THE New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. TUESDAY, OCTOBER 5, 1897.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXIV, Issue 10565, 5 October 1897, Page 4

THE New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. TUESDAY, OCTOBER 5, 1897.

It is probably* not generally known that the Government stands . high in the list of the importers of the colony. In ordinary .circumstances .this, would not be a matter to be wondered at, for • most people, whatever may be their ideas of duty to; the poor working man," appear to be pretty well disposed to buy in the cheapest market, and questions of free trade and protection are usually disposed of in, a quiet way by considerations Reeling the private purse. But the Government is sup- ; posed to be 5 above such f paltry I con- : ! siderations, and more particularly one I iuch as{ ours, tli»t is understood ' to ? be over, all things' the friend of. the worker. In these circumstances one

would think that at' least 111 the case of any articles capable of being produced id the ;; colony the Government would not be' influenced by pecuniary or any other base con-, siderations ; but would set an example of resistance to temptation, ~ and ,at, whatever cost to the treasury, would deal only in the local production. However, in favouring the- imposition of. heavy protective duties' on foreign imports for the purpose 'of favouring the growth of local products, it is a case of "do not m.I do, but as I tell you." To be sure the Government has not the inducement which private citizens have to refrain from purchasing the foreign 'article,' because.the goods which it imports are passed through the'' Customs without ; any charge, and consequently cost far less than the pried at Which they could be procured in the 'local market. As the difference in price of the foreign and the local article if purchased by the Government is so much gain to the public, it may be argued l that there is no harm done; but; surely one would expect that higher considerations than this should actuate a Government such as ours, and that the first object should be to not take the bite out of the worker's mouth.

But how are we to explain such an item as this, amongst the published purchases by the Government for the past year—"Apparel and slops, £839." Were these slops of so superlative excellence that they could not be made in the colony 1 Are there no workers engaged in the manufacture of slop goods in the colony, wlidse wage earnings have been lessened by this purchase of the foreign-made article? It may be true that the amount is not large, but it is the principle that is at stake, and the example that is set, and it may be well asked by any working man is this the sort of example that is to be set by the Government to the people of the colony ? Again we have the item " Bicycles, 13 number, £156." Everyone knows that we have a number of makers of bicycles in the principal cities and towns of the colony, and if everyone does as the Government practically says everyone ought to do, then our bicycle makers would have to close up their establishments. It is true that our bicycle makers could not aflord to sell bicycles at £12 a-piece, of a high grade, as no doubt these Government bicycles are. What with the protective tariff weighting down the cost of living, and of materials and plant, and everything else which is necessary to their carrying on business, our local makers certainly cannot compete with a Government that obtains its goods, we may assume, at first cost from the home factories, and has no Customs duty to pay. And if the Government is warranted in obtaining these particular supplies from abroad, what difference of principle is there in its obtaining all its supplies of every kind frotn the same source 1 Indeed, the possibilities of extension in this direction may lie assumed from * small item of "Food, Hay," which the Government seems to have found it necessary for borne inscrutable reason to have imported from over sea. And what can,be, meaning, of an item of "Cheese" in the Government's import ? Surely we can produce cheese in the colony to satisfy the ; taste, the most fastidious,' and we werfi under the impression that we have the'ambition to supplyevencheeseto the English market. The Horn, indeed, is not a large one, which'.makes it all the more curious, and one would like to know whether this cheese was introduced to satisfy the exquisite tastes of some of the Government officials in Wellington or whether it was ordered for Bellamy's. But "Brass manufactures" and "Carts, carriages, &c.," and 1100 barrels of cement are items of more serious import, and one may justly ask whether, with cement industries struggling to gain a footing in the colony, the .Government is warranted in going out of its way to import such material. Of course, if we admit the freetrade principle that it is a duty to buy in the cheapest market, that solves the difficulty, but the inconsistency of a Government which professes a zeal to foster incipient local industries and yet purchases what it wants from abroad is aggravated by the fact that the local industries and all employed on them are weighted at every turn by the general protective policy' of the country. Why should "furniture," "leather," "machinery"the value of many thousands of pounds for, gas making, printing, woodworking, etc.— why should iron, nails, tents, varnish, etc, by introduced by the Government, while the whole community is placed under the burthen of excessive taxation to support the industries which ought to be employed in producing these goods? And on what possible grounds can a defence be advanced for the Government importing thousands of pounds worth of "timber" into a colony where our forests and timbercutters and sawmills are turning out the materials for the supply of every country in the world that will give us a market for it?

No doubt the greater portion of these goods, amounting to nearly fifty thousand pounds worth, has been obtained through the Agent-General, who having no knowledge himself of the quality of' the goods or the . customs of . the trade, must have . either employed brokers and. agents on commission to procure them, or have paid for them at prices in excess of those at which' they could have been obtained through legitimate channels. Of course, they offered an opening for some patronage and perquisites," but in no other way can this form of trading direct on the part of the Government have been advantageous to the country, for, of course, the apparent saving in Customs duty represents just so much 'less Customs , revenue paid into the Treasury. • ■ The,return is a curious one,'and suggests the enquiry. what possible purpose was intended to be served by thus going out of the way to trade over the heads' of v the business community; engaged in the j legitimate business of importing ? i but more interesting will it be to many to conjecture, how can the Government justify its action in directly importing so large a quantity of goods, most of which could have been produced in the colony; while - claiming that it ; is a cardinal point in its political creed to foster in every way the interests of the working man of the colony}V;.; • «'