The Southland Times. PUBLISHED DAILY. Luceo Non Uro. THURSDAY, 21st FEBRUARY, 1884.

Southland Times, Issue 4869, 21 February 1884, Page 2

The Southland Times. PUBLISHED DAILY. Luceo Non Uro. THURSDAY, 21st FEBRUARY, 1884.

We have received a copy, in pamphlet form, of Mr W. N. Blair's address on the Industries of New Zealand. The address, as our readers are aware, was delivered, as an inaugural one, to the New Zealand Manufacturers' Association at Dunedin, more than a week ago. Every one knows that Mr Blair's intellect is of the excursive order, and pushes with much power and energy into realms far outside of his profession. On tbis occasion he has done excellent service both to the Society that enlisted him as its first spokesman and to the colony. Having undertaken to discuss a very large subject, he has exhausted it ably, and has opened the way, we believe, to much practical good. We cannot be expected to follow the lecturer through 62 pages of letter-press, and these bristling with all manner of statistics ; but we may take a glance at some of his facts, and at the scope of his arguments. The subject is under three heads — the industrial history and present position of the colony ; its resources ; and its prospects. Tbe history of our industries ii presented witb great fulness and embraces an abundance of information — all valuable, and some of it curious. We cannot attempt even a resume of this part of the paper. " Our present position" is more shortly stated, but reference is made to a series of accompanying elaborate appendices, consisting of tables and diagrams " showing the leading facts 11 and figures." " Taking the whole " trade for the last 15 years," says Mr Blair, "it is found that the imports " generally exceed the exports by from " 20 to 35 per cent., the only exceptions " being in 1870, 1871, 1872, and 1880, " when there was a balance on the other « side of from £47,714 to £1,203,891. "... At present about 21 percent. " of our imports are eatables and drink- " ables, and 38 per cent, clothing and " household requisites. Of the exports " 71 per cent, are pastoral and agricul- " tural products, and 1-1 per cent, come l< from the mines. . . . About 75 per " cent, of the trade of New Zealand is " with tbe United Kingdom. . . " Our next largest transactions are with " Victoria, which gets upwards of 15 per " cent, of our trade, but the Victorians " have for the last ten years bought only " £15 worth of our wares for every £100 " worth we bought from them." A vast array of products comes under the head of '"Our Resources," which are indeed startling in their number and variety. It is somewhat odd that in the fore front of these should be placed scenery, climate ancl water ! And yet with much shrewdness, aud sound reasoning, they are shown to be all veritable and inexhaustible sources of wealth to the colony. " Grand mountains, rivers and " lakes are tangible assets in a nations " balance-sheet ; and in some countries " they are, indirectly, the main source "of revenue. . . . Although the " tourist traffic is only in its infancy, it " is beginning to affect the commerce of " the country. The geysers ofthe north " and the glaciers of the south are " already contributing tbeir quota to " the dividends of the Union Company, " and the mainstay of the Wakatipu " district is the scenery of the Lakes. "As there is nothing in tbe Southern " Seas to compete with her scenery, " New Zealand must always be the " recreation ground of Australasia ; and " the healing waters of the North " Island have appropriately been called " ' the World's Bethesda.' Tbe pro- " tective policy of the Victorians may " keep our oats and potatoes out of their " market, but it cannot keep the money " in their own country when the com- " modities to be bought are the health- " giving pleasures of the Hot Springs " and tbe mountains. It is impossible "to estimate the possibilities of the " tourist traffic of New Zealand, for it " depends very little on the home demand, "and the outside market is unlimited." The climatic advantages of the colony are obvious, and lose nothing in tbe hands of Mr Blair. Their diversity is the characteristic on which he chiefly enlarges, this making New Zealand a " selfcontained " country, " growing maize " and oranges in the North, and barley " and turnips in the South; grapes in the " interior of Otago and red currants on " the sea-board." Water, be points out, is in abundance everywhere — pure water for ordinary uses and manufacturing purposea—and water in our swift-flosving rivers capable of generating supplies without limit of electricity, to be distributed, if oar scientists speak truly, " to the consumer like gas or water." The enumeration and description of our mineral and vegetable resoarceg occupy a considerable portion of the pamphlet and form most instructive reading. Following is a sketch of the extent of pastoral and arable Jaflds of the colony, aud their capabilities. The conclusion is in these wgrds ;— " Taking thewpeyiQ?^ 9 f 99?

" climate into consideration, we could in i( all probability produce as much food of " all kinds as Britain and Ireland, " if our resources were fully developed. " That is, we might feed 20,000,000 or " 25,000,000 human beings instead of " the mere handful of people that con " stitute the population of the colony. " . . . In addition to the grain and " root crops of the old country sub- " tropical plants of all kinds grow " luxuriantly in Few Zealand. Grapes, "oranges, lemons, citrons, melons, and " almonds have long been common fruits. " Olive and corkwood trees are growing " well in the North, and proposals have " been made to the Government to com- " mence a tea plantation. Tobacco " manufactured from leaf grown in the " colony has been occasionally smoked for " years, and we are planting mulberry " trees for our future ailk manufactures." In dealing with the " Future Prospects " of the country, Mr Blair could not avoid running up against the question of Free Trade and Protection. • He has chosen to select a via media for himself, endeavoring to avoid what he is pleased to call the absurdity of .extreme free trade on the one hand and that of protection on the other. We think his argument on this subject by no means clear or sound. " Mathematical free trade, as I understand it," he saya, "is au effectual barrier to all progress, ' a fold- " ing of the hands to sleep.' " This is to be met by simple denial, for there, are some manufactures that in New Zealand do flourish and many more that would flourish under absolute or " mathematical " free trade. They might not flourish in a particular condition of the labor market, but they would flourish eventually, and to make manufactures possible at once, notwithstanding dear labor and other disadvantages, by a wave ofthe wand of protection, would be simply to derange the whole framework of commerce, and inflict indefinite loss on the community. Mr Blair is too clear sighted not to perceive the anomalies and difficulties that flow from a protective system that is not universal, and has himself delineated them with much effect. And he speaks thus of its application to certain industries : — " It " would be unwise to foster any industry " that wants continual propping vp — " money kept in tbe country at this " price is too dear. But when the beam " is so near the balance that a slight " touch will turn in, chat touch should " certainly be applied." By all means, when a touch will do it, let the thiug.be done, for there is always a certaiij gain froni home industry in which the community shares. But there is no such thing, we know very well, as confining protection to "touches," and it is a heary hand that it would lay upon everything. We are not sure that Mr Blair reasons correctly when he soys : — " The whole community will benefit by " the establishment of new industries, " consequently it is only reasonable that " the country should bear the expense of " finding out what industries are likely "to succeed, and of the experiments " necessary to show whether they can <{ really go alone." But our space for the present is exhausted.