THE FUTURE OF THE PACIFIC.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1821, 6 August 1913, Page 4

THE FUTURE OF THE PACIFIC.

THE NEXT GREAT PROBLEM.

SOME PHASES OF IT.

HIGH COMMISSIONERS' VIEWS,

The outlook in the Pacific is interestingly discussed in the London "Morning Post", of Juno 23 by; tlio High Commissioners' of. Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. ■ They call attention severally to three. different Pacifio problems: Canada t-6 that of trader Australia to'that of race: New Zealand to that of defence. Theso statements, nc'cessarily guarded in a measure since they are official, will be studied with interest by British public men whoso thoughts aro now turning to tho future of tho Pacific. - The High Commissioner for Canada. Lord Strathcona, High Commissioner for tho Dominion ot Canada, forwarded- the following statement showing the chief interests of Canada in the Pacific Ocean :— "Tho most immediate and direct is represented by .the fisheries, which in the year 1311-I'i wore of the value of nearly .£2,800,000. There were 5500.boats of various kinds engaged, employing BGOO men, while 7000 more found work in the canneries and fish houses.- The majority of both men and boats were connected with the well-known salmon fisheries, tli; product of which is largely consumed ili England. The catch of salmon for the year 1911-12 was , over 110,000,0001b., but this particular branch of tho industry, while at present the first in importance, only occupies that position because tho other branches remain undeveloped; even as it is,-tho year mentioned sa\v a catch of nearly 55} million pounds of herring and 20,000,000 pounds of halibut. In addition, th-ero ■ was a largo quantity of cod and other" fi9h taken, and the whaling fleet secured 119'J whales. ... , ■ "The British Columbia lumber industry is-onlyi partly coastal, and figures in regard >to.this portion of it cannot be given, but'.tile Tacific enabled shipments aggregating over 30 million superficial feet of timber to .be made .to the- United Kmg--dom>nud-tbe Continent of Europe, Australia, .Now Zealand, Fiji Islands, South AfiricapJapan, China, and Mexico. "As a .highway it has provided tho only practicable route to the Yukon, whence ■ there has been recovered a total of .£29,200,000 worth of gold since.the discovery of the rich placers ill 1897. The general shipping interests are already large, and are becoming more important ouch year. From Vanvouver tho following -regular lines of steamers are now running:—A tri-weekly service to China and Japan; n monthly service to Honolulu, Suva, and Sydney, with connections to Queensland, New Zealgnd, and Tasmania; daily service to Victoria connecting '.witli line to Seattle; a regular service to Prinle Rupirt and to '.Slcagway, enabling/passengers to. make the journey 'from,.Vancouver ti>: -Dawson City in six days; and many other lines of coasting steamers.' There are the sailings every month-of the Ocean Steamship Company f(Limited)', and" the' ;Chiua Mutual Steam Navigation Company (Limited),, direct from Loudon, Liverpool, and Glasgow-- to Vancouver; regular.service of,the Harrison* Lino from Antwerp, Glasgow, and Liverpool; sailings every, five days between Vancouver and Sail Francisco; the monthly service .to; Mexican. ports and -making .connection through.the Tehuantepec Railway, with Atlantic liners at Puerto. At •the present time there is but one Cana..;dian', .transcontinental .j-ailway, but there will shortly be two others, cach of which proposes to liavo a fleet of steamers frciu '.the Pacific to China and Japan. Even : now Varippiiver alone records, ah annualentry of some 2000, vessels, registering nearly 2,000,000 tons, with seaborne goods. t"PromOtliese few fa'ttts it will be,,Sßeiv that- the-interests of Cunada directly duo to'her Pacific seaboard are/already, large, 1 but the coastal industries are capable of immense expansion,;and tho choip highway which is provided to the. countries in the Orient gives'promise of a great in-crcaso-in -tho valuablo trado wnioh already exists. • " "It is inipo3sible for anyone to say with certainty what will be the, effect of the .opening of tho Panama Canal, but British Columbian ports will be brought by the all-water route thousands of miles hearer than • at'present to Great Britain and to Montreal. The matter is ono of great importance,'and it can safely be said it is receiving tho attention ot capable men both in England and in Canada; so that advantage may be tnken. for the benefit of tho British Empire of whatever possibilities -the canal may afford."

The Hiflh Commissioner for Australia. Sir George Reid, - High Commissioner for . Australia, beginning with a oaut-ionary , preface that it was necessary to speak with reservo on certain aspects oil tho Pacific question, cordially agreed that it was of Imperial importance that tho.future fato of that ocean should'be thoroughly discussed. .' "Australia in particular," he went on, "must give the closest and most careful consideration to the problems arising out of the development of the Pacifio littoral. Looking at the geographical position,, it is not possible to avoid tho conclusion •that, whether it Ij© for weal or for woe, Australia's destiny will force her to take a. leading part in Pacific issues. The size of tho Australian continent, the variety of. its resources, tho possibilities of- its '''development, its poaitiou as n citadel of the British race—for its population is almost exclusively British—sot within what might be described geographically as-an Asiatip sphere .of influence—must make it tlie central point of interest in any vital issue, between the white • and coloured* race's. - ' . . "Please do not misunderstand mo in giving to that phrsso any hint of 'hpstilo anticipation. Mv great hope, as a':con,firmed optimist, is that tho development of Asia—we see a notable phase of it now going 011 in China in a revolution which aeems to bo having the elTeot of putting her, like Japan, on tho path; of Western civilisation—will allow tho difficulties between tho white and the coloured races to bo solved by peaceful rivalries. In that event 'the .position of Australia as the chief outpost of- the-Empire and of the 1 white races in Aiistralaaian waters, whilst highly important, would not be eo critical .. .lis if tho, other unhappy development —should come —tho failure Of -;the effort to divert tlio prinraval instincts of mankind from thoughts of war into 1 ' th-6, infinitely wider range for emulation that is offered by industry and by science. -In either event, perhaps, Australia must hold tlio centre of the stage as .Pacific: problems develop. In the unhappy event of a race war her strategic position would bo of . the first importance; In'the'other event,, of a peaceful development ,:.of;'racß rivalries, she must bo 0110 of the- greatest' commercial centres in the.East and South. "I should like to tako this opportunity to (explain, as regards the Australian race .policy—and I speak as_ one of the strongest adherents of the White Australia polic-y—that there is in that policy no intention of offending othor races. It is purely and simply the outcome of an instinct,, which is id tho heart of every race, that of trying to maintain its racial integrity ami to develop its own national ideals. This instinct, I say, is at the lie-art of every raco. But tho force of its development may bo increased or diminished by circumstances. ' In the 'Mother Country, for instance, you may fill a great hall with hoiicst-niinded people to express approval of se.wtiments. admirabls in spirit and Christian in ■theory, but antagonistic to the Australian policy. ~But, land Asiatic labourers at London Docks or in the Mersey to work by of tho people 'here, and thfe Australian view would be tetter understood. I. often think that,, from a (joint of view of moral sentiment, it is an p-ccellent thing .that theso-British' Islands should he where they are, far away from direct contact race problems. \\ ith. us in Australia, the Instinct "of-wice preservation, which is with ,\ou, is at its keenest. But I wMi to insist always that the White Australia iioiicy does not prevent Australians froni leel.ing tto greatest respect suul admiration for tlio ■goo<l qualities of othor rnce>. I holicvo that is coming to bo Anion# the- first official visits I paid in London as High Commissioner for Australia was one to the Japanese Ambassador ami oive to the Chinese Minister, to assure thorn of what I hare just told you. This action on my part was heartily end-orss>d by my Government. I was . very imich .flattered and plsasod to bo asked lateT

tojutteiul the dinner of-the. Japan Society in' London.and to propose there the tcast of. the .evening." .. . The High Commissioner for New Zealand. The Hon. Thomas Mackenzie, High Commissioner for .New Zealand, expressed the opinion that the l'acitic .Oram probably will bo the arena in which tho destinies of the world's future would bo settled. "You have only got to look at tho map," said Mr» Mackenzie,."to realise how much of the world's activities must centre in and around Oceana. Impinging 011 tho Pacific, in which general ■ term 1 cinbrAce both the Northern and the ern Oceans, are all tho young nations ot the earth, ami nearly all tho earths oldest! civilisations. The teeming millions of tho East, numbering half the population of the globe, must find their trade and- commercial outlet across tho Pacific Ocean in a southerly or easterly or westerly direction—perhaps in all'three directions. But whatever the direction they follow, they must come ■up against the voniigest nations in possession 01 the widest and richest areas of the world s, surface yet remaining to be adequateiy psoplpd. I speak more particularly of Western Canada, the Western Lnited States, the western shores of the bouth imerican Continent, and Australia, New Zealand, and tho many groups of thousands of rich and verdant islands which abound in the tropical and sub-tropical zones of the Pacific as in nowhere else 011 the lace of the globs. Ihe race that wiiis the mastery of the Pacific, be it white or yellow or brown, will gain a possession .than which there has been nothin" as great in tho worlds past, than which there can bo nothing greater m the world's future. • "Now take 'another look at the map, and vou - will see that as far as the Southern Ocean is concerned New Zealand is one of the keys-perhaps the key -of the Pacific. Can you wonder, then, tlmt we are so keen on defence? Our very existence as a free people is dependent on tho adequacy of ouv defeiice—partlj tint which we ourselves can provide, partly that for which we aj-e dependent on the Imperial Navy, and partly that wmch mav be provided by the other British peoples equally interested in tho maintenance of the white supremacy of the Pacinc —I refer more particularly to Australia and Western' Canada. ■ • . "In this connection it may mentioned that when tho Hon. James Allen, the New Zealand Minister for Defence, was returning to the Dominion via Canada, after his recent conferences with the Imperial Defence authorities in Loudon, no made • some reference to this aspect or the question in one or two of his P ul >''® utterances. I r or instance, he is reported to have declared, when at Vancouver, that 'the contrfil of the Pacific Ocean ■was going to be a very important matter, and that every New' Zcalander lenew that sooner or later the Eastern question would be mixed up with Canada si naval problem bn the Pacific seaboard. Colonel Allen, -went on to say. that New Zealand could not do as much in tho way ¥ of naval defence single-handed 'as if she jrere to unite with Canada and Australia in working out some scheme of defence of commerce on the Pacific on a broad scale that would assist the Mother Country. Theso are questions of policy upon which I cannot express any opinion, but I only mention the matter to show that the problem of . the' defence of the Pacific is ■ engaging thio attention of Overseas statesmen no less than 'that-of_ tho Imperial Defenco authorities, and that whatever the ultimate form of the system of Pacific defence, New Zealand will not be backward in bearinj her share of-the-burden.