MAJOR BELCHER.

Auckland Star, Volume LIV, Issue 47, 24 February 1923, Page 11

MAJOR BELCHER.

LESSONS OF HIS TOUR. MIGRATION AND PRODUCTION COMPLEMENTARY. (By Our .Special Correspondent.) LONDON, January 11. At a meeting held last night at the j Royal Colonial Institute in the smoking room, an enthusiastic gathering listened to Major E. A. Belcher on J>e lessons he drew from his tour, and -lie I points which he considered ought to be laid before the public. The speech was both critical and informative. Much of what the lecturer told U3 was necessarily Uncwn to many in the audience, but the speech did focus attention on the salient factors of the problem which is now' confronting us of making the British Commonwealth of Nations a self-suffic-ng fc-rnup of democratic and interrelated nations. The point ,vnich the lecturer stressed and strewed again, was*the mutual dependence of the L'nited Kingdom and the Dominions, the need for a policy of migration within the Empire to have as its complement, a policy which would enable the Dominion to market their products, and that that market should be the Home country. Regarding the relationship between trade problems and migration problems, he took as an example the trade in currants. For every lb of currants we buy here from Australia we buy ISO from (ireece. In high political circles, he said, whether we purchase from Aus. i tralia or Greece may be favoured or disfavoured according to number of other relationships which we have poliiijally with Greece. But the importer asks out of which sort of fruit he ' will make most profit. The housewife asks which can she buy i most cheaply. All this only goes to I show that there are many points of view. What has to be done now is to realise that problems of migration are of direct interest to embryo mieranta and to the Government which have to finance them. They are also of indirect interest to every man, woman, and child in this country. The most valuable lesson they bad learned on their mission was the importance of approaching their problem from both ends, in other words that migration, production and markets are parallel problems of absorbing interest to everyone in this country. The lecturer firmly attested his belief that the old theory that the Dominions were a convenient dumping ground for British manufacturers and an auxiliary source only of food supply to l>e no longer tenable. He went on to stress the fact that the day had already arrived when export markets for manufac. tured articles is a matter of immense importance for at least two of our Dominions, and of some importance to all. This, he added, has to some extent been fostered by the arrestinent of British manufacture during the war. British manufacturers have therefore to realise that many markets are going to be increasingly difficult. Every Dominion, exsept Newfoundland, gives preference, he reminded hie audience, to Great Britain, i which helps the manufacturer here to compete with his American and European competitor. He put three suggestions before them: In what directions they could develop trade in articles which arc not. and are not likely to be, manufactured in the Dominion; would it pay to form a subsidiary company, and to manufacture in the Dominions themselves: and he asked Knglish manufacturers to consider well the methods of European and American competitors to pet what benefit he could from them. He cited in respect of the second the chocolate manufacturine enterprise set up in Tasmania by the Cadbury-Fry-Pas call combine. He adverted to the much vexel question of the predominance of American cars, and said that it was mass output and their system of supply of spares that put American firms first. But. he went on to say, "I have my doubts as to whether any British firm can successfully compete in this trade from End land, but I have no doubt whatever, that they can compete very successfully if. in conjunction with Australian in terests they were to erect and e:|iiip an assembly plant in Australia, and make use of certain existing Australia!: organisations for distribution purpose?. On the third count. Major Belcher considered Ihat British manufacturers want more »nd better representation, either by jobbers, commission agents or branch representatives; readier availability of stocks and finally more extensive advertisement of British goods. And pushing his remark homo he added, obviously the British manufacturer mus - consider whether the prospects of developing trade justify such expense, but i he may be perfectlyrertain that he will not develop bis trade unles, he incurs such expense. It. is estimated, he sa.d. that, m Canada barely 5 per cent of advert.sm space is for British goods, while between l<ll4 and 1021 Canada's imports from the United Kingdom dropped from 21 to 15 per cent, of the total, and Americas ro«e from 58 to <U per cent. Major Belcher was deeply impressed by tlie manufacturing development ot Canada, where in four years the number of manufacturing plants had risen from 06 to 360. mostly the result of Amen-an enterprise. This" development is notably in manufacture of articles which already eniov preferential treatment or are likely to have such Imperial preference extended to them. Turning to the question of export' from the Dominions to the Tnited Fimrdom. lie declared that the mass of j the people here are isnorant of whnt tlipj Dominions en produce. He cited the fruit, meat, dairy produce already beins used brsrelv but no!. Uirar-'y enough. th° r-itton which U soon to be a staple of Australian produce, the wine? which th n Dominions enn now produce not, inferior to those of France and Germany. I Tn th" di=cu-ision members of tlie Australian fruit, delegation w»ri> pres-i .»nt. and one delegate declared that they were out to standardise. Australian products and improve their get up. An interest mar experiment was descriVd in which Austnlian and dlifornian fruits were set out on plates, and experts to *"stp and pronoun'™ on (be rmalit". Tlie result was that Australia bent, tl'e A meric«n fruit in a number n f e:>scs. The result was by no means tho "i»e when the fruits were set out before the samplers in their tins. So rough and unpleasing wa tb<> look of the Australian product that Californian| was easily first. Canadian labels nna containers were reported as beins super'of to the Australia. In addition fo correcting the=e fnnlfs which prejudice the sale of food products which pro ns jrood ■>« riiv in the market, the delegates pdded that it was their fixe'l determination to the reluctance cf the British to boost new goods under new when these were of Dominion origin^