The Dominion MONDAY, JANUARY 6, 1919. KEEPING TOUCH WITH MARKETS

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 86, 6 January 1919, Page 4

The Dominion MONDAY, JANUARY 6, 1919. KEEPING TOUCH WITH MARKETS

: One of the rough-and-ready arrangements made during the war period which now calls'for revisira has reference to the High Commissionership. Since Sir Thomas, Mackenzie's ordinary term in that position expired some time ago his appointment, has been, on a number of occasions* extended at and for short intervals; arid at , present he is liable to removal at_ very brief notice. There is nothing to be said in favour of. continuing on these lines. Tb'e existing arrangement must be anything but satisfactory to Sir Thomas Mackenzie,- and it is liable to rob the" Dominion of all the advantages attaching' to continuity of efficient representation in London at a time wheu it is most to be desired. Continuity in many of the detail activities of the High Commissioner's office, bearing on trade relations and other matters is assured in any case, because they are in the hands of permanent qfficials, but it is very necessary that these activities should bo' supervised and directed by a Commissioner able to deal in_ a competent way with the, larger issues raised, particularly with the complex and rather baffling questions connected with the marketing of primary produce which .are so important to the Dominion, and have so great a bearing on its, prosperity. In extending the High' ; Commissioner's term at short intervals, and so, in appearance at least, imparting a stop-gap character to his appointment, the Government is, taking as little account as possible of _ these considerations ' and pursuing a policy which • falls distinctly short of meeting the practical of the situation!' In a letter which he wrote recently to a friend in New Plymouth and which has been published in:, thiscountry, Sir Thomas Mackenzie remarks that he regards it as his duty to remain at his post "during this great crisis so long as'the Government desire, my services, and the stronger the Government can. make my position, both regarding tenure ana influence, the more use will I be to New Zealand." The concluding obser-. vation • is' manifestly weighty. Whatever the Government may intend to do in regard to the High Commissionership it would bo unwise, at any timo to , cripple and hamper the official who is in-effect our trade ambassador by making his tenure of office precarious; and) at present, with the problems of after-war trade and trade reconstruction calling insistently for attention-, such a pplicy is more than ordinarily foolish. In regard to the High Commissionership, as in other things, the Government must be prepared .'to act with decision and to give the occupant of that office all possible backing in. tho discharge of his responsible duties. As' the present High Commissioner pointed out in • the letter which has been quoted, the Dominion is approaching a -momentous position where its export trade, upon which tho welfare of its people depends, is in question. Even some of those who lack his intimate .knowledge of market conditions and cognate, matters will be able to unreservedly, endorse his contention that "a much wider policy must be adopted, if we arc to hold our own v in., material prosperity, than that which met circumstances previous 1 to August, 1914," and _ to agree Jhai the New Zealand High Commissioner ' in the after-war period will need to be familiar at once with the producing, resources and capacity of the Dominion and with the British and other European markets and how best to operate them. In the most cursory survey, the problems of re-estab-lishing our export trade on,a sound basis bulk somewhat formidably. In regard to meat and dairy produce particularly, tho war has broken into arrangements between producers and exporters in this country and retailers and distributors' in Great Britain which in some cases it will perhaps be impossible to renew. While, they existed these arrangements represented to the producers of the Dominion an assured market, and, generally speaking, remunerative returns for their produce. It is an urgent matter to re-establish at least as good trade relationship and marketing conditions, in anticipation of the cessation of. the Governmentcontrolled sale of produce. _ It is, of course, the immediate business .of the exporting agencies which directly and indirectly represent the New Zealand producers to recover an assured footing in the British markets; and to suppose that they are actively exerting themselves to this end is to suppose no more than that they are showing a commonsense regard for their own business interests. If, however, it is efficiently represented in London in the strenuous period now to be faced the Government may be able, though there is no certainty on the point, to assist producers and exporters to substantially improve in some respects on pre-war trading ■ conditions. As in the case of ajiy

other trade, the development of the New Zealand export trade which it now becomes necessary to re-estab-lish on a pe-acc footing will depend mainly upon individual effort and enterprise. But it is subject also to the operation of factors which governments, and they alone, arc .in a position to alter and modify. One of;the questions soon to be determined is whether greater governments than our own, notably those of Britain and the United States, are prepared to co-opcrato in attacking and removing restrictions oil . trade and obstacles- to the free passage of commodities from the producer to the consumer. How far the war has carried us in this' direction it is at present difficult to say. The Governments named and others are professedly ready to act boldly in the national interests of their' own peoples and in friendly co-opcration with other nations,- and in this sense the outlook is hopeful. On the other hand some of the trading conditions which have taken shape during the war must-bo regarded with anything but satisfaction, more especially the increasing hold Vi of the Meat Trust. Like the vital factor of shipping transport such restraints on trade and departures from legitimate competition are to be controlled, if at a-11, only by governmental ' action. Even the British Government is not capable unaided of crushing the powerful organisation which controls the vending of American meat, and .is seeking to make its control universal. Fortunately there are at least tentative indication's that the American Government is 'prepared to co-operate with the British Government in this matter. The United States' Federal Trade Commission, which reported to the ' President last year, found amongst other things that,:—

The small dominant group of American meat packers are now international in their activities, while remaining American in identity. Blame which how attaches to them, for their practices abroad as well as . at home inevitably will attach to our country if the practices continue. The purely domestic problems in their increasing magnitude, fheir monopolisation of markets, and their manipulations' and ; controls, grave as those problems are, are not more serious than those presented by the added aspcct of international activity. This urgently argues for a solution which will increase and not diminish the high regard in which this people is held in international comity. , - '

The Commission considers it possible to apply legislative and _ administrative remedies to the evils it condemns. Granted that ,an appropriate policy is adopted in the United States and in Great Britain the prospects of fair trading, and incidentally .the _ prospects of our export trade, will be much improved.