BANKERS AND BANKING

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 2955, 15 December 1916, Page 31

BANKERS AND BANKING

THE FUTURE OF COMMERCE

A CHARGE AND A REBDHAL

The Association of Chambers of Commerce of Great Britain discusscd banking and its relation to trade at a resumed conference at the Hotel Cecil, London, recently. There were a number of resolutions submitted urging the importance of the extension of banking facilities in the development of trade after.the;war. /. v To Encouragg Industrial Enterprise. Mr. A. M. Samuel (Norwich) moved a resolution on behalf of the Cardiff Chamber, "which asked, the Government to ascertain, whether, any steps could bo faken to' facilitate and encourage industrial.. enterprise further. During the last "few 'years the 1 British banks had handled the interests of British manufacturers and'merchants, for home as well as for foreign trade, in an un-' satisfactory manner. They always pleaded' that they could not take on a venturesome policy and that they had to safeguard their money. Ho contrasted the assistance which German and French banks rendered to Qio smallest trader i/ith tlio treatment which the British trader received, . Joint stock banks, he said, had drifted into stagnant methods, and, having become most a monopoly, had 'neon able to snap their fingers at the public . Sir Eawird HofcTen said that the joint stock banks of Great Britain wero either directly or indirectly providing the resources necessary to carry on the war—responsibilities which were very great. This was not the time when tliey ought to be criticised. He thought rather they deserved sympathy and assistance. This country had! been made tlio financial centre, of tlio world' by freodom, and if they endeavoured to shackle bankers with mich resolutions they would not only begin to damage the national position, but hurt their own industries. They would get into such a position that, however desirous the bankers were to assist them, the restrictions which were sought to bo put upon banks Would prevent the bankers giving tlio accommodation which they were giving at present. Is There a Banking Ring? Sir Edward proceeded to 6ay that banking competition was ' never so great .as..it' and thero was no ring 'in-banking. They would not havo a ring. He personally had set his face against it. They must havo free competition becausoit was that which did justice to their trade. In England and Wales alone the banks placed 500 millions at the disposal of trade and industry, and, in addition, had found 200 millions for the war. No banking system' in tlio world could have stood tho strain they had to stand,, and :that without the slightest difficulty. If they looked at Germany they found the banks were failing. They did not want anything like that to occur in England. Russia, before the war, was overrun by German traders and financiers. If the Russian people bad the same, feelings that wo had, that would not happen in the future. But the trader must not expect everything to bo dono-for him by the financier. The German commercial traveller iri Russia spoke Russian, and he ;• .strongly advised : the .teaching of Russian to men intended for this trade. But : it ■ must , bo'/done, quickly. Another Lesson From Germany. ■ "He agreed that it .was against all hanking principles that banks in j England sliould place deposits In., foreign countries: when they were wanted at home. It was quite right, that the capital banks in Britain was not so large as' that of:-German banks. A great deal of blaine was : to be attached to the Government in.tlie past. They had noglected to take an interest in the matter, while the' Kaiser and those about him had been doing everything they could to push on the German banker. Let tho Government wake up, and let them stand.with tbe bankers and with the larger concerns of England. Let the bankers increase their capital and use it to take up shares in a large concern. Let traders bring in their capital and let the Government come behind them and see that' for a few years they'had a fair rate of interest on tho capital put in. (Cheers.) In the course of his speech Sir Edward Holden struggled hard to repress his emotion, but his reference to-the blood which was being spilt by ,the Al-lies-proved top much and he faltered, The delegates quickly grasped the situation, and their sympathetic applaus* lasted till he was able to resume his speech. Some Spirited Resolutions. Considerable discussion followed, and eventually the conference adopted a resolution from the Liverpool' Chamber whicb urged the importance of the Government considering the desirability ol facilitating the' establishment of la largo credit bank or banks for the purpose of developing British trade abroad'. On Elie motion of Mr. A. M. Samuel, a resolution was carried unanimously urging the Government to take action to amend the existing laws under which subsidised foreign ships could make use of British ports.and obtain the benefit of harbour facilities while escaping the payment of harbour dues, _ The conference also passed a resolution that pilotage certificates should only be granted to persons of British nationality for ports of the United Kingdom, India, the Crown colonics, and dependencies. Another resolution was that the Government should have power to insist that companies manufacturing or trading hi the United! Kingdom, India, and the Crown colonies should bo Bri-tish-controlled, and' that any cliemy firms allowed to reopen should bo subject to such control and inspection as shouTS render it impossible for them to bo used' as political agencies wider tho guiso of commercial establishments. Mr. do P. Ponnofatlier, M.l\ (Liverpool) moved a resolution asking for the reorganisation of tho Consular service, and Sir Charles Owens, who seconded, said that of 653 British Consuls, 286 were of foreign origin, 44 of these being Germans and Austrians. The resolution was carried.