BRITISH MARKET

Evening Post, Volume CVII, Issue 24, 29 January 1924, Page 9

BRITISH MARKET

NEW ZEALAND'S CHANCE

ROOM FOR DEVELOPMENT

MR. MASSEY ON PREFERENCE.

"I have looked after the business of New Zealand to the best of my ability." This statement was made by the Prime Minister when speaking at the civic welcome accorded-him in the Concert Chamber yesterday. Mr. Massey devoted considerable attention to the question of Empire preference, and spoke'at length on the opportunity for the Dominion developing the Home market in certain lines of its products, particularly egg» and bacon. He also advised cattle-raisers to pay more attention. to the quality of the beef .they exported. PRICE OF WOOL. Speaking of the good prices being obtained for wool, Mr. Massey said some people believed this would mean paving a higher price for clothing, but he was not quits sura" about that. It meant more money, however. He detailed how the stocks of wool had accumulated at Home as a result of the Imperial Government's purchases, and mentioned that those stocks had gone. Wool was wanted now just as much as. ever it was, and the demand now exceeded the supply because the number of sheep fell off during the war, with the result that the price had gone up. This was so much ' the better for. wool-producing countries, even if it meant a little more in the way of prices. ' It was absolute nonsense to say that the cost of living here was higher than at Home, as he had seen it stated since he camo back last'week., How could this be so when freights and other charges had to be added to the cost of goods imported to England from here? He would guarantee that tea and sugar were twice as dear at Home as here, because they both paid very haavy duties there. While he had the utmost,respect for the "cradle of the race," he could not help saying that we were ten times better off in New" Zealand than the people in the British Islands. HINT TO MEAT PRODUCERS. Mr. Massey said he thought that dairy prices would last this year, as, for one thing, the great numbers of people going to the Empire Exhibition would tend to keep them lip, and-'then mentioned that he had 'visited Smithfield market, where he was not' particularly pleased with the manner in which our meat compared with that from other countries. So far as the quality of the New Zealand meat was concerned, the quality could not be beaten, but the get-up of the meat from foreign and other British countries was very often better than ours. The calico very often presented, an untidy appearance," and on the carcasses there were S great many cuts which should not have been there. He admitted that he struck Smithfield between the seasons, which was a. very bad time, but New Zealand had a reputation to maintain, and bo long as the quality .was kept np the prices- would stand, but there was something else to be thought of, and that was the get-up of our meat. The get-up appealed to, the consumer, and that was a matter on which an improvement must be made. Mr. Massey then spoke of the chances of developing jhe Home market for New Zealand 'eggs.- After the;importation of Chinese eggs Had been stopped at the instigation of the poultry farmers, it turned out that the production of w eggs in. New. Zealand began to exceed the local consumption, and an "effort was made to try to find a market for the surplus. A /shipment of half a, million: or a little more was. sent to England, and he had been informed that only two eggs were broken, and that not an unsound one was in the lot. That was. a splendid thing, and the people responsible for the shipment deserved every credit. The wgent of the principal egg firm "in London said that he would take every egg that the Dominion could send if they were of the same quality as those that were sent in the shipment he alluded to. "When you hear' about Free Trade and Protection, or Empire Preference, don't -forget yon had an instance of it there," remarked Mr. Massey. "Extreme Protection, extreme Preference/ if you like. The importation of these (Chinese) eggs was prohibited, and there was the result. We have established a good market, and this is the benefit of Empire Preference: it is not so much the price producers get as the fact that the market is established, and they are able to sell what is produced at a -fair price. That ;s the principal point of Empire Preference. , "For a long time there has been a lot of trouble with the bacon trade in New Zealand, but there is' a market for an unlimited quantity of bacon in Smithfield," continued Mr. Massey. He had been shown tons and tons of American bacon at Smithfield, and although it was not for him to find fault with the bacon of another country, he was not quite sure that it would commend itself to the/people of New Zealand. At Smithfield there was bacon from America, Holland, and Denmark, but there was; notning to prevent New Zealand producing and exporting to England a very large quantity of bacon, and as good in quality as that from any other country. He thought there was a profitable market to be found at Homi for New Zealand bacon. , THE BRITISH DEPRESSION. New Zealand was prosperous, tad the other Dominions were fairly prosperous, but not so prosperous as New Zealand. The only British country that wag not prosperous was Britain itself, and he was very sorry for it. Anything in the way of a depression affected the purchasing power of the people, and if the British people were not prosperous we could not be prosperous, here.' The Imperial Conference representatives had as part of their business to try 'to devise measures to lift the depression that existed in England. If the people at Home could not get rid, of the depression it would affect their customers. He did not want people to agree with him simply because he expressed an opinion on the. subject, but there were people who had read the history of the industrial movement in the past seventy or eighty years since Cobden and those associated with him had started the Free Trade'movement. He had read that history too. At that time Britain was the workshop of the world, but America was the workshop to-day. Other countries could not be blamed i for becoming manufacturing countries, but he did not like what went on. Britain used to send, her manufacturesto every port in the world, but she was not able to do it to-day.' The other countries were sending the surplus of their manufactured articles into Britain, and ha had seen beautiful German razors sold in Britain for a shilling. He had also heard of German field glasses being 3old at 25s a pair. Those things could not be produced for the money, or anything like it, in England, but the depreciated currency made their cheap manufacture possible. Yet British people sat quiet and said nothing. He was afraid that if he lived in Britain, and a few more who thought as he did, that they would make themselves fleard t<j-

day, even if they did not bring about a change. (Applause.) Foreign manufacturers^ taking- advantage of their own depreciated currency to manufacture articles for export to England, and for which they received payment in the British currency, which was higher than their own, were becoming the millionaires. Through their being able to sell their manufactures in the.British market, bread was being taken out of the mouths of British workmen and their families. .ABOUT ELECTION ISSUES. Some people said the depression at Home was due to the difficulty between France and Germany. He would like to see that ended, but when it was the competition between Germany and other industrial countries would be "keener than before 1914. If the people now in power m Britain tacTded the situation, he would give them every credit for it, but they did not do it during the election. There .were only two issues in the election. The cablegrams may have given the impression that it was intended to tax food, but Mr. Baldwin had stated that his Government had no intention of taxing foodstuffs or raw material. He did say,! however, that they were going in for Empire preference. The issues were lost sight of at the election, and the public got the impression that what was proposed was extreme Protection, which would put up the price of foodstuffs'in the way it was said they would be put up ten to twenty years ago. It would not be the speaker's business to put the thing right but the. business of others, and until they "got the hang" of- it they would not do any good. _ Mr. Massey said he thought the promises given at the Conference to give the Dominions preference in respect to dried fruits, apples, tinned fish, and honey would be kept. There were minor articles, but it would be a very good thing to get a preference on them. If there was, one section in this country who required some encouragement it was the apple growers, who were struggling along under very serious difficulties. He did not say the proposals made at the Conference would give a greatly increased price, but it would give the growers an assured market. He thought Britain was importing more apples from foreign mar: kets than from British countries. The problem was a big one, and would have to be settled, although that might take a little time, but we would never become a self-supporting Empire—and that was what they were aiming at— until it was settled. Preference would help to cement the ties of Empire. Why should the Empire not be self-supporting? The Empire was such a one as the world had never seen, and could produce all its population required without any difficulty. He was'not speaking of a selfcontained Empire, which he did not believe in, but of a self-supporting Empire. A self-contained Empire did not export its surplus goods, but a self-support-ing Empire did. They should export their surplus. "A PERFECT CURSE." , There were many problems to solve before Free Trade between the British .countries came to pass, for we for one thing bad young industries growing up, and we had to be careful to see that no mjnstice was done to them.. But did they ever know of a farmer doing any good who, instead of producing his own requirements for his family, bought them from his neighbours? He did not know of such an one. But that was what we were doing as an Empire. There were unoccupied' lands in each Dominion, but we were going outside to buy-food-stuffs and raw materials from other countries. Suppose we allowed Australian goods to come in free of duty, and then Australia wanted us to'continue to do so, but insisted on placing a 25 per cent, customs duty on our goods. 'He knewit would riot be done by Australia, but, if so, would it be fair?; That was what, was going on under Free Trade to-day, -but it was not what Cobden intended, and he believed it was a perfect curse, not only to the people in Britain itself but to the people in the overseas Dominions. (Applailse.)