INTERVIEW WITH STR J. G. WARD.

Press, Volume LX, Issue 11589, 21 May 1903, Page 5

INTERVIEW WITH STR J. G. WARD.

(SF_CIA_ TO "THE PKESS.") DUNEDIN, May 20. j Sir J. G. Ward, interviewed, said Mr j Chamberlain's receu; -pceeh gave uMeror.ee I

to sentiments of \i_ich he largely approved. It was a significant sign of the times -when a leading British statesman advocated such a broad and far-reaching policy, full of great possibilities for the development and cohesion of the British Empire. Mr Chamberlain had rightly recognised that the c-irc-umstareecrt of the Motherland were greatly altered since the days of Bright and Ccbdcn, and what was necessary on fiscal "lines for the government of the British itlands at that period had vastly changed by the rapid progress made, pi'i-tivularly by tiie self-governing colonic.'!. lie personally had held the opinion for years, and had on mote than or.« occasion" Mated it publicly, that preference should Ix- given to trade wit.iun our own dominions. It was not to him surprising that in tiie great, competitive race of other nations to gel "rcf-h foothold.; in the commercial world this qce.-iiou was now on the horizon, and it was essential that British ar.d colonial statesmen should join hands in erect.rig o. fr-sh system to meet the new condition of affairs. It was ki'le to deny the fact th;-vt-a great inroad had been, ar.d wm being made, by some: of our ixywerfiil and progressive* foreign con-pet ite\s vpon the British commercial world, both at Home ami abroad, and he failed to *->v vv'y _ a strong effort should not be made, to give preference to our own people in older to xvtain, and still further add, to Brilii-h tre.de. He favoured preferential trade, and doubtless ihs natural cohesion of race and sentiment would play a leading part in building up the trade, of Hie scattered pess'.Vi-io'is of the Empire. li be tie would necessarily require to be a loose one ; any forced effort- to bring about a compact and workable system would; in all probability, defeat its own object. The tself-govf ri:in n ' colonies would re jtiiro to b.' in positions similar to what they were now in niaWeix of defence; that is. that their h,t"iT,a! development nii!.st be for years of such a nature as to require a greater proportion of our resource* to be applied to it. and too much in respect of defence organisation sJ'.iould not lw expected from tho young and rising portions of the British de minions. In that matter it was better to leiy upon the people in its different portions to voluntarily join hand.-, for tho pui'.pose of mutual defence when required, than ro exact conditions under this head in order to bring about a mutual undertaking for the .protection of the wide and farreaching commercial side of our Empire's work. "For instance," added Sir Joseph, "it seems a striking anomaly that after all the loss of British blood and treasure in gaining ascendency in Africa our countrymen should be in a no better position than our foreign rivals, and, indeed, that a superior position sviould be given to those opposed Io us, because, under tli_ existing order of things they have the utmost freedom in commercially exploiting that, vast territory without any firit cost to them, tho whole of Ibis being borne by the British taxpayer and his newly-found fellow subject* in South Africa. In any case, we give them settlement and residential conditions and tlie protection which our flag affords equally with our own people, and it does not seem unreasonalble to ask that, with all other conditions similar to our own, they should join with us in obtaining trade preference. The whole matteris one of enormous magnitude and of a very far-reaching character." He was exceedingly glad, he added, to. read Mr Chamberlain's speech, and to find him so far sighted as to" fee that the great powerful commercial branch of the- Empire requires to be dealt with upon lines which would meet the changing conditions ed modern times.