WELDING THE EMPIRE.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1684, 26 February 1913, Page 9

WELDING THE EMPIRE.

ROYAL COSMOS,

BEGINS WORK AT DUNEDIN,

MIGRATION & TRADE,

IMPORTANT SUGGESTIONS. (By Tolegraib.—Prcas Association,). ■ Dunedin, February 25. .The Dominions' Royal Commission opened ita\ sittings in' the djownr'Hall. this morning.' . . - , ■ The chairman lead certnin portions of the Commission." From this it appears that tho instructions to tho, Commission ore to inquire' aa<l report; upon-, the natural: resources of Australia, ; Hew Zealand,. South Africa, phd Newfoundland. Further, "to report upon tho development of,' such-, resources whether attained or,attainable upon facilities which exist* of may be created for the production, manufacture; and distribution of all articles of oomrnerce: in; those" parts of our Empire; upon the, requirements of each part''and of the United Kingdom in tho matter of food'and taw materials; and the available sources of such i upon the trade of each such part of the-Empire: with other parts, with, the United ■. Kingdom,, and with the rest of the world; upon'the'extent, if any, to which the mutual trade of the several parts of the Empire has been, or is being,,affected, beneficially or otherwise,- by, laws now ■ in: fore«.'other than fiscal laws, and gonei'ally to suggest'any methods, consistent always \with the existing/fiscal, policy of eaoli. part of tho by which, the trade of each •part with the others. and with' the United Kingdom may be improved and* extended.", The chairman 'added that the Commission were anxious. to hear. '■ ovetytbirig that could' bo. p'ut Wore, them in-,the nature of information that would tend to improve tradei between the'self-govern-ing Dominions arid 'the Mother Country, and to increase tho'already close ties of commerce which unjted the Old Country with New Zealand./ 1 He' felt "sure; that the other members ', of th«- Commission would, join him in expressing to the Government'of 'New/.Zealand- and to -all otherswho had assisted, their. gratitude for the' arrangements made for' collecting evidence, and their recognition of ; the kindness and' cordiality of the welcome extended' to tfcem. • .' " V'■ ' "

J Dunedin. Remits. v Mr.-. J. Loudon (president of .the'Cham-, . for*' pf, Commerce), extended, a' cordial wel-, • come to tho Commissioners, and expressed the hope that tho result,of their;labours would bo for the lasting!'benefit Of the' limpire. llri Loudon,then submitted tho following .i'emitsV from'the;,Chamber'of. .' Commerce:— ■ (1) Tho advisableneM of establishing an ■Empire iDevelopment i and Inference Bureau, with headquarters in London, for 1 tho purpose of expanding and' developing ' the natural resources of T.arious' parts of the British Empire,': with'the following, . objects ,to "encourage the 'ihvestmont ; . of . capital and to provide for the protec- : : tion' : of,,investors, and' also to' examine ' facts' and vouch for tho accuracy of prospectuses. (b) That .each .self-governing . part.- of-j the, Umpire '.'should set aside 'ft v certain sum annually for the purposes of systematic prospecting, and experimenting under expert and unbiased officials. (c) ; That 'tho results of. such expert|.research ■ should '1m ihterchange'A and niadft available at .all parts of the Empire..,- •_ '.'' .' ' (2) With -a view. to'inchjaSe trade and v'mtt^.ufecturifef I .^Ygfltti^ l'-%to'uM'ilMrr.en-ctfufaged to tho youngcf^'toiiiitHes.Of .tlio .' iciire to.lkt that correct ind reliable information :; to ■ antt'-'iilso that-' yfofy; effort should wrsStCto'afieß WnPgrants in British territorj. '' (3)' That it is of importanco to overseas sections of the Empire (a).- that tho cost of cable communication should be reduce! as low as possible, ,and that to this end the ' question.., of ~,laying,; . a...'new. cable .across..the Atlantic, with . the ; view N of securing, a State-controlled cable eervica ' from Great Britain' to the' furthermost parts of the Empire should bo considered, ; this question, necessarily to embrace inquiry into tho probable of .Wire-' , less telegraphy, both -from , its eoohomio ' and practical standpoints... (b) That the 1 English Postal Department .should have .: suggestions made to it'. by the Empire Tmdo-.Commis3ion,.having*the object' of .- securing a materially:reduoed charge on overseas.newspapers posted-ifl. the' United Kingdom. ' , .' ..; .•", (4) With a-Hew to expanding trade and . . commerce, • Empire : ,national exhibitions should be held at periods of three years, ■ alternating ih : different parts of the Emvpire, the loss, if any, to"be borne by th» Government of that part of the Empire in, which the exhibition is held. >. . (o) To consider the . question of 6ome equitable and reciprocal arrangement to " provide subsidies : for shipping facilities between points of the Empire and 'elseivhere; (subsidies to .be'for a fixed period and to be granted only; for the purpose of . : initiating;or .establishing "trade likely to.' bo. beneficial' to Britain and her deponden- . oies., : . ': ;-(6) That it would;'bo v an'"assistahce to trade . and. commerce. if the. commercial ,' and, merchant shipping. ; laws throughout • the British Empire wero brought into closer, conformity than at present. (7) That consideration should bo given to'the question of patent laws in the direction thereof, and alsoihe , feasibility . of . a : national patent', office governing;; all the,"patent • lights': applied"for 'or-'granted wlfhin tho .Empire.- . -• '• '•••, - ... ,- ' . Migration .Mr,-J. A. Johnstone (managing director ■ of .Messrs. Wright, Stephenson i. and Co.). read a memo, on .' "Migration," in' the ' course, of which -he stated:,; "The great nOed is for young men ond women who can ,make good uso of their, hands. There , has been-for.years a great dearth of girls and young women, who could inlro up' the positions.of domestic ond'farm servants, waitresses, factory workers,: shop assistouts, and so forth, and tho same may bo 6 ?r wjia are cap-able-of, doing any kind of. farm work, , good craftsmen, such. as masons, : bricklayers, carpetorj, - painters, "." plumbers, ironworkers,- • cabinetmakers,, butohers, baiters, • sailmnkers, harnessmakers, ■ eto, . are also urgently required. There are very few openings in JS'ew Zealand for men who , :an.only Jay claim to.fcoinjr 'good 'office Mn.as clerks. .'lf there aro clerks who desiro to'emigrate.to.New Zealand, they should-como before 'they are 20 years, of ■ age. /.ioung people of both «scxea of the various clMses named can .-find ready empioyment'.in New'.Zealand at good wages, and if. they they can in a few yeans have sufficient to enable' them to etart m n. small ..way, , either on tho land • °f .business. I would not adviss or old people trt'cmigivUo to Zealand unless as parents of families, and not, for their own Rakes." . In.answer to the Commission, Mr; Johnstone, said he thought the 'rate of immigration from England .should bo increased, The supply of domestic Servants fill very short nf the demand. Ho should say that . the .Government' should take tho entiro responsibility. The, men who were on the land were the most prosperous claw in the Dominion. This was the.most trying l year n his experience. They could not get Inrm hands. Frozen Moat.. Mr. Johnstone next road a.'memo, on the frozen meat industry, which stated, inter aliai "It i!i undoubtedly a drawback, both from tlio sliipping point of view and also from that of tho shipper,-that steamers are delayed so long in Now Zealand on ncoonnt of tho many loading ports they have to visit,.but owing to tho oonfigura- ' lion of tho country it'doos not appear that much can bo dono to improve this stato of things. The remedy, if there is one, would. ««m to lie in tho direction of companies interested having some reciproeal arrangement whereby the duplication of visits might be avoided. A matter that calls for attention is the multiplicity of marks on each ship's manifest. If .a remedy could be fonnd it wouid benefit both shipper and buyer, apart from reducing expense. I think if the four conditions tvhich I shall enumerate are ol> Eerved, wo can safely leave tho matter of ivider distribution of meat by retail shnps and otherwise in tho hands of t'lio British

and foreign traders. These four essential conditions aro:— "(1) That farmers should continue to improve their flocks and herds by breeding stock tho meat of which is found to suit tho best tasto of customers. "(2) That the freezing companies should continually strivo riot only to maintain, but also to raiso, tho reputation of their respective 'trndo marks.' "(3) That the shipping* companies should go on providing t'ho best possiblo futilities for getting tho meat to the markets of tho world. "(•1) That the High Commissioner should bring tho wholo weight' of the Dominion's influence to bear ujwn the port authorities of the United Kingdom and,elsewhere in order that Wo may bo provided with better and more up-to-dnte methods for tho discharge, storage, und delivery of meat at the respective ports of discharge.'" In answor to Sir Eider Haggard, Mr. Johnstone said the greatest' trouble was at the London docks. Tho meat did not get fair, play when it left the ship's hold. To Mr. Lorimer: He was satisfied that they had not reached the capacity of overproduction by a very long way. They would continue to progress for generations. They could increase tho dairy output also.. Cable Communication. Mr. Johnstone then read a memo, on the subject of cable communication, which included the following clauses:— "I am strongly of Opinion that it would be of the greatest: advantage to' tho Empire to complete tho All-Red cable communication'between,Britain and Australasia by laying down a line from Britain to' 'Canada. Apart from strategic advantages it would in my opinion, be of benefit to'the Mother Country and tho Dominions to have a through service in relation to which , wo would be independent of existing ,trans-Atlantic lines. A suitable reduction would leftd to a great amount of correspondence being conducted by cable which must now pass by mail. I should like to see, a system of deferred meisajfes, established,; to bo. carried over the; wires ;when business, is slack', as in tho case of the present deferred cables, but' without any restriction as to words used. The existing : provisions foi deferred messages aro of no service to business people; because the'eode languagu is not allowed. 'If.is cheaper to codo the matter, sent and pay full rates upon it. Weekly market reports should be received by* all producing countries from , those countries which need products.' Cablegrams containing these reports could perhaps bo dispatched on Sundays and acceptcd at reduced rates of say 6d. per word in tho case.of .New. Zealand." , In answer, to questions, Mr., Johnstone said lie'did not think there should 1 be much differorico between the rates for code and plain word messages. He thought the cables should , bo tisedto bring nil parts of tho Empire closer together commercially and.socially, and that this tie should to in tho hands of our own people. Mr, T. Garnott remarked that in London big commewial exchanges quoted market movements-most Accurately, and the High Commissioner possessed those /sources of information. The chairman: It,is largely a matter between yon ana your High Comriiissioner. , . , English Postal Rates, ■ Mr. Loiluon read' a memo, by Mr. Q. Fenwiek, m which the following passages occurred:— It is a matter for eomo measure of satisfaction that tho cost of commercial and'public'cables has been cheapened through tho inauguration of a system • of, deferred cables,.for" wluch an appreciably lower;, rate, is charged. The conoes&n is welcome, but it can only be regarded is.an instalment of reform. The competition of other nations is being felt more,.arid more keenly by British.manufacturers, and,if bv cheapened cable facilities any help can be secured to merchants and tradesmen .of thoiEinpire, then surely tho question is one well within tho 'scopo of tho commission's duty. Another mattes''probably worthy of attention is . the question of English I postal rates' on .overseas, newspapers sent.to Great Britain and reposted.there.to friends and subscribers throughout the Kingdom, The practically prohibitive ,i'at^'ihiposcd' on,' newspapers viiw-'. ,Ed as'a check..on .that knowledge of ;<iffai'rs'of distant parts' of tho Einpire which\ is . unquestionably,,one of tho means. of promoting trade intercourse' and tlio de-; velbpriient of far-distant colonies by. immigration and in other ways."' . . ; Empire Exhibitions. 1 Mr. Loudon presented a memo, in support of a remit on ..tho subject •of ' Empire ' national - exhibitions. It was statod th.it the holding o[ 6uch a series of exhibitions as proposed in, say London, Canada, Australia, Mouth Africa, New; Zealand, and possibly India, at intervals of three years would lead to an extensive arid mutual exchango -of visitors from one part of the Empire to another, most of whom woukl be business men with families. ?The; beneficial influence .of closer acquaintanceship thus induced should proyo .an important factor in promoting tlio 'unification and solidarity of the Empire. Such exhibitions would bo solely for advertising tho Empire, not to bring together the products of other competing nations. There was a feeling in.the colonies that British manufacturers are slow to adopt new methods.. He did not think-tho colonial Governments would shrink from the expense. Ho did not admit that the exhibitions would entail a loss. , Mr. J. Inglis Wright said the main idea was to crcale tho means of . bringing the people of tho Empire closer together, each' country preparing for thb 6how wliatever •it had as specialities,; . Patents and Trade, Marks, v v Mr. Loudon took up the subject of patents and trade marks, advocating uniformity throughout the Empire. The form of, application prescribed for ordinary cases in tho United Kingdom was admirably simple, requiring' only the signature of the, applicant in two. places, and if thtv6ame;-form was prescribed throughout tho Empire many petitions, declarations, and other useless documents at pre-sent-required in some. States would bo abolished. ' The : question of Establishing a national patents and trade marks office m London lias worthy of most careful consideration. To conserve the revenues of individual States, the Empire could bo divided into sections, and a sliding scale of fees prescribed., The validity, of a. patent a-s regards each State could bo independent, and, capable of cancellation if required without affecting tho validity in other States. ''Registration of trade marks. could be Carried'out with a central offico in London, and sub-offices. in each State, , ! To Mr, Campbell: Tho establishment of a central office would involve tho unification of tho, patent laws. I To Sir Alfred' Bateman: If they could not-get absolute uniformity in the British Empire, he would favour approximate Uniformity by ndhering to international conventions. Ho had a prcferenco for ..the English patent law in soma respects, becauso of its Simplicity. " Mr..J. K. Park, patent agent,, said he had h«cn established in Dunedin about 20 years, Tho new Patent Law passed in New Zealand in 1811 was expressly moulded on tho English.Act. except in the matter of the working of patents. It would lie desirable to havo an Empire patent law so that, instead of men having twenty or thirty laws to comply with, they would have only oilo. „ To Sir Alfred Bateman: , He did not think the compulsory working provisions ill England were advisable. Provision should be in force there that was in fores in New Zealand and Australia, namely, that if a patent .was not working and a person commenced to work it ho was not infringing the patent if he got an order from tho Court that it was not being worked.. . To Mr. Tatlow: Uniformity in regard to the duration of patents existed at present in the, United Kingdom and .Dominions, exoept Canada, Canada, gave 18 years, and in other British countries II years was allowed. ' Shipping Laws. Mr. V/. E. Reynolds read a memorandum on commerce a.ul merchant shipping laws, advocating closer conformity than at present existed. It was stated that at present a salo on f.o.b. terms threw on tho buyer the onus of proving in tho event of dispute that the goods shipped wore not up to standard.' The samo applied to c.i.f., «tc., sales, except that the seller provided insurance, freight, and exchange. It should bo made possible for the seller, in the event of refusal of .draft, to sue and have judgment entered in his favour at the port of shipment, judgment to carry tho right of execution at tho port of destination without the necessity of taking further action there, as was tho caso at present. The position should be made much more definite with reference to c.i.f. 6ales. and

something maro definito should bo laid down as to ship's liability in connection with, storage of, goods, in cases where goods were shipped in excellent condition, but arrived at tho destination damaged, the ship as a rule disclaimed liability, though there might bo distinct signs throughout the cargo of fresh-water damage.. The chairman: You practically want an alteration of this law. It is not a question of uniformity? Witness: My opinion is that even if the samo uniformity of terms was brought about throughout tho Empire, it would help matters very much indeed. Tho chairman; It is tho'differenco in commercial practico in different parts you want-to seo Drought into uniformity? Witness: I think without altering the law at all tho terms could bo brought into such uniformity that they would become usual. Tho chairman: I donit think wo can really tako any useful 'action on this point. It seems to involve alteration of law in different parts of. the Empire. Have you any idea as to how what yon devise can be brought about? ■-«-• , Witness: Take soiling f.o.b. i The Hon. J. K. Sinclair: That /would involve legislation. v. j, l >' The chairman, after further discussion, said he thought tho point was too legal. Mr. Reynolds said tho clause relating to liability of ships was very important. Tho chairman: It really : wants the highest legal professional to deal with it. Wo will , take your statement and put it into tho evidence.' ■ , Mr. Campbell, referring to the third clause, said that it had boon urged by; experts that this was the reason for American trade having beaten British trade. . Mr. Reynolds said ho had brought' the matter up with the object that thoT-oints raised might be ventilated, and with the hope that some good might eofneof .it. Immiflration. v i - _Mr. Arber, (secretary of. the Dunedin Expansion League) read a memorandum on the subject of immigration.. 110 referred to the unsuitability of men who worked their passages out hero. They were rarely equipped with sufficient knowledge of any skilled trade or facilities for making even a bare living. As showing the real need for apprentices, he stated that many firms were prepared to pay the passages of boys and'girls in order to attempt to fill their wants., One wholesale clothing and boot manufacturer had been short of hauds, for the last four Years, and at the present timo'could do with 50 additional, employees—men, women, and children. Time-expired men of the navy, army, and marine forces might biako verysuitable immigrants. ' The Commission, will sit again to-mor-row.