Ashburton Guardian Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 14, 1938. “BUY NEW ZEALAND” CAMPAIGN.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 59, Issue 55, 14 December 1938, Page 4

Ashburton Guardian Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 14, 1938. “BUY NEW ZEALAND” CAMPAIGN.

At the; moment an extensive and intensive campaign is being conducted to urge New Zealanders to buy New Zealand-made goods. In a statement to the Press, the Minister of Industries and Commerce (the Hon. D. G. Sullivan) said, “This campaign is of very great importance to the welfare of New Zealand at the present time, and I sincerely trust that the people will realise that the success of the campaign will have a bearing on the prosperity of the country, the number of jobs available, and the position of the overseas funds, and that all will help to the uttermost this Christmas by- purchasing New Zea-land-made goods.” Needless to say the campaign has the cordial support of the Government, and it is also being backed by Labour organisations and manufacturers’ associations throughout the country. Theoretically, there is a good deal to be said for the principle of buying locally-made goods in preference to imported, though it is a principle that is often more honoured by words than by deeds. The temptation to buy the cheapest is strong, and any movement calculated to hinder the sale of inferior foreign goods, made by sweated labour, deserves support. But there is another side to the question, especially when goods imported from Great Britain are concerned. This side has been emphasised by the Bureau of Importers, which represents a point of view in some respects diametrically opposed to that of the manufacturers, and also, apparently, to that of the Government. The importers maintain for example, that the present position of the overseas funds of the Dominion has been caused, not by an excess of imports, but by a substantial fall in exports. This ,is a debatable point, but it is at least a reminder that New Zealand’s prosperity depends on the income she receives from the sale of her products overseas. It is an elementary fact of economics—though one that seems often to be forgotten—that nations trade by exchanging goods and services. No nation really sells its goods for money, any more than any man really sells his knowledge, skill, or labour for money. Therefore, if New Zealand cuts down the volume of her imports from Great Britain, the effect, in the long run, must be to reduce the demand for her wool, meat, butter and other 5 products in Great Britain. Those who are supporting the "Buy New Zealand” campaign may be prone to forget this important fact in their enthusiasm to push the sale of New Zealand-made goods. Up to a point this enthusiasm is entirely laudable. Anything that will stop the sale of shoddy foreign goods in the Dominion is desirable. The Government, however, owes a duty to the farmers and farm workers, of New Zealand as well as to the manufacturers and the workers in the factories. The peopljp of New Zealand also have a duty the duty of buying with discrimination. Two factors should enter into their calculations. One is that New Zealand is still essentially a primary producing country find that her prosperity depends largely on the farmers. Ihe second is that Great Britain is New Zealand’s ‘best customer.