SINCE THE WAR

Evening Post, Volume CIV, Issue 68, 17 September 1927, Page 10

SINCE THE WAR

BRITAIN'S RECOVERY

GROWTH OF EMPIRE TRADE

NEW ZEALAND'S HELP

A stirring tale of Britain's marvellous recovery since the war, despite many and varied problems, was told last night at the smoke concert of the Wellington Commercial Travellers and Warehousemen's Association by His Majesty's Trade Commissioner (Mr. L. B. Beale), the most striking part of which . were the changes wrought in Imperial trade. New Zealand, which in 1913 was not included in the seven principal supply countries of Great Britain, is now fifth on that list, while in the matter of exports Australia is England's second largest world customer, and South Africa, which did not figure in the list of the seven greatest customers in 1913, is fifth. FAITH, HOPE, LOVE, AND WORK. "I am not one of those who take a gloomy and pessimistic view of tho Empire or of Great Britain/ he said. "I believe that the influence that our beloved Homeland has had through the centuries on all mankind must ultimately lead to the good of all mankind, and I remember what a great Prime Minister of England once said, that tho salvation of the Empire, and indeed of the whole world, could be found in tho four words faith, hope, lovq, and work. If these virtues are practised, the happiness and. prosperity of the whole world is assured. The propaganda of suspicion and hate can only lead to unemployment and unhappinoss in every country. In New Zealand we see the fullest expression of the virtues I have named. You live here in detachment, the sea is your guardian, like the Homeland; and it seems to me that-you are to carry on the destinies of the race from which you sprung.

BRITAIN'S POST-WAR PROBLEMS.

Before considering the present position o£ the Empire, I would Hko to refer to some of the problems that beset Great Britain and the Empire since the war. Depression in any country is due mainly to the lack of continuity m productive capacity. Lack ot balance throughout the world has been one of the greatest problems Great Britain has had to face. You will recall that, due to the war, many factories at Home and elsewhere were very largely extended. In steel mills and ship-building the problem was to balance the lack between effective tonnage and what could be put in use. The coal industry has suffered the competition of alternative sources of power. The engineering trade of the world has increased by more than half Bince the war. Japan and the United States to-day use 2,000,000 bales of cotton more than before the war, while Europe uses 2,000,000 less. Intense nationalisms have restricted exports from Great Britain, because the desire to obtain a greater degree of independence in every country has brought about tariffs and other restrictions to trade, in countries which were formerly our best customers, meaning that credit was difficult to obtain.' That meant a limited demand for the products, of steel mills, which formed a great and valuable part of our export trade. Countries were out of balance. INFLATION REDUCED. "I am happy to say that taking the world by and large, inflation has recently decreased, and credit is Retting sounder. What is the result? Last year wo had a great industrial disturbance in the coal strike, and we lost a groat deal of overseas-trade, but I am happy to tell you that in the first six montbs of the year we picked up more than the amount we had lost in foreign trade. Britain is out in tho world studying more than ever tho special needs and requirements of customers in the markets in which we hope to gain trade. You all know how many more men are coming out to see what this or that other city needs, and England is doing mbre than ever in advertising. I bclievo that British advertising is good and true advertising. TRADE FUTURE WITHIN EMPIRE. "Looking at all the factors the expansion of-British trade seems to lie within tho Empire. How has the Empire trade fared sinco tho war? Wo find that British trade to the Empire countries has increased in value sinco tho war twice as fast as it has increased to foreign countries, and in tho reverse direction British purchases of Empiro products have increased by 125 per cent. Hero is a remarkable thing, tho greatest increaso in Empiro products has been from this country. (Continued applause.) Before tho war Britain used to have an import trade of only 25 per cent, from the Empire, whereas to-day more than 30 per cent, comes from within our own Empiro. Tho export trade within tho Empiro before the war was 37 per cent., to-day it is 45 per cent., and there is every indication that trade within the Empire is going to grow continually. INDUSTRIAL POSITION. "We are doing to-day in coal milling the equivalent of what we did iv 1919, and that is a very great thing when we realise that there is a diminution in the demand for coal, and the difficulties wo have had in the trade at Home. Wo have 1,000,000 miners at work, but we have 200,000 out of work, men whom it is a difficult problem to place. In iron our product is two and a half times as much as in 1921. In steel wo aro 25 per oont. ahead of 1913, which represented the peak of production. In hosiery we aro more than double what wo wero before the waiN. In almost every vital line of British industry wo are ahead of 1913, and in other trade our volume stands within 10 per cent, of the year 1913, which was the apex of British prosperity.. MOST RECENT FIGURES. "Only to-day I received the figures for tho first six months' trade of Great Britain for 1927. Taking the first six months of 1913, we obtained more than half of our important requirements from seven principal supply countries, and New Zealand did not figure amongst them. To-day New Zealand ia fiftn on the list. (Applause.) "The percentage of Britain's total imports in those half-years is as fol-lows.-—1913: U.S.A. 18.5, Germany 10.5, France 6.5, Argentina 6.25, India 5.5, Australia 5.25, Eussia 4. 1927: U.S.A. 18.5, Argentina 7, France 5.25, Australia 5, New Zealand 4.9, Germany 4.8, India 4.5. "Tho percentage of Britain's exports in the same half-years is as follows:—1913: India 13.5, Germany 7.5, Australia 6.5, France 6, U.S.A. 5.5, Canada, 4.5, Argentina 4.5. 1927: India 12.5, Australia. 9.5, U.S.A. 6.5, Germany 6, South Africa 4.5, Canada 4, Argentina 3.75. "We. see in England a revitalised, race," continued Mr. Beale. "I was astounded at the wonderful progress made in every factory, and I visited 500. It is clear to me that if we continue as we are now going on we would still hold that supremo position for which for so long we were famed. We can only do it by hard work-and courage, and that is work for which there is no subsidy, but if we develop andhold that character and courage, and hand it on to our successors, we' shall have done a fine thine and a clean one." i