THE FRUITGROWERS' PETITION AND FRUIT.

Waikato Times, Volume XXXIX, Issue XXXIX, 1 November 1892, Page 2

THE FRUITGROWERS' PETITION AND FRUIT.

TO THE EDITOR. Sir, —On first reading Mr Johns' letter in your issue of 25th, in reply to some statements upon this subject merle by you previously, I thought Mr Johns had made out a pood case, aud if the position had been tenable I should have been inclined strongly to have supported him, on this main principle that in placing a restriction upon the Island fruit you were giving some measure of protection to a class of producers, as against the ill round protection to other branches of workers. As regards our wheat, mutton, butter and every other product of the soil a protective tarill' would bo aimless seeing that we produce more than we can use and consequently having to export, outside markets necessarily rule tho prices, for these articles Granting that a heavy duty levied on Island fruit would have the effect of stopping; the supply ana of throwing all the demand upon our own products, and that as a result we should be able to sell all our fruit at highly remunerative prices. What would follow ? Would there not be a rapid and extensive planting of orchards ? I do not go the length of saying it would induce mn-jh extra settlement, but there would certainly be a big boom in orchardplanting so long as prices kept up. But, after all was said and done, how lony wouhl it bo before the supply overlapped the demand? Not long I trow—ayo:iror two at the most —and then wo should find ourselves exactly in the sun? position as wo are to-day, only more so. Those orchards called into existence by tho boom nearer to the centre* would further depress prices, or not that exactly, but would be better able to secure what little .share there was of th; local market. True those at present, in Iho ba-ines-i would reap a rich harvest for a year or two, but is thit suliieient to s"t against the possibilities of an ever-increasing market for a variety of products now admittedly going regularly to the Islands. In this connection would it be wise to practically shutdown on our Island trade and forec it into other channels for the sake of increasing the price of fruit for the next year or two. For my own part, I do not believe that one-half of the supposed benefit would arise under these conditions Even now I believe that there is plenty of fruit grown iu New Zealand to supply all the demand, if we could devise some means of keeping it. I have, however, a plan which I think a much better oue than putting a duty on imported fruits—not only in the interests of fruit-growers, but in that of all who produce from the soil. I would strongly support a provision for paying oonuse3 —and good ones too —for everything produced from the soil. I would make it equal as nearly as possible what tht-sj producers now pay in the shape of protection upon almost everything they use. Under this principal we need not do anytiling in the way of taxing Island fruits, for the beauties and virtue claimed for protection would vanish the moment people realised that what was gained in one way was lost in the other, or that they were robbing Peter to pay Paul,— Yours, etc., Climax.