VICTORY IN TRADE

Hokitika Guardian, 28 July 1930, Page 7

VICTORY IN TRADE

LORD BLEDISLOE’S ADDRESS. WORLD' ECONOMICS. I 1 AVOIDANCE OF DISCOITD. 1 ' l r • " WELLINGTON, July 24. r Some reflections on world economics as affecting this Dominion were given by the Governor-General, Lord Bledis- ; loc, in an address delivered at a , luncheon of the New Zealand C . yesterday, when his Excellency was , the guest of honour. i There was, a large attendance, and Mr A. Fair, K.C., extended to Lord and Lady Kedisloe the club’s warmest welcome and the sincere hope that their term of office would be one of happiness and pleasure. \ “We all, of course, have our principles, political, economic, and religious and to them, so far as they are fundamenta.l, ,wo. are bound rigidly to adhere,” said his 'Excellency, “But the world is changing, and we must change with it or become lucre camp 1 followers in the army of progress. ‘Tempera mutantur, nos et muta.mur in illis.’ So tnaiiy theories, doctrines, ay, and convictions which seemed fundamental a few years ago are being proved to be nowadays in many cases susceptible of drastic qualification, in j some even erroneous. In the sphere of economies, for instance, the state of industry. is. governed largely by worldwide factors over which we all have but little control, and not purely or even, mainly by domestic activities and requirements. New Zealand is especially affected by these considerations, for she is 'predominantly a pastoral country with a relatively small—very small— population for her geographical area, and her economic welfare depends, and must for at least another thirty years mainly depend, upon supplying her primary products—her wool, I meat, butter, cheese,, fruit, and honey j —to other nations. Upon their pur- / chasing power and upon her capacity to produce at a reasonable margin of , profit these commodities of this de- j scription and of comparable pastoral areas of the world, depends in the rear future not merely her prosperity but her very existence. SECONDARY INDUSTRIES. “Secondary industries must gradually develop as the population increases. Then*: value as additional producers of wealth, and as, to some extent, consumers of primary produce, is con- , siderable; and if these industries are j ancillary, or closely allied to local primary industries, their national utility, and their stability will be enhanced, But in this connection it must always be borne in mind that the .world’s great centres of consumption for industrial output are far from these shores, and that their existence—-

unless they be offshoots of some great established manufacturing corporation —may prove to be precarious in competition with mass production (accompanied by relatively low overhead costs) in other countries; also whereas while trade is thriving such undertakings provide much employment at good remuneration, when the : inevitable waves of depression occur they enormously accentuate unemployment, and consequently the task of modern governments and local bodies and the depletion of their financial resources in see.::i.ng -its.alleviation, become immeasurably greater If, moreover, the people of any country, especially one with a sparse population, fail to patronise fully its secondary produ ts their manufacture becomes increasingly precarious So far as these commodities are not available, patronage should , be given, preferentially, by a country of primary producers to the manufactures of their best overseas customers in-order that sound international finance and satisfactory e**j change rates may be maintained, fin-j ancial stringency with increased taxation avoided, and due facilities provided at reasonable freight rates by | ocean'ships carrying; in both directions , I merchandise rather than ballast. Do we not sometimes forget that money j is a; mere token and that, apart from interest on capital invested abroad and shipping services, the real payment for at nation’s, products is the products of- those who purchase them ? QUALITY PRODUCTION. “Fironl policy it would not be proper for me to discuss.' It involves in every country differences of political outlook influenced largely by occupational considerations, as well as by the current requirements of the national Exchequer as variously interpreted. But all modern economists and statesmen,. whether Free-traders or Projectionists, are at least in agreement ' with the view that, whatever he a country’s fiscal arrangemnts, its recognised industries should have no deterrent, but every incentive, to provide output of the quality and desIcription that its population demands, at the lowest cost consistent with a ; reasonable margin of profit. We all have, as I have already said, our settled principles or canons of faith in i the field of economics, politics, and religion, and of economics, politics, and ■ religion, and they naturally create | diffemces of outlook on current problems and occasionaly acute controversies, which may eventuate in social or industrial upheavals, -a great waste of a nation’s energies and wtealth, and a prolonged setback in trade expansion and development. DANGER OF DISSENSION. “Tn the meantime in the fierce international competitive struggle those na- ! tions which are not racked by such dis- | sens ions, but which can preserve a greater measure of domestic solidarity and co-operation, afforded a welcome opportunity to rob their rivals of their markets—and markets once lost are difficult, perhaps impossible, to regain, This is what resulted from the unhappy and prolonged stoppage in the British coal industry in 1926—-a catas-

.[ trophe for which neither party,,to that struggle can disclaim responsibly—land which through loss of their mam source of motive power brought tliou- ' sands of factories to a standstill. This is only one illustration of to any which might be drawn from the industrial history of thlast 20 years. “My own settled conviction, as a careful student of this world-wide industrial problem, is that those nations will ultimately gain the victory in the present battle for trade and ensure lasting prosperity and contentment for their peoples, which are ready and able on the one hand to snpuly tbefllr overseas Customers —especialy those in Great Britain —with commodities of uniformly high qualitv complying with the exact specification which they prescribe, and on the other to abstain at leate for , the next decade from all avoidable domestic strife, eniphasin.e (in the spirit of conciliation and the truest patriotism) points of contact rather than points of difference. I earnestly hope that »w Zealand may be reckoned among their number. If she is, I for my. part have no doubt whatever that this fair land, with its incmnparble climate, its hapoy and heatlienly people, its great national resources and its potentially fertile soil can face the future with serene confidence and .unflagging optimism.”