AN EXTENDED EXPORT TRADE.

Evening Post, Volume LIV, Issue 20, 23 July 1897, Page 4

AN EXTENDED EXPORT TRADE.

It is an axiom amongst economists that the imports of a country must be paid for by its exports or some other equivalent, and this is practically demonstrated by the official returns from countries doing >an import and export trade. The import trade of the United Kingdom for 1896 totalled £441,000,000, of which £56,000,000 was reexported, leaving the net imports at £385,000,000. For the same year the exports of British produce amounted to £239,000,000, the difference of £146,000,000 being accounted for by the interest receivable on the enormous amount of British investments abroad— practically over the whole civilised world in all sorts of securities and speculations — by the earnings of some millions of tons of British shipping engaged in the carrying v trade in nearly every nook and corner of the earth, and by pensions to retired men living in the United Kingdom, who have given years of service abroad, chiefly in India, &c. The United Kingdom's import and export trade may therefore be stated thus—

Interest payable on loans, &o. £2,000,000 It is now pretty well understood in England, both amongst manufacturers and their workmen, that extended exports means increased prosperity to the country. Not very many years ago tne grain harvest was considered the main factor of the country's prosperity, but grain production is now assuming only a secondary place in English industries, owing to the immense increase in the imports of grain from abroad, and the extension of British trade in manufactures to loreign countries. The external or foreign debt of New Zealand in proportion to its population is undoubtedly a large one, and the annual drain on the colony in the shape of remittances for the service of this debt is a tax which must be borne by the community whether it is prosperous or not. This strain ■ upon our resources will be felt in proportion to the expansiveness or prosperity of our export trade. If our aunual exports were double what they are, the burden would be lightly felt. It is therefore of the first importance that both the Government and the colonists should direct their attention to the necessity of expanding our export trade. In the neighbouring colony of Victoria the Government recognised this during the recent financial crisis and severe depression there, and has directed much attention in recent years to the development of its export trade in local products — the most notable example being the encouragement of its butter industry, which recently swelled the exports of the colony by something like £1,000,000 in one year, whilst less than a decade since this article was not on the list of Victoria's exports. There are vast areas in New Zealand preeminently adapted for the production of butter and cheese, as well as pork, poultry,

apples, &c. The United Kingdom annually pays abroad something like £46,000,000 for these products, or nearly double the amount of the total value of all the wool imported into the Kingdom, but England is not the only market for such products— there are other large markets as yet untouched by New Zealand, such as the markets of the East lying between say Bombay and Japan, inclusive of Java and the Straits Settlements, &c., as well as Western Australia. In Western Australia a considerable market for our unrivalled food products has been brought into existence during the past few years by the gold discoveries there, but' these markets, which are on the average only about half the distance of London, can only be availed of by the establishment of a properlyequipped monthly line of steamers, fitted with freezing, chilling, cold, and ventilated chambers for carrying our meats, butter, cheese, apples, potatoes, &o. The subject is a large one, and requires careful investigation and consideration by the powers that be. It cannot be expected that any steamship company or shipping firm would open up extensive foreign markets for New Zealand producers without some encouragement in the form of a subsidy. The expansion of our export trade must be the basis of oar prosperity. Unfortunately, during the past decade' there has been no material increase in this direction. The time has now arrived when a great and systematic effort should be made for widening the markets for our producers, for on their prosperity hinges the prosperity of the colony.

The very complete arrangements thatiiava been set afoot for a great public reception to the new Governor will be cause of much satisfaction, not only in the city but throughout the colony. Each succeeding account that has reached us of Lord Ranfurly and his family tends to shoy that our new ProConsul is a capable and estimable gentleman, who gives largest promise of becoming a popular Governor and able administrator. But apart from this, as the representative of the Crown and the Imperial rule under which we are constitutionally governed, he is entitled to both honour and regard, and these will be loyally and heartily given. For the programme of the reception its authors appear to us to have made a most happy .arrangement. Given a fine day and the co-operation of the steamship owners — which, we understand, ig assured— and the escort of the Tutauekai from Worser Bay should be a sight to be ■ remembered, and cannot fail to create a most favourable first impression upon the Viceregal party, coming as it will, so to speak, at the very gate of their new home. The procession from the landing-place to Parliament House, where His Excellency will be sworn in, and thence to Government House, is also designed upon a scale, and with a general unanimity of desire for cordial welcome, that must be crowned with conspicuous success. Especially it is gratifyingto note that the Trades Councils are animated with an equal desire with the promoters to make the demonstration worthy of the occasion. The conversazione at Parliament House is a most admirable conception, and permission to use the House for snch a purpose is pleasant proof of how cordially the Government shares ivith the citizens the common devsire to do honour to Her Maje«ty's representative. We note with much satisfaction that it is announced that at this function evening dress will be dispensed with. This will have the effect of avoiding woudrous distinctions at popular gatherings, and will certainly eusure a much larger attendance than would otherwise be the case. Success will depend on numbers, and a great assemblage can only be counted upon if the men are permitted to " come as they are." While upon this subject we would suggest that Lord Ranfurly would do a popular and sensible tiling if he dispensed with the conventional raiment at his first levee. This was what Lord Brassey did at Government House, Melbourne, upon the occasion of the late Jubilee, with much satisfaction to many citizens who would not otherwise have attended.* It pleased many people, and society did not fall to pieces as v consequence of the heterodox charaoter of the proceeding. The truly appalling instances of juvenile depravity aud of the most revolting forms of immorality which from timelo time come as a shock to the nerves of the community are. we fear, only a tithe of the facts of a similar nature which could be adduced. There is, in the face of cases lately before our Courts, no use in blinking at the matter or in attempting to minimise it. The evil is in our midst— vice' is stalking our streets in its most repulsive and heartrending shape, girl-children who scarcely realise their womanhood have already learnt the prostitute's trade, and men vile enough to take advantage of their frailty, and old enough to be their grandfathers, lead them further down the road to ruin. Surely it is high time we awoke to a sense of the meaning of this — high time we sought to eradicate this suppurating ulcer that tends to destroy the moral tone of the whole community ! It is not, however, in a sentimeutaror hysterical mood that'we must seek to grapple with the evil. There is too much honourable but excessively foolish sentiment about the way in which attempts to grapple with the social evil are commonly regarded. The Contagious Diseases Act, which is the butt of so many would-be social reformers' righteous wrath, seems to H8 a sound,. practical means of decreasing, if not of removing, the curse from our midst. It is an undoubted fact that the Act, when in force in Christchurch and Auckland, literally dfove the child prostitutes off the streets. Parents, it is true, are much to blame for the juvenile depravity that exists in our cities, but the' Act would prevent the girls from parading the streets at night, and so save many a one from the clutches of vice. If the powers to be given to the police seem objectionable, surely the objection might easily be removed by the appointment of female inspectors. The horrors that have come to light of late appear to us sufficient for our suggestion to receive careful consideration. The application of sentimental caustic to the social wound in India seems to have only increased the sore, and it is to be hoped that common sense, which is after all a by no means unworthy code of ethics, will help New Zealanders to deal wisely with what threatens to disgrace the colony and' helps to destroy its moral vigour. In Anthony John Mundella the Old Country loses a prominent figure from amongst the frieuds of liberty and of education. He combiued in a very happy way the advantages of a sound aud almost liberal education with the practical experience of appi'enticeship to a Leicester hosier. It is so seldom that one man unites in himself the qualities which go to make the best Minister for Education England has had, and one of the most successful Presidents of the Board of Trade. Mr. Mundella's Radicalism was enthusiastic, but rational. T. Cooper, the Chartist agitator, gives a bright picture of his first introduction to the future Minister of Education. " I had been appealiug one evening to the patriotic feelings of 3 - oung Englishmen, when a handsome young man sprang upon our little platform and declared himself on the people's side, and desired to be enrolled as a Chartist. He did

not belong to the poorest ranks ; and it was the consciousness that he was acting in the spirit of self-sacrifice, as well as his fervid eloquence, that caused the thrilling cheer from the ranks of working men. He could not have been more than 15." Not a bad beginning for a youth ! His name has long been closely .connected with the English Board Schools, and has become so much of a household word that a child being examined in physiology is said to have described a .certain nerve as the " Mundella oblongata." The loss to his country is great, but the deceased statesman could feel wliei) lie came to the end that he had not lhedin vain. The hasty despatch of the battleship Oregon to Honolulu, together with the anxiety manifested by President M'Kinley to obtain the sanction of Congress to annex Hawaii, indicates clearly enough that the relations between the Americans and Japanese are seriously strained. Both nations have important interests in the island, but the United States stand first as re.ssirds trade. The revolution of 1894, which resulted in the deposition of the aged Queen Emma, and the setting up of a republic under the segis of the Cabinet at Washington, was nothing legs than a lawless usurpation instigated by American missionaries, assisted by the resident Japanese population, and connived at by the United States Government. There was not a shadow of justification for the revolution, which was, in fact, a mere Jameson raid, the actors being missionaries instead of guardsmen, and the scene the Sandwich Islands instead of the Transvaal. Mr. SanfoiJd Bl'Hale, who deposed the Queen, installed himself as President, and the pojjpy of the country has been mqulded to suit the trade requirements of the United Sratcs. A reciprocity treaty is in force between the two Republics, and under its terms nearly all kinds of American manufactures and products are allowed into Hawaii free of dutjy while the imports from other countries are in most cases subject to an ad valorem duty of 10 per cent. The* imports into Hawaii for the year 1896 were valued at £1,477,687, to whioh the United States contributed no less a proportion than 7627 per cent., or £1,126,992. The total of British merchandise imported during the same period was valued at £155,884. The exports for last year came to. £3,200,016, equivalent to more than £29 per head of population, and of this amount the United States took £3,188,645, or ,9964 per cent, of all exports. These figures are taken from the report of ConsulGeneral Hawes, and furnish strong reason for American anxiety as to the future of the Islands. The trouble with Japan, however, is not with respect to trade, hut bears on the question of Japanese immigration, which the Republic seeks to limit. Hawaii has been a happy hunting-ground for the yellow man, and the almond-eyed population of the islands far exceeds the white population. Out of a total population of 109,020 there are only 31,019 pure Hawaiian?, while them are 3086 Yankees, 2250 Britishers, 15,191 Portuguese, 24,407 Japanese, and 21,616 Chinese, the rest being nondescripts. The Japanese Government naturally wishes to keep this field open for its congested population, and seeing that the Japs helped the usurpers into power, Japan may very well olaim a vested interest. The disposition of the population as shown above lends colour to the anticipations of another revolution; at any rate, when usurpers disagree in the division of the spoil there is invariably trouble.

Imports £441,000,00( Re-exported 56,000,001 Eetained or net imports ... £385,0OO ) 0O( Exports British produce ... £239,O00,00( [nterest, freights, pensions, &c, from abroad 146,000,00( £385,000,001 rhe annual trade of New Zealand may b( stated thus — Exports £9,000,00( [mports 7,000,001