A WISE MOVEMENT

Kaipara and Waitemata Echo, 11 March 1914, Page 2

A WISE MOVEMENT

The government have begun the right thing in the right way. They have devoted £15,000, a sum sufficient to start a great ball rolling, and they have assembled delegates from various centres who have arranged a plan for rolling the bail. They have set up thirteen central Committees—Auckland, Sew Plymouth, Palmerston Worth, Nelson, Blemheim, Greymouth, Christchurch, Timaru, Oamaru, Dunedin, and Invercargill, and these committees are to form others round themselves as centres.

At the Exhibition the business of the N. Z. Court—the site for which has been secured is to be under the control of the head of the Industries and Commerce Department ; at this end the representative character of the exhibits is secured by the composition of the central committees, which are to be chosen from the Chambers of Commerce the Agricultural and Pastoral Associations, and the Industrial Associations.

These and the subcommittees to be formed by the b'.g central ones are all directed to secure the thoroughly representative character of the exhibits. This they will be helped to do by the statement of the Prime Minister, who told the delegates at their meeting—which arranged the above preliminaries—that the great Exhibition has for its object the securing of the advantages offered to this couutry by the new tariff of the United States, the opening of the Panama Canal and the opportunity of showing the consumers of that country what we have to offer them.

It only remains to say that care should be taken to secure suitable conmittees in the right places, such for example" as tVensville in the North, Opunake in the middle west, Wai mate in the middle south. Also, that the Industrial Associations ought to make a special effort to get a representative collection, because the possibilities of a big development of trade in manufactured goods are guaranteed by the great approval secured throughout America by all the manufactured fabrics seen in the possession of travellers from this country through the States. The woolens—especially the rugs— the hosiery, the blankets and ihe tweeds are admired as such good makes ought to be,

The men who make them have no ambition saying, listlessly that th-3 hiph looalVages are enough to stop export to any country. But once let them hit the market with bulk goods to deliver they will discover that the only thing wanted to complete their happiness will be the increase of the said bulks for sale. Of the primary products we need say nothing excert that their success in the far market does without saying. Of the fruitgrowing industries Dn which the fate of our poor lands depends, the one thing to be said is that their only fault' is their present attenuation. Add to the number of the industries and to the area oE the fruit growing and moderation of supply will be cne of the dreamt, of a bad past. Lastly while congratulating the Prime Minister on getting this fine project into shape, it is obvious that if tlie £15,000 set apart is not enough there is no objection to setting a f ,art ten times as much if necessary The objection on the contrary will be the other way.