THE BRITISH MARKET

Evening Post, Volume CIII, Issue 144, 21 June 1922, Page 4

THE BRITISH MARKET

PATRIOTISM & COMMERCE

»R.JMASSEY JS. STIRRING SPEECH

fitu» noteworthy ranar&B were made Ig> Jfa. ttusey, Prime Minister, yester,'chy, a* * tancheon given by the New Zealand Association of British Manuiscbm»B and Agents, at which, he and flw Minister -of Customs were the chief gncsts.

t^l am ii Opinion that patriotism 'ranrana almost as much in commerce as in national affairs," said Mr. Massey. *^f we, are shewing patriotism in commerce, "wo are securing the prosperity of oar Empiro. If we are shewropf patriotism in defence we are promoting the security of our Empire. While we aro endea\ouring to do some.thing for tho Empire, I think it is only fright that wo should lemember our own ccrontry. We in New Zealand are sending .iway laige quantities of y raw materials, and we arc getting back part of our own materials in the form of manufactured goods I should like to see this country iwing more of its own ■wool, for example, for its own purposes. ; I might say the same with re.%%rd to -hemp, tallow, and a number o't other '". things thai we export. There are a number of commodities that cannot 'h6 manufactured in this country, that will not be manufactured here during the next hundred ■years, so far as it is possible for us to judge at the. present time. If we cannot manufacture them in our own .country, then the next best thing is to purchase them from the people who buy the commodities that we produce; that is, from the British people. , GOVEJRNjVIENT ORDERS. "" •',': '"This applies to the materials that .we require for the development -works that are being carried out by Government Departments. The supplies for jour hydro-electric power stations are costing a great deal of money at the time. I cannot recollect a case of a Department going outside the British and especially, the Mother -Country, in connection with the purchase of these supplies. You know that .during the war period we fell behind, in the upkeep of our railways. In consequence of that we have had to import very large quantities of rolling stock ' of engines, and many thousands of tons of rails. All the orders have- been : placed in Britain, and if we had to place further drders we should do just the same thing again." LONDON AND OTHER BEITISH POETS. Mr. Massey paid a tribute to the excellence of British manufacturing methods and workmanship. He also alluded to the high freight and South American competition. The president of the he said, had referred to the difficulty in regard to transport. There was {no doubt, that New Zealand :<was .being handicapped to some extent ** "?e, present time by high transport Charges. Kie i Dominion had been able in recent tames to establish connections ""*«,"■ Ro^ B other than London. He i ttioognfc.it was to the advantage of the Jprodacers here.that they should be able to send their produce to auch ports as 'Manchester &3L and Bristol as well as to London. He did not say this in toy disparagement of London, which, on fto l whde, bad eerved NoW Zealand well. pGWmWB AND EMPIRE. .: !ttr. Mamg said that he had made ™ ww» M M» fact that he was strongy ?" ™*Jttr of preferential Customs osrtiee ■■ between the Dominions of the Empire, and particularly as between the Vanamuoß and the Motherland. The -Mew Zealand Parliament had been fortnnate laet session in being able to give a. snbatantiaDy increased preference to jlne United Kingdom, and his own firm-.!ly-held opmion was that the right thing 'nan been done. The broad effect of the .changes made in the Tariff had been to .increase the number of articles included in the British preference by 100 per cent. New Zealand was sending an enormoas quantity of raw materials and toodstofis to the United Kingdom, and he had never heard a proposal that these goods shoiild be subject to import duties when they reached the British ports. Britain had the door wide open to New Zealand goods, and there was no other conntry that would give the, ' Dominion similar 'treatment. He -did not blame other countries for erecting tariff walls and attending to their own business in their own way, but it was natoral that New Zealand should look to-Britain as the best market, and should extend a preference to the British manufactures. He thought that the people of New Zealand realised that a close association with the Mother | Country was in their interests and in the interests of the Dominion as a j whole. !