THE ECONOMIC QUESTION

Evening Star, Issue 14527, 1 December 1910, Page 6

THE ECONOMIC QUESTION

ENGLAND'S HEFOKM MOVEMENT. MR il. K. WILKINSON'S VIEWS. A paragraph has recently lieen goiiig the rounds of the New Zealand Press, in which a Wellington business man just j returned from a visit to the Old Country : says that business men with whom lie j came in contact in England regarded the I 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, 1 learned, was regarded as a very dangerous man by the English business men whom I met. I would not Gill the business men I met alarmists by any means. 'J'hey _ appeared to me to voice Ihe general opinion of all thinking members of their class. Frankly, from what 1 saw of 1 do not like the prospect at all. England--in fact, the whole of the United Kingdom—appears to be ou the eve of a. great social upheaval." Mr 11. K. Wilkinson, of Messrs .1. Ruttray and Son, has just returned to Dunedm from a trip to England. On being shown this paragraph, lie at once- expressed I his disagreement with the view expressed lin il. "I 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 hand, large numbers of them recognise that reforms in the incidence of taxation are absolutely necessary, and are sun- to come sooner or Inter, and they are prepared to accept the position when it does come. The alarmist section remind mo verv much of the section we had both in England and New Zealand at the time of the proposal that the Government should | acquire large freehold estates being put | into eil'ect. Then a section of the newspaper Press and of linancial magnates declared that New Zealand was to he ruined, and that everything would go to the dogs. Put the opposite, has been ihc result, and now th; mot-t .alarmist of Ihesc sections are wiliine; to admit the wisdom of the policy then adopted. 'There is undoubtedly goirijr to bo a- gieat change in the incidence of taxation in England, a.ed many social reforms which aro much needed arc foreshadowed and mrt-l inevitably come about in the near future. Thai there is any fear of civil warfare or bloodshed 1 think is a statement far from the facts. It is a question o[ readjustment, which cannot _be brought about without squeezing a section of tlie community, and that section is no doubt the very rich. 1 think myself there is evidence on all hands that the conditions of employee,:; 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 the South African War.'' Mr Wilkinson continued that England was enjoying a fairly prosperous period of trade, and generally speaking business was on the up grade in almost even' department. He stated also that Preferential Trade was still more or less discussed, but in Ilia opinion it would be a long time beforo anv practical scheme would be formulated which could readily be adopted, lie thought it doubtful if the benefits of Preferential Trade—which must involve Protection of some kind—would outweigh the evils that follow in tbo video of Protection —the manufacturing interest* were so great and controlled by such large amounts of capital. "1 was very much struck with London," Kaid Mr Wilkinson, in reply to further questions, "and struck, too, with the vigor of the peoplo and the marvellous way in which the City i.s managed. I went into a great many factories m England, and noticed the perfection of their appliances, machinery, and methods. They aro not the conservative peoplo they aro .sometimes alleged to be. They arc willing to adopt new methods where any improvement am be proved. 1 am not one of those who say that, the people of Great Britain are a decadent people. Groat Britain has great problems to grapple with, but she is not shutting her eyes to them, but is doing a tremendous work in dealing with them. [The above appeared in portion of our yesterday's issue.]