The Dominion. SATURDAY, MARCH 27, 1915. A UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2420, 27 March 1915, Page 6

The Dominion. SATURDAY, MARCH 27, 1915. A UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY

, A movement has been started in Brjfcain with thfc object of promoting British business and commercial interests in a. deliberate and systematic manner, and there is a very pronounced feeling throughout the Empire that full use should be made of the present unique opportunity of giving practical effect to the principle embodied in the motto: "British goods for British people." Thfe question has been receiving a good deal of attention in Australia, and New Zealand is not likely to lag behind. The citizens of this Dominion are_ beginning _ to realise that it is both their duty and their interest to give preference, as far as_ is reasonably possible, to British goods—to ask for them and to insist On getting them. In this issue we devote a largo am6uAt of space to articles dealing tfith various aspects _of British trade, the idea beifig to impress upon Our readers the desirableness of extending their conception of Imperialism so as to bring within its scope the commercial and industrial, as well a« the political and social, wellbeing of the Empire. . "We know Our Germany now," writes Mr. .Hi G. Wells. "We have to reckon with her u9ing whatever weapons are left to her, and certainly she will, if she can, begin to ufee her economic ones to impoverish and weaken the Allies before the ink is dry upon _ the treaties of peace." The British Empire must now make its preparations for a great battle'of brains with a highly intelligent, resourceful, and not over-scrupulous competitor for the world'B trade. The Germans are very confident that, when they settle down to business onoe again, they will be able to beat all their commercial Before the war one of their principal aittis was to overthrow the commercial supremacy of the British Empire, and we cannot reasonably expect to repulse this attack unless we put- as much thought and energy and enterprise into the work of organising, improving, and expanding o'ur industries and commercial undertakings as the Germans do. Our great captains of industry and the employing class as a whole cannot afford to let things drift along in the old grooves. They must be ready to adapt themselves to new conditions, and to meet the requirements of thoir customers in every possible way. The omployecs must also do thoir part by taking a veal pride in their occupation, and doing their work honestly and intelligently. Good workmanship always tells in the long run, and the British workman at his best is probably the best in the world.

But tho general public hold tho toy of tho position. Without their support and sympathy the hestdevibid efforts fov the tacduragemerit oi British trade ennaot Mieccnd, Th« pubiis can help. by. showing their

preference for British-made goods as against tho&o of foreign manufacture, All things being eqUal, or anything like equal, preference should bo given to articles made'by our fellow-countrymen, and when we have to go outside our own Empire we should, as far as possible, give our custom to our friends rather than to our enemies., British manufactures may sometimes be dearer than articles made in Germany, but cheapness.is not the only consideration. When a British-made article costs more the extra value is, generally speaking, well worth the extra money. It would, of course, be foolish to attempt to place a ringfenoe around luc Empire in order to isolate it from tho rest of tho world., Such a policy would ho quite impossible, and if it were possible it would bo undesirable. It is however, both possible and desirable to extend and develop trade within the Empire by exercising a rational preference in favour of Bri-tish-made goods. One of the .principal causes of Germany's rapid commercial advancement is the German capacity f° r organisation on a large scale, and for applying scientific discoveries to the nation's industries. Germany has also gained many advantages because she ha-s hitherto enjoyed a monopoly of the policy of treating trade as war. In a recent address, Sir William Ramsay, one of, Britain's most distinguished scientists,, remarked that German methods in trade have been as far as possible identical with her methods m war. He went on to say that when the present war is over wo shall have Germans again as trade rivals, and they will be backed by their State. "They will, as they have done before steal our inventions, use trickery and fraud to oust us from world markets, and we know that "we cannot expect any bargain to bind them. Commerce, indeed, is in Germany regarded as war. Wo must meet war by war." Now is the timo for the British peoples tn consider how the coming trade campaign may be most effectively conducted. A certain amount of State action will no doubt bd necessary in order to facilitate tho growth of trade within the Empire, and to encourage the more active development of the Empire's enormous resources. The Chambers of Commeroe, industrial associations, and trades unions can also render useful service in many directions j but, as we have already pointed out, the general public—the consumer—must play the principal part. The average man and woman can create a sentiment in favour of British and they can also give practical expression t6 their Imperial patriotism by buying articles of British make in preference to those of foreign manufacture. ,In thiß matter our duty and our interests will generally be found to coincide. The Empire now has a rare and a great chance to give a powerful impetus to its commerce and industries. Does it intend to seize the opportunity? If it does, all its foroes and resources —industrial, commercial, social, and scientific—must be mobilised for the campaign.