EXPLORATION.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXVI, Issue 4826, 23 March 1925, Page 4

EXPLORATION.

ITS VALUE TO COMMERCE. TRADE FOLLOWS THE FLAG. Hundreds of time I have been inquired from : •* Of what use is your exploration work in the country ?” writes F. A. Mitchell-Hedges, the famous explorer,, in the Daily Mail. The discovery of an unknown tribe, the finding of a buried city in the heart of the jungle, the adding of fresh specimens to the national collections, all this is looked upon by many as being quite useless. Yet the British Empire, the greatest the world has ever known, was built up by the pioneer spirit. Many failed utterly to undeistand that trade always followed exploration. In the United States of America they realise that an expedition to any fresh part of the globe is only the vanguard of the trade army following behind. In England Central America is regarded as a collection of turbulent; little republics ever in the throes of revolution. This is entirely erroneous, Their hundreds of thousands of square miles of territory are probably the richest agricultural land in the

world. As an example, the trade of the United Fruity Company, one of the greatest of American corporations, runs into hundreds of millions of dollars a year, entirely derived from this part of the globe. How many people in Great Britain believe when they eat their bananas that shiploads arrive in Britain practically every week from Central America, and that the million's a year spent on this fruit go to swell the profits of a foreign corporation ? This company, giving employment to thousands, with ? its immense fleet, known as the “ Great White Fleet,” has been built up to a great extent by the pioneer spirit of commerce.

Within the last, three years, together with Lady Richmond Brown, I penetrated in Panama- a district which wais until then practically unknown jungle. To-day in that identical region thousands of acres are being placed under cultivation, and will add considerably to the already large profits of a foreign coiporatibn.

To my certain knowledge three big businesses owe their inception directly to exploration work in that region,

and two more will shortly begin I bring in a large revenue. But non of this trade is benefiting Britaii Coffee, sugar, cocbanuts, and chichel

(that is, gum .from which chewing gum is made), to the value of millions of pounds sterling, are pouring into" the United States. Where are tlie. Britisli ? The; pioneer spirit has become imbued in the merchants and trader.s of other countries, but is to a great extent dead to our own people.

‘ riiere is a long list of wealthy men living in the republic which constitute Central America who all started with practically nothing. Among the immense rich we find in Colombia a Germain and an American; in Panama. a Canadian and Mr Simpson, an Ameiican, known as the millionaire conductor ; in Costa Rica it fe a. German ; in •Nicaragua, an Amerian. Bi the republic of Honduras a naturalised American, originally an Italian, has immense interests in trade and banking. In San Salvador we find the American predominates. In Britisli Honduras, although there are neveral big British firms, such as the Belize Estate and Produce Compony, yet the United States has the lion's share of the trade ; while in Mexico the same remark applies. A tremendous business is done to-day in agricultural implements, such as machetes (the he,avy knives used by the natives), cotton, and tinned goocte, and so forth, throughout the republics. Foreign merchants send their travellers

north, south, east, and west. It is the pioneer spirit which inspires foreign corporations to explore these countries for fresh business. 1 firmly believe that when this same pioneei spirit spreads throughout Great Britain there will be found the real panacea for unemployment. Only trade with other countries will produce fresh sources of revenue so urgently necessary. Why not a business exploration of Latin America. ?