THE EXHIBITION

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2703, 24 February 1916, Page 7

THE EXHIBITION

SPEECH BY HON. A. L. HERDMAN } WORK OF THE NAVY FALLACY OF CONSCRIPTION OF WEALTH There was a big audienco present at the Patriotic Industrial Exhibition in the Town Hall last evening,, and there was plenty of evidenco that those present were taking a live interest in the inany lino oxliibits that are. to be seen in;the big hall. Mr. A. R. Hislop,'in the absence of Mr. C. M. Luke, occupied the chair. After a selection of patriotic airs by the band of the sth Regiment (under Bandmaster H. M'Comish), an address was delivered by Miss Holmes, a member of the Women's Anti-German who said that many felt that there was so little they could do beyond buying an occasional packet of sweets from an attractive young maiden. To all such the Patriotic Exhibition must be a most welcome stimulus, by showing clearly and decisively at least one way in which they could, help Great Britain. She was sorry that that way began by making people stop and think, as very few of them liked stopping or thinking. Tliey preferred to go on happily with their heads in tho clouds, accepting daily life as they did the sunshine and rain—as inscrutable things, for whose coming they were in no wise responsible. She urged {hat commodities should not be accepted in that fantastic fashion, but that all should consider who was to profit by the sale of. this or that. England liad _ been careless in the past, and she indicated goods which had been allowed to pass to Germany, but that was all to be changed. The final decision rested with ourselves, and if wo asked the source of fcvery doubtful commodity and refused all coming from a tainted source, shopkeepers ufculd soon weary of apologising and explaining. Miss Holmes was accorded a hearty vote of thanks for her address, which is but briefly sketched. Boycott Enemy Goods. Mrs. M'Yicar, in the course of her Address, said that the women of Now Zealand had been working strenuously to lit out their soldiers for the front, but it had come home to them forcibly that more was needed, and they must figlit the enemy by boycotting their, goods and refusing to. buy anything that comes from Germany. They must wage a trade war, and tho more active they were the sooner they might look for the termination of the awful' struggle. It was for women to make traffic in German goods impossible in New Zealand. The Governments of the different States were leading and assisting, but' the main work must be done by the nation itself. The.v had not yet seemed to realise lhat Germany's methods in trade were similar to her methods in, war. For years auything shoddy or not up to the mark was spoken of as "made in Germany," although it might be made in Petone.

Germ of Cood In War. The principal speaker of the evening was the Hon. A. L. Herdman, who said he was delighted to note the enthusiasm of the business men of Wellington who had organised the exhibition. They deserved the applause not only of the people of the district and the city,' but the thanks and, enthusiaatio support of the people of New Zealand. War brought in its train many; evils, and those who had watched the operations of the last eighteen months had seeir many horrors pass by_; but though war .brought many evils,, it also-gave a\ fractional good. One. little fraotion of good done by the startling events of _ the past. eighteen months was to bring home to the British manufacturer the effect of the German policy of peaceful penetration in the markets of the world. It had made the manufacturer rouse himself and grasp the opportunity offered to him. lie could not understand why Germany went to war at all—he could not understand why, during the last eighteen months, they Iliad abandoned their policy °f peaceful penetration to rely on one of high explosives. If people read the newspapers of tho Empire, and those in New Zealand, they would realise that the business man was now aroused and had determined to vanquish Germany in the field of commerce just as tho British nation had. determined to boat Germany on the field of battle. In tho presence' of .so many representing the business life of the City ' of Wellington ho wished to say, firstly that if .they ' did ' want to capture the enemy trade, now was tho time, not after tho war, when, perhaps, they -would have £10,000,000 worth of goods dumped upon the markets of the world. If the business man realised his advantage, and the advantage it would bo to the British nation, now was the time to secure the customers the enemy had lost. Secondly, the countries of Greater Britain should -unite in showing their sincere patriotism by buying no article which nad a3 its origin the country with which they were at war; thirdly, the Government should impose such a duty on goods originating in an enemy country that would make it next to impossible for them to trade; and, fourthly, the Government's of the different parts of the Empire should see that no produco should reach enemy territory. It would be almost useless to attempt to do anything without uniform . action tliroughbnt .the Empire, sooner or later, that must be dealt with at ail Imperial Conference. (Applause.) There were amazing opportunities for the business men of to-day, and now 'was the time to takei advantage of them. Imperial Government's Task. Referring to the work done by the I'mperial Government since the' war broke out, Mr. Herdman said that there were two ways to fight an enemy. One was with guns and other munitions, and another way was to kill his trade. The Imperial Government had taken steps to stifle tho enemy's trade. Tho task had been a delicate one, as thoy had had t<p considei 1 ' tho wants and requirements of neutral countries—such countries as Holland, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, and the United States of America. If they could manage to keep on friendly terms with those countries, they couid help England and her Allies in the war. So to understate] the task of Imperial statesmen in stifling the trade of Germany that must be considered. At the outset our nation was prepared to adhere to all the conditions and all tho rules laid down for the conduct of war botwoen civilised Powers. We were prepared to obscrvo everything set down in international law, but Germany had torn up the pages oF international law. England 'had then decided to go one better, and issued a statement on March 15 last saying that inasmuch as Germany had broken all laws and flouted all international practices, they would allow no ship to go into port carrying goods for the enemy, and by so doing had put Cermany in a state of blockade. England would not permit any goods to go over the waters to Germany or allow any German goods to go to other countries in the. world. This had been the Navy'swork. It was almost impossible to realise the great work of tho Navy; done quietly, without any fuss, they lia,d kept watch on the seas, examining vessels and their cargoes, and taking them into port. The Navy has Done wonders. Our Navy had done wonders, and the Empire would know it some da);, (Ap-

plause.) That step was not taken in a spirit of rovengo. Vengeance was not the prerogative of humans, but it was the righteous action of weak mortals against a, country which had trampled underfoot every principle of humanity, j and not 0110 present would say that it was not justified. (Applause.) Tho second step taken was to set up a Contraband ..Committee to examine cargoes, seiro them, and put cases before the Prize Court. The third step was to institute an. arrangement with such countries as Holland, Norway, and Sweden to see that no goods sent to those countries found their way to an enemy country. Thoy had also entered into arrangements with different steamship lines granting 1 spccial privileges conditional on their not carrying goods destined for an enemy country, aijd to other linos refusing bunker coal unless the owners entered into a solmen compact not to carry goods to pn enemy country, and allowing the passage of certain commodities under what was known as the "rationing system." Tho work of the British and French Navies had meant the destruction of tho overseas trade of Germany. For tho year preceding the war Germany and Austria had sent goods to the value of £24,800,000 to tho United States; for the seven months after the war the trade of Germany and Austria had been reduced to. £4,400,000, and the greater part of that was property that had already been paid for. Those of Scotch origin would know that it was a violation of the principles of commerce to lceep both the money goods, so the goods were allowed to go to their destination.

Advantages of Wealth. Mr. Herdman said that the Imperial Government might congratulate itself. Ho did not want them to believe that goods were not reaching Germany, for they were, but German commerce was dead, and now was the time to get the business and the customers Germany had had in the past. .Speaking of commerce led him to refer to'wealth. If a country had tho commerce it must have the woalth, and yet some people talked of the conscription of wealth. No sillier fallacy, liad fallen from the lips of anyone. Ifow was it that England had not only been able to supply munitions and guns for the Allies, but had financed the Allies ? She could Dot bavo done so hut for the fact that she was a powerful country, with wealthy business uien. Napoleon had Raid that the British were a nation of shopkeepers—that was right—they were .the best sliopkeopers in the world. That was how they were able to prosecute tho war and will it. If anyone talked of the conscription of wealth tell him that he ought to he in Porirua. Tho wealthy should bo taxed, and they did not object'to being . taxed. Every woman and man present should remember that above everything else they were inspired with British sentimont and feeling; they had always been fair and justj and never revengeful. England was" slow to strike, but when she did strike there was a force and power behind it that our adversaries never forgot. "As tjie outcomo of the war. ho was sure that they would be able to 'enjoy pence, happiness, and contentment for many years to come. At the conclusion of tho spceclies the girls of the Y.AV.G.A. gave an attractive exposition of Swedish drill, and the sth Regiment drummers performed a "tattoo" in good style. CONTROL OF SCHOOL CHILDREN, [ Tho management of the Exhibition regret to have to announce that, owing to complaints from stall-holders, unless school children are attended and controlled by an efficient staff of masters, they will have to take steps to | restrict the privileges of the children at the Town Hall.