FREE-TRADE WITHIN THE EMPIRE

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 284, 20 August 1918, Page 8

FREE-TRADE WITHIN THE EMPIRE

THE MEANING OF IMPERIAL

PREFERENCE

SPEECH BY MR. MASSEY

During the course of an address to the members of the British Empire Producers' Organisation in London on Juno 19, Air. Masscy (Prime Minister) reviewed the question of trnde preference within tile Empire, "Tlio mnin question to be taken in hand by British citizens after the war,'' lio said, "will be how best to reconstruct and reorganise the Empire so as to mako it self-contained and, self-sup-porting. British citizens' have the opportunity of building up, not on the Gsrlnnn model or on the lines of the empires of tho past which have risen, flourished, aijd decayed because their citizens departed from righteousness aud those manly qualities which make a nation, and abandoned themselves to luxury and vice, but mi Empire which will last for all time, which will bo a blessing to humanity, nud in which enemy aliens will nol bo allowed to occupy the positions, cither commercially, socially, or politically, which many of them occupied prior lo the war. Personally, while I think a British citizen is the equal of any man on earth, there is always something to be learned from others who have had similar difficulties to deal with, such as thosa with which wo are face to face. 1 am thinking now of what took place iu I (lio United .Slates ot' America alter the i Civil War of the 'sixties, because the na- ! tiou had been bled white. A civil war is the worst of all wars, but the nation took up tho policy of development which had been commenced prior to the war. They started on a basis of free trade between tho States. They encouraged their own industries. Wherever possiblo they used up their own raw materials. They encouraged emigration from Europe, but especially from the United Kingdom, though they barred (lie criminal and tlio waster, the physically and mentally unlit. They paid the very highest wages for thoroughly skilled laiwur. They produced their own requirements by their ow'i labour. The result of this policy was. that in a few years the liiiitcd States were not only stronger''than they had ever been before, but stood in tlie front rank of nations as a great industrial and commercial Power. Now when the world is being menaced by a disaster such as wo thought had only been dreamt of in bygone ages, and such as mo*t people thought would never he heard of again, America is able to put a gient army in the field hacked up by alii the wealth of 100,WX),000 of the most industrious, energatici and enterpiising community in the world. America's Example. "Surely, in what Americans have done and are doing, there is a lesson for us that-should uol be neglected. Our resources arc unequalled, our people are in-' dustriuus, Uie possibilities of the Empire, if properly handled, are tremendous, the responsibility is ours to see t'iiat this opportunity does not pn.-xs without being taken advantage of. 1 am glad to notice that in the public Press and in Parliament, attention is being directed to the urgent necessity for Ukiutpin hand the proper development ol" the Empire. The Parliamentary Committee, presided over by Lord Balfour of Burleigh, is doing splendid work aud doing much to educate the public by showing them tho necessity for reform in connection with fiscal matters. 1. Jcnow there are men in every part of the Empire h'lio would trade with the devil himself if they could by so doing mako a little additional' profat, but such people must be made to understand that the national good comes lietore individual interest. Imperial preference as I understand it does not, however, stop with Customs duties. It should, according to my way of thinking, apply to British ships trading between British ports. In saying that, please understand that in changes which may take place, we have to consider and do justice to our loyal and gallant Allies, and treat them not only with justice but generosity. With those exceptions, 1 believe wo should insist on the .principle that within the Empire there should be preference for British people. The British Government are, 'wherever possible, purchasing the food supplies and clothing material for tho Army from British countries. The result ot this is that the Dominions are better able to finance their war efforts ■ than if a greater part of the expenditure had gone to neutral countries. The benefits are obvious, and really require no argument to support Ihem. Free-trade Within the Empire. "People often speak of the British lis- ' cal system as Free-trade. Personally, I think the term is wrong. If there is trade being earned on between two countries, and one allows the goods of tho °?'^ r '? 1)6 admitted duty free while the other charges Customs duty on the goods of the first, that can hardly be said to be Free-trade in tho proper senss of the term. On tho ono side it is a system of free imports. That is the system which Britain has been following for many yoars. Ou tho other it is undoubtedly a system of Protection, <' l "d the arrangement .is too one-sided to ? , when, as in the case of Britain and Germany, the latter's imports irom Britain and British'countries were mostly raw materials, while Britain's imports from Germany were mostly manufactured goods, for the production of which British workmen should hnvo had the opportunity, instead of allowing the privilege and payments for them to pass to German mechanics and artisans. That is what has been happening. Is it not any wonder that under such cir- j cumstances German industries progressed many more times more rapidly than British? Surely the American system is better—all possible commerce and fiscal privileges as between the States, but Protection against outside countries. I know the position of countries of the British Empire is not parallel with tho of the Republic. Situated as they are, Free-trade is easy as between themselves, but Free-trade would be much more difficult as between .the countries of the Empire. We can, however, have a system of preference within the Empire without any difficulty whatever, and that is what wo should aim at and initiate without any unnecessary ■ delay. People wlio call themselves Free-trailers sometimes speak of Imperial preference as another form of Protection, but that depends upon its application. If wo reduce Customs duties as between the different countries of the Empire—and tliut is what I think we ought to do wherever C'j'cumsUmces permit—that is surely getting nearer to Free-trade within ihe Empire than we were before. Therefore, from that point of view, the cliango ought to be satisfactory. But I advocate and believe in Imperial preference because I believe il will do more to build up (ho Empire, or Assist in building il; up, than any c.'her system can possibly do. It will bring us closer together than ever we were before, and it. will make us dependent for our requirements on ourselves; til-it is to say, on countries within tho Empire, and consequently independent of other countries aud that is something to bo desired. Since tho war broke out wo have experienced the evils and drawbucks of having relied on other countries, afterwards enemy countries, -for a number of the commodities we require, and cannot do without either in peace or war, and I hope we shall never get into that position again."