TRADE WITH WESTERN AUSTRALIA.

Otago Witness, Issue 2157, 27 June 1895, Page 21

TRADE WITH WESTERN AUSTRALIA.

AN OPENING FOR NEW ZEALAND PItODUCTS.

There is at present in Dunediu a visitor from Western Amtralia— Mr J. KeiKe, of Perth— who is deeply impressed with the belief that there exists in that colony a fine opening for the introduction of New Zealand products, and who is tatisfied that this colony ci\u compete successfully with the other ooloniei in the West Australian markets. Mr Keene has been in business as a commusioa merchant in Perth for the paft 15 months, purchasing for merchants and selling on beba'f of merchants and manufacturers in other colonies, and ia the course of his business he has handled New Zealaud goxds^to a cor sklcrable amount, chiefly on behalf of ""a Dunedin firm who make a fpeci^lty of canning meats for export. luthe course of a conversation' wLich a member of our staff had with Mr Keene ye6tetday, he made a number of statements wtioh will at any rate deserve the earnest consideration of New Zealand manufacturers end of the Government itself. During the time he has been in Western Auttralia, Mr Kecne says, he has noticed that the greater portion of New Zealand goods imported into that colony have been handled by Victorian merchants and by the agents of Victorian merchants in the western colony, and a profit out of these New Zealand goods has of courae been rtceived by the Victorians. The imports into Western Australia foe 12 months include goods to the value of about £400,000 from Victoria, about £300,000 from South Australia, and from the other colonies in smaller proportions, down to New Zealand, which has exported less than any of the others, its »h«e being only £25,000. Mr Keene points out, however, that the latter sum does not repreieut the amount of New Zealand goods imported into Wefctflrn Australia, though it uudoubterlly doe? represent the amounVoF goods upon which New Zealand actually reaps a direct profit from Western Australia. In support of this, he instances one line of produce -that of oats, — and B»ys that of about 500,000 bushels imported into Fremantle from Victoria during the past 12 months only about one-eighth were Victorian grown, the balance coming from New Zealand. The oabs whkh a:e principally in the market in Western Australia come from New Zeiland, and six weeks or two months ago they were quoted at Is 10id to Is lid c.i.f. The climatic influences soil, and everything else militate against the production of oats in any quantity in Western Auetralia. That colony was not able to produce enough for its own consumption before the gold era, which has brought about an enormous increase iv the population, and Mr Keene balieves that it never will be able to produce half enough for its own requirements. He declares that New Zeftland hai uct paid that attention which it ought to have paid to Western Australia in the past, aud as a consequence there have been no proper arrangements made as to the freight charged upon goods exported from the one colony to the other. While there is not much agricultural land in Western Australia, there only being patches of it here and there, the grsz'iig land ia in the north-west, and at euch a distance from the market that South Australia is, notwithstanding an import duty of 30s a head on cattle and 2s6d a head on fcheep, shipping cattle anrl sheep to Western Australia aud competing with the latter colony iv its own mar.k'.jb. l'com what he has heard, Mr Keeue believes there is a good opening for New Zaa.la.nrl frozen meat , in West Australia. The dairying industry is, he B>kys, practically unknown iv the western colony — the in^u>try is c»rried on at Bunb-.iry on a email sci'e, — .md butrer Mid cheese aw imuorted from Vic'oria and South Aus'ralia — principally from Victoria. A lot of N«w Zealand butter and cheese is, however, impjrted through Victoria ; but here again the goods are clafsed as Victorian, and in this connection Mr Keene somewhat pertinently asks whether it is not possible that* New Zealand produce may not be impoited into other markets under the guise of produce of another colony. A duty of 2d a lb is imposed on butter and 3d a lb on cheese, these duties beiDg, like all the West Australian duties, imposed purely for revenueproducing purposes. There is a population of^ about 100,000 iv the colony/and Mr Keene says that Hota-twentiethpartof thebutter and cheese which is consumed can be locally produced. The question is whether New Zealand can compete with Victoria and South Australia in these goods, and Mr Keene ia strongly of opinion that it can. Everything, he says, points to it, though he admits that much depends upon the arrangements made as to freight. As the Victorian merchants naturally endeavour to dispose of their own manufactures first, Mr Keene contends that a gresb deal more of New Zealand goods could be placed on the market if they were imported direct. In hams and bacon and eggs as well as in butter and cheese he is of opinion that there is a good openiog for New Zealand producers. He believes, moreover, that «. fair trade can be. done in New Zealand.

woollen manufactures, aud he is strengthened iv this belief that in Victoria woollens fiom this colony compete, deipite the protective duty, with the manufacturers of that colouy and with goods imported from England. For timber of a superior kind, such as can bo utilised for the manufacture of doors aud sashes, there is also, he thinks, a mir-hub, r.s Ihe West Australian titnboc is not suitable, and last year timber to tho value of £17,000 was imported all the way from tho Baltic, so th%t in po ; nt*of distance New Zealand occupies an advantageous pisition. Faper is another article of manufacture for which he thinks there is an opening, but he believe?, iv fact, thafc anything which this colony exports to olbcr parts of the world it can profitably send to West Australia. Mr Keene has no doubt whatever as to the future of his colony. Its mining resources, he says, arc uolim'ted. He ha 9 beeu at Coolgardie and through the whole of the mining distr'e«, and he says thnt the number of roally good claims that there are is simply astonishing. At present, however, tha mining industry ia in its infancy. There are thousands of tons of machinery at Southern Cross awaiting for transit, the construction of a railway line to C^oigardie. Tho bulk of the claims iv the Coolgardio dfrtric 1 ; are now being worked fimuly to fulfil the conditions upon which they are held an to the employment of labour and to get everything in readiness for the machinery which will be received on the comi-Mion of the line, and that will be at the expiry of 12 months from this present mouth. When that time shall come the requirements of Coolgardie, where there is already a population of 25,000, will be greatly increa«ed. At>y person who has | visited Coolgardie and the Murchuon cannot fail, Mr K':<jne says, to bo impressed with the belief that the fu ure of the colony is amply assured. The last "rush" which tiok place was at a dUtance of 300 miles from Coolgardie, and all the country intervening is of an auriferous charncter. With a gold-b ».aring country reaobiog for 200 mile? irom Coolgardio in one direction, for over 150 miles in another directiou, and for a con*iderj»b!e distance in a third direition, the extent of the field can Le imagined. It is, sajs Mr Keene, in an outburst of patriotic enthusiasm, simply the greatest goldfield that has ever been discovered or ever will be discovered, and within a few years from now the Soufch African fields will, he thinks, p*le before that of Western Australia. His belief is th&t if onf -tenth of the claims that have been floated in England pay — for Mr Keene owns that Home " wild cat companies " have besn promoted — it will, he thinks, be quite sufficfeut to put Coolgardie ahead of any other part of the world as a goldproducing district. " Whatever colony gets into West Australia and gets a footing there will command a very big thing in a very short time." That is Mr Kfoue'a confidei>t assertion. Assuming him to be cor.-ecf, in his opinirn, the question naturally suggests iiself : How is New Zealand to capture the West Australian raaiket? Mr Keene has himself very definite and very dtcirJed views upon the subject. The Goverum°nt, he observes, h*s of late been taking various functions on Us shouldprs, and he argues thafc it-cim^s wibbin the proviuoe of the Government to secure an outlet for the produce of the cilony. Hi* suggestion is that the Government should appoint an agent at a purely nominal s»kry in We»rern Australia. Such an accredited person would command a greater amount of reip?ct and exercise a greater amount of influence than if he were merely the agent of the producers in the colony, and ho would have a be'ter opportunity of introducing New Zealand good-? to the market. The agent would be paid a commission by those merchants aud manufacturers whos? goods he dispof ed of ; but, ag the servant of the colony, it should be his duty to forward periodical reports to the Government and to furniah details of the imports from various quarter*. Mr Keene is sanguine that, once a footing was obtained, it wi ul<3 not be for years, if ever, that the colony gaining the market would be displaced. He believes that so soon as the Government manifested a serious intention to push the goods of the colony the shipping companies would speedily interest themaekes in the matter, and there would be no difficulties in regard to freight. The fpregoing will afford a fair idea of the drift of the interview our reporter had with Mr K'jene, but our visitor wished his acknowledgment of the kindness and courtesy he has received at the hands of business people ia this colony on his present visit to be added.