WEALTH AND POWER.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXVII, Issue 4923, 8 January 1926, Page 4

WEALTH AND POWER.

AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND.

READING THE FUTURE.

“As the nineteenth century in industrial development belonged to America, so the twentieth century will belong to Australia. I believe that Australia, with New Zealand as its neighbour, is on the verge of. a great deyelopement similar to that experienced by America, though the starting point is lower, of course, in the matter of figures.”

So spoke Sir J. Joynton Smith, head of Smith’s Newspapers, Ltd., and many other big enterprises, to a “Dominion” representative on his arrival by the R.M.S. Tahiti on Monday on ,a holiday visit to New r Zealand. “Since I left Wellington 35 years ago I have been in Australia, where 1 have seen the amazing development of the Commonwealth, whose future will no doubt have a parallel in your own country,” he added. If Sir Joynton. Smith has a hobby it is. the preaching of the doctrine of self-development for Australia and New Zealand. In his papers he urges steadily that the two sister Dominions must be industrially self-con-tained. In that way, ho argues, New Zealand and Australia, will increase in population and strength, and the greater the strength of the. integral parts, the greater, he says, the strength of the British Empire as a whole. AMAZING GROWTH. “Look at the story of Australian manufacturing since the war,” he said. “In 1918-19 the factories of Australia added £86,000,000 to the value of the raw materials they handled; in 1923-24 this figure had grown to £141,000,000 —such is the creative energy of Australian industrial workshops. The rate of advance gives wonderful promise for the future ; it teljls us not to be afraid of any of our burdens, and responsibilities. For, if this is continued, in about twenty years Australia’s workshop result in ‘added value’ will reach the astounding figure of £1,800,000,0’00 ! That is enough to pay twice over the wthole of the present public debts of Australia, State and Federal, external and internal. Such results, are bound to arrive because the industrial, efficiency of Australia keeps growing higher. “Since 1919 the number of factory hands in the Commonwealth has increased 14 per cent. —from 376,000 to 430,000, in round numbers: —but the horse-power in industrial machinery increased 68 per cent. —from 660,000 to 1,110,000. Even now, in proportion to population, Australian factory horse-power is, only two-thirds that of the United States, but we will move upwards all the time. WHERE NEW ZEALAND' LEADS. “The young giant will, never stoop under .the, load of £40'0,000,000 left as war debt. In public and private property Australia has accumulated wealth in round numbers reaching almost 3000 millions, or £5OO per head. In New Zealand, I, understand, even richer results, have been achieved in proportion to population. From the Statistician’s figures 1 believe that whereas the Australian wealth would approach £.900 per head for every person over 21 years old,’ New Zealand can show an average per adult of £950. It is a great advantage to Australia to have so prosperous a neighbour as your country.” Sir Joynton Smith is confident that a future of immense wealth and power awaits Australia and New Zealand. together. “Australia, grows continental,” he said, “while New Zealand will retain that island character which in its own way brings special strength and riches to a people. To me it seems that the Dominion will live beside the continent of the southern s.eas bearing the same commercial relation to the Commonwealth as the British Isles to Europe, the Japanese islands to the mainland of Asia. Both will be British, but New. Zealand, I think, wiljl be more British even than Australia. Until recently it has been customary to regard the population of Australia as 95 per cent. British, but over the past year the proportion of British migration to Australia as compared with European has been not 95 but 75 per cent. GROWING TOGETHER. “However, the population, the character, and the tradition of Australia will be British during the "progress of the century, and while Australia and New Zealand thus grow together the glory and power of the British race in the Southern Hemisphere will be equal to any past splendour in the history of o.ur race.”