Empire Problems

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 46, 10 March 1937, Page 7

Empire Problems

— Pres» Assoeiation.)

conference issues Great Opporiunities for Advance MR SAVAGE'S VIEW

(By Telesrr&Db-

AITOEXAND, Last Niglit. A review of tlie proMeras that face the Empire and possihle solutions that may he considered at the coming Imperial Conference in London was given hy the Prime Minister, the Rt. Hon. M. J. Savage, in an address to the Auckland Chamher of Commerce. *'lt oniy cbmes about once or twice in a mau 'a lifetime to be able to represent his country at an Imperial Conference," said Mr. Kavage in reply to the fishes expressed by the president of the chamber (Mr. W. R. Pee) for a suc.cessful mission to Great Britaia. ".This'j will be my firet opportunity and I ean assure you I am not going to play fa3t and loose with the word and honour of New Zealand. "I freely admit that at the coming Conference we will have a better chanco of gaming our objectives than any other Government ever had. 3?his is duo to altered conditions. We are living in a world whieh at last seems ready for the resumption of international trade and as a result there is a great opportunity for the Eritish Commonwealth of JNations to put its own house on order and advance definite and commonsense proposals to ,the outside world. Until we correct the position of trade and the economic foundation of . things we will never be able to i'mprove the superstructure of international relations. "I am hopeful that the Imperial Conference will be able .to make a gesture which will silence the war tali which is going on in Europe to-day. Un/ • certainty as to- the future is the cause of the disturbances, and it must be remembered that never yet have we had stability to any appreciable extent. "There are endless possibilities of production, but we wili always have i periods of depression as long as people j get only £50 for every £100 worth of production. When people enjoy the, i'ruits of their own production .there. will be no foundation for war." Mr. Savage said he also hoped that, the conference would bring about a for- ! ward niove in the development of Em- | pire migration. This was a mueh-dis-. , cussed topie at the moment and it, ! appeared to him that the best way ofi approaching this problem was provided| j in the argument that the best invest-- | ment of British capital was in the Bri-: i tish Commonwealth of Nations. If Bri-, f.ish capital was invested in thej Argentine or in come other foreign country British migration would followi it there. The first essential to a migra-} tion policy was a firm financial founda-J tion and that was something which hej intended to put before the Imperial: Conference as part of New Zealand 'sj eontribution to the discussions. Only' the investment of capital would enable- 1 future development to support addi-1 | tional population resulting from an| active migration scheme. j 1 "This question has been somewhat; j clouded in the past," the Prime Minis-j ! !ter said. "Dividends have been regard-( : ied as more important than the nation-] ! ! jal welfare, and we must riso to great-] i j jer heights than that. In this I am notj jsuggesting that the British Common-| twealth should occupy an insular posi- j (tion. We can give a lead in the con-i j jduct of onr own affairs, bnt we must be ' jprepared to extend our relations to thej j outside world. > "While I am in Eiigland X hope toj ,do my best for New Zealand. I simplyj want to see New Zealand and its people, jflourish. If I can live to aee that I. "hall be. satisfied.'?