ECONOMIC UNITY.

Waikato Times, Volume 108, Issue 18140, 3 October 1930, Page 10

ECONOMIC UNITY.

AND EMPIRE TRADE.

ADDRESS TO TRAVELLERS.

Empire trade and economic unity were topics discussed by Mr W. Machin, in proposing the toast of “The Day We Celebrate” at the anniversary of the United Commercial Travellers and Warehousemen’s Association of New Zealand, at Christchurch. We had no need to be modest about the trade of the British Empire, which enjoyed one-third of the trade of the world, said Mr Machin. Almost every Government made it harder to do business, mainly by raising tariff walls between community and community and people and people. The plea was not that they wished to promote free interchange of commodities, but that the best service would be given by restriction in circulation of those commodities. Generally speaking, a Government got considerable revenue out of protective duties. Most Governments seemed omnivorous in these respects. Seldom did they take off their tariff, and that was being a clog on the free interchange of commodities over their boundaries.

The • question now was becoming one not only of commercial mergers, but of national mergers. He remarked that one of the most interesting proposals—that of the United States of Europe—had been brought forward by M. Briand, the eminent French statesman.

This had brought definitely nearer the proposal, which was gathering strength in the- Empire, that there should be economio unity within the Empire. It had already been remarked that it would be easier for Great Britain, though the countries of her Empire might be separated by thousands of miles of sea, to federate her countries, than for a European federation to be established among nations that differed in so many respects as, for instance, language, religion and ideals. Quoting facts to support his contention, Mr Machin said that it was obviously impossible not to believe, in spite of all pessimistic utterances in regard to Great Britain’s trade, that there was no other nation in the world to-day with such great possibilities and potentialities as Great Britain had. Safeguarding had greatly benefited the motor industry in England, for one. The tyre industry was another that had been built up to i a flourishing state, and the lace-curtain industry was another one which he mentioned.

Wool industry. Discussing the wool industry Mr Machin said that for some years past wool had been claiming that it should have the advantage of safeguarding duties under the McKenna Act. Bradford, he added, seemed for the time being to be moribund to £ great extent. In England now an enormous number of people was advocating Empire trade, though there were the people of fixed incomes who would always silently oppose these proposals. It was obvious, none the less, that there had been an enormous turnover in opinion among those who had been in the habit of discussing this matter. Among the banking community there had been a change over within 10 years from free trade to almost unqualified protection. At the Empire Chambers of Commerce conference Empire reciprocity proposals had been accepted almost unanimously. There was no longer a willingness that Great Britain should be a dumping-ground for foreign countries, even though Great Britain might risk the high standard of living she had got through the low price of commodities.

Question of Protection. “I believe that high protection is a dangerous thing to play with, but I believed that in some degree’ it will have tb come In the British Empire, though it will have to be applied with care,” Mr Machin concluded. “In the tariff question Great Britain may decide to employ high protection as little as possible, but it will be the more effective for that where it is applied. “Protection and retaliation are, I believe, economically unsound, but all of us have to adopt these policies to meet emergencies. We shall find the salvation of the British Empire, economically, in the via media, between the two, something that will give us relief from some of the economic pains which, we suffer.” '> Later in the evening, in the course of a reply tb the toast “Our Visitors,” Mr H. D. Acland, referring to Mr Machin’s remarks on the topic of tariff walls, said that the time had arrived when we had got to kick back to other countries, and to kick hard, too. It must be realised that this was the only way to bring these other people to reason.

Mr J. J. Dougall, responding to the same toast, observed that he had found it noticeable, when- he was Home recently, that New Zealand was the “white-haired boy” of the Empire, and a New Zealander was welcomed anywhere in England, and Scotland, too.