Local Industries.

Manawatu Standard, Volume IV, Issue 272, 14 October 1884, Page 4

Local Industries.

i , ; [ Waip Swa Mail] . ' - ■ : ' 1 If there is one subject of greater moment than another to the settlers of New Zealand, and no less to 'the inhal<it,ants of the towns, it is the necessity of prosecuting local industries of one kind or other m our. midst. If we lodk round lis and consider how 1 few persons are really producers and how many live" upon one another, it will readily he surmised that depression" must result sodner dt* later, for production must precede consumption, and a fruitful cau^eof depression, is speculation m land, I'qr the mere pui'ppse of holding it for a rise,' instead of turning it to Useful accaunt. This speculative spirit haw done considerable harm to (he colony^ which it niay never entirely recover from, for nearly everyone is ftiore or less embued with it. For many years, Auckland has been perhaps the most prosperous part of the colony and this is largely : attributable to the considerable proportion of small set - tlers^ each produciug something on his own little homestead, air "bringing'grist to the liiill," arid consequently, always m the possession of funds. We need not diaw ia. comparison' with some other districts that we know of, whose only product is wool, tallow and grass-seed. These are things that 'are doing' well enough iust now, but n hard time is approaching, when we shall have. p. com pete.. with South American wool produce, just -as we recently; showed, we shall soon have ito ; contend against ; the ; enor^ mous growth of wheat m India. -We greatly fear the Colony - ' him* seen it«> palmiesi times and that a day is fast drawning- near, when we Hhall recall much expenditure that might have bees usefully employed m re productive industries. An examination of our imports foMasr, year .show that wo still import mauy things that might be produced here, but are hot, and we extraotj a few items : - Aerated waters, agricultural implementfj ap- ' parel and slops-, bacon and hams, corn sacks,' flour bags, wool packs; beer, beeswax, biscuits, blacking, : %\&ck lead, boots and shoes, Hrick-s, brushware, brooms, buckets : and tub*, butter, candles, canes, carnages, carts ,and waggons, cement^ chaff, cheese, iehicory, cid r, coals, . coniecdonei I};,,1 };,, •cordage,'.^ doorK, %arthenwar4 J eg^sV j fireworks, fish, flour, fruits, furnituie, jglue, gram; hay, henipj'-hyJes,' honey, ; hops, ink, i-iuglass, jams and jellies, jlard, limejuice, k-ather, manures, jbonedust, unwtongbt niarble, matihes,, ; meal',- potted m feats; preserved niiik/" nius'tardi nails, iiuts, almonda, oakum, ;castor oil, olive oil, linseed oil, mixed... jpaints, paper, pickles, potatoes, .salted iand preserved beef, ditto pork, putty, ;saddlery and himies-s, window sashed, grass and clover seedn,. furs; -slates, soap, starchy building utone, sugar, J sulphur, tallow, tarpaulins, timber, tobacco, twinej vegetables vinegar, woollens and blankets. Everything ■named "m this list could be produced ;in thecphmy, and thereby not, .alone prevent' the export of money,' but furnish remurierative employment .to« piiv people*.'' "Our lands are siuta!)le for gi owing and producing these things, our climate we are often told, js the finest m the world, but 'we are making but little use of either. Can it be that the old Anglo-Saxon, energy, that ov.r fathers gloried m, has gone from' v s, or arcs we demoralised by the -bountiful circumstances m. which we are placed? ' ,