IS BRITAIN LOSING GROUND ?

Grey River Argus, 8 April 1911, Page 2

IS BRITAIN LOSING GROUND ?

Lord Furness, in a letter published in "the Times" last .month, writing as a convinced Free-trader, gave it as liis deliberate opinion "that unless we apply ourselves assiduously and nationally to devolop our commercial methods on the highest possible plans we cannot hope to hold our own — it would :be a natural impossibility."

Commenting on this in a special article, "the Times said :\— "We have in Germany and the United States alike ,a policy of commercial educa-

tion than which it is difficult to conceive anything" better calculated" to attnin the end desired — namely, the extension of knowledge of requirements of miarkets and the capturing of foreign trade by adaptation to local demands. 'And it may be added that, in the opinions of Americans well qualified to judge, G-erman}' is regarded as America's chief competitor in Europe, Mr Dunning, the American Consul aTHJavir., who was summoned last year- in Chicago to

help forward the proposed Consular reforms, paid a high trlruifo to the success of the German system of working through living , i epresentatives instead of through catalogues. The rapid growth of German triade.. indeed, is very largely attributable to tke great pains taken by the young Germans entering on a commercial career to" master foreig"h huiiyuages. Not content with the spoken word,

he Germans tfake care to bring be>

fore their prospective customers the merits of their wares by means •of publications in the languages of the countries in which they seek to do business. One of these, the latest

issue of which lies before us is pub-, lished fortnightly in Berlin Edited by a German consul, this periodical, which is printed in EnglKh throughout, claims to circulate over the whole globe, and it "is a very effective means of ntoking known the merits of German productions of every description. .

"This is but an illustration of the intelligence with which our German neighbours are setting ab^-' their business— an entirely legitimv'- one —of increasing their trade. . A thousand more could be adduced, 'but there is no need to labour the point. While German thoroughness has long been proverbial, it is only recently that we have come to realise that the Japanese are, if possible, in .this respect, more German than Germians. Here, again, we are confronted with the necessity, for serious searchings of the heart in regard to our methods of fostering .and promoting our trade. With such rivals in the field there can be no . mark'in gtime. We must either go forward, or be left behind in the race; and we should do well to listen to the urgent arid disinterested plea of men like Lord 'Furness to equip ourselves for the contest while' there Is yet time.".

The valuer in reported a few _\Veefcs affo that the rateable Value of property for the ensuing" year showed a substantial increase of over £68,000. It would appear, • however, that a good many of the ratepapers do not see eye to eye with this point, for no fewer thah 219 objections have been lodged against his estimates. "

Dr Cockayne, the well-known botanistt of iChtiistchurch is aiyoujt to 1 visit the South Westland Glaciers, and arrives here on Saturday from the Oass, wher 'he is at r present spending-- a. few days in quest of seeds of 'a rare pla,nt of which Ye. is 'the discoverer.