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The Pamphlet Collection of Sir Robert Stout: Volume 23

No. II.—Agricultural

page 7

No. II.—Agricultural.

The industry which ranks next to the pastoral in the stages of civilisation and industrial development is the agricultural. It occupies, too, a kind of half-way position between the primitive calling of a shepherd or cowherd, which are altogether independent of fiscal surroundings, and that of the skilled workman in the highly organised and well managed factory which has been brought into existence only by the aid of a protective tariff. It is fitting, therefore, that before entering upon the investigation and comparison of the manufacturing progress of the two communities we should subject their agricultural conditions to a similar scrutiny. Here, too, it must be observed, that all such conditions were and have been vastly in favor of New South Wales. A climate and soil suitable for the growth of anything from oats, which flourish in Scotland, to sugar cane, which finds its home in the tropics; together with all the other advantages already enumerated, to which may be added a market created for the produce in this country by the enormous influx of people to the gold diggings, all of whom had to be fed, and all of whom were far too busy searching for gold to have any time or thought to spare for the growing of grain, gave that country such a chance as nothing should have destroyed. Under these circumstances would it be anything to wonder at or boast of if New South Wales had maintained and increased its lead as an agricultural country; and would it have been any argument in favor of free-trade or against protection if, even with the assistance of the latter policy, we had failed to catch up to our rival in that direction? No reasonable person, knowing the facts of the case, could possibly maintain so absurd a position as an answer in the affirmative to these queries would impose. When it is shown, as it is proposed to do, that, so far from New South Wales having kept the premier position, the tables have been exactly reversed, and that New South Wales has for very many years been dependent upon Victoria for a large portion of its supply of agricultural produce, we shall have conclusively proved the advantages of our policy to the farmer as well as to the manufacturer.

The following schedule sets out the progress during the last 20 years which each country has made in this industry, showing the acreage under cultivation, the quantity of corn and root crops raised and the value of the produce exported:—
Victoria.
1865. 1875. 1885.
Land in cultivation Acres 520,196 1,126,831 2,405,157
Corn raised Bushels 6,020,575 8,906,795 16,156,257
Root crops raised Tons 107,470 243,708 204,019
Value of exports £ 87,471 149,958 1,125,241
New south Wales.
1865. 1875. 1885.
Laud in cultivation Acres 378,254 451,139 863,093
Coin raised Bushels 5,835,048 7,448,540
Root crops raised Tons No returns at hand 41,203 38,695
Value of exports £ 221,142 277,979
These figures tell their own tale and hardly need comment; but in view of the persistent misrepresentation of free-traders it may be as well to emphasise two or three of the facts which, by these figures, are established. The agricultural year ending on 31st March, 1857, was the last in which New South Wales had a greater area under cultivation than Victoria. In that year the figures were—New South Wales, 186,000 acres; Victoria, 179,000; an excess in favor of the former of 7000 acres. Ever since that date we have taken the lead in this respect, slowly at first, so that from that date to 1865 this country had reached an excess of 151,942 acres. In the year following our protective policy was initiated, and such an additional impetus was thereby given to this industry that by the year 1875 our advantage had increased by 675,692 acres; we having brought 596,635 additional acres under cultivation during the 10 years, while our neighbor had only added 72.885 acres to its area. During the succeeding 10 years this immense advantage was still more remarkably increased, bringing our excess, as the table shows, up to page 8 1,537,064 acres; our total being 2,405,157, while the area reached by New South Wales was only 868,093 acres. It is unnecessary to dwell particularly upon the comparison of the quantity of produce raised in each country, as what applies to the area of cultivation applies equally to the products of that area; but as regards the exports of the products much may be said in support of our policy Foremost amongst free-traders' platitudes is the oft reiterated assertion that a protective country cannot do an export trade in the products of its protected industries. The above figures supply the most direct and complete answer to that fallacy. They show that our exports of agricultural products have increased from £87,471 in 1865 to £1,125,241 in 1885; and as we shall show presently free-trade New South Wales has been, and is, our best customer, having taken more than half the quantity. The list of articles which make up these totals will show that with the exception of biscuits and wine only raw materials, or articles one remove from raw materials, as flour and malt, have been included; and, great as is the advantage we have reached in these items, it will be shown to be proportionately greater when we corns to tabulate our transactions with the manufactures, properly so called, from agricultural and other products. The following is the detailed statement of the items which make up the totals in the previous schedule:—
Exports by Victoria of the Following Articles, being its Own Products. 1865. 1875. 1885.
£ £ £
Biscuits 3,839 19,039 45,009
Flour 2,834 16,410 303,305
Fruit, green 250 3,941 23,637
Grain 5,033 8,004 416,649
Root crops 35,118 70,649 152,608
Wine 219 4,812 15,362
Bran and pollard 2,528 1,697 9,598
Hay and chaff 10,496 22,101 84,825
Seeds and plants 1,255 2,479 17,023
Hops 20 7,473
Halt 14,737
Oatmeal 2,166 29,550
Sundries 673 801 5,455
Total 87,471 149,956 1,125,241
Every one of these articles, with the exception of hay and chaff, is protected to the extent of from 20 to 25 per cent, or more; notwithstanding which, after supplying our own requirements, we have secured and are constantly increasing a foreign trade in them, as these figures clearly prove. We have not the data from which to ascertain what was the value of these products exported from New South Wales in the year 1865, but in 1875 it amounted to £221,142, and had increased in 1885 to £277,979. This gives an increase in 10 years to our rival of £56,837, as against £975,285 for ourselves. Conclusive as these facts are they are not all the truth in relation to this industry and its history, as illustrating the wisdom of our policy and the folly of our neighbor in listening to and following the self-interested advice of importing politicians and their claquers in the press and in Parliament. There are two other facts that require to be fully realised in order to get a complete apprehension of the case, so far as a knowledge of this industry and its surroundings can supply the needful information. There is the fact that out of our total exports of these articles, as given above, our free-trade competitor actually takes more than one half. The exact proportions are given as follow:—
1865. 1875. 1885.
Total exports of agricultural produce raised in Victor!' 87,471 149,956 1,125,241
Proportion sent to N.S. W. 82,235 113,819 604,451

This fact needs no further comment, the figures which reveal it may safely be left to tell their own tale concerning the respective fiscal policies under which they have been worked out.

The next fact which we purpose placing beyond dispute is, that concurrently with the building up of this export trade in these products of our energy and skill, backed by our tariff, we are now practically supplying all we ourselves consume of these necessaries or luxuries of life, while the people of New South Wales are still dependent upon us and other sources to supplement their own imperfect efforts to provide for themselves. The following is a statement of our imports of the same list of articles of agricultural produce which the page 9 former schedules have dealt with on the side of exports:—
Imports 1865. 1875. 1885.
£ £ £
Biscuits 615 231 36
Bran and pollard 29,021 1,688 1,721
Flour 452,854 4,460 11,625
Fruit (green) 98,223 40,140 86,681
Grain 765,844 397,837 149545
Hay and chaff 3,272 332 1,389
Hops 48,179 68,217 18,667
Malt 125,721 105,564 8,939
Oatmeal 1,262 3,966 99
Root crops 48,092 417 159
Seeds and plants 13,206 278 16,769
Wine 171,560 134,463 83,761
Sundries 3,743 3,900 6,487
Totals 1,761,592 761,493 385,878
These figures show at a glance the rapidity and extent to which we are ceasing to depend upon others for the supply of anything that our soil will produce. The largest items in this list which we now import are maize, hops and wine, and there are reasons or prejudices which will long operate to prevent us from being entirely self-dependent for these, more especially in the matter of wine. If the figures in this table be taken, however, in connection with those dealing with exports, we shall see even more clearly and conclusively the enormous strides we have made in this department during our 20 years of protection. In 1865 we imported these articles to the value of £1,761,592, and exported of the same goods to the value of £137,617, and of similar goods produced by ourselves to the value of £87,471. Adding these two latter items together we obtain £225,088, the total amount of our exports for the year. Subtracting that amount from the total imports we have left £1,536,504, which is the exact amount of the cost to us for that year, 1865, of the articles in the above list which we had to obtain abroad in order to make up the deficiency of our own production. Putting it in tabulated form it stands thus:—
Total value of these imports for year ending 31st December, 1855 £1,761,592
Total value of these same goods re-exported £137,617
Total value exported of similar goods produced in Victoria 87,471
225,088
Balance required for consumption £1,536,504
In 1865 our population was 626,639. Apply now this same method of calculation to the year 1885, the following result is brought out—namely, that instead of a large surplus of imports being needed to supply our own requirements, there is a large surplus left to sell abroad after satisfying all our own wants:—
Total value of these imports for the year ending 31st December. 1885 £385,878
Total value of these same goods re-exported £67,866
Total value exported of similar goods produced in Victoria 1,125,241
1,193,107
Balance for export after supplying all our own needs £807,229
Our population has increased during the 20 years to 991,869 on 31st December, 1885, consequently what the increase in the produce of our agricultural industry has done for us in that period may be estimated as follows:—
£
First, to make up the deficiency of 1865 1,536,504
Second, to entirely supply the additional 365.230 persons 2,739,275
Third, to provide the surplus for export 807,229
Total estimated increase in value since 1865 £5,083,008

Had the year 1883 been selected for comparison the result would have been more favorable by at least £1,500,000, as the years 1884 and 1885 were bad harvest years compared with 1883.

In order to ascertain and compare the relative position of New South Wales in this respect we shall have to make use of the figures for 1875 and 1885, but they will faithfully represent the situation. The following tabulated statement sets forth the imports of these same articles which New South Wales has made for those two years respectively; also the re-exports of the same articles:—
Imports. Exports of Same Articles.
1875. 1885. 1875. 1885.
£ £ £ £
Biscuits 6,898 12,064 266 720
Bran and pollard 14,654 55,950 241 7,538
Flour 313,141 524,315 57,767 75,784
Fruit (green) 33,989 178,505 1,325 15,929
Grain 262,262 319,431 63,967 26,394
Boot crops 94,474 275,425 6,804 28,284
Hay and chaff 24,086 102,047 55 9,919
Hops 26,465 41,943 1,009 5,705
Malt 61,891 145,920 1,874 4,912
Oatmeal 16,046 40,888 1,804 3,413
Seeds and plants 9,640 18,151 2,832 3,893
Wine 69,032 136,912 23,463 20,449
Sundries 861 11,702 391 173
Totals 933,439 1,863,253 161,798 203,213
page 10
Treating these figures in the same manner as we have done with our own the account stands thus:
Total value of these imports for the year ending 31st December, 1875 £933,439
Total value of these same goods reexported £161,798
Total value of similar goods exported produced In New South Wales 221,142
382,940
Balance required for consumption £550,499
Dealing in the same way with the figures for 1885 we have the following result:—
Total value of these imports for the year ending 31st December, 1885 £1,863,253
Total value of these same goods re-exported £203,213
Total value of similar goods exported produced in New South Wales 277,979
481,192
Balance required for consumption £1,382,061

We thus ascertain that, so far from New South Wales being in the position, as Victoria is, to supply all the home requirements, with nearly a million pounds' worth to export into the bargain, that country needs to import nearly three times as much in 1885 to supply its wants in these commodities as it did 10 years previously, and has nearly as large a deficiency in its own products as Victoria had 20 years ago. In 1885 Victoria had a clear surplus of these goods to sell to the value of £807,229, while New South Wales was obliged to supply from abroad a net deficiency to the amount of £1,382,061.

There is no necessity to enlarge further upon the facts which the statistical records of the two countries place at our disposal in relation to this industry; enough has been said to convince any impartial and intelligent student of the subject that New South Wales, clogged and weighted with its unworkable free-trade theory, lags far behind in the race with its energetic, vigorous and protected competitor. Of course there are some in this community who will attempt to explain away these facts and figures; and who will labor hard to prove that it is a sign of progress that New South Wales has to buy bread, butter and vegetables from Victoria, and that it is very foolish of Victorians to suppose they are any better off because they have a surplus of such goods to sell. Superior persons of this class, who consider it a point of honor to swear by a theory for ever once they have adopted it, in spite of the facts which they see every day disproving their theory, it would be a thankless task to attempt to convince; but plain practical individuals, who are not bound in free-trade fetters, or who are not free-trade mad, may be confidently invited to the consideration of the question as it has been presented, with the conviction that the more they investigate the subject, analyse the figures, and compare the records, the more they will be convinced that this country adopted a wise course, and took one great step along the road of national progress, when it adopted a protective tariff.