AMERICAN PROTECTION.

Tuapeka Times, Volume XXIII, Issue 1671, 5 March 1890, Page 4

AMERICAN PROTECTION.

Protection does not appear to have done much for the American farmer. The St. Louis " Republican" says :—lt: — It is a well known fact that iv the did States of the West every fourth or fifth farm is mortgaged, and in the newer Stater two of every three are in that condition, and the bulk of these claims is held in the prosperous and rich industrial States of the East. The Insurance Companies in the ciiy of Harford own 70 million dollars of farm mortgages, and the Loan Oompaaies of Boston 76 millions' more. Here are 146 million dollars to begin with, and it is certain that if complete returns could be had for the nine industrial states, the aggregate. would; be immense, probably half the assessed value*, of the western farms. As the average net earnings of farming are only 3i per cent, on the capital invested, while the interest they pay on mortgages is 7 to 9 percent., it is clear that the mass of the farmers cannot pay their debts, 'and that somer or later the farmers will have fallen Into the hands of these creditors, and the moneylending corporations of , the great manufacturing States will own fully one half of the Western States.' This melancholy state of things is borne out by the President of the National- Farmers' Association, who said in the course of* his address :—": — " Iv the great agricultural State of Illinois the farmers are sinking hopelessly in debt. Two- thirds, of the farms are mortgaged, and the principal and interest cannot be paid. The official report of the Secretary of Agriculture shows that corn has been grown at a* loss of fifty, two million dollars in five years. Last year I, went through the State' of Kansas, and learned that 95 per cent, of the farms were mortgaged, many. lor, all they are worth. In, Texas I found that every pound of ootton costs two cents, more to raise than it is sold for, and the rate of interest is twenty per cent. I never felt suoh miserable poverty. • - ' ' '

During the discussion on Mr Westgarth's paper on Australian finanoe, read before the Colonial Institute,- Me Billinghurst, the manager of the , London and Westminster Bank, addressed a few. words of warning to the colonies on the subject of their borrowings. He said that the interest whioh had to be provided to pay those who had advanced the £160,000,000 of Australasia's public debt amounted to ,£10,000,000 per a.nnum. S6/far.*h'epreiBureof had not been felt, bjecjiuseiti had not been necessary to transmit the; money from the colonies to thi^ cpuntryj. inasmuch as, through the frequen|^horr6»ings of the different colonies, there we^r'e generally lirge sums to their 5 credit at the London banks whioh sufficed" to pay this interest. But the time must come when these, borrowings would cease, and then the £10,000,000 would. have to be sent from the colonies. . This. could only be dohe by transmitting their produce., According to the published returns, the exports from Australasia 'fell short of the imports, and he did not see,' therefore, how produce could be provided sufficient to oover this annual sum of 10 miltfans, ilfding.