From a Farmer's Point of View.

Southland Times, Issue 9584, 1 August 1887, Page 4

From a Farmer's Point of View.

A farmer, writing to the N. Z. Herald on the Protection question saye :— All classes of politicians seem to be united in the opinion that the settlement of the land is a matter of the first importance ; that tbe establishmecb of a powerful, healthy agricultural population in small holdiuga is the way to make a prosperous colony. AH seem willing to admit that assistance should be given where necessary to encourage people settling on Und. The objection to Mr Ballance'o scheme is not that he has giren such assistance, but only to his way of giving it. And that those who have settled or are going to settle on the land need all the encouragement they can get is only too evident. In the attainment of success few people pass through such privations as tbe small country settler. Before he is co-nfortably established five, six, or eight years' ceaseless toil must frequently be endurcJ. Not aa in the city, for eight hours a day, but from daylight to dark.for the country settler's work is never done. Not as in Auckland, under a good roof, which his regular weekly wages enable the artisan to pay for, but often under the roughest shrlter. Not along good metalled roads, but along the merest tracks, cut by himself,which in winter become a sea of mad. Not in the midst of auugements and gaieties, but in the solitude of the bush, on the humblest fare, and in the plainest clothes. Only strong hearts and armß can be succ.'ssful on a bush farm, and the reason that the land is so thinly settled is that so many have iried and given up in despair. So few comparatively have succeeded. And, to make the struggle still harder, agricultural produce of Jill sorts has been going down and down in p ice for years, and it seems as if the lowest cub was not reached yet. A letter has lately uppeared in your columns showi: g in a striking manner the low price of beef. Every country settler has had the same experience. Formerly we used to get id per 1b for all the beef we could raise, now we cannot sell our beei for 2d per lb. In coneequence we have ii.ul to give up rearing cattle on grass, as it will not pay. In the early days of the colony wool used to fetch 2s per lb; it has been down as lew aa sd. It is only the' certain sale' for our wool in the English market which makes sheep any better than cattle. This said market, on which many people depend for tbe main part of their liviDg, protectionists would do thtir best to discourage. Butter on which bo many small settlers depend £or a living, is absolutely unsaleable in the summer,tbe only time when fresh settlers can make it, Grass seed used to fetch 12s or 14s a bushel ; it has gone down to ss. No small settler can now afford to grow wheat or oatß ; they are bo low in price. Ibe best cheese, Mr Moss tells up, won't fetch 4^d per pound. Now, theD, comes the question : If settling on the land is auch a labourious and uncertain occupation, if, j.B all are willing to admit, Bottlers deserve aid should reeeivß encouragement and help, what is the best way of giving this help 1 Obviously, the farmer reasons, that as everything he can produce has reached almost Us lewe3t ebb in price, so everything be consumes should be rendered aa cheap e,e possible — the better to enable him to compete with the outside world, If his spade and hi 3 axe, and other tools, with which he raises hia produce, his clothes and buotj and blankets, bis sugar and tea were 15 per cent, cheaper than they are at present, he would immediately feel a sensible relief. Sweep away the Customhouse, that wasteful and cumbersome method of collecting revenue ; substitute taxes which can be raised ht a minimum of co*t, and which ar* no hindrance to trade, levied on every man according to his ability to pay ; leave tbe pettier to expend bis hard earned *avingi to the best advantage, that is a way of giving help wtiich costs the country nothing. Mr Moss would encourage him by establishing manufactures in Auckland, and thus providing a market there. Has it ever occurred to Mr Mops that while the population of she colony haß trebled in twenty years ; while hugfi cities fire growing up in our midst (too faßt for tb« good of the cornmnni v) : while hundreds rf local industries are becoming firmly established ; yet avricu!mral produce of all ports bag b faddy rlrcline'i in price ? Does Mr Moss really imagine that the establishment of manufactures in Auckland would raine the price of oheeee a fraction of a fai thing a pound 1 It isimpoapi'ule that he could think so, if he wojld rcli "ct , ifcut the extra quantity of cheese the local industries would consume would be almost infinitesimal, in comparieon with the quantity that will be produced, And it is the same with all other produce, It is the markets of the World, on which we depend, which regulate the price ; not tbe market in New Zealand. But what farmers would like to know is, whether these local industries really do require co much encouragement ? Mr Dargaville (chairman of the committee for tbe encouragement of local industries) stated in a speech at Wellington, that 25 000 people were dirccily engaged in manufactures in New Zealand. 100,000 people (a sixth part of the population of the colony) were, he estimated, directly supported by local industries. Nearly £v",000 000 was the value of the lands, buildings, &c. employed in local industries. 7 hi?, for a very youDg and thinly populated colony, most people will consider a magnificent result. The late meeting of tbe Industrial Association in Auckland, with the hundreds of locally made articles exhibited there, confirm tnese figures, and point forcibly to the conclusion, that manufactures need no encouragement in New Zealand (at any rate at the expense of the farmers), and that the workmen engaged in them are a better paid class than the small country sc tiers. In the face of these facts, how can protectionists ask the farmers (already hard pressed) to place more burdens on their Bhoulderf, for the mere purpo«e of Hading woik for people in the cities I VS'ill those who flock to the cities and clamour so loudly for help be willing to do for the settlers what they claim to have done for themselves ? Will they be willing to have a 20 per cent, duty put on agricultural prcduce coming into Auckland, on condition that local industries have an equal protection ? All the wheat, oats, poiatocs, meat, cts., consumed in Auckland would thfn be prown in the province. The Tauranga cbeeßpman rui^ht then get sixpence per pound f;r hi* cheeae, instead of 4£d as at prweut. • Uow would Mr Moss like that V Protectiouistg would hardly admit that this was the way to m&k,e Auckland proiperoiw. Yet this

8 wsaotly the protectionist principle, «nd why not apply it to Auckland jus against the rest of the colony, as well as apply it to the ooloay as Against the world 1 The fact is thai, ai in some other matters, we are trying to go too fast. It is idle to suppose that a young country can manufacture to advantage everything it requires. The only effect of protection wonld be, that the settlement of the land, already proceed* ing too slowly, would be still further retarded j for it cannot be supposed that men would endure the hardships and privations of buih life if they could earn regular wages io a city. Thus, instead of a numerous, healthy, and virtnona agricultural class, you would be bnilding np a consumptive and immoral factory population as a heirloom to tke colony for ever. In conclusion, sir, farmers have their difficulties—great difficulties — but they face them like men, relying on themselves. Let all others do the same. What we say is < a fair field and no favour for any man.'