The Daily News. MONDAY, MAY 13, 1901. AN INDUSTRIAL WAR.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XXIII, Issue 100, 13 May 1901, Page 2

The Daily News. MONDAY, MAY 13, 1901. AN INDUSTRIAL WAR.

In the course of his speech at Hokit.ika, the Piemirr said :—Yeir by year, almost imperceptibly and invo'untarily, wa are being dr.-wn clor-er to the Mother Country. In years g -ne by when the Imperial Council was mootvd, or that tie coloi.i s should he consulted in respoft t-. lir.pnriil aft'-iirs, or vice versa, the idea was trpa'ed with deriion. No one could now gainsiy the advantig" wt ich rau.-t necessarily aris i to those entrusted with the Imperial fffnirs and those entrusted wiih the government of British dependencies, and great good resulted from the conferenceof Pi emiers in 1897. The time is . ripe now for ano'her conference and more especially in resprct to affairs in S'U'h Africa and what is going on in the East at the present moment. The changed condition of affairs render it necessary that thosa entrusted with j the responsibility should confer at no d's'ant date. In respect to the settlement of the people in South Africa, the advico and co-operation of the colonial Ministers would be of advantage to the Imperial authorities. -We huve prac~ tidily in New Zealand had to go through almost the same process. We have the s\me ckss of country to deal with, and when the military stage i< p»B'ed South Africi will have to be legislate! for, and dealt with, and administered on lines similar to thosa in New Zea'aud and the other colonies, It is with s me diffidence at the present juncture I suggest that in respect to trade, commerce, and industry, otc, a royal commission should be set up, and that on such a royal commisuon Oapada, Irdh, Australia, and New Zealand should be represented. At ihe p«s nt time tbers is a serious and dirge ous war proceeding. It U a war of covnm- rce and industries, and I am bud to c nfess that, in this btfile we are being wors'ed. The eerious- | neBB of tha situation has not yet ben sufficiently recognised in the Mother Country, and unles3 torn? change tikes place disaster must overtake the Empire. Take the importa-. tion of manufactured goods into the colonies frem Germany, Americi, and otVer countries. They are gradually but surely increasing. It is no fault of tho colon'es, as we prefer to obtain our goid ftom Great Britain, and to keep our tiado and commerce within ourselves. But the British manufacturer must give us what we want, when and where it is wanted, There seems to be a lick of enterprise on the pirt of the British manufacturer. Time after time we have been forced to obtiin, against our wills, goods from ether countries. British tenitory and population sre increas'ng far more in rela tiv.-> proporti n than their output of the British manufactured articles. I mokes one feel quite despondent, more particularly when we ficd ourselv s forced into p. josition of helping fo strengthen others behind in commoiCH, industry, ar.d technical. If we were asked whether we would !help to build foreign war vessels would wo say " Yes V Emphatically no. And yet we aie doing] I it every day. Great Britain is lagging'

[behind in commerce, industry, and technical education. She is slow to move. But there ran be no doubt thit at the loot of tho success of Gorman and American manufacturers at the present time is the eduo'.t : Q"!sl— s'-.ien-Itificand industrial—question ; and they are far ahead of Great Bri'sin ia these respects. Seeing we cannot get supplied from Great Biitain, wo must supply ourselves. Wo mast take goodfrom Canada in preference to importing from Amsrica. We must, and &rr prepared to give preference to noinufacturers at Home when they can supply us with whit we repuiie, and when we lequire it. It is a'ot'u 1 ; time these entrusted with the affairs of the nation should realise that the opr-n----door policy should apply only ' o thos under the British flag. After the way the door has been slammed in our fac.s we should at least put up a self-pre-serving fencß.