PROJECTION AND EXPORTS.

Waikato Times, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 3102, 2 June 1892, Page 2

PROJECTION AND EXPORTS.

<i> The following artiel , . which appcuvcl in tiiu Hawk«'s 1! >y IW.i'd, deals in Jin ible manner upon the effect which a protective tariff has Hjjoii the rxpoits -it a country entering upon such a policy : — The French expurts liave falli-n olf 1)2,000,000 francs. The cable does not say in what period of time this reduction has occurred. Cut as it states that tlm falliiiKolf k due t> the new tarilf, it is to bs assuiiiocl that it dates fr un tha coming into operation of the tariff some two months ago. If so, the loss of trade is great, being equal to about £15,000.000 sterling per annum, or moiv tiiiin 10 per cent of the total exports, which in ISSO were valued i>t £144,3-13,280. At first yhmce it may not appear clear why a protective tariff on impnrts should decreasi: export-. }jdt that is tile opev.iti'Hi of a natural law of trade. Trade, though cxpre-sed in pound, shillings, and pence, is after all only baiter, d'ooil.s iiivj ex.:lian;:ed fot ko.jJj. A community is only the imiividivil on a multiplied scale. In a civilised ciJiiiiniiiiil.y nimi n-lo|:t spi.cinl e.iliiugs. One boc hii' v auurpeot,"!, another :< f.inner, another a shoemaker, and so on. The uarpent.-r. d-.v.itine all his tune to one trade, becomt'.s skillwi lit it, and works for the farmer aud tin; bootinakiir, and in return eats tho funnel's produce and wears the shoemaker's lui.ts. If tin: cirpo.ntur grew jealous of his neiglib'irs, decided to provide for their own wants in a similar fashion, they would all be wor-e off. The carpenter would make an indifferent farmer and cobbler, the cobbler would succeed no better as farmer and carpenter, and tins farmer would be laiu:hed at for trying to erect his building, and make hisboo's wheu competent tradesman were at hand to do the work. They .vonld ba called fouls. Yet that is just Protection on a small scale, Under Freetr.ide one nation exchanges the things for which its soils, climate, or ir.ineral resimces are f.u'orablo f"i' otlinr things which ano.her nation can produce better. Under Protection natural conditions are thrust aside, and nations try to produce tilings for which they «re not adapted. Tin- result is a tiemeudous waste of energy and lestiiutid trade. I ,, ranee is a great manufacturing country. .She exports largo quantities of cotton and woollen manufactures, clocks, artilical flowers, cloves, face, silks, and many other things, She has toimpcrt a great d .al of the nuv materials t> mako those things, and alm» foodstuffs, These she got in exchaugo for hr-r exports. Hy rising her Customs tariff she has shut out, to a greater or less extent, raw materials and fund products. This has cut in two direction?, like a turo-edeed sword. It has reduced what may be called the hitter demand. (Khi-r nations, not selling her so niufih as f>>r>n"r!y, have less to spend in buying from lior. Then the price of raw materials hus been raised, and that r.sisc.; the price of the manufactured article, and foreign competitors, hitherto out distanced, find they can undi-ivell the French uuuinf.\ctnrri\-\ The natural rjsnk is a falling off in expotts.