PREFERENTIAL TRADE.

Evening Star, Issue 11891, 20 May 1903, Page 4

PREFERENTIAL TRADE.

SIR J. G. WARD'S OPINION. AGREES WITH MR CHAMBERLAIN. WE MUST MEETTItE NEW CONDITIONS. Interviewed by one of ottr represents tives this morning before bis departure for the North, Sir Joseph Ward said: Mr Chamberlain's' recent speech gave utterance to sentiments of which he largely approved, nnd it was a significant sign of the times when a leading British statesman advocated such a broad and far-reach-ing policy, full of great possibilities for the development and cohesion of the British Empire. Mr Chamberlain tftd rightly reco.Tiised that the circumstances of the Mother Land were greatly altered since the days of Bright and Cobden, and What was necessary on fiscal lines for the Government of the Briti?h Islands at that period had vastly changed by the rapid progress made, particularly by the self-governing colonies. He personally had held the opinion for years, and had on more than one occasion stated it publicly, that preference should be given to trado within our own dominions. It was note to him surprising that in the great competitive race of other nations to get fresh footholds in the commercial world that this question was now on the horizon, and it was essential that the British and colonial statesmen should join hands in erecting a fresh system to meet the new condition of affairs. It was idle to deny the fact that a great inroad had been and was being made by some of our powerful and progressive foreign competitors upon the British commercial world, both at Home and abroad, and he failed to see why a strong effort should not be made to give preference to our own people, in order to retain and still further add to British trade. He favored preferential trade, and doubtless the natural cohesion of race and sentiment would play a leading part in; building up the trade of the scattered possessions of the Empire. The tie would necessarily require to be a loose one. Any forced effort to bring about a compact ard workable system would in all probability defeat its own object. The self-governing colonies would require to be in positions similar to what they were now in matters of defence—that is, that their internal development must he for years of such a nature as to require*the greater proportion of our resources to be applied to it—and too much in respect of defence organisation should not be expected from young and rising portions of the British dominions. In that matter it was better to rely upon the people in its different portions to voluntarily join hands for the purpose of mutual defence when required than to exact conditions under this head in order to bring about a mutual undertaking for the protection of the wide and far-reaching, commercial side of our Empire's work.

For instance, it seems a striking anomaly that after all the loss of British blood and treasure in gaining the ascendency in South Africa our countries should be in no better position than their foreign rivals, and, faded, that the superior position should be given to those opposed to us, because uuder the existing order of things they have the utmost freedom in commercially exploiting that vast territory without auy first cost to them, the whole of this being borne by tbe British taxpayer and his newly-founi fellow-subjects in South Africa. In any case, we give them settlement and residential conditions and the protection which our flag affords equally with our own people, and it does not seem unreasonable to ask that, with all other conditions similar to our own, they should join with us in obtaining trade preference for the people of the country which in this respect shows its fairness and justice. The whole matter is one of enormous magnitude, and of a very far-reaching character He was exceedingly glad to read Mr Chamberlain's speech, and to find him so far-sighted as to see that the great powerful commercial branch of the Empire requires to be dealt with .upon lines which would meet the changing conditions of modem time*.