FREETRADE v. PROTECTION.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XXX, Issue 9865, 6 October 1903, Page 1

FREETRADE v. PROTECTION.

variable of crops, consistent with clean high farming. In my opinion, if tin exports of all foreign nations are alloww to come into British ports free of dufr m 30 years hence our British Empin will be broken up. Foreign nations wil get too big a hold of us, America ij particular. Are we going to allow i foreign foe tilie opportunity to disrespec or molest our liallowed ground, ou graveyards Not we, when, for more thai a thousand years hundreds of thousand of our mothers', fathers', brothers', sis tors', relations', ancestors' remains res m peace and quietness, who, when living begot hundreds of thousands of hravi sons who died m foreign lands for thei Queen, King, and country ; sacred to tin ; memory of thousands of their childrei ] now living scattered all over the world whose noble deeds of self-sacrifice, oi Christian- pdety; wliose deeds, when living, were honest, just, and true. Thesi : were the causes that built uip our might} 1 Empire on the surest of all foundations— of righteousness, justice, and -truth There must be no severance. We musi be one united whole. We must trade as much as is possible amongst ourselves within our Empire's boundary; as years go on do all we can to make our Em pire as self-supporting as possible ; be true and just m our dealings. If we dc this I have no fear m my mind bul wliat we shall continue to uphold and very gi'eatly increase the wealth, powerj honor, and integrity of our greater British Empire. — I am, etc., ROBERT E. STEVENS.

«i'o the Editor of the Herald.) Sir, — Six or seven years ago I wrote a letter which was published m Salisbury, Wiltshire, Euiglaua, m which I said tne British farmer must be "protected by Act of Parliament. There must be a tax ou wheat aud flour. At the tone of the repeal of the com laws the supply of wheat wua not half equal to Wie demand. Wheat was so deal* many workers could £iQt get wheat bread. It was then just aim right to repeal them. Many men and womu fromi Britain to America, cultivated and cropped some of the millions of acres of their rich virgin prairie lands ; , emigrated more and more. Their surplus wheat and flour was exported into British, ports, also very greatly from Russia. From the time ox .the repeal of the com laws down to the year 1876 wheat sold fairly well, but . kept getting lower m price from more . thaa 40s the sack iv 1840 to 20s the sack .hi 1876. Landlords and farmers met at • their Chambers of Commerce to discuss .freeferade, and always came to the couI'dusioni it was impossible to compete with .foreign competition. As wheat went ■ lower m price landlords reduced their .rents jap to 75 per cent., and ia some inistanceß received, no rent at all. Where i could thejs be a more clear instance than when I read my brother's letter m the ; Theatre, m which, he stated he was farm:.ing 1700 acres. It was two farms m the . same parish, Brqadchalk, under one land:lord, the Earl of Pembroke-; 1700 acres -at £600 a year at rent, tithe free, £100 -a year less than his father paid! for the 700 acres of Stoke Farm. That is to •say, he had 995 acres .absolutely free, aud jet he lost a lot .nioixj than £1000 m that and .the prevjpns year (1893-4), from the fact of liim being compelled to sell Ills best wheat at 10s the sack, barley 9s, oats Bs. He did not grow it for twice the amount. Freetrade has been allowed to continue 30 years too long. British agriculture •at this time was ruined. Hundreds, I believe thousands, of thorough, practical, experienced farmers have lost their all. luousands of their laborers' have been driven out of their cottages into the towns by no fault of theirs ; cause, by freetrade alone. This is the greatest and most serious calamity that lias occurred to Great Britain for the past 100 years. Nobody can comprehend /he loss m money, m power ia thfr prp<W'tion of big, strong, big-boned, fullmuscled meu au d women. From where did tfoP British Army recruiting sergeants enlist tu>ose big, strong, muscular young fellows 51? years ago? Not from tlie mechanic or town men i generally but from out of the Jura* villages of Great Britain, where (tJjeir living and occupation iothe tilling Pf the soil and everything appertaining terete compelled them to tKig and strong-tUe flower of the BriJish. Army Not one-half could be euisted now from the fact of freeteade hayi m ruiued British agriculture, ihe agnculture of every nation is its greatest S most powerful industry-in my opiSm greater tlmi all other industries wmbiucd. Ruiii Wiat, and untune you will ruin all other industries. No nation will be more prosperous than wheii every Se of its plougbable grounds W kept ao£ made to grow the most