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Hokitika Guardian, 5 April 1921, Page 2

AvstiUUAN manufacturers, who are threatened with one of the greatest dumping campaigns ever known, am are already experiencing severe competition from oversea, countries, cannot he expected to welcome the statement u,ade in the House of Commons recent]v i, v Sir Robert Horne, President ot the Board of Trade, that the British Dominions should he linked up "derelict. European countries in t » Government’s export credit schem s .,vs the Melbourne Age . lei months past, in spite of adverse exchange rates, high freights, unp.ccedentod difficulties in securing assistance from bankers, and increasd Customs dutis, which have yet to be considered bv Parliament, and are being stienuonsiv fought, imports have been pomin,r 'into this country in huge volumes. \gainst this onslaught, old industries and new industries, built up since the war. have lioen struggling, and they -n o threatened with extinction. British and American manufacturers are overstocked with commodities, which derelict and other countries are unable or unwilling to take, and while these goods are belt,<r sent to Australia in n reeord-hicak-ing stream, and creating alt advei . trade balance which may take years <o adjust, there has been a VXdit outcry in London about the -‘complete hiss of export trade with Australia. Schemes for unloading surplus stocks of commodities are not confined to Great liri am. \ letter received in Melbourne 101,1 the Guarantry Trust of New York stars that hankers and business men lrom ml sections in the United States meeting in Chicago, determined upon the organisation of the Foreign Trade E.mmc.up Corporation as the solution of ie l 1 sent critical situation with respect to the domestic and foreign trade of die United States, especially the export of agricultural products, raw- materials and manufactured goods so urgently needed abroad.” This is the corporation which the American Bankers Association has fostered, and whose organisation has been approved by the Chamber of Commerce of the UnitM States, the National Foreign Trad" Council.' the American Manufacturers Export Association and the American Exporters and Importers’ Association. Artificial methods of maintaining heavy exports to Australia must minimise Uneffect of action taken hv the hanks *o put commerce on a sound footing, and must enlarge the adverse trade balance.

Tuk success attending the launching Yesterday of the lame pontoon for the monster dredge to wVk Rimu Flat vas a very pleasing augury in respect to the very considerable undertaking itself. The pontoon is of huge dimensions and it is intended to house machinery <4 great power. It is very substantially built, and its solid proportions, combined with the complete preparations made for a faultless launching indicate Dint the operations of the company itself no less substantial than its powerful plant. The intimation in regard to il.e launching was not blazoned abroad, 1 1 came to be known quite casually a"d without any special heralding. The management work as quietly as tlu*\ work thoroughly, but folk got to know of the event, and a very considerable gathering assembled to witness the o\ent. It passed off quite unostoutatinlly. Unhonored and unsung, the bulky pontoon slipped from her dry land crivl!.to her native clement, and then the gathering broke into cheers. Tin* rev ignition was well deserved, for it had been well earned. The dredge it is pooled will he outfitted and ready hr its important mission by July ti.-v. The machine is to dredge Rimu Flatfirst working seawards from the present position. The ground ahead has b ’ -n cleared of standing timber so that t u‘ machine will deal solely with mother earth. There is good ground ahei.l. The prospecting has revealed that fa ! Some of the prospects went as high as being equal to ten shillings per cubic yard. As prospects go. the venture promises to tap some very rich grouul. It is not improbable that- this will include the southern run from Craigs i freehold gold, and if that run should he picked up it is conceivable that the yields will be exceedingly rich. r llm prospects for the mining venture are thus very bright. Naturally they need j to be for ail undertaking so costly as | that now in hand. Yet the fact that so much capital is being put into the project is proof that after carrying out extensive prospecting there is confidence ,in the whole position. Success means a | great deal to the company; it means much to this district; it is of the highest importance to the Dominion at large Electric power dredging oil a large scale such as is to be undertaken, marks a new ora for dredging in Ibis country. Tt is something that this immediate locality is the pioneer scene of operations. It is an expression of opinion by outside capital that the mining industry of Westland is not done. When we see | a quarter of a million of money being | put into this project by people ram j overseas wlm have had a wide experience j in operations of this character. we i must he convinced that behind the j project are very substantial assuranc *s of success. There is more than mere hope in such an undertaking, and the whole community must readily join in wishing the project every success, com..

billed with the fulfilment of the highest expectations of the promoters. So notable a scheme means much to the district in common with that of the company’s success, and if for no other reason success would be gratefully looked for. But the sterling enterprise shown, the complete preparations made and the thoroughness of the work in hand, all point to the fact that the project is destined to demonstrate successfully the 1 opening of a new epoch in Westland gold-mining.