PREFERENCE FOR THE COLONIES

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 519, 28 May 1909, Page 4

PREFERENCE FOR THE COLONIES

—. »__ Mr. S. E. Edge, managing director for tho Napior Motor. Company,.of England, .'writes'to a local firm on tho question ol preference for the colonics:— ■ . ..•'•.;-. "I am glad to say that a very strong'feeling is now growing up hero, and in my own way, of course, I do'everything possiblo to.help.lt forward by speaking and doins everything possible in my sparo tinio to help the thing along, and I hope the day is not far distant when wo shall handicap every country in the world by charging them heavy duties when they want to supply Great Britain with any goods that our colonies can supply us with. It seems to me it is idiotic for us in England to buy from anyone but our colonies, and in return tho colonics buying from Great Britain when Great Britain can supply the same* goods as well as foreigners. It. seems sueh a,common-sense way of doing this that it is quite inorediblo to see people over hero who apparently are sano in other respects absolutely doing everything toonoourago'tho foreigner. Ido not know'whether it is that the air is not good enough in England, or what it is, but, 1 of course, everybody I speak to from abroad and from tho, colonies can see clearly wlrnt is (he proper procedure, and yet a lot of peoplo over here prctcEd tboy oaunotj but I think our. latest little performance with Germany and her battleships is bringing tho thing homo to CTcrybody, and they have got- to realise that wo baro got to takomotioy from ipreifn countries when they waut to bring things into either England or British colonies, ami uso some-of this monov to build battleships to provent those other feflows from attacking ns. It is, of course, a great question over hero, and I think it 19 going, to have a far-roaching influence In some ways we may have, to, thank Germany in "the end for bringing ns to our sonsos."