THE BLIGHTING INFLUENCE OF PROTECTION.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 9117, 16 May 1891, Page 6 (Supplement)

THE BLIGHTING INFLUENCE OF PROTECTION.

TO THE EDITOB. Sib,—l should think the census returns must be very gratifying to tho Hod. W. D. Stewart and other ardent protectionists, who a few years ago, when New Zealanders began to find it a hard matter to live, prescribed as a remedy an increase in the cost of living by means of additional Protection. The prescription has worked and the population of New Zealand is diminishing in consequence, and if the protectionists want yet fewer people in the country all they have to do is to put on more Protection. New Zealand is not rich enough to afford the luxury of Protection. Victoria is. She can afford to pay 30 or 40 per cent, more than she needs, but she did not get her wealth by Proteotion. In a few years she dug out of her hills and dales solid gold to the value of £192,000,000, besides many millions more received for her wool, and thus she had money when the other oolonies needed it, and was enabled to invest it in developing her resouroes, from which investments she now receives a large revenue And yet with all this Freetrade New South Wales, who had not nearly so much hard cash to etait with, is to-day richer than Victoria. Yet etill, on account of her accumulated wealth, in spite of Protection, Victoria is fairly prosperous. But New Zealand has no such accumulated wealth, and cannot afford Protection. Why, what do we produce that is necessary for making various forms of machinery and implements save wood and coal ? Nearly all the raw material requisite for our various manufactures has to be imported. Our chief products are wool, beast?, and grain, and nearly all this we want to sell, and without Protection wo could raise our products at less cost than we do; one reason being we would buy our implements much better and cheaper than we do now. We would also get them to market cheaper.gfor with Freetrade our commerce with other countries would increase, and lower freights would be the result. The best way to bring back population to New Zealand is to lower the cost of living, and this can be best done by giving us Freetrade. Freetrade wonld practically increase the wages and salaries earned in New Zealand by over 20 per cent. ItititruesomeProtection-createdindnstries would suffer, but the public at large would gain by their loss. And as their gaio ha? only beeD brought about by a loss to the public at largf, it would only be a fair adjustment of accounts between them. And, any way, by the gospel of the prohibitionists—who seem to be nearly a majority in tho country —private businesses, even if built up by the law and permission of the State, should, if deemed to be opposed to the welfare of the people at large, be destroyed without consideration or compensation.—l am, St. Clair, May 13. Robebt Paclin.