TRADE WITH CANADA.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXIX, Issue 65, 16 March 1908, Page 6

TRADE WITH CANADA.

• ! COMMISSIONER INTERVIEWED. Mr. J. S. Larke, Commissioner for the ! Dominion of Canada to New bouth Wales, I Queensland and Canada, arrived from Sydney by the Manuka yesterday. Mr. Larke has established his headquarters In 1 Sydney, and is now making a tour of X'ew Zealand. He id skiving at the Grand Hotel, and experts to leave for Welling,n , ton vii Thursday next, thence on to "' Lhristchurch, Dunedin. and Melbourne. J l ' J Interviewed by a "Star" reporter this ' v " J morning Mr. Larke said his business was ,tv promote trade between Australia and 5t ; Canada, and between the two Dominions. '" Canada, to-day, he said, was buying New r - Zealand butter and wool in England, '*■ : whilst New Zealand hemp went to mills iJ j tliat were nearly all in Eastern Canada, I and had to pay freight over 4000 miles of j railway as well as shipment mostly by mail steamers to Vancouver, which must necessarily make the rates too high for bulky articles. "If we hud lines of steamers.'" lie continued, ■■between Easti crn Canada and Australasia., it would '1 give us the. third side of the triangle inl ° i stead of two sides the trade has now to j take. The third side is naturally shorter j than the two. and it would enable Canada to buy a iittle cheaper, and your peopie {J could girt a little better prices by dividI ing tin' extra cost between them." ' Asked as to Western Canada. Mr Larke J said that tlie We*:, were also consumers !of mutton., butter and Australian fruit. 1 and to-day largely of onions. Xew Zea- - 2_ i land did not share in that trade because M - they had no direct ships with cold storn . age. Economic transportation which was w , the key to trade had yet to be worked s : out. Something had been done by the ' aid of subsidised lines to Vancouver. The J Canadian and Australasian Steamship ' < ompany were putting <m lari per .-hips with modern accoma modation, meeting to some ext- ■ tent the passenger trad", but ■h ' freight had yet to "be provided for. tl ' Regarding the cable system. Mr. Larke k regards the present system of cabling by i£ thy Paciliu cable as a very important in matter for Australia and Xew Zealand, ,d but it had not helped Canada very ■d , much, he said, because Canada had no .o ' great interest. Canada, said Mr. Larke, t, I pushed the construction of the cable; ig Xew Zealand and Queensland co-operated v> i and hought it about. Sir .Sandfonl i- ■ Fleming, who promoted the cable, was Iβ still actiie in endeavouring to have, tho | is. scheme completed. "It is an Imperial ' :i. j system of cabling for the whoie Km- i ie pire." continued Mr. Lavke. "with State ' i owned cables, via the Indian Ocean as ; well as across the Pacilie." _By the re- ! duetion of rates by one-half. Mr. Larke. I eonsiaered the cables would be kept ful-j jly employed, and the interests of the ' Empire would be materially promoted. From a pecuniary point of view, the pro- . i dueers of Australia and Xew Zealand ; ; would reap nearly the whole of the 1 j benefit, while the manufacturers of Eng-' t I land and Canada were not very much • ' concerned as to what they paid for ! a j cables, providing they got it as cheaply I Ins their rivals. The cost of cabling was . ; included in the cost of the goods, and ' upon that co«t the prices were fixed, and rhe consumers and producers of Xew Zealand and Australasia had to pay ° those prices. "l "irhere is a scheme, of course." said Mr. Lnrke, in reply to questions, "known ; V; as the "All Red' route from Great ' Britain to New Zealand and South ' Africa, one that is -n ambitious that it. | I requires some education of the countries j ' concerned, which means a i"> knot ser- ' vice from flreat Britain to Canada, and Jan IS knot service from Vancouver to i Xew Zealand. The promoters aro still j active, but, as yet. the people are not 0 . apparently prepared to face the siibsid- " ies that a'-e necessary to induce the peoc pie to put their money into the. scheme. n Doubtless, in time public education will j n produce its results, and the mail service ' , between, at least. Great Britain. Can- <; '• ada and Xew Zealand will be marvellously improved."