TRADE WITH GERMANY.

Auckland Star, Volume XLIII, Issue 58, 7 March 1912, Page 7

TRADE WITH GERMANY.

POSSIBLE MEAT MARKET. (By Telegraph.—Own CoTrerpondent.) CHBJSTrfHUJSCH. this-day. .Mr. May B. Hahlo, a Hamburg merchant, who is making his first visit to New Zealand, is at present in Christchurch, and will stay here for a few-days •before to Northern cities. In an interview Mr. Hahlo said that business people in Germany wished strongly to enter into closer business relations with this Dominion. They wonhl be-i pleased to see the barrier removed from the importation of New /Zealand meat, into Germany, but it was hardly reason-' able to expect the ("rerman (loovernment to take steps in that direction as long as New Zealand retained a considerable preferential duty in favour of 'British gr>ods, and against German woods. He was convrnced. however, that it was merely a matter of time before meat from the. British colonies, and from South America, was made available to the masses of the Oerman Empire. He had reppived a letter that day from home stating that at the recent elections the Social Democrats had won 24 fpats, winch the Conservatives had lost. Ie believed that the Conservative loss could be largely accounted for l»y the fact that the party was opposed to the welfare of the lower classes. The Conservatives refused to admit foreign meat of any kind, consequently the poor people bad to pay l/.*5 or 2/ a pound for thpir meat, prices which placed "t at

once in the cla.ss; of ex-pensive luxuries. Tt was not surprising in the circumstances that thcTe wxs stronp feelinjr against the Conservatives, and that thpir opponents lrad a sound bisis to work upon. The information he had read showed that the elections had resulted in the rptnrn nf 185 representatives, who were absolutely in favour of the Government, and 23*2 LiVrals. Social Democrat<. Progressives, and others who maintained an independent position, but who did not necessarily oppose the Government.

Sneakinp: of industrial affairs. Mr. Wnhlo said that in nearly all part* ol Oerrnany manufacturers were fully opcu nied. and trade was vprv prosperous. He did not think that the hip eoal strike in Britain woold extend to Cermanv. where ot present there was not much industrial unrest.