FARM AND CITY.

Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 39, 15 February 1929, Page 11

FARM AND CITY.

PROTECTION AND FREE TRADE. HOLDING THE BALANCE. "We wish our secondary industries good luck and prosperity, but taking an impartial view of the essential needs of the country we cannot 10-o sight of the fundamental fact that the well-being of every section of the community depends upon the prosperity of our primary industries." This was the reply made by Mr. H. T. Merritt. president of the Auckland Chamber of Commerce to reproaches that the chamber had not sufficiently worked for the interests of secondary industries. Extending this explanation in his presidential address. Mr. Merritt said:—"The very success of the secondary industries themselves depends very largely upon a decreasing cost of production, and I think I am interpreting the attitude of the whole of the commercial community by -tating that anything which would in any way increase the cost of the prime necessities of the country should be scrupulously examined from every point of view before opposition is withdrawn. It is an economic fact that exports must be paid for by imports and all the tariffs in the world will not alter this. So long as exports are maintained imports will flow in. An indiscriminate use of the tariff would unduly raise the cost of production and therefore inevitably result in a decreased exportable surplus which in turn would react unfavourably upon the secondary industries."