THE NEW ERA

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 300, 15 September 1919, Page 6

THE NEW ERA

—« COMING TRADE PROSPECTS GERMAN GOODS PROBLEM I OPTIMISTIC PREDICTIONS Post-war conditions, and 6uch questions as Imperial preference and trade with, Germany, were referred to by speakers at tho Commercial Travellers' dinner on Saturday evening. The question of trade with Germany was mentioned first of all in a letter from Mr. M. Carr, vice-president, who was uot present, being out of New Zealand just now.' Ho expressed the hopo that the commercial travellers and warehousemen would do their best to mako it "impossible for all timo for Germans to trade with this country. Mr. Eushbrook, who presided, said that the matter was ono exercising the mind of every ono of thorn—whether we were going to shut out German goods altogether, of whether we were to go on trading as in the days beforo the war. (Cries of /'No!") How was this to be stopped ? He thought tho matter was one in which they as business men could do much, They should be determined that they would push British goods for all they wero worth. Tliey must use every scrap of their influence to see that only lines bearing British trade marks wero sold. .(Applause.) , Mr. Massey said he wished to endorse the expressions of opinion by the president and vice-president of the association regarding trade witih Germany. He believed that the' commercial travellers of New Zealand would do their best to keep German goods out of New Zealand, and if they wanted any assistance tile Government and Parliament would assist -tlicm. (Applause.) "I hopo with all my heart," he said, "that Germany will not again be able to obtain the high position she formerly had in different parts of tlio world. We have had our lesson, and if wo do not profit by tho lessons of tho war/then we do not deserve our. victory. . . . I hope that Britain will adopt a policy of Imperial preference. ■ Something of the sort is urgently 'required. Britain has- held to tho policy of tho open door, and that was perhaps the proper policy GO or 70 years ago, but I don't think it is the proper policy to-day. Conditions have changed. At that time the colonies wero looked upon as a burden and an encumbrance, but- tho British peoplo do not now look upon the younger nations of the Empire as a-burden and an encum-' brance. The people of Britain—and I speak of them with respect and with a grea.t deal of aifection—know that the future of the Umpire depends on tho .younger nations of the Empire, and if tho Empire is to be developed as it ought to be developed,- then the proper thing ■ to. do is to arrange this policy of Imperial preference, in order that wo may Jielp one another on every possible occasion. This could be done by Customs tariffs, but that is not the only way; we could help one another in finance, immigration, shipping, and in other, ways. 1 do not for a moment say that we should not trade with other nations, but not with Germany—(hear, liear)—but we have to 'help our own peoplo first, 'to help our own Empire. 'We may lot the Allied nations have a fair share of trado, but our own peoplo must always come first. (Hear, hear.) ( "i\ow that peace has come wo havo entered upon a new era. 'l'ho past, glorious as it was, has gone. The record of the British soldiers and the British people is a record that never will be forgotten, but tho present is with us, and the future depends on the uso we mako of the present.] • • /We are at the parting of the ways. We have to choose as to whether we should do what our forefathers have 'been doing—go on building up and developing, using tho qualities which are to some extent peculiarly British, the qualities of industry, energy, and enterprise— or - whether wo shall adopt the policy of go-slow, the habits of luxury; and laziness which are certain forerunners of disaster and downfall. Great empires of the past have come down by' this policy of luxury and laziness. I brieve in the British people. I believe we shall go back, to the policy of building up' and; developing. Let us begin at once. Let us without delay choose tho better part, and make this Empire of ours worthy of the tremendous sacrifices made for us by the many thousands of citizens in the years of the war. (Applause,) Sir Joseph Ward said that men in commerce would have great responsibility thrust upon them in the years immediately to follow. The Old Country was allowing Germany to trado with her, and said as a matter of policy that this was to continue. Other Allied nations were doing tho same. In these circumstances it might not be possible for New Zealand to take legislative action to prevent tlio invasion of German trade, and it. would be left to the people themselves to say whether trade operatio/is with Germany could be renewed. New Zealand wanted Imperial preference, but New Zealand wanted it in a way she had not yet had it'. We had already given "preference to Britain and to some other Darts of the Empire, but at -present Britain, under her fiscal policy, had no preference to offer to us, except the great privilege of getting our products into England freo of duty. Mr. Massey knew, and he knew; that Britain was most anxious to co-operate with tho galaxy of young nations of the British Empire. No other country had such an array of young nations, and no other country could ever hope to have them. He had the utmost confidence in the future, which would belong to the rising generation, and he had no fears about their keoping the heritage that would be handed down to them.