The Evening Star. MONDAY, JULY 17, 1922. EMPIRE TRADE.

Evening Star, Issue 18022, 17 July 1922, Page 4

The Evening Star. MONDAY, JULY 17, 1922. EMPIRE TRADE.

Though ho has now left the Colonial Office, 'Colonel Amery continues at intervals to give evidence of continuance of the* strong interest he retains in the grea matters with which ho formerly dealt officially. Ho is now advising British 'traders to abandon nursing a class of customers who are hopelessly sick, and develop what formerly they were prone to consider secondary fields. .“Turn from Europe.” is his advice, “and Concentrate on various parts of the Empire.” Not only are most of the European States impoverished to the point of bankruptcy, but a number of them have erected tariff walls to shelter their own industries against wild fluctuations of the exchanges. At the last annual meeting of the Association of British Chambers of Commerce a motion was passed “ that the Association of British Chambers of Commerce view with alarm the number of countries who are increasing their tariffs and so raising an insurmountable wall to British trade, for it is only through our exports that wo can pay for the necessary commodities of life. They strongly urge upon His Majesty s Go-vernment-the vital necessity of negotiating for a more reasonable treatment of our exports by importing countries.” There is another reason besides this more or less artificial, but none the less formidable, trade barrier for this restricted outlet for British exports. Ono of the outstanding results of the war has undoubtedly been that the manufacturing capacity of the world has suffered much more severely than its capacity for the nroduction of raw materials. As a consequence the countries producing raw materials have been unable to find'markets for the produce, and as a consequence are in turn unable to purchase the products of British manufacturing industry. Statistics illustrate clearly how, when the world is out of joint in this way, the pace of the fastest is reduced almost to that of the slowest. Some temporary experience of this has been felt in parts of the Empire as well as in foreign countries. New Zealand had to accept prices for wool which in some cases were below cost of production. Australian base metal mining is paralysed for tne same reason (among jolliers); and, though frozen meat is not a raw material for manufacturing purposes, receipts from its export go to help pay for imports, and their unpayable nature in the case of beef has flattened out the Queensland cattie industry.

There is still another factor. In many of the younger branches of the Empire there has grown up a desire to manufacture "locally instead of importing from the Mother Country. British manufacturers’ complaints about post-war high tariffs do not apply exclusively to foreign countries. Wo have got further from tiro once advocated ideal of Frcetrade within the Empire instead of closer to it. Customs tariffs have been revised, and, especially when fortified by special anti-dumping provisions, have been used as a lever for tightening the valve winch regulates the flow of imports. India has dealt blows at Manchester; Australia and New Zealand are putting their best foot foremost ta compete strongly with Bradford for the local market. The tendency was recognised when the scheme was put forward for a big, if gradual, redistribution of population within the Empire. As Britain could only feed herself with the proceeds of her exports, chiefly manufactured goods, and as many of her former markets for these latter showed inability or disinclination to buy them, the proposition was to transfer many of those employed in their production to other parts of the Empire, thus obviating over-production or unemployment, while reducing the number of mouths to feed, and therefore the necessity for importing much, if any, foodstuffs. But in many of the more settled parts of the Empire overseas there is a great lack of unanimity over falling in with this scheme. Unless provision is made beforehand for the absorption of these immigrants, their entry into a new land only accentuates the unemployment already existing there, and that provision requires capital expenditure, which few States can afford at present. Colonel Amery is quite aware of this when lie says they “must be” prepared to do the things which are necessary to carry out our purpose without inquiring at every slop whether it suits the traditions of this or that party in the State or the interests of this or that particular trade or locality. It will be noticed that ho also advocates emigration from Britain to the tropical and sub-tropical regions of the Empire, and the development of their resources by constructing railways, harbors, and other public works. But all this requires a still greater expenditure of fresh capital, and the burden of finding it would naturally fall on Britain herself.

Can she do it? Colonel Amery says: “The way will come easily enough if only wo have the will.” In this ho seems inclined to take another route from that of the head of the Government of which Colonel Amery is still a member. Sinoa the war Mr Lloyd George has concentrated his own energies on the reconstruction of Europe until there have been complaints in Britain of neglect of domestic and Imperial problems, closely interwoven. Colonel Amery's article on ‘Turn from Europe’ appears to bo a delicate hint to his chief that Genoa and 1 The Hague represent labor in vain, and that Britain’s salvation must come,, another way. The old investment must bo written off and a new one found. If one chooses to take a gloomy view of the position one may say that Britain rs over-populated, ovor-capi-talised, over-taxed, and underfed. What really presses on her and forms the big source of her economic trouble is the immense war debt to America, coupled with the national insolvency of nations who are her debtors. The interest on Britain’s national debt amounts to a million sterling a day. It is the financial situation which is Britain’s problem and the world’s problem to-day. It appears so insoluble that it is small wonder that on every hand one hears questionings and doubts as to whether the financial system, especially the credit side of it, is not all wrong,