Fanners and Concessions

Dominion, Volume 25, Issue 267, 6 August 1932, Page 13

Fanners and Concessions

Sir, —Were your correspondent, “Taxpayer,” more aware of realities he would find his cherished “spoon-feeding the farmers” an untenable contention. We can assume that our secondary industries have tariff protection to pro tect them from the competition of lower o priced goods from outside, which outside goods must first pay inward freights etc. Has it ever occurred to “Taxpayer” that the farmer must pay outward freight and sell his wares unpro tected, in the same world conditions whicls are much too fierce for our secondary industries without they have protection? Eighty per cent, of our exports are sold to England, a country with half ths money wage of New Zealand. New Zealand farmers are virtually employed by English importing houses, at English rates of pay, at prices’to suit their many millions of lower-paid workers. Let “Taxpayer” therefore contemplate that for ten to twelve years our farmers’ £ has had the buying power of 10/- its New Zealand currency. This destroyed buying power of the farmers’ £ has been the originating cause of a host of our present national troubles. That, instead of' our farmers being pampered and pandered to, our pastoral industries are carrying our protected secondary industries on their backs, and that the farmers are spoon-feeding those engaged in protected secondary industries to the tune of our entire Customs revenue. The following comparative capital values from our Tear Book is instrue-

These figures reveal the extent to which artificial conditions (protective tariffs) have stimulated city development Can “Taxpayer” deny that these conditions do not seriously handicap unprotected exporters?-! Wanganui, August 1.

tive - Counties Cities. £* £ 1914 ,, 185,000,000 108,000,000 1921 .. 322,000,000 ISG.000,000 1930 .. 345,000,000 319,000,000