CHAMBER OF COMMERCE.

Press, Volume LXVI, Issue 20097, 28 November 1930, Page 7

CHAMBER OF COMMERCE.

FEDERATION DINNER.

MR FORBES ON NEW ZEALAND TRADE.

facing pacts. (FKOii otrs Ott# cOftStesrojfosx'i'O LONDON. October £S. Mr Forbes and other Dominion Prime Ministers replied to the toast of "His Majesty's Governments," at the banquet given by the federation of ChamberS Of Commerce of the British Empire at the Savoy Hotel. Lord iVeagh, the president, was in the chair. New Zealindert) present beside the .Prime Jrfinister were: Sir Thomas Sidey, Sir Thomas wilford, Sir James Parr, Sir Alfred BAnkart, Dr. E. Marsden, Dr. G. Craig, Mr IC. Ball&ntyne, Mr C. A. Berenasen, Mr R. Ellison and Mr F. D. Thomson.

Sir Arthur Shirley Bonn, Chairman of the Council, in proposing the toast of ''His Majesty's Govemtnents," said that Chambers of Comtrietcfi had no party politics, beeaiiSe they Were concerned With Sotriething liltiCh fiftore elemental, which was common to all humanity—the imperative need of gaining a living. Such Chambers waAted strong Governments, capable not only of carrying out their ordinary Work, but with a broad vision, enabling them to See what changes might be necessary to meet the altered conditions of the world Of tO-day. At the twelfth triennial confess Of the federation, held in May this yea*, there Was a general feeling that the time had cotoe when somethihg must be done to enable the trade of the Empire to be used first of all for the Inhabitants of the Empire. They all wanted the Empire pulling together. They Wanted the standard of living to keep up and improve, and they Wanted the children Well educated. Mr J. H. Thomas, Secretary of State for the Dominions, replied at great length Ahd with injpfessive eldqu no®) but his statement was general and guarded. He said he hoped that the day would be long distant when any Dominica would be called upon to respond to the toast other than as one of his Majesty's Governments. Whefl he looked at the unemployment figures he felt that it was not alone the cost of the balance-sheet, but the cost demoralisation that they had to consider. There were legitimate differences as to th* remedy, but so long as they k«pt. In Blind the central fact that the object

and Ideal was to substitute work for Unemployment pay, it Was the only tiling that mattered. Judged By Wliftt They Bid. Mr B. B. Bennett, Prinie Minister of Canada, is one of the best speakers among overseas Premiers that have appeared at Imperial Conferences for many years. He said they must face facts as they oxisted, and not as they formerly were. There was no likelihood that the great Colonies and Dominions oversea would fever again be content to have tlietr raw materials shipped to these islands to be fabricated and sent back to them in manufactured goods. The frank recognition of that fact was desirable. It was one of the essential facts that must be looked at in any estimate they might make of the present conditions on which they based their future policy. As partneJs in the Empire they had come together to endeavour to pool their resources for the common good, and not only the resources of their countries, but ae resources of their intelligence and wisdom. They must always remember that faith without work was dead, and that they Should be judged by what they did and not by what they said they wanted to do, They had reached a real crisis in the life of the Empire, and unices they were prepared to face actualities and go forward to achieve their common end then they would have failed. The question was, what were they going to do About itT Did they, as commercial Men, realise how great their responsibility was in answering that question? Mr J. H. Scullin said that Australia for 20 years had given preference to British industry, and business interests in this country; but bti&inesS men aild manufacturers in this country had not taken 100 per cent, advantage of it. The great hope of the civilisation of the world depended upon the unity of this great Commonwealth of Nations, arid this unity would be strengthened by common ties. The ties of kinship would remain, but they r-USt see to it that, the material ties also rcniained. It was said that Australian tariffs Were to restrict British trade. _ Au g " tralia was passing through a difficult position, and on the first gleam of sunshine through the chinks the emergency measures would be removed. Mr Forbes. Mr Forbes, in replying, said he was not so confident as the previous speakers. He was not there to give advice o# to lecture his audience. "You are carrying Out your work in a way that is. very satisfactory. New Zcal&nders feel that the enterprise and energy of the British manufacturers and merchants stand on the very highest plane." **»... Mr Forbes went on to speak of the interest Now Zealand took in th 6 Imperial Conference. "We take second plaea to *6 part wf the Empire," he

said, "la out devotion and loyalty to his Majesty the King. We have had the advantage of having from your Country some of the most distinguished men as our Governorg-General. They have well upheld the dignity and traditions of the Crown. In Lord Bledigloo we have one who is keenly Interesting himself in the agricultural and pastoral industries, and is taking a live part in the scientific application of agriculture." The Prime Minister went on to speak of preferences. New Zealand had done its level best, he said, to promote trade with the Motherland. Preferences were given to British manufactures varying from 20 to 25 per cent. It was the most liberal preference of any part of the Empire. The preferences this year would be worth over 5} million sterling. They had not done this because they thought it might be a lever in some direction for their advantage. They did it because they recognised their obligations to the Mother Country. Domlslon'6 Food Supplies. Mr Forbes dwelt on the importance of Jfew Zealand's food supplies. More than half the mutton and lamb Britain imported was produced in New Zealand, more than half the cheese, almost a quarter of the butter, and, in normal years, a third of the honey. Last year the Dominion was the second largest supplier of wool to the Mother Country, and New Zealand ranked as the second most important frozen and Chilled meat exporting country in the World, with an international position the same in regard to the exportation of butter. "Mr Bennett might have heard that term 'butter' before," interpolated Mr Forbes. "He has the wafmcst corner in his heart for New Zealand butter." New Zealand headed the list of all countries in the world in the per capita amount of her total trade (exports and imports). She was also, per eapita, Britain's best customer, the individual purchase figure last year being £l4 11a Id. The value of her total trade last year was £104,377,070, by far the greater part of which was with the Empire. "In respect of inter-Imperial trade, there must, in my Opinion, be greater Empire goodwill, sympathy, and consideration on the part of those who direct the channels of trade and those Who handle Empire goods. Let me give a concrete instance. New Zealand butter has been declared by (he British Medical Research Council to be superior to any in its all-the-year-round food value, or vitamin content, due largely in the first instance to the green pastures the Cows feed on the year round. Yet to-day, and for some time past, this country has been paying considerably over 20s a cwt more fdr Danish btitter. The difference in price cannot be due to quality. To what la it duet "It is all to font advantage to buy vm jwodae* m ac*laat ftwlg*. Vl*

greater proportion of the money spent come* back We for manufactures. Does It come back from Denmark or from other foreign couatriesf Laist year 70a spent ldj million* with Denmark on butter alone, and Denmark's total purchases from Britain amounted only to £10,671,000. New Zealand, On the other hand (-with only 1J mlllioa. people), spent on your manufactures over £22 millions. Denmark's per capita purchase from Britain is only £3 Oi Ad, as against New Zealand's £l4 lis Id. This year New Zealand has been hard hit with the low prices on this market for certain of her produce lines, and the result is a considerably reduced I capacity to buy your manufactures. I quote the foregoing example to show that in this instance the low price is not entirely a matter of capacity of this country to pay a reasonable figure for an Empire product, nor would it be 1 entirely adjusted under a tariff arrangement. "At Newcastle, at present, there is a large floating dock being built for New Zealand, involving large expenditure, but all the men working on that dock buy Danish butter. (Laughter.) These are anomalies we want your help in overcoming. The position of onr butter market here is a matter of great concern to me (and that is why I refer to this matter), because over 50,000 of our farmers engaged in the industry are at present producing at virtually below cost." England's yreaperity. The question that concerned New Zealand most was that Oreat Britain should put her own house in order and look after her own people and her industries, and get her workers employed. "Whatever benefited England would benefit New Zealand. Markets meant more to the Dominion than anything else. But it seemed to him something should be done to- protect the markets against the competition that was causing the unemployment. "We are anxiously looking for a revival of our produce markets in Britain," Mr Forbes concluded, "and when that comes we shall be in smooth Ws.ter again, and once more be purchasing from you again at full capacity. And when I say full capacity, do not view our purchasing power by the Size of our population, but from the comparison that, to-day, evory New Stealander individually buys from you 41* lis od worth of goods, as against the Russian's 6d, the German 'a lis 6d, the Dutchman's £z 16s 3d, the tfreachman's 15s sd, the Brftsilian's 68 lOd, and the Argentine's J62 18s lOd. The New , Zealander is the highest individual ; buyer in the W62M/ his ott&tOfli ii surely worth having." Two interesting speeches wet* niade by Sir John Simon, MJP., andby Sir Muhammad Shall, on the' Subject of India. When the health of the Presi- , dent had been proposed b» Six Herbert [ Aasti«, fe xrmg am* wi&u&k