew Z-.i'and benefited. They would have a inonoply of the iruie; could charge what they liked for their fruit, and lay up treasures for themselves on earth at the expense of their fel'ow colonists. As a penalty for this,

:■< piinr.-d nut bv Mr \W!I« at the recent meeting nf the Il< iticultnral Society, New Zealand would lose the itnporta nt- and growing tiale wilh the Jstandi-, and l at her than this should be I ho result of tho protection on fruit it would be better weie the (!o\ eminent to liny the, few growers in the north right out. To tho working clashes ora'lges would, if protectud, become altogether a 1 n\ary ; am!-~:inother injustice to Ireland—tho already " bloated capitalist" become the solo, omsunn'r. The Wiringirei people admit licit bananas •ud pin", apples do not thrive in this colony, but what of th.it? Let those who desire a pineappb p:iti iot ically eat a gooseb-rry instead, and those who ha\e •i weakness for t>an.i;ns Int. them culti- . ;ite a taste for blackberries ! As well • night the sheep owners of the colony iisit.iL-; for tho placing of md embargo on kerosene, in order that the increased de maud from the cindle-makers for fat might raise the price of tallow. —Your.- - , etc. 1101 >0 to. 10 THK KDITOII. Slit, —From your report of the meeting of the Horticultural Society thai, appeared iu your Tlmisdav's issue, I notice that, the question of protection from Island fruit was discussed at the meeting, and conclusions drawn that do not appear tome to be either just, or desirable. As an old fruit grower — iinc of the oldest in Waikato perhaps—you will kindly allow me spaco Mr Editor, for setting forth the reasons why I hold such an opinion. Kirst of all, 1 may state that lam no admirer nf Protection. But at any rate we have it here in this colony in full operation. And this is how it seems to me to work. Tho artisans, tradesmen, and manufacturers of our towns are protected heavily—so heavily that all we country people require from them clothing, carts, carriages, harness, implements, furnitureill fact, all our necessaries have to be paid for at enormously intl ited values, while country products on the other hand —chiefly food and fruit—are almost entirely unprotected. Thus the inhabitants of tho towns are enriched, while the tillers of the soil in tho country are perpetually impoverished by Protection as it exists hero at present. If this opinion is a correct one, I should like to ask Mr Wells whether such a state of things is either just or desirable? Now, as to Island fruits, I think Mr Wells or any one else will concede that the constant importation of immense quantities of Island iruits must tend to lower tho value of our home fruits. It will be self-evident that if bananas and oranges can bo got cheaper than apples or plutns, pears or peaches, the value of theso latter will be much lessened, and who would benefit by this? Clearly the people "f the towns. 1 hu* the New Zea'atid agriculturist has not only to sell his produce m an unprotected in irk«t, but lie has to compete with naked Ist-md-os whose labour has stMrjolv any vdu»--ill f r the hem-fit ..f liis l-.ijhlv prot"ot-d ci'y I rother, whose w he muxt perforce hoy it highly ltd) t"d v lues. Can wn wonder while Mich a scitn of things ex'-sts that tho teuns 11 hnstovd oianand ''serf" are really svii'invmou-? As for tho argument about driving tho Island trade to Sydney, if a protective tariff w> ra imposed; does not Mr Wells know that New South Wales pnxluees fruits almost identical with thoso of t r io Islands and hence would not require such—and at this moment—while that colony Ivis jn-t, shut its d"ors against nil our produce by a prohibitive tar ff, it io ponrintr its early fruits into Auckland and other Now Z"aland ports unchecked by the urn r I" measure of protection which New Z -aJaed give its own fruit nr'ducing popuI tim? I trust t,he Blight measure of jn-tice to country dwell-rs which th« memoiT'l pr tying for protection fnnn Inland fruits se-ks to obtain will he supported by eveiv grower of fruit throughout Waikato, bv their sinning the petition, copies of which ai e lyintr in the stores in the various townships.—l urn, etc., W.M. .Jons* P.S.—Possibiy tome tender hearted peoplo might object to the > iews advocated aboe and say, "Let the poar dwellers in towns ha\e cheap wholesome bread and fniit. so "wholesome you know." To this J reply : " Cert tinlv ; when the poor <1 v 'lers in town,- -upply us with cheap C :';s ,vid he-, b t ,""d Wank*!', tve I 11- ;..!•••.V t" Ci.e v. Nchaiice che'H" foil sad <• ea- fr Tat -<va ' i',. ) '1.1 ■-'I C .1-"> 'O ti'ii' a' or f " t B 'fci'J the lijlauda is charged 2., p.r Ij Kiiti/.