ENGLAND'S TRADE WITH GERMANY

King Country Chronicle, Volume VIII, Issue 706, 23 September 1914, Page 7

ENGLAND'S TRADE WITH GERMANY

INTERESTING COMPARISONS. ' Mr W. G. Wickham, Gommissoiner to New Zealand for the British Board of Trade, arrived back from a trip to England a few days ago, having been absent from the Dominion a little' over seven mo;:th?. He left London on July 24th, where there was no whisper of England becomnig involved in. a European war, and even the papers he received at Brindisi, dated August Ist, gave no indication of the international boil-over which occurred a few days later. What position would be created by such a destructive campaign, who could say? The supposition that England would gain tremendously by the war was, he thought, hardly justifiable in the face of figures, for whilst it was true that we—England and her possessions—were probably Germany's best customer, Germany came second to India as a customer to Englard, and that trade had been chopped clean off without any notice. One. country had grown to be dependent on the other in a very geat measure, and if we managed to kill off half of Germany's male population and destroy her industries, the effect would be disastrous on England's trade for many years to coma, for the simple reason that many of England's ' industries were dependent on Germany's industries. Take the Welsh tin-plate industry—all the thin sheet iron manufactured in Germany at a nri.e a good deal below what it could bB manufactured at in England. Consequently that industry would be hampered until big maufactories were started to make, the sheet iron that was needed. The price wauld be s-'ightly higher, as higher wages would have to be ■ paid than those which obtained in Germany. 'lt was so in many other lines. England did not preiiehd to compete with Germany in the manufacture of cheap cotton goods/and.Germany did not pretend to compete with England in the manufacture of good cotton goods., Germany made a lot of cheap leather goods, such as. ladies' bags—there were lots of them in New Zealand—but German ladies of any standing carried English-made bags—■ they were tha bags of quality of a grade not turned out ip. Germany. "As both nations .are so badly hit commercially there cannot, at present at all events/' he paid, "be any serious talk of which nation will be the gainer by the war —It was a losing game all round. Then what about poor little Belgium? In becoming a battleground ones more she loses her all—trade with Germany and an extensive trade with. England, whilst England loses for the time being one of her best and closest customers, so you see, war hits all round. There may be certain lines of trade that we maybe able to capture from Germany, but it ia not verv likely that English .manufacturers will take up cheap goods, as labour is dear, and dear labour cannot be spent on the manufacture of cheap article. Why should she make cheap stuff when there is such a ■fine market —even in Germany—for the good stuff." Mr Wickham said that the British Board of Trade was very much alive to the situation, and had called to its' Commissioners; Consuls, and agents in all parts or. the world to advise importers where certain lines of articles hitherto perhaps imported from Hermany, might be obtained in Eng land, and of any lines which might now be manufactured on English soil, which have in the past come from an'enemy country. Mr Wickham said he would be only too happy to supply information to anyone who is in tre least doubt as to where he is to obtain goods of/any character from. He had been told since his arrival that there was a threatened shortage of chloroform and ether in New Zealand, and no 'chance of getting any more because the German supply was cut off. That was very extraordinary, a3 fo his own knowlegde there were four dr five big English firms which manufactured both 3hloroform and ether in large quantities.