THE COMMERCIAL WORLD.

Otago Witness, Issue 2892, 11 August 1909, Page 12

THE COMMERCIAL WORLD.

PROBLEMS AWAITING CONSIDERATION. SPEECH BY THE HON. T. MACKENZIE. (Specsai. to the Daily Times.) WELLINGTON, August 4. In the oourse of Ms speech at the Agricultural Societies' Conference to-day, the Hon. T. Mackenzie said : — " There is a conference now sitting in London considering the question of defence by land and sea, and it is hoped the question will be dealt with on lines commensurate with the interests of our far-ceaching Empire. It is. essential that it should be followed by another of almost equal importance. Indeed, the one is supplementary to the other, as the success of the interests of this second conference which I advocate furnishes the real sinews of war. Without these sinews it would not be possible to carry on the defence of any country. The Turkish Empire has reached a period in its history when a review of the whole commercial and inter-state problems should be undertaken. The political economy that suited the .United Kingdom when Great Britain was the workshop of the world now requires readjustment to meet the changed conditions of competition from powerful opposing nations. The problems requiring attention are such as call for the greatest minds of the age to deal with, and those selected to take part in the deliberations should be possessed of the keenest insight and the profoundest knowledge of the subjects to be considered, and not, as is too often the case, effete politicians who may delegate to secretaries the , responsible work, while they talk an infinite deal of nothing at i after-dinner gatherings. What are the j problems that should be considered? j These include the retention to the Empire i of the best of our sons and daughters for the building up of the Homeland and for colonising the younger lauds. In the past too many of these sons and daughters have passed into foreign countries. There is land enough for all within our farreaching dominions, and there are profitable occupations for all and ample markets to obsorb the • products of their hands. This question is a most important one ; and then there is the question of securing to our Empire the profits of what her peoples produce of equal quality and quantity with other nations by a readjustment of trads relationship, through the agencies of tariffs. There is also the j question of the British mercantile marine. > This problem must be gone into. Our ir.eicantile service is being enormously handicapped in its competition with those of other countries owing to the latter being State-aided by means of bonuses, subsidies, and rebates, and ai.<o m con- j nection with this clas3 of competition ' further assistance is given by special rates on foreign railways for the carriage of goods entering into competition with British enterprises. Lord Cromer, in a very able speech, recently said that if but one-tenth of the statesmanship whjch secured for Britain the enormous advantages of the Suez Canal was applied to our mercantile marine now the embargo on British shipping and commerce -.vould j boon be a thing of the past. There is, ! too, another important matter, and that ' is the question of foreign trusts operating within the British Empire. The extent ! to which these multi-millionaire concerns are interfering with the sound economic raroifications of honourable trade can only be estimated. Already in the meat market in the Old Country theix octopus tentacles are feeling their way into the trade, and although evidence could not be extracted at the investigation of the P-ar-liamentary Committee on Meat, to which ■ I have already referred to, it was made quite clear that, through the medium &i these trusts people in the United States j of America are now fixing tfie price of

meat in the provinces of the Old Country. Noticing these great changes going on around vs — combinations inriuencing prices and interfering internationally in such matters — we in New Zealand c&n hardly expect prices to be rightly adjusted as far as we are concerned if some working basis be not established to meet these powerful trusts. What is wanted at the present moment is statesmanship, making the interests of the Empire the first consideration. These questions of far-reach-ing national importance, however, were frequently made the plaything of political parties, ancf were determined, not with a view to the nation's good, but rather as they bore, on the success or otherwise of personal ambition and political promotion."- • ■