OF NEW ZEALAND INTEREST

Evening Post, Volume CXI, Issue 71, 24 March 1926, Page 9

OF NEW ZEALAND INTEREST

-'-■;■ ' ■ ,■ »— ■. DOMINION FOREIGN POLICY. I (Frtm Our bwn Correspondent) ■ ' LONDON, 28th January. Referring to the steps taken by Australia and New Zealand to deal with Imperial and external affairs arising in the contlniious process of communication and consultation between Great Britain and the Dominions, "The Economist" remarks: "These are valuable practical contributions to the settlement of the extraordinarily difficult problem of Imperial foreign policy. One of the reasons why advance in this field has been made since the- war has been the absence of - constructive action of precisely this kind on the Dominion Governments' side. It is significant that the initiative should have been taken by the two Dominions in the Pacific, whose remoteness from the Mother Country not only makes it hard for them to keep in touch with European affairs without some special organisation for the purpose, but gives them .a strong incentive for maintaining dose communication with Whitehalt in' regard to Pacific questions, in which; they are more closely' and more dangerously concerned than the ; United Kingdom. South Africa is less conscious of he* exposed position (though the question of Indian immigration is really part of the larger problem of the Pacific, and the Indian Ocean), while Canada, established on the North American continent v ith no neighbour except the United States, congratulates herself upon 'living in a fireproof house.', It is satisfactory that, in Site of rumours to the contrary, General erteog has apparently decided to attend the Imperial Conference after all. When the Imperial statesmen meet, it may be hoped that the Australian and New Zealand initiatives, will be followed ■- by the representatives of the other Dominions." GIVE THE PUBLIC WHAT THEY ,■ .; , . .■ . WANT. The '.'lnvestors' Chronicle" publishes a letter' from "M.G.J.," Brackley, North Hants, urging the heads of British manufactories to produce the goods that their customers ask for, not only in the Empire, but outside it too. He says: '■ "The bulwarks of the Empire are indeed threatened by a cankerous growth, which is burrowing into her very soul. She stands to lose her trade! Politicians state that unless the present condition of things it speedily remedied we shall be outstripped'by other countries. They have called on the public to circumvent this national disaster, and ask them to-insist on shopkeepers supplying them with goods the Empire can produce. The theory is admirable, but the essentials are not always procurable. "British-made goods are sup- - trior in workmanship and quality to those made in any; country, but British producers; am prone- to thrust their products on th«v -market, irrespective of their suitability, with an air of 'Take them or leave them; it's all the same to us.' The German*' and Americans have persistently studied their markets for years. Their commissioners are sent to the remotest corneti of the earth to find out what particular article is required in that particular place. God helps those who help themselves. ."New Zealand desires British-made goods on a scale that would give employment to many,firms for years to come. He.' desire is to benefit the Mother Country, by trading with her, but she cannot obtain/what she deeds. Mr. Attwood, representative of the N.Z. Fruit Growers'. Association, was commissioned to buy implements in England for agricultural purpose*. He went over a factory with this object in view. The type of hoe he was shown he had used 40 years previously in England, and the manager was gratified to h«ar .it, but utterly failed to grasp that the hoe belonged to a prehistoric age and was unsuitable'for New Zealand. In desperation Mr. Attwood was forced to call on an American firm. The manager had not the particular implements in stock, but he. rose to the occasion: Tell me what you' require, and we will make them as •oon as possible and will send them right away.''.. ..'''_..'. .:. '■ . ■ NEW ZEALAND FLAX IN IRELAND. At the Railway Tribunal in Dublin Mr. M'Nulty (Department of Agriculture), in proppsing that "New Zealand flax" be added to the list, said that some years ago the Department had brought over some plant*.to Ireland and had planted them along the Shannon. It was a plant that took 14 years to mature, and few people would embark on its development, but it would grow where nothing else would. Mr. Ingram (Department of Industry and Commerce) said that after 14 years it grew like a weed. Mr. M'Nulty added that the leaves were six feet long and were used to make coarse cloth and alto ropes. At present it was largely used ,in Australia, and large quantities were shipped to England. The growing of this might develop the industry in Ireland. The Tribunal included this _ particular description of flax in the classification.'