The Gisborne Times PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. TUESDAY, AUGUST 3,1909. A SELFISH ATTITUDE.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 2570, 3 August 1909, Page 4

The Gisborne Times PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. TUESDAY, AUGUST 3,1909. A SELFISH ATTITUDE.

At their Conference in Wellington last week the representatives of the Farmers’ Union confirmed the principle that taxation through the customs should be for the purpose of raising revenue and not for protective purposes. The gentleman who moved the resolution in this connection, Mr W. H. Birch, declared that •Every little deputation which wont to the Government and asked for protection for some little industry was met in the most benevolent spirit, and given what it wanted. The country was subject to an unholy combination between labor and the employers, who in order to gratify their men, sought for and obtained higher duties.

As a rulo we arc glad to support tlio 'aims and aspirations of the farmers, for upon their efforts must depend all .other forms of national industry, but 'in the (present instance they appear to have, adopted a most selfish attitude. What they ask for is virtually freetrade, and such a system would spell ruin to almost the whole of our manufacturing industries which at present 'provide the means of subsistence for a Very large proportion ,of the total population. Freetrade, or to use ' tho farmers’ own words, t£ a revenue tariff” would have the effect of closing down our clothing and boot factories, implement works, and many other branches which play a very important part in the progress of the country. The freetraders’ argument would, of course, be that New Zealanders would then obtain cheaper clothes and cheaper boots: Possibly they would, but whilst this might suit the farmer, it would be disastrous to the eity, worker, who would find employment so restricted that he •would be unable to buy clothes even at the reduced rate. Moreover, it is exceedingly significant that these same farmers who howl with indignation ‘when the Government endeavors to •promote the implement industry by levying a protective duty against the Yankee Harvester Trust, are always to tho fore with a strong .protest when Mr. Hogg comes to light at frequent intervals with his Flour, Duty Abolition Bill. Yet if ever there was a good case ffor the removal of duties it exists in regard to N tho present, duties on flour and wheat. 'Bread, as tho staple article of food: in every home, should never be surcharged for the. benefit of any person

or any class, yet to suit tho special interests of the farmer, we protect ourselves against tho cheapest market by a duty of 9d on every hundred pounds of flour and £1 on every ton of flour brought from Australia. Our raanufacturOrs have to contend against'.the specialisation and sweated labor of tho Old World, but in supplying its homo market our farmers, with/an unrivalled soil and climate, stand on at least as good a footing as those of any other country. Yet directly we como to articles produced by the farmer wo find him stipulating for heavy duties all along the line. Barley pays 2s per hundred pounds, chaff £1 per ton, onions and potatoes £1 per ton, cattle 10s each, horses £1 each, potted meats 30 per cent. The attention of Mr. Birch might reasonably be drawn to these items, as he appears to have overlooked them when advocating a revenue tariff. Of course, a broader conception of national affairs would show the farmers that such a. direct attack upon town interests as is involved in their frectrade proposition is likely to recoil against themselves. Although it is true that land settlement is the primal" need jof the present period, we must not forget that'if New Zealand is to ever achievo a great destiny her people must learn to be largely sclf-con- ■ tained. It is not sufficient to grow sheep and lambs; we must also be prepared to manufacture the articles our people need. But our manufactures cannot ho built up without protection, and that of a most substantial nature. The specialisation that is possible in the immense factories of the old world and the terrible sweating that millions of workers have to undergo provide a form of competition .against which our employers are helpless'. In the future, when we take advantage of the immense quantities of cheap power obtainable in our rivers, and when our population provides sufficient market to justify greater specialisation, we may he able to compete against the outside World without the aid of a protective tariff, but that time is a long way distant. In the meantime, it may be some consolation to the farmers to know that if protection involves a larger cost to them on manufactured goods, it likewise helps to maintain an increasing 'population in tho towns, which year by year provides them with a market close at hand for their own products.