PROTECTION V. FREE TRADE.

Waikato Times, Volume XXXIX, Issue 3150, 1 September 1892, Page 2

PROTECTION V. FREE TRADE.

TO THE KDITOK. Sir, —It is quite evident that higher tariffs will be one of the planks upon which the present Government rely upon to keep themselves in oflice. It is now quite well understood by all men who study polities, that the right or wrong of liny political question is not considered by tho ins and out.-i ; what is wholly taken into consideration is, what will give the party power. Nevertheless, there is a right aud a wronir hide to every question, and if this riirht or wrong ic not to be what is considered, then God holp the world all over. We here in New Zealand are not alone in having time-serving politicians. It is the sarao in every other country, now or old, in which democratic institutions are the ruling power. It is great humiliation to man that such is .--o, fir it distinctly shows that man is politically dishonest, and is unworthy of having political power. Perhaps it will be said that tho evil will cure itself. It is all very well to say so, but I beg your readers to understand that no evil cures itself without leaving a sHng behind. Oh tbeso stings ! Protectionists in past times used to quote Melbourne as an example of the benefits of Protection, They do not do so now, because the benefits were sham, and all shams come to an end, and become of no use as a defence in government. As Melbourne has failed as a lean-to by the Protectionists, they now quote America as a pillar of strength to lean upon in their support of high tariffs. Mr Editor, it does not require depth of thought to show that high tariffs have been no factor in making tho United States great ;ind prosperous ; in fact it is easy io show that great as tho United Slates are in ■wealth the}- would have been still more prosperous under Free Trade. What has made the United States rise with such rapid strides are the many unci great idigenous (perhaps is not the proper word) resources of the various States, such as gold, silver, oil. pitch, timber, furs, copper, coal, iron, salmon and lobster, along with the productions tropical and northern grown by man, snch as cotton, tobacco, riee, Indigo, sugar, wheat, Indian corn, pork and beef! all and every ono which they export, ;md which brings them in return hard CMsh. Will any time-serving politician in NewZealand dare to assert that Protection had anything to do with placing these idigenoue producls in the soil or in the seas of these States ? Will Mr Ballunce dare to assert that Protection had any thing to do with the growing of tobacco, cotton, wheat or sugar ? If Mr B-.illaneo was not determined to be an in and not an out, if he was determined to be politically honest, he could show what ho thoroughly believes ; that is. th»t Projection kept back the further extension of these exports. If Mr B.illanco ;tssf-rts thnt he honestly believes that Protection did not keep back tho productior \ of the products I have named, 1 will hats to enlighten him how it was and is so. It is understood by all that emigration from

Europe to Amoral has :.ddcd •mioli to the quickness and rapidity of the quantity of her prodiiotums. It is largely owing ro the fon-ifii element tint she Ins M> rapidly extended into the West: but for tliis'tortiigu oluni.-nt lu-r Western States, wlmh nro now being cultivated, would still have been boundless wastes inhabited l>y n few morning Indians and herds of buffaloes. Well, then, Protection did not lifiip on this subduing of the wilderness. Instead of helping it on. it kept it lnck. and I wilt show Mr Ballance how. The moat of the emigrants were men who naturally would have tken to subduing the wilderness, nnrl most of them did so. But along with these men there were others who had no intention of taking to the woods and praries. These men, these emigrants, were men who worn goiug to work nt protected industries ; these men were carpet weavers, cotton spinners, calico printers, worsted dyers, and such like. Mr Ballance will lay what had those men got to do with keeping the wilderness from being subdued. Well, then, Mr Ballance, this was how it was. These protected industries, besides these artisans already mentioned, required mnnv unskilled labourers, anil theso unskilled labourers, if they had not been so taken up by the protected industries would have found their way to the woods nnrt forests. Mr Bfillancc may say that these protected industries added to the wealth of the nation. Oh, what an absurdity fo a Premier of a colony to say ! Why, these calico-printers and cnrpet-wesivera produced goods at the cost of a million of dollars which could have been bought fr.im England at the cost of seven hundred thousand dollars, so that thu United States is a loser of three hundred ihoii sand dollars by the production of every million of dollars. Being the loser of that sum, it naturally follows that it is that sum the poorer. Mr Ballance, you cannot iret out of that, even with that wonderful thimble-rigger, Bob Stout, at your back. Mr Ed'tor. there is a great similarity between the Western States of the . United States and our larae landowners—similar in this way. that both are being robbed, and each by their own countrymen. The Western States are being robbed by the Protectionist States. ' The three hundred thousand dollars of loss has to be paid by the farmer in having to buy from the Eastern States instead of from England. The farmer receives no benefit from Protection, but he has to pay the loss. The Eastern States, being in the majority, rob the. minority. If when we leave this world we are permitted to look down and see what is going on here below, with what anguish must Washington, Adams. Hancock, and Franklin look upon the effects of Democracy. These men were honest Democrats and believed in the principles of Democancy. They believed that man was politically honest, With what horror most they see that man is politically dishonest, and that after all their patriotism on behalf of mankind it has descended down to this that the majorities tyrannise over and roh the minorities. Of course in countries which are ruler] hy democracy the n-itnivil outcome is that majorities should rule, but there is a great, very great, difference between ruling and robbing ; and this is where democracy has failed, fearfully failed ; failed, because it takes its stand upon the damnable doctrine that robbery is the correct and proper thing. It was lately stated by one of our Cabinet Ministers in one of his harangues to bis constituents that the hie; landholders iinder the graduated tnx would see it was not to their interest to retain their large properties and that they would endeivour to get quit of them. Now this was advocating confiscation, 'tis trre the Government does not say r.p»nly, "We will take your lands," but to a'l intents and purposes they say so. To put on a tax on what is valuable so as to take away the value is confiscation. It will be that, whereas in slavery the man is robbed of hir. freedom that confiscation 5s just ; in fact, in such a cas«. if fhern wns no confiscation there could be no justice. Hut these largp land-holders have nnt been robbers, they did not, steal the acres as the slave catchers stole the nrgr'M. If ever land was acquired by fair, honourable, and legitimate methods it; was nrqtiired so by the pioneer squatters of New Zealand. Look into it and you will sec that not one person did they bo the means of keßpinefrom getting land. Without, the pioneers there would have been none wanting land, and through these pioneers thousands are now owning land. But under democracy, as it is now administered by democratic New Zealanders, justice, is being thrown to the winds. Mr Editor, I would like to ask these democratic leaders what ''s to be the outcome of this taking from those who have, to give to those who have not." I would like to ask them if nndrr such a system society could exist ? To hold society together so as not to run loose, thpro must be something to

tie society together ; this tic is protection to the individual rights of property. Without this tie man would never have progressed, all viroaressioii which we now hare lias (lowed from that tie. Cut that tie and the world will come to an end. The man who advocates Socialism is mart., as mad as a Maivh hare ! Socialism would he splendid if . practicable, but ' there are hundreds of fads which look beautiful in the abstract but are quite unfitted and are impracticable. The great evil under democracy as it now is, is that all sorts of political vogues dandle some of these he.nutifnl and taking, bat quite impracticable, fads 'before the people. These know quits well that what they advocate is damned devilment, but they linve the hopo that the evils of their nonsense will not come in their day, while they themselves profit by their devilment, and leave the evils to the futura generation.—l'am, etc., Harapepe.