AGRICULTURE AND MANUFACTURES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XL, Issue 12399, 12 October 1903, Page 4

AGRICULTURE AND MANUFACTURES.

One of the reasons advanced by those who are opposed to a preferential tariff agreement between Great Britain arid the, colonies is that such an arrangement would operate to the detriment of the "local industries" which the colonies have been endeavouring to establish. This is an aspect of the question which, from the economic point of view of the colonies, must be carefully considered. But we are inclined to believe that the fears of colonial manufacturers are exaggerated, and that an adequate conception has not been formed of the immense stimulus that would be given to all kinds of industry by the rapid development of the colonial produce trade that would inevitably ensue from the adoption of preferehtialism. How intimately connected with agriculture is the prosperity of the colonies is shown by the startling diminutidn of Australian trade due to the disastrous drought experienced over the greater part of the neighbouring continent. This falling off has been so great as to bring shipbrokers and shipowners in London to their wits' end to know how to secure sufficient loading. Returns published by the Board of Trade show that the exports to the Commonwealth during the first six months of 1901 amounted to £10,965,432, in the same period in 1902 to £9,953,103, while in the first half of this year the value was only .£7,742,567. At the same time the Imports from Australia during the same three periods show a more striking diminution, dwindling from £15,320,609 in 1901 to £13,012,513 in 1902, and to only £9,942,693 in the first six months of 1903. During the same periods the imports from New Zealand steadily increased from £6,582,713 to £6,868,946, and reached the enormous total of £8,650,620 during the first six months of this year. New Zealand thus occupies the proud position of having supplied the United Kingdom with very nearly as much as the whole of the continent of Australia, easily beating Victoria, New South Wales and South Australia put together. It is to this great expansion of her export trade, consisting chiefly of the produce of the land, that the present prosperity of New Zealand is due. This prosperity we believe would be immeasurably increased were colonial produce given a preference over foreign produce in the Home markets—practically our only markets. Land settlement would advance rapidly, while the great growth of population that would accompany this movement would tend to enormously benefit all local industries and lead, it may be reasohably assumed, to the establishment of , new trades, by increasing the dei mands of the local market.