SISTER DOMINIONS

Evening Star, Issue 19617, 25 July 1927, Page 2

SISTER DOMINIONS

CANADA AND HEW ZEALAND ATTEMPTS TO IMPROVE TRADE “ There is a strong feeling in Canada towards the sister dominion of New Zealand.” This was the opinion and belief of Mr P. C. Harrison manager of the Lank of Montreal, who is just concluding a visit to New Zealand (says the Wellington ‘Post’). He is accompanied by Mr A. S. Mimnon, manager of the Bank of Montreal i* oroign Department. Their itinerary includes Australia, Malaya, Netherlands, Indies, China, and Japan. Mr Harrison said: “We arc on a mission, and our chief object is to get into personal contact with those who have trading relations with the customers of the Bank of Montreal. Wo are anxious to find out at first-hand how those relations stand and whether they arc mutually satisfactory. Our visit is of an essentially practical character. “The potentialities of markets lor Canadian manufactures and products generally in the lands visited and to bo visited are objects of our special attention; but we are also deeply interested in the trade outwards trom those countries to Canada.

“The foreign export trade of Canada is steadily expanding, and this is to he attributed to the enterprise of the Canadian manufacturer and the activities of the Government Trade Commissioners for Canada stationed in various parts of the world. “ Swell information as wo are able to obtain will bo carefully collated, tabulated, and put into concise form, and be placed at the disposal of the customers of the Bank of Montreal, and accessible to them at the branches of the bank, which number 660. It ought, and wo believe it will, result in a better understanding of the conditions and circumstances of the customers overseas with whom the customers of the Bank of Montreal are connected by trade relations.”

Incidentally, the trade balance between New Zealand and Canada tor 1926 was greatly in favor of the larger dominion. The New Zealand imports from' Canada were £3,446,841, including Newfoundland (£15,308); and the exports from New Zealand to Canada were £861,717. These were bigger than to any other country, save Great Britain (£35,100.000), United States (£3,800.000), and Australia (£3,054,000). There appears on these figures some room for adjustment of the, trade between the two dominions in the interests of the . smaller of them. But Mr Harrison has now seen of this dominion and will return to Canada, on completion of his long tour,

very favorably impressed, lie admits, with the potentialities ot the leaser dominion. He lias interviewed the Covernment in the persons of Mr Downie Stewart (Minister, of Finance), Mr M'Leod (Minister of Industries and Commerce), leading bankers, and commercial men in the chief centres or the dominion. The result has been the creation in his mind of the most favorable impressions of this dominion, its resources, enterprise, and potentialities. What struck him, too, he remarked, was the fact that the development, ot Now Zealand, its high credit standing in London, its public works, its industries and commerce, were of such comparatively recent origin and had been achieved" by such comparatively small population. “ There is a strong feeling in Canada,” Mr Harrison concluded, “towards New Zealand, and from what we have seen in this country there is an equally strong sentiment favorable to Canada —a genuine desire for closer relationship. So far as our mission is concerned, we believe it will result in advantage to New Zealand as well as ■to Canada.”.'