FREE TRADE V. PROTECTIONS.

Auckland Star, Volume X, Issue 2921, 25 August 1879, Page 3

FREE TRADE V. PROTECTIONS.

(To the Editor.) Sir,—Mr Firth's letter to jthe Chamber'of if Commerceisanattempttofoster Eree Trade, hut only an attempt, and Jike all othßrs .falls short of the mark. When John Bright, and Col/den agitated to get free graiii into Eii"land,so that they could feed the manui'tetriring eteeses cheaper and thereby manufacture and sell cheaper, England had by the contiuuajice of a strictly protective system for many cc._ turicsbeeoruc the -world's worktop, and iVwasjjcccssarythat ■all ports througiiput the world should be 0,-.en to her. It wag clearly then her y. } . tere:st to adopt' Free Trade and urge it upon 0t The United States has had the good sense not to lii-tcn to the voice of the charmer but rither' to take a lesson from the old wl-i-eiu-ly policy, and what is ho re, suit' Why, .complete success. America. ottered — fiJurfag i"stf tl,°"L^!, f t the internal trade »f the .^untry to lie.rsel, and now she is paying %»»*£*? BL*£ money she borrowed sqm coin as New Zealand does but Wufacturcd goods, grain, and cotton, «>4jWg£ is begfnm-g to find that she has notfOtflW. worhtnowcxclusivclytolwrseHasfou^ and there, even there, protective measuies are now being talked about. It is idle to talk of class privileges as Mr Firtli does. There has been class.aud consequently class privileges, since pan sold ftw birthright, and will continue to hei fall the day of judgment or classihcation (lay. firciskldie class and the husy cto; the rich and the poo;:. What honest.legislation should strive to promote should he thp employment of numbers of colonists who are now forced into the idle class... IMS m .1 great measure could be ittariW better adjustment aud revision of the tali , to foster native industries, encourage manufacturers of all classes, aud .Win the rising youth of the colony to trades. 1 am of opinion that Mr Fjrth 3ia« no right to put su-ch words as the Mowing ff the mouths of American citizens : ;• v; what value arc Otf.r boasted free institutions if they permit so Mgrm* F injustice to bo perpetrated." The Americans at the present day are as great protectionists, as ever they were ; they arc extends and finding now- fields for -lspos ; a of .then manufactured goods annually, and «JS impossible to deny that the rapid stiw.s which they have made in the manufacturing world has been brought about solely by the protective laws which thoy established on? have adhered to. . , i r Therefore I differ with Mr Pirth, and i hope ".tho working classes of this colony will consent to the adoption of the protective system a.n/1 reciprocity." I would ask Mr Firth, " what is to be done with our boys" if they are not taught trades and brought up to industrial pursuits. All the fathers in the colony cannot become possessed of a country Hide to put their hoys on. There is no such "luck," and if their future is not provided for we will soon haye W l3. 61. _J_rriki_and,"anarohy." ',_. ~.;• •

"Before closing, I will put a problem to Mr Firth on free trade and protection. Suppose New Zealand sends to England £50,000 for manufactured goods ; that the life of these goods is five years—that is, in five years the goods are done and the money is gone, and JS ew Zealand is £50,000 poorer. Now, suppose that instead of sending the £50,000 out of the colony for the goods the goods were manufactured in the colony. At the end of five years the goods are done, but the money is still in the colony, circulating about, has passed through hundreds of hands, conferring benefits as it went, and still here to confer more. You may say the country has to pay more for the goods. I say no. If more gbpds.werc manufactured in the colony wc should have to borrow less money and pay less interest, and if you keep the industrial classes fully employed they will work cheaper to you than the money-lender. Ergo, I say, tor a young colony that wants to rise above a vast shoe]) run, protection is better than free trade.—l am, &c, Native .Inpus^ry.