THE ECONOMIC QUESTION

Evening Star, Issue 14526, 30 November 1910, Page 4

THE ECONOMIC QUESTION

ENGLAND'S REFORM MOVEMENT. - MR H. K. WlliiifSON'S VIEWS. A paragraph has recently been going (he rounds of (he New Zealand Press, in which a Wellington business man just returned from a visit to the Old Country says that business men with whom ho came in contact in England regarded the social and political outlook as very grave indeed. “ There is,” he said, ‘‘a dread of some terrible civil crisis, culminating in bloodshed. Did you hear in New Zealand that some of the Territorials were being disarmed? Mr Lloyd George, I learned, was regarded as a very dangerous man by the English business men whom I met I would not call the business men I met alarmists by any means. They appeared to me to voice the general opinion of all thinking members of their class. Frankly, from what I saw' of things, 1 do not like ■ tile prospect at all. England—in fact, the whole of the United Kingdom—appears to bo on the eve of a great social upheaval.” Air IT. K. Wilkinson, of Messrs J. Rattray and Son, has just returned to Dunedin from a trip to England. On being shown this paragraph, he at once expressed his disagreement with the view expressed in it. “1 mixed a good deal with business men in England,” he said. “A great many of them certainly view Mr Lloyd George’s proposals in regard to taxation with a little concern, yet, on the other band, large numbers of them recognise that reforms in the incidence of taxation arc absolutely necessary, ami are sure to come sooner or later, and they are prepared to accept the position when it docs come. The alarmist section remind me very much of the section we had both in England and New Zealand at the time of the projweal that the Government should acquire, largo freehold estates being put into elfoet. Then a section of the newspaper Pirns and of financial magnates declared that New Zealand was to be ruined, and that everything would go to the dogs, lint tho opposite ha.s been the result, and now the most alarmist of these- sections are willing to admit the, wisdom of the policy then adopted. There is undoubtedly going to be a great, change in tho incidence of luxation in England, and many social reforms which aro much needed arc foreshadowed and must inevitably eomo about in tho near future. 'Chat there is any fear of civil warfare or bloodshed J think is a litatcjuent far from the facts. It is a question of readjustment, which cannot be brought about without squeezing a section of t!i<' community, and that /section is no doubt the vciy rich. I think myself there is evidence on all hands that the condition.! of employees throughout. England have improved very considerably during the last, ten or fifteen years, and the question of unemployment is not nearly so acute now as it was just after the cessation of tlfo South African War.” Mr Wilkinson continued that England was enjoying a fairly prosperous period of trade, and generally speaking business was on the iij) grade in almost every department. lie stated also that Preferential Trade was still more or less discussed, hut in his opinion it would be a long time before any practical .scheme would be formulated which could readily be adopted. He thought it doubtful if the, benefits of Preferential Trade—which must involve Protection of some kind—would outweigh the evils (hat follow in tho wake of Protection—(lie manufacturing interests were so great and controlled by such Large amounts of capital. "'l was very much struck with Jxmdon,” said Mr Wilkinson, in reply to further questions “and struck, too, with the vigor of the people and tiie marvellous way in which tho City is managed. I went into a great many facTories in England, and noticed the. perfection of their appliances, machinery, and methods. They are not (he conserval ive people they are sometimes alleged to bo. They arc willing fo adopt new methods where any improvement can be proved. I am not one of (hose who .-ay that the jieoplo of Great Britain arc a decadent people. Great Britain lias great problems to grapple with, hut she is not shut ling bur eyes to (hem, but us doing a tremendous woik in dealing with them.'