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The Present Condition and Future Prospects of the Industrial Resources of New Zealand, and the Best Means of Fostering Their Development.

An Essay; by George Robert Hart.

"Nunqnam dormio."

In dealing with the subject selected for the essay I take it that the condition relative to the present position of the industrial resources of the colony means that a brief review of the point at which the various principal industries of New Zealand have arrived—as evidenced by the late Exhibition—will be considered sufficient. At any rate, I purpose dealing with it in this way, as I feel that the matter of fostering the local industries now at work, and of encouraging those which may hereafter be developed, is by far the most important branch of the subject to which the essayist can direct his attention in the hope that good may result therefrom.

Viewed in this light, I will first refer to what cannot but be regarded as the most important of all our industries—namely, the conversion of the raw material of wool into the manufactured articles. No doubt the mineral resources of the country, and the manufactures arising therefrom, must be regarded as very important factors in the sum of prosperity of the colony; but still they are subsidiary to a large extent to that industry which profitably absorbs so large a proportion of our chief staple product.

Beginning in but a small way, the woollen factories of Kaiapoi, Mosgiel, and Roslyn have placed the industry to which page 106 I am referring on almost the highest pinnacle of success. They have not only opened up new avenues of employment for large numbers of our people, mainly amongst those for whom it is always difficult to obtain work—namely, our young people, but they have also created what is most important to the interests of the colony as a whole—a local market, and demand for the wool grown here. Prior to the establishment of these factories the wool-grower had no other market for his produce but the Home one, and thus the amount received in payment for his wool was depreciated by the charges which he had to pay, and the fluctuations of a market over which, to a large extent, he had no control; besides which the expending power of the principal portion of our producing population was curtailed by so much. Now this is altered, and the result is due to the growth of the industry under notice. The wool-grower now finds that he has a local market open to him, capable of absorbing a fairly-appreciable quantity of the raw material; and he can obtain a full price for his wool without incurring the various charges for freight, insurance, &c., or the risk and delay of a long sea-voyage.

With regard to the manufactured article produced by the woollen companies, what I take to be the greatest test of the present good position of the industry is the fact that not only have they succeeded in almost entirely superseding the imported article in the colony itself, but that a large and increasing trade has sprung up in Australia for the products of the looms at Kaiapoi and elsewhere. One branch of manufacture in which, of late years, great advances' have been made by our local woollen factories has been that of ready-made clothing. This has developed into a most important item in the work of all the factories; indeed it may be said that it now forms the most important branch of local industry comprised under the head of "Woollen Manufactures." In the production of blankets, also, the factories have made marked progress; so much so that their products are now inquired after all over the Australasian Colonics, in preference to those manufactured in England or elsewhere.

Let me here briefly, and without going into statistics too deeply, trace the rise and progress of one of these factories—namely, that of the Kaiapoi Woollen Company. I select this page 107 one, not from any desire to make invidious comparisons, but because I can the more readily refer to the facts and figures, and also as the progress of this factory is typical of that of the other two in the southern part of the colony. The comparison of what was with what is, as having reference to the Kaiapoi Woollen Factory, will enable a more satisfactory estimate to be arrived at as to the present position of this important industry than would otherwise be the case. Starting, in 1875, with a capital of £20,000, the career of the company was commenced under very favourable auspices, the bonus of £2,000 offered by the Provincial Government for the encouragement of the woollen industry being gained by it. Difficulties, however, were experienced, as in the early days of all industries, and in 1877 the whole concern was sold for £7,000. In July, 1878, the present company was formed, with a capital of £15,000, of which the extension of operations has necessitated the increase to £100,000. Since then its career has been most prosperous, as is shown by the fact that, after paying in one year no less a sum than .£30,000 for land, plant, and buildings, the company were enabled to declare a dividend of 10 per cent, and carry forward a substantial sum. As to the extent of the trade done, it may be gathered from the fact that about 8,000lb. of washed wool, equal to 16,000lb. of greasy, passes through the carding-room every week. At the works at Kaiapoi 240 hands are regularly employed; whilst at the clothing factory in Christchurch some 170 more are engaged, the latter being principally women and girls. Almost every description of woollen good's, from the coarsest to the finest, is produced in the mills; and many other industries are dependent upon or have been stimulated by this one.

Thus, I take it, the colony can be fairly congratulated upon the progress made by its chief industry. All who saw the magnificent display made at the Wellington Exhibition by the three principal factories to which reference has been made will, I am sure, agree with me in awarding the palm for importance to the woollen industries of New Zealand. Given the conditions to which I will refer later on, and the future prospects of our woollen industries must be such as to exercise a very important influence on the future prosperity of the colony as a whole.

Next in order I come to the metal industries, and here page 108 again we have cause to indulge in what Mr. Anthony Trollope designated as the colonial habit of "blowing." The present position of this industry is an exceedingly satisfactory one. We have seen that a colonial firm has been enabled to undertake to supply locomotives for the Government railways, and that in another part of the colony iron ship-building has been carried out most creditably alike to the colony and the firm undertaking the work. The exhibit of the Public Works Department in the Wellington Exhibition has shown to those who have inspected it that our workers in metals in the colony have been able to construct work in connection with the opening-up of the country which would not disgrace the Old Country. Reference may be made, in illustration of this, to the Rakaia Gorge Bridge, the Wingatui Viaduct, and other works which have been carried out under the supervision of the Public Works Department. Viewed as typical exhibits of the metal industries of the colony, those sent to the Wellington Exhibition by Messrs. Scott Bros., of Christchurch, and Messrs. A. and T. Burt, of Dunedin, are such as no country need be ashamed of. Such work as this shows far more emphatically than I could demonstrate in a dozen pages of manuscript what progress has been made in the past in reference to this industry, and what great results we may look for hereafter in the light of the experience which we have gained. Nearly every article exhibited by these two firms—and, as I have said, I only select them as being typical of others existing in the colony—would, some few years back, have had to be imported. In finish of the more artistic or luxurious kind of work and general completeness our colonial products under this head will fairly bear comparison with the manufactures of the older centres of industry in England. If this be so—and there can be but little doubt on the subject—then I think it may fairly be assumed that the second of our principal industries must lie .taken to have achieved success, and to be progressing onward satisfactorily.

In an important branch of this industry the advance made in an almost incredibly short period has been most marked. I refer to the production of agricultural implements, an industry which is daily assuming very large' proportions amongst us, particularly in the southern part of New Zealand. It is not so page 109 many years ago since a colonial plough, or indeed any agricultural implement of importance, was almost unknown, or at any rate unused, amongst the farmers of the colony. With that true British conservatism which it is almost impossible to uproot from the minds of the people, the agriculturists of that period still clung with unfailing tenacity to the unwieldy ploughs and harrows of their native land. The infant industry had thus, as might be expected under the circumstances, a very hard struggle; but then the victory which has been gained since has been all the more glorious, Now the good old-fashioned imported implements are conspicuous by their absence from nearly every farm in the country, and they have been replaced, to the advantage of the farmers, by the manufactures of such colonial firms of implement makers as Messrs. Reid and Gray,. P. and D. Duncan, Booth and Macdonald, Andrews and Beaven, and others.

But it is not alone in the production of what I may term the more common class of implements—those, I mean, in everyday use—that our colonial manufacturers have beaten the imported article. In the higher branches of the production of agricultural machinery they are rapidly invading the territory at one time exclusively occupied by the Home firms, and gradually but surely forcing them out of the market. This is the more noticeable in the production by a colonial firm—Messrs. Reid and Gray, of Dunedin—of a reaper and binder which has worthily held its own in the trials made as against those manufactured in America and elsewhere. The impetus which would be given to the local industry of the iron trade by the coming into extensive use amongst our farmers of the colonially-made reapers and binders in place of the imported it is almost impossible to over-estimate; and, what is of still greater importance, a very large sum of money which now annually finds its way from the colonies to America would be retained here and spent within our own borders.

Thus it appears to me that the present position of the second of our staple local industries, though not what it ultimately must become, is yet exceedingly satisfactory from two points of view—(1.) That the growth of the industry in our midst has provided employment for a large class of the community, and must, from the large field for expansion which is page 110 before it, be the means in the future of affording still greater facilities for the employment of labour. (2.) That it encourages the settlement and cultivation of the country by affording the agriculturist possessing only a small capital the opportunity of acquiring the requisite implements, &c., at the cheapest rate, and on the most favourable terms. As to the future of this very important industry, there can be no doubt of it being a brigh, and hopeful one.

The action taken by the Government with reference to the more complete opening up and utilization of the vast coal deposits on the west coast of the Middle Island by the improvement of the harbours will have a very great effect upon the future of all local industries connected with the working of metals, and, indeed, all industries of whatever kind, because there, is no department of human industry into which the use of coal as a means of manufacture does not enter either in a direct or indirect degree.

The industries which provide for the utilization of our timber resources properly claim attention next, and it is most satisfactory to be able to record that much progress has been made therein. It is true that the vandalism which has used for the fire and the commoner purposes of station requirements the finest woods, perhaps, in the world for furniture and ornamental purposes has to a very large extent decimated our forests; but the growth amongst us of industries which encourage the use of our local timbers in the construction of the more elaborate and ornamental articles of furniture has put a stop to this practice. The exhibits at the Wellington Exhibition of furniture and woodwork from various parts of the colony, and more especially the comprehensive exhibit of the Dunedin Woodware Company, showed conclusively that our woods are well adapted for the manufacture of the more luxurious articles of household furnishing and adornment, as well as those in daily use. The whole collection of exhibits at Wellington under the head of wood ware proved that great progress has been made in this as well as the other departments of local industry which I have passed under review. The importation of furniture from England, which at one time used to be largely carried on, has now all but ceased, the only exception being some stray consignments which now and again find their way to the colony, but which, from the unre- page 111 munerative nature of the returns, and the advance made by the local industry, will no doubt ere long cease altogether. This industry, from the very nature of things, is bound to make great strides in the future.

With the institution of the direct steam service a new class of addition to our population has conic amongst us. The class of assisted or free immigrants, who landed with just enough money to pay a few weeks' rent until work was obtained, and in some cases not even possessing that small amount of capital to start with, has disappeared, and instead we are receiving as accessions to our numbers persons who possess a moderate amount of capital, and who are able and willing to expend some portion of it in making their new homes attractive and comfortable. The advent of this class must have the effect of stimulating to a very great extent the development of the industry of which I have been speaking, and this development in its turn will re-act on the general prosperity by the increased labour which will be absorbed, and the consequent addition to the spending power of the community.

The leather-and boot-manufacturing industry, from the great progress made by it, naturally claims some degree of attention. The development in this industry has been remarkably rapid, and large factories, employing an immense number of hands, have sprung up like magic in the various centres of population. The experiments which are in course of progress to test the suitability of some of the barks of our native trees for tanning purposes will, if successful, be the means of introducing a new branch of industry in connection with this one. As to the manufactured article, the display made at the recent Exhibition by Messrs. Lightband, Allan, and Co., the Northern Boot Factory, and others, most emphatically shows that in this is well as in other departments our local industries can well hold their own. The future of the industry under notice cannot but be a most important one, as it supplies all our present wants, and one which grows with the population. If the experiments alluded to are found to answer, then a great reduction in the cost of production of leather will be effected, and a consequent lower price to the purchaser of the manufactured article will no doubt follow. Whilst on the subject of leather, it may be noted that anew industry has been developed recently page 112 in connection therewith. I allude to the production, for the first time in the colony, at the factory of Messrs. Bowron Bros., of Canterbury, of high-class furniture-and book-binding leathers. The finish of these is equal to anything that can be imported, and the further development of this branch of manufacture cannot but have a very important bearing on the future prospects of the leather industry as a whole.

I now come to an industry which is of immense importance to the welfare of the community at large, but in respect to which there is, I regret to say, not so much progress to note as with regard to others. I allude to the mining industry. As I shall have to refer more particularly to this question when dealing with the best means of fostering and encouraging the development of our industrial resources, I will not do more than glance at the salient points which present themselves when considering the matter. It seems to me that the mining industry of the colony will, in the future, occupy somewhat the position of the ugly duck in Hans Christian Andersen's fairy story; and that, though we have treated it hitherto with a great deal of neglect, it will yet prove to be the means of largely increasing the prosperity of the colony. Let me here explain that by mining industry I do not mean the mere digging for gold, but rather the development of those vast stores of mineral wealth which are known to exist in various parts of the colony. It is true, as already noticed, that the Government have taken a most important step in the right direction by making such improvements in the coal harbours of the West Coast as will enable the coal deposits there to be utilized to their fullest extent. There can be no doubt that, when these works are completed, the export of coal from New Zealand will be largely increased. As a gas coal there are few to surpass it. This has been conclusively proved by a test recently instituted in comparison with New South Wales coal. The production of gas per ton of the New Zealand coal amounted to 11,928ft.; whilst the same quantity of New South Wales coal only produced 9,000ft. As a steam coal also it will compare favourably with the best Welsh. Thus it may be assumed that, so far as the production of coal is concerned, this branch of industry is making fair progress, and has before it an encouraging future. But when we turn our attention to the vast natural resources of the colony, com- page 113 prising as they do every mineral known to science, in greater abundance than any other country in the world for its area, how little, comparatively speaking, has been done, or is in course of being done, towards their development and bringing into useful manufacture. Some efforts, it is true, have been made; but nothing of a thorough or complete kind. The result is that, in relation to one of the most important of all industries, we are sending money out of the colony for manufactures, when we have the raw material in abundance within our own borders only awaiting development. The future prospects of this industry are bright in the extreme, if only we initiate and carry out a vigorous and liberal policy of encouraging, by all means in our power, the development of the undoubtedly rich mineral resources of the colony.

Another industry which has grown up amongst us during the past few years is that of the export of frozen meat. The natural growth of our flocks pointed to the inevitable necessity, at no distant date, for the provision of a market beyond our local ones, and the discovery of the process now applied to the exportation of frozen mutton to England supplied the means to that end. The present condition of the industry, it is true, is not so bright as could be wished; but, though this is so, it has supplied a means for the disposal of our surplus stock which could not have been so profitably supplied by any other industry. Boiling-down or preserving would not have answered the purpose, neither would they have insured such good pecuniary returns to the flockowners of the colony. The future of the industry depends in a large measure on the colonists themselves. If the present method of shipment and distribution in England be continued then the flockowner cannot expect to see any improvement on present prices, nor will the demand increase; as it undoubtedly would if a different means were adopted of dealing with the carcases after they reach their destination. To enable the meat to reach the thousands of consumers who will only be too glad to have the opportunity of purchasing it, shops for the sale of New Zealand meat and that alone will have to be established in the principal centres of population throughout the United Kingdom. These once established, with a kind of co-operative cold stores belonging to the New Zealand shippers, and working in concert with the shops, and the future success of this industry, which is destined page 114 to have a most important effect on the welfare of the colony, is assured. In considering this matter it must be remembered that it is one of colonial and not individual interest, because the success or failure of this industry means either, on the one hand, a large addition to our resources, a new market for our surplus produce, and an increase of our staple products, or, on the other, a compulsory reliance upon .the two staples of wool-and wheat-growing—a reliance which the experience of the past two or three years has shown to be without any very sure foundation. Therefore, though perhaps not strictly coming under the head of what are called popularly local industries, the exportation of frozen meat—from the important part it is destined to play in the development of our industrial resources by adding to the general prosperity cannot be overlooked in an essay of this character.

I have dealt specifically with all the industries which seem to me to call for individual mention. Let me now briefly, before touching upon the subject of the best means of fostering the development of them, group together some which I think deserve at any rate a passing notice. One of these which has during the past made great progress, and to a large extent supplanted the imported article, is the candle and soap manufacturing industry. A means of judging of what has been done in regard to this industry was afforded by the exhibit of Messrs. Kitchen and Co. at the recent Exhibition at Wellington. Those who remember the very crude efforts which were made some years ago in the direction of supplying the market with a better class of candles, so as to do away with the necessity for sending so large a sum of money annually out of the colony for the imported article, will note what a stride has been made, to place the industry in the position in which it now is. The colonial manufacturer is able to turn out an article quite equal to the best, if not superior to some, of the second-class imported brands. All that is wanted to open up for this industry in the future a large and increasing field of operation is the dissipation from the minds of the people the absurd notion that because an article is colonially manufactured, it must of necessity be of that description known as "cheap' and nasty." The demand in both branches of this industry is exceedingly great, and once the colonial article can obtain a footing—as from its quality and price it is bound to do page 115 in the end—we may look for an extensive manufactory of these articles growing up in our midst.

Another industry which has up to the present achieved a very satisfactory position is that of the manufacture of pickles, jams, and preserves. So rapid has been the success attendant upon the establishment in various parts of the colony of local manufactories, that the importation of these articles may be said practically to have ceased. Only one obstacle at present seems to stand in the way of the growth of the industry to a magnitude yet undreamt of, and that is the difficulty of obtaining the raw material in the shape of vegetables and small fruits. It seems almost inconceivable, in a country like this, where every cottager possesses a piece of garden ground of more or less extent, even in close contiguity to our cities, that this difficulty should exist; but the fact remains that it does do so. Still, in spite of this drawback, the industry has made great strides, and the article produced will bear favourable comparison, alike in price and quality, with those imported. The present position of it is this, that it affords remunerative employment to a large number of persons; it has stimulated the bringing into work of a new industry in the shape of glass-making, and it will also be the means of inculcating on the small-cottager class habits of industry by offering a ready and remunerative market for the produce of their gardens. In the future, when these advantages come to be better understood and more fully recognized and taken advantage of by the people as a whole, there can be no doubt this will be a most important industry, and one which will have a very marked effect upon the mass of the people for good in the direction I have indicated.

The pottery and clay-goods industry is another in which marked progress has been made, and the position of which is now such as to cause a feeling of satisfaction. This result has been aided materially, I may note, by the well-timed liberality of the Minister for Public Works, who has reduced the rates of carriage on the lines between the potteries and the market. Nor alone has the industry achieved a good position as regards the commoner class of goods, such as drain-pipes, flower-pots, &c.; but in the more ornamental branches a marked degree of excellence is displayed. This is especially notable in the production recently by some of the colonial potteries of high- page 116 class plaques, suitable for artistic flower-or figure-painting of the best description, and of which experts speak highly, as equal to any which could be produced by the artistic potteries at Home. The future of this industry, judging by the progress made in the past, is bound to be one to which we can look forward hopefully, the condition of success being that, in common with others, it receives, alike from the Government and the people, liberal encouragement and support.

Though perhaps not a local industry, yet one which will, I think, be of great value to the colony as a whole, I cannot pass over the apiarian industry, which has been so largely and successfully prosecuted in the northern part of the colony. Though only yet in its infancy, it is affording employment to a number of people, and also making remunerative use of land from which perhaps, except in this way, no return would be received. Though only a small item in the sum of our industrial resources, we cannot afford to despise even the day of small things, and I look forward with very great confidence to the apiaries of New Zealand in the future (though not rivalling the larger industries of woollen or iron manufacture) playing no inconsiderable part in the general prosperity of this young and vigorous nation.

A brief mention of one or two industries which have been recently started and I will close this part of my subject. An industry—the only one in the colonies, so far as I can learn—has been started in the Middle Island, which bids fair to be of very great importance, and which would, had it been longer established here, have claimed far more attention than being left so late in the day: I refer to the manufacture of carpets, which, in a small way, it is true, has recently been started by Mr. N. Mitchell, at Canterbury. Of the present position of this addition to our industrial resources one can say but little, as it has not yet got out of its infancy. It may, however, be noted that the articles produced are of excellent quality, and that the patterns are both handsome and artistic. The demand at present, though fairly remunerative, is not by any means what it will be when the industry gets properly started. There is this about it, that it adds yet another to the list of those industries which will ultimately put an end to the necessity which now appears to exist, in some degree at least, for our sending our wool away in the raw state to be manufactured elsewhere, and returned to page 117 us at a high price in the shape of the manufactured articles. Further than this, it provides a means for the utilization of a great deal which, without the presence in our midst of this industry, would go to waste. As to its future prospects, those who have seen the effect which the establishment of the carpet industry has had upon certain cities in the Old Country, and the prosperity which has grown out of this trade alone in the localities where the production is carried on, will at once agree that, when it has passed through its present chrysalis stage, its future ought to be fraught with very important results to the colony as a whole. Another small industry, which, however, promises to enlarge at no distant date into an important branch of manufacture, is the brushware industry. This is now pretty extensively carried on both in the northern and southern portions of the colony, and, though not much has yet been done, there are hopes for it in the future. The latest phase of the development of our local resources is the project of Mr. Noble, of Timaru, to utilize wheat-straw for the manufacture of wrapping paper. A very good sample of tough paper has been produced, and, if it can be carried on at a reasonable cost, there should be a good market for the products of the factory when started. I can only refer by name to the older industries, such as the Auckland Tobacco Company, the various rope and twine manufactories, the carriage factories, &c. So that in nearly all departments of human industry our local manufacturers have established factories, &c.; and all that is needed to insure a successful future for them is the practical support both of the Government and the people of the colony as a whole.

I now come to what I consider the most important branch of the subject under consideration—namely, "The best means of fostering the development of the industrial resources of New Zealand." I think the methods by which we can best achieve this end may be placed under three heads—(1) The development, by means of roads, &c., of the large mineral resources of the colony; (2) the encouragement of local industries and productions by the imposition of such import duties on all those articles which can be manufactured in the colony as will afford aid to the local producers, and by a liberal application of the system of bonus for the; starting of new industries; and (3) the education of the people by the encouragement of the formation page 118 of industrial associations in various parts of the colony, and the adoption of a liberal and generous policy by the Government towards them, so as to inculcate the necessity of a more extensive use by the people of the products of the colony in all branches of human industry.

Dealing with the first of the three methods which I have indicated, the paramount importance of the vast deposits of mineral wealth which are known to exist in these Islands with regard to our local industries will at once be admitted. We possess all the metals used in manufactures within our own borders, and in abundance; but we have done little or nothing towards their development. Boards have been made and large sums of money expended in opening-up country for purely agricultural or pastoral purposes—both very desirable adjuncts to the settlement and development of the country; but where have we done anything practical towards bringing the vast stores of mineral wealth we possess nearer to the centres of population? Except in the one instance of the construction of harbours on the west coast of the Middle Island, little or nothing has been done. We have deposits of copper, of ironstone, and other valuable minerals lying practically untouched and undeveloped—a magnificent industry starving for the expenditure of a few thousand pounds in opening-up the country and making the regions where the minerals are known to exist accessible. Yet there is scarcely one of our local industries to which I have referred in the first part of this essay but would be benefited by the more thorough development of our mineral resources. In the one article of coal alone the benefit which would accrue to all industries from an increased supply being able to be obtained at a lower rate can scarcely be estimated. And so with reference to the other minerals which we possess. Their development would naturally lead to the establishment of manufactures for the conversion of the raw ore into the article of commerce. Factories would spring up on all sides, employing labour and, above all, turning to profitable use what is now lying useless in the earth. Other and kindred industries would be stimulated by the production locally of machinery and partially manufactured articles for ultimate conversion into the thousand forma used in trade, and thus a most important factor in the work of fostering and developing our industrial resources would be sup- page 119 plied which is now all hut totally absent. I say "all but totally absent," because some steps have been taken in the direction of the development of our coal industries.

What would result with regard to other minerals were a policy of development extended to them may be gathered by the consideration of the enormous impetus which the only partially-completed works on the West Coast have given to the coal trade—ran impetus which will be as nothing, compared with what will result when the full extent of the scheme of harbour improvement is carried into effect. Even now we are enabled to go into the Australasian market and not only compete with the Newcastle coal, but realize an increased price per ton when compared therewith. As yet we have but a superficial knowledge of our mineral wealth; but that is sufficient to afford a very good basis for the belief that in its practical development exists one of the principal means of success in the fostering and encouragement of our industrial resources. We have confined our attention in the past too much to the development of the two industries of wool-and wheat-growing. Experience has bitterly taught us that we cannot rely on these alone for the prosperity or future greatness of our community, because it is an admitted fact that the nations achieving the greatest amount of success in the world's history have been those in which manufactures have held the premier position. No country devoted exclusively to the production of wool or of cereals has ever taken a high position among its fellows. With this as our guide, and remembering how intimately and indissolubly the interests and advancement of our local industries are bound up and associated with the development of our mineral resources, this latter, it seems to me, should be the main plank in the platform of any policy having for its object not alone the fostering of those industries which at present exist in our midst, but the encouragement of the foundation of new ones.

Next in importance to the development of our mineral resources as a method of encouraging and fostering local industries comes that which I have indicated under the second head. That is the imposition of duties on all articles that can be manufactured in the colony. This, I take it, would be found to be a very important means of encouragement to the local manufactures, enabling them to get over that period of their page 120 existence during which, like children, they require a certain amount of nursing, until they can run alone. The imposition of duties for the encouragement of local manufactures results in no injustice to the community, whilst it confers great benefits in the direction of encouraging their use by the people, enabling employment to be given to a large portion of our population, and causing money which would otherwise go out of the colony to be retained and spent here. Under present circumstances the expansion and progress of our local industries is to a large extent retarded from the fact that the majority of the mercantile firms are agents for consignments of goods the sale of which clashes with that of the local product. If, however, import duties were imposed sufficient to keep the those consignments, and to give the local industries the benefit of a reasonable handicap, a very great incentive to their progress would be supplied, and the fostering and encouragement in the people of self-reliance on our own powers of production would be practically brought into active operation.

Another important method of stimulating local enterprise in the matter of developing our industrial resources is by means of bonuses offered by the Government for the production of a certain quantity of any locally-manufactured article. Our experience in the past shows that the policy of offering bonuses is a wise and prudent one, and calculated to prove of benefit to the community as a whole. I need hardly point to the example of the Kaiapoi Woollen Factory as an example of this. The bonus comes at the most critical portion of the history of an industry, just when capital for the further development and perfecting of it is most urgently needed, and many of our flourishing industries would not to-day be in existence were it not for the timely assistance thus afforded. The expenditure in the past of a few thousands of pounds from the public purse has been the means of establishing upon a firm basis in our midst industries which have proved of inestimable benefit to the whole colony, and therefore I cannot but regard the system of offering bonuses by the Government in aid of local industries as most valuable in the direction of their fostering and encouragement.

In carrying out this policy it is, however, necessary that a fair amount of liberality should form an essential part of it. Whilst care is taken that the projectors of the local industry page 121 shall amply prove that it has been established up to such a point that there is a reasonable chance of its becoming permanent, they should not be hampered with too many conditions, which, when fulfilled, in many instances do not aid in the direction I have indicated. What I take to be the duty of the Government in this matter is, to take such precautions as will prevent an industry being taken up merely as a speculation, to secure the bonus offered. Having, in the interests of the public, provided against this, it then becomes their duty to assist so far as is possible by libreal encouragement, and reasonable concessions, if necessary, in the development of all new methods for the utilization of our industrial resources by aiding them at the start. As a means, therefore, to this end I regard the granting of bonuses by the Government, on the most liberal terms consistent with safety to the public purse, as being very valuable.

I now come to the third and last branch into which I have divided this portion of the essay. There can be no doubt whatever that the formation of industrial associations in our cities and towns exercises a great influence for good in the direction of fostering the development of the industrial resources of the colony. It is to them that the projector looks for assistance to bring his particular industry under the notice of the public, and it is to them that he looks for advice. By means of papers on various subjects, the holding of exhibitions, and, above all, by the collecting together, as has been done in Christchurch, the nucleus of a permanent exhibition of industrial products, these associations do a large amount of good in the direction of educating the people as to the extent and variety of our industrial resources. The ignorance of the great bulk of the people as to what we really can do for ourselves in the matter of local productions is the great stumbling block in the way of the fuller progress of the local industries already established amongst us, and the growth of others yet to be projected.

I venture to say that to ninety-nine out of every hundred visitors to the Exhibition at Wellington the display of colonial products came upon them as an utter surprise, and that they had no idea that half the articles there exhibited could be and were being produced in the colony. It is this ignorance, coupled with the unreasoning and unaccountable prejudice which exists amongst the great bulk of the people with regard to anything