A BRIGHT FUTURE

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2420, 27 March 1915, Page 13

A BRIGHT FUTURE

AS RESULT OF WAR. VIEWS OF MR. 0. M. LUKE. •to optimistio outlook 1 for British trade relations with the colonies, despite the troubled times we are now going through, i 6 held by Mr. C. M. Luke, president of the Central Chamber of Commerce. Mr. Luke, thinks that the British public has learnt a lesson this time that will prevent it in the future strengthening a potential enemy ; "In my opinion," said Mr. Luke, in the oourse of an interview, "one of the results of the war in which the Empiro ia engaged at present will be the development of tho production of various kinds of manufactures in Great Britain, to meet the requirements of the oversoas Dominions. 1 cannot conceivo for a moment that the British people throughout the world will forget the conditions under which this war was originated, and what wo believe was tho purpose for the war—the capture of the trade of the world, the overwhelming of tho small States of Europe, with a consolidation between Germany and Austria and other Powers, working in unison to ultimately oonquer Great Britain. WhiU m m & wmjuua«

ity, and err on the side of foreigners and forgetfulness as far as our enemies are concerned, I do not think that for generations to come the evil war in which we have bean plunged, caused by this oorrosive spirit of world-ambition on the part of Germany, will bo forgotten. .

■ "In my opinion there will be a trcs mendous demand in the future for : articles that.have hitherto been manui factured in Austria and Germany, and ; we shall look more, and more to the . British . market to meet our requirel ments. .1 believe also that there will r spring up.out.of it all a desire on tho part of'the various sections of the Emi pirc to manufacture more and more of l their' own requirements, cyid I should J. not be'.surprised to see, the .introduction ( of a. good deal of "British capital in the . various Dominions, first in the intere6ts ) of the primary products of those countries which will necessarily expand, and r create a greater demand upon the pro- . the secondary industries. I believe that whilst for ai time we may } feel the 'financial consequences of the. j war—and that financial pressure has yet : : to be felt—yet I believe that our tremendous resourcefulness will enable us to overcome the shook of the war morereadily than any other nation involved, and as soon as the immediate aftermath of'the..war.'has ;passed' away .I look, lor--5 ward to a period of great prosperity, both for Britain and the various Do'L miiiions.< i-,-•... ... Develop Our Latent Resources, "As toNew Zealand, in addition to * a great increase in our-primary products, I think we , shall develop our latent resources.' . Ie see ; 'great potenti- ? alities in the development. of the water r< powers-■: by: hydro-electrical, services throughout. the ; Dominion, which will | he a ; hig factor in the'development of a V number of small industriesYtnat are not yet in This cheap power '. will also develop other large industries, and at • no distant date we shall see 3 especially at-Paraparaj. large iron and steel works, and-following npon that, in' ' favourable districts, we. shall see de- '• veloped shipbuilding, industries, allied " trades, and large engineering works. I also see by the utilising of this'power the handling of large phosphate and J lime industries,, the creating of • nitrates, and the plaoing of 6uoh manures cheaply in .the possession of the farming classes of the Dominion. This will give a great impetus to agriculture, will multiply the crops, and will enable us "to produce the proverbial two blades of grass wlisre only one now grows. I believe that industries that absorb some of the natural products of the country, such as- leather, will become natural industries of New Zealand,. and from that will spring othei industries and greater' development. 1 . Our Own Province. 1 "Speaking of our own province, I. - am impressed more and more with the > great possibilities that are before us. - But we want local : sentiment, and the 1 determination to bmsh aside all diffi- ' liulties to the opening up of those re--5 sources which are more or less locked k up at the prosent time, especially in ■ the East Wairarapa district-. By means T of hotter railway facilities; such 38 can, t be secured at-, a ..comparatively small " J cost by the deviation of the Rimutaka - railway, that hinterland, will be opened 1 up, and the . production . of this pro- ' .vince very-much multiplied; I consider ■ this is important in order that we may " Utilise, to the fullest extent the splen--1 did harbour works aud facilities that " we have as a shipping centre. Unless 1 we develop that hinterland, very much .of the production of this 'province will | be lost to the City, and. find its ' way to other ports in or ad-1 ' jacent , to the.. province—I speak of Wanganui and Napier—and wlnlst ! frcm a Dominion point of view that ' may not be bad, yet from a i local point ' of view the obligation is laid upon us to do all we can, first in the interests of our own province,' .and secondly in the interests of the Dominion. Speaking of the Dominion, I believe that she will be the gem of the Pacifio and be a great centre from which-; will be distributed goods for the.various islands of the Pacific, Buch as they cannot produce for themselves. As to the trade between Australia and ourselves, I believe that will be a groat feature, and by a system of reciprocity there.should be a great development, and the good fellowship that-has always existed between New Zealand and Australia will bind us more strongly in the future than in the past. Whilst we shall continue to develop practically along lines of our- own, and shall preserve a separate constitution, yet we shall be as one of the dominions in the great diadem that crowns the British people, having as its throne and centre the metropolis of the Empiro, London. A Council of Empire. "I look forward," proceeded Mr. Luke, "to tho time when there will bo a council of a "permanent character" of all sections of tho Empire, over existing ia London, close at hand for the pur-pc-se_ of conferences from time to time, dealing with certain political aspects-affecting-the Empire generally. It will also deal with matters of trad© and commerce, and in that way wo shall sec the consummation of the dream of sorno »£ tho greatest historians aud statocmeiU

of the past. Councils of Premiers end councils of ' statesmen, improving as they are in their way, will not be sufficient to meet tie greater demands of a greater-Empire, but a council of states-' men and of commerce is the type of council that in my opinion, will find fruition,in the no distant future."

Asked'for an expression as to how to meet the lower priced foreign goods that have flooded the market in the past, Mr." Luke said that whilst British people for a great number of years had been af-' fect-ed by the lower prices, he believed that in the future they would be willing to make sacrifices and prefer British goods. When-the people realised that out of their own means funds had been provided to produce the perfect machine of -war against which we 'were fighting,now, they would understand-the .tremendous cost in proportion to. ; any small saving they may have made bj once and a jvhile purchasing a foreign article,at ten per cent, cheaper than it could he produced in the British Empire. He suggested that at the close of the war there should be a conference of all' '.sections- .of - "the British Empire to datermine ways and means of keeping out German and Austrian goods; if by no other way,-there should be a preferential tax against them.