THE WAIMATE ADVERTISER. TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 1902. WHY DID THE COLONIES GO TO WAR?

Waimate Daily Advertiser, Volume IV, Issue 164, 11 February 1902, Page 2

THE WAIMATE ADVERTISER. TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 1902. WHY DID THE COLONIES GO TO WAR?

AT tlio present mom.'nit, if the cable-a passing to and from Australasia and the Home land are to be accepted in their entirety, it would seem as if the colonies went to war wholly and solely to open up a fresh market for their surplus products ; as if, a "cur helping to crush the wily Boer and killing most of the cattle in the country, it seemed just too good an opportunity of making known the merits of Australasian beof and mutton and claiming a share of trade " on account of (services rendered." Despite the fact that the Home authorities have proved satisfactorily that the interests of the colonics have been studied t.a far as possible, the heads of departments are still wrangling over the opportunities of ma;:ing money which have been during the last week or so. In oome of i:he States, and to a lesser extent in New Zealand, the dissatisfaction almost takes the form o': :•:■ yi::g that unless the Mother Country deals with vi 3 exclusively she may light her next war unaided by the colonies. Such a tone is, of courea, wholly unauthorised, for ihe groat mass of the people supplied (}\q men for the contingents, and it is in reality only a few who bunellt largely by the acceptance of Australasian tenders for produce. Certainly the prodticors as a whole DO beno.lt, but only by getting higher prices for the remainder of their produce, in accord with tho relation of price to supply, while the non-producer, •who is just as patii.)tic, pays more for-his goods* The great slice of profit goes to the large dealers, who are able to obtain prompt and reliable information which permits them to buj up tlia imull

~u;au s producu and make . ..j.uc4 r-'oma pc.iiit ou it with but little! risk. If an example of this i\ needed, we ha ve only to look air the transaction in regard to Newi Zealand oats which took placel some months ago. New Zealandis now sending away 2COO menin addition to More than the! same number already despatched; and if required another 1000 will bo ready for the c til. Although ■ equally patriotic, tho other colonies have not done bo well on a population basis, but then they have not had such an enthusiastic Imperialist as our Premier. Ij would be too great a stretch cj imagination to . say that the thousands o£ people who have Bent then* relatives to the war

were in any way influenced by mercenary motives, even if th«-sa

motives concerned the colonies as a who it. The call to arms founij the iiien ready to assist in maintaining firm tho bonds of Imperial

unity, and to adopt an aggressive

lone on account ui our failure U

profit dirue/iy is an ineuilt to tin

memory of ilium who have died, in that can,-o. We may ()o a

nation of a hop keepers, and New Zealand may be a " chip of the old block," but do not let us proclaim to a listening world the

fact that our commercial instincts

can have as much eiT-.-ct in e;c-

tiiiguhihing our patriotism as the chvap auoL-rs of tho Continental press had in making it llani( afresh.