The Press. MONDAY, MAY 21, 1906. TRADE WITH THE EAST.

Press, Volume LXII, Issue 12507, 21 May 1906, Page 6

The Press. MONDAY, MAY 21, 1906. TRADE WITH THE EAST.

It is nino years ago since Mr Seadon firet broached tho question of extending New Zealand trade with tho hast, the idea being probably inspired by Sir Julius Vogel'e visions ot trade j between this colony and the j lands in the Arafura Sea. But instead of confining operations to the porte of call between Brisbane and Calcutta, as in hie earlier schemes, fe 'he now proposes to go no further westward than Singapore, but to include Hong Kong and Japan in tho field to be exploited. "While in Australia he has been pushing bin enquiries into the possibilities of trado with these *porle, 'an,d j has learned that they offer a marke-. j for practically -all the raw materials produced in Now Zealand, except coa:l j and sheep. Matters havo apparently j gone so far that tho Government pro- J pesos to establish a direct service be- i tween this colony and Singapore, Hong j Kong, Java, and Japan. The fact that Mr Seddon has been consulting the Japaneso Consul in Sydney on tho matter, suggest* that ho j may bo trying to induce the Japanese Government to ar.Eist with tuo subsidy which such a lino would require, while the approval accorded to the pro- i i posal in commercial circles in Sydney j .almost points to tho Commonwealth sharing the responsibility* In j any case, New Zealand would certainly ! bo called upon to pay a subsidy, and ! tho whole question whether tho proposal is worth putting into practice, depends upon tho amount this colony would havo to provide. So far our trade; j with the East has been in very small compass. In 11)01, the latest year for which wo have returns, tho total value of our exports to Japan, Hong Kong, and Singapore—.lava was not mentioned at all—was less than £40,000, and of this more than Ivalf was represented by coal sent to Hong Kong for the uso of British warships, while I fiingn," wart .responsible, for some j I £10,000 cf Iho total amount. Small I quantities of cheese, fish, tinned meats, I jam, pieserred milk, timlwr, and wool— about £600 worth for Japan—made up I most of the balance. Possibly with j better facilities for shipping, the trade j would grow—Japan, for instance, which j is coming to tho front iae a nianufac- j turing ration, should offer a market j ! for our wool and leather, a.nd th-e chang- j i ing habits of the people are paid to be i I creating a demand for meat. Tho re- i j ports of tlio trade commissioners sent j out to the East in the interests of An»- | traJinn trade are understood to be of a i hopoful nature, and where Autu- j tralian. products can soil there ought to bo an opening for New Zea- I land articles of a similar character, j Before deciding, however, upon ombark-: ing upon a. direct service with the East the Government should Iks in possassioii ■ of the fullest, information as to Eastern i requirements. It is no use throw-

ing away a mackerel to catch a. sprat, as was done by tho Government in tho case ot tlio subsidised South African service, and unless the direct service with the East can be secured on reasonable terms, ■with so m<; prospects of profitable trade resulting, tho money it would cost could be spent to bettor purpose in the colony. Tho commercial community will, however, await witli interest the details of Mr Seddon's proposals, and especially tho information he lijim procured regarding the pewsibility of finding new markets for New Zealand products.