THE PRINCE’S TOUR

Hokitika Guardian, 6 March 1931, Page 7

THE PRINCE’S TOUR

>—o4e>~< (“Otago Times.”) In spite of its economic importance and the fact that. British enterprise, IBntisii capital, and British management have played a very valuable part in the development or its resources, South America lias remained for the average- Briton a continent but vaguely realised—a land lamed mainly for its revolutions. The visit- of the Prince of Wales and Prince George to the South American republics serves therefore, tile dual purpose of awakening British industrialists to a realisation of the valuable markets that may there be won, and in promoting between the Latin American peoples and the British those feelings of goodwill witiiout which trade cannot prosper. The cabled accounts of the progress of the Princes’ tour have been brief, but oven so they have not lacked colour; rather their brevity has itself enabled the reader to glimpse •something of the romantic aspects of wind the Observer has described as an odyssey memorable even for such a tra-veller-explorer as the Prince of Wales, and surely without precedent in the annals of royalty. The Princes have everywhere received a welcome the cordiality of which must be ascribed a« much to their own popularity as to the prestige of the nation they represent, They have’ been feted everywhere and enabled to savour all th e interesting experiences which await the Traveller to South America, from a ride in a new motor omnibus to a flight over an active volcano and a round of golf on “the highest 18-hole golf course in the world.”

In Peru a projected revolution threatened to clash with the Royal visit, and the insurgents thoughtfully postponed the rising until after the Princes’ departure. Surely no more courteous tribute has ever been paid to visiting Royalty! But while the vivid and colourful aspects of the tour arc not, without interest, the Princes’ visit to South America has a seriously practical side. To British enterprise, as has been remarked, much of the progress on the continent in the development of its resources is attributable, and the republics have been good customers for British goods. Since the war, however, the share of Great Britain in Latin American trade has declined, not only in the staple lines for which a good market had been established, but in the new branches of industrial activity that are becoming of increasing importance.

A recent official report emphasised this in the statement; “We have excelled in railway construction and shipbuilding; others have taken the place which might have been ours in aviation, road construction and motor transport.” Great Britain is now fully aware of the necessity for “going out after new business,” and the Prince of Wales is journeying through South America in the role of “Imperial Bagman” which he has proved lie can play supremely well. He has gone to a country that is suffering from serious economic depression and from the effects of many sudden changes in administration—at the present time the Governments of four of the republics, including Argentina and Brazil, hold power as the result of revolutions. Moreover, the United States has gained a strong hold upon the commerce of South America, and is making the most of its advantages. The task of the Prince of Wales is therefore by no means light, but the faith of Great Britain in the capabilities of the Heir to the Throne is great. “We have learned,” the Observer states, “that we must look for business instead of waiting for it to come to us, that we must ascertain our customers’ needs instead of bidding them to take what we think good for them, that trade flows from personal contact ancl is secured by personal initiative.” The debt which Great Britain owes to the Prince of Wales, not only in preaching that lesson, hut in personally demonstrating its value, is immense, and it has been increased by the willing and enthusiastic spirit in which lie lias undertaken his present mission.