PROBLEMS OF THE PACIFIC

Hokitika Guardian, 8 March 1929, Page 7

PROBLEMS OF THE PACIFIC

DR. COX DLI I'TE S ADDRESS. NEW ZEALAND'S BART IN THEIR. SOLUTION. CHRISTCHURCH, -March 2. Dr. J. B. Condliffe, Research Secretary of the istilutc of Pacific Relations, addressed Liu* Rotary Conference yesterday afternoon on the subject, ••Problems of the Pacific and tile work of Rotary.” Sir Alexander Roberts District Governor, introduced the speaker as an ex-member of the Christ ciiurch Rotary Club. It was just two years said Dr. Coiullilie, since lie left New Zealand. Since then, he had travelled between and miles in the countries of die North Pacific. Il could he well said that in this region of the world “humanity had struck their tents and were on the march.” Everywhere were stirrings of new life, now trade and new ideas. Peoples were moving from their moorings of centuries altering the balance of density of population.

DRIFT OF POPULATION. In the United States the drift of population was still strongly westward and if the Congress would put through the Redistribution of Seats Bill California would get six more members in Congress. The same phenomenon was seen in Canada where the most vital branch of the Institute was in Winnipeg, an effect of increasing trade between that land and the Far East. New Zealand must be interested in this shifting of peoples. North America was facing more to the Pacific than the Atlantic, and the Pacific would he the twentieth century theatre of world trade and diplomacy. Great events on its eastern shores were causing this. Five years ago Yokohama was laid waste by fire and earthquake. Now electric trains and lfigli power transmission 1 flies were everywhere; forests of radio reception poles, showed a developed broadcast system, and in Tokio the biggest buildings were those of the newspaper with circulations running inot millions. Twenty years ago this country was just opening to European trade and. connnere. Now in the centres of Japan could he seen all the phenomena associated with rapid industrial development. In 1927 one million emigrants fled from threatened famine in North China to the free land of Manchuria. The increased production from these new farmers, and the expoitation of timber resources, had added greatly to the wealth of the Far East. Such shifts of population were taking place all over China, and from the country to the town. Last year .more immigrants arrived in Singapore than in New York, and were forming a new Chineses section of the British Empire in Malaya.

CHINA’S INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT. “What,” asked Dr. Condiiffe, “can this mean in the international relations between peoples around the Pacific I will take an incident to illustrate what is happening. I was on my way by train from Nankin when the engine broke down, and we were stranded in a little town 100 miles west of Shanghai. My Chinese comi),anion knew a man in the town, and went in rickshaws to the courtyard of bis old Chineses house. Our host and his wife met us in Chinese dress, and took us to a room in which was nothing Occidental; but he spoke perfect American English. He was a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and his wife a graduate of Armstrong College New-castle-on-Tyne. Next morning he took us through the canals in an outboard motor boat, built in Boston, to his cotton factory. It was of l'erro-concreta,' with machinery made in Bolton, Lancashire —one ol the most efficient factories I have ever been through. The 900,000 people in the area from which he drew raw material and labour were receiving an additional fifteen doll.us income per head through his activities This is the sort of man who is building the new China. Some time later I met him in Tokyo, where he had just completed the purchase of 1,000,000 dollars worth of Indian cotton. What stresses are due to take place, what reactions of trade across the Pacific, if the textile industry of China is developed as it has been done in this one town?’’ PR VRENT lON OF CONFLICT. There were two ways of looking at this great movement, continued the speaker. One might hear ancestral voices prophesying war. Admittedly there were possibilities of friction leading to armed conflict within the next generation. On the other hand the Tnstiute of Pacific Relations, composed mainly of young people with nerlinjps Quixotic dreams believed that men were essentially reasonable. Con-

llict came from misunderstanding and prejudice, but they believed that .when responsible people would look facts in the face and dream frankly with them diflicutlies disappeared and the solution appeared. “I would be the last man to ask any audience,” he added “to taken any organisation such as ours, or even the League of Nations, as a guarantee of peace. That will only come when people know and understand the other man’s problems, and will work together in a spirit of co-operation.” The institute had been called the lily in the barnyard ol polities; but lie preferred to call it am experiment in diagnosis, or the scientific spirit applied to international affairs. It lad nothing to do with diplomacy or Governments, but its members did believe that truth was great, and would prevail if placed before reasonable people in such a way that they could understand it. The meeting of peoples lessened tension and misunderstanding. THE NATURE OF THE INSTITUTE. Dr. Condliffe said lie would like to put before them the plan of the Institute. Tt had been organised by an alliance beween the business and academic worlds growing from the efforts of a small group in .Honolulu, which had financed the first conference. In his experience as a Professor at Canterbury College the most profitable work, and one wTiieli had been carried on since lie left, was the result of a combination of the business men of the Chamber of Commerce and the men of the University—a combination which had its birth across the table of the Rotary Club in Christchurch. The organisation was financed largely by the generosity of certain American foundations, one of which had taken practically the whole cost of the research programme on to its budget - geneosity on n scale which would astonish those used to University gilts in New Zealand.

Criticism had come from New Zealand, and as far as he knew from New Zealand alone, that the Institute was purely an American propaganist affair. They had been so sensitive to this that they were making strenuous efforts to see that each country took its share of the budget. Great Britain contributed £IOOO. Canada a like amount, and Japan £20,000. New Zealand was the only Pacific country that did not contribute. NEW, ZEALAND’S PART.

It might be asked what interest had New Zealand in these problems. As a part of the British Empire, which was deeply involved, New Zealand would have to be consulted. She had also an obligation to see that the government of native races, so successful in her own land was properly understood by others. One thing New Zealand could be proud of was her Maori situation and its Maori leaders. She had a duty to contribute from her leaders her ideas, experience and good fortune.

One thing he would like to emphasise as the probable effect on the educated Japaneses or Chinese of seeing in the legislation of New Zealand that a naturalised Chinese could not receive an old age pension under the Pensions' Act. Jt was (unnecessarily irritating thing that an honest, hardworking Chinese, a British subject, should be prohibited from such benefit. There was similar irritating discrimination in the poll tax and the Family Allowances Act. He was not in favour of unrestricted immigration but immigration should be controlled tactfully, and not so as to hurt our neighbours’ feelings. What could Rotary do in the Pacific? The Institute did not need New Zealand money in any great degree; but if needed New Zealand to make good her criticism and ensure the international character of the movement The New Zealand delegates at the next Conference in November should be adequately representative of this country ; competent to interpret her to others, and to return and interpret the others to New Zealand. The men most suitable to go were only badly paid lecturers in the University. If Rotary could secure proper representation it would make New Zealand a real force and give he and advertisement. The University teachers would repay in the additional vigour of their teaching the expenses of sending them to make contact with the teachers ol other lands. Apart from this, the land could conribute; one from which she could not afford to stand out; one which she was bound to enter if only from loyalty to the Mother Land.

I)r. Condi lire was cheered at the conclusion of his address. Hu announced his willingness to speak to the Dwn.edin, Wellington and Auckland Rotary Clubs.