The Daily News. FRIDAY, MAY 3, 1918. IMPERIAL PREFERENCE.

Taranaki Daily News, 3 May 1918, Page 4

The Daily News. FRIDAY, MAY 3, 1918. IMPERIAL PREFERENCE.

Before the war it was considered in Britain a s rank heresy to talk seriously of Imperial preference as being within the realm of practical politics. It was a stock subject for academical discussion, and there were a fair number of enthusiasts who convinced themselves that the time would come when this preference would form part of Britain's fiscal pobcy. But for the war the question would still have been in the clouds; now it is taking definite shape, for the whole fabric of the Motherland's economic policy has been passing through the furnace and will emerge in a new shape, deprived of antiquated prejudices, and based on that spirit of unity which has been evoked by the Empire's dire necessities arising out of the fierce struggle against Prussian militarism and all that it stands for. Britain has at last thrown off the remnants of that policy which has existed since free trade became a fetish, and the change that has come over the leaders of thought and policy is strikingly exemplified in the further report of the Committee on Commercial and Industrial Policy over which Lord Balfour, iof Burleigh, so ahly presided. On

iLis committee all shades of opinion were represented, bo that the question may be regarded as having been considered in all its aspects, and the conelusion arrived at by that body is identical with that of (lie Sub-Committee of the Advisory Coiuuiillfio to the Board of Trade, namely, in favor of Imperial preference. The immense cost of the war has naturally increased direct taxation to a very great extent; high taxation raises the rates of interest on money, while cheap and abundant capital for the employment of labor is absolutely essential. To relieve direct taxation, resort must be had to import duties, hence the necessity for a complete alteration of fiscal policy to meet the abnormal circumstances of the time The publication of the committee's report has been well timed, for it will i give the representatives of the Dominion, who will be attending the forthcoming Imperial Conference, an opportunity of arranging their views heforc the conference meet?. Hitherto there has existed an impenetrable harrier to revising Britain's fiscal policy, hut the wave of circumstances has swept away the last of the free trade strongholds and opened the way to Imperial economical unity as a fitting sequel to unity of purpose in the war. Moreover, the door will be open for our brave Allies while our enemies will be out in the cold. It does not follow that there is to be an economic war, rather will it be a process of financial rehabilitation rendered necessary by the drain of the military struggle, so that it is only just for the Dominions and the Allies to continue their unity after the war for their mutual benefit and incidentally to penalise enemy countries. The cooperation which was so essential in the war will be equally effective after peace is declared, only the aim will be alteredImperial preference is a corollary of the war and should lead to a still further strengthening of the bonds of Empire and allied unity. It is well known that Germany is making elaborate preparations for a "peaceful penetration" in world trade, so that the committee's proposal to exclude goods of enemy origin for a year after the war is both timely and appropriate, as is also the suggestion that the Central Powers shall not be permitted to trade on the same terms as Allies and neutrals. The main duty of the Allies and the Empire after the war will be that of reconstruction and development of resources, and as American views are coming round to those of the Paris Conference, the prospect of eliminating enemy trade appears to be satisfactory, both as regards raw materials and manufactures. Re-estaMished industries will need protection, and securing that, there will be no need for a. boycott, merely the imposition of such duties as will effect the end in view. Especially is it of importance to foster and guard what are described as' pivotal industries, and this point is rightly emphasised by the committee. By becoming independent of enemy countries for the supply of raw material the root of the whole matter is reached, and this is one of the great lessons of the war-self-reliance. The time lias arrived when every unit of the Empire must make it an imperative duty to develop its resources of raw materials, and New Zealand might well take this matter in hand at the earliest possible moment, for there i s a field on which to work. The market is assured and the resources are ready at hand, especially as to iron and steel, and with a favorable preferential tariff the Dominions should have in the future a far more prosperous outlook than i n the past, for it will take some years to re-establish the industries of France, Belgium, an d other countries' devastated by the war.