The Temuka Leader TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 1888. PROSPERITY OF VICTORIA.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1701, 21 February 1888, Page 2

The Temuka Leader TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 1888. PROSPERITY OF VICTORIA.

How to account for the prosperity of Victoria has become almost a science. There is no theory conceivable by which it is not explainable except the one—and that is Protection. Those who try to explain away her extraordinarily prosperous condition will on no account allow that Protection has anything to do with it, but, on the contrary, that it is the only drawback she has. It is held as one of the latest theories that a great many of the rich men of Australia live in Melbourne, and that consequently a great deal of wealth falls into that city. It is most extraordinary that the rich men of Australia hare taken a fancy to residing in a protected country. The great objection to Protection is that it increases the cost of living, and it is remarkable that rich mem hare selected this protected colony to live in. Its climate is no better than most of the other colonies, and why should it, therefore, be the great centre to which the rich congregate? A few years ago Victoria was the most depressed and miserable of all the colonies. Did the rif-b men live there then? or have they td!«m ! ire adopted a protects facts are that rich men nvw 10 V 1“ toria before and after the change 7 its fiscal policy. When Victoria was depressed she had rich men; now when she is prosperous she has rich men. But it is not a few rich men that will ever make a whole country prosperous. There are more rich men iu London than in half the world besides—and yet no place knows more real misery.

The next explanation of "Victoria’s prosperity is that foreign capitalists are daily settling there. Of course they are; but this is the effect of Protection. The colony of Victoria gives protection to the capitalist who invests his money in developing her industries, and consequently he comes and settles there. When America adopted Protection a great many English capitalists established factories there. The same thing is occurring in Victoria. English capitalists are settling down there and building factories and giving employment to the people, and the same thing would take place in New Zealand if we adopted a similar policy. The first and leading idea of everyone who takes any interest in the country should, therefore, be Protection.