TROUBLOUS TIMES.

Hokitika Guardian, 8 May 1923, Page 4

TROUBLOUS TIMES.

THE EMPIRE’S TRADE. XEAY TRA DE COMMISSIONER ON VITAE PROBLEMS. AYELLIXGTOX, 3ray o. “The economic and trade conditions are changing so much that we find ourselves in the position of having to face new and serious problems.” was the way Mr X'. Elmslie, the newly-appoint-ed His Majesty's Trade Commissioner for New Zealand, prefaced his address to the members of the New Zealand Club yesterday. Within recent years, he said, Britain had made great strides in the study of trade and economic problems, and the formation of the Department of Overseas Trade was a most important step, not only to Britain, hut to the whole of the Empire. However, the department was as yet only ii? its infant stages, and was hut feeling ils way towards efficiency. The speaker had spent four years in the London office of the department, and had thus been enabled to study the big problem o! past-war trading in the Empire ami throughout the world. At the commencenient. and for many years following, tiie department concerned itself mainly with studying the interests of the British exporter, and questions of Home trade generally, but now it had considerably widened its scope in the direction of taking into account the bigger problems of world economics and post-war trading. THE AVAR'S LEGACY The effects of the' war, said the speaker, reacted on trade very rapidly and very seriously. All effort had been concentrated on war industries and war production, and the trade ol every country was to a very large extent interferred with. Britain ceased to export goods to oilier countries, shipping was curtailed, and ordinary trade was practically at a standstill. Britain's unfortunate position had enabled other countries to increase their trade connections, and to-day Britain who in the position of having a tremendous amount of leeway to make up. It could he seen that when the war came t« a (lose. British manufacturers would lie at n great disadvantage, and so there came into being in IS*l7 the Department ol Overseas I rude. Ihe loss of so luanv trade connections was ol very serious import to a country like (treat Britain, which was niilv able to produce less than one-third of the foodstuffs and raw materials reipiired for her public life, ft’ Great Britain failed 1, () restore her trade she could not teed I'hei great population. ’I hat was a ser- ! ions tact. AX IMPORTANT DEPARTMENT. Faced with that position. Britain found it imperative to do something, and the old order wa-, changed. Instead of four Trade Commissioners, Britain now had the whole of the Consular Service acting as advisers to the Department of Overseas Trade. and was thus enabled to lie kept in touch with all parts of the world. The department’s function now was not only to assist directly the manufacturer and

the exporter, hut also to serve as economic adviser to the Imperial Govorn-ni-’iit. which had to legislate in accordance with changing conditions. It was. oi course, obvious that legislation by I he British, Government affected the "hole ol the Empire find served as a model to the overseas Dominions. Britain had realised that it could not deal effectively with a problem by studying one end of it only; that it Could no! expect to sell to the overseas Domiub.m i without taking an equal interest in the trade needs of these Dominions. Alter all. trade was a matter of Uv ami exchange, and New Zealand could not become an increased buyer of British goods unless Britain helped Xew Zealand to find markets for her produce. TRADE IMPROVING. V. bile the problem of the New Zea,:l"d export trade was a matter for "the Government. .’dr Eha.-lie was prepared to co-operate to the best of his abjj.tv ■u i hi : , direction. With regard to Iho I trade --*irlra.!, ; ,l pr.-s-pt be ,-aal thu, ! f -b' opinion hi London was that ibere wa- no 'hi'.ib’i that trade was iiopr mg. The indications were good. Iml he thought ope important fact was Bull there r, a . no indhailoii of :• ! : .i a. H"- truth was that they did pot want 1 boor,! if il ip; ant a d’isasTrolls swing ' ack lik • they had experienced. That s-ort of boom wa:. no good in the KmP l '"’- Incidentally the: a >. ere one or two disturbing I'm tors whC-hHio c! sired tu draw attention to. For instance there wins the position between France an G'jrnuipy. which was having an unset .lied •effect op trade. How long this would I --t no one could say, iml it was a tact that its continuance was seilau. in,alter indeed. If one looked back on history for the rens/ms for the trade depression ( ,ne would s--e that the '.'hole position was a. direct result of the war hut the actual secondary re-asmi for the check was inflation. During the war Britain had spent money '■try I reely; no low, than fist per coni, of the at cumulated wealth of Britain had been spent, on the war. and il was obvious that this must s:ei mti-ly eti'crl the Empire’s trade. Buying regardless of cists resulted in the heavy inflation of values. There was a shortage of staple goods and prices went up to very high levels. Fnl’ortunaiel.v il was not en equal iullnfion. and now in New Zealand they were faced with 'he position that the prices received for butter and cheese, which were practically down to the pre-war level, (could uoi now buy the amount they would in fere the war. NEED FOR STABILITY.

’lilt’ .Speaker wont on io sny t.! 1;t 1 they wonted to get h-aek io ;i stability of prices; until they got that I Ir.-y would Imve fluctuiitions mid all sections of the country would suli’or. Bri loin jnv.t no-.v was looking to increase her troth- with tin.' Dominions in order to- moke no for wiint she lose in other •countries. .Vow Zealand c-on lit only

iinport oxtensive’y if slip was prosper ons. lii this connection there wrr

groat questions to face, mid ibo-t woulil lif dealt with at the coming Imperial Ecoitomio Conference. Mt Elmslio eoneltided: “I want to understand all these big problems front the point of view of Xevv Zealand, an:! see if by combined effort tv*! cannot solve the questions facing us. I an. going to ask you gentlemen i.> jut me wise with regard to the vital n utter.-* which concern us all.”