EMPIRE PREFERENCE

Greymouth Evening Star, 11 March 1932, Page 5

EMPIRE PREFERENCE

GOVERNOR-GENERAL’S ADVICE. [PEB PBESS ASSOCIATION.] WELLINGTON, March 10. Th 3 Governor-General, Lord Bledisloe, when opening the annual conference of the United Commercial Travellers’ and Warehousemens’ Association in maintaining commercial morality, which had always been the outstanding and recognised characteristic of British trade. • Hq sounded .a hopeful note for the future of New Zealand and the Empire. “What awaits the world, the Empire and New Zealand, inf this momentous year, 1932?” Lord Bledisloe asked. He continued that the question at present was unanswerable, but at last the portents were favourable. “Tho sudden and vigorous industrial awakening pf Great Britain (as worthy to-day of the prefix ‘great,’ as ever in her proud history), the rapid' shrinkage of her great army of unemployed, and the world-wide confidence displayed in her inherent financial strength, by the recent phenomenal rise of sterling, on the world’s currency exchange markets,” he said, “betokened a swift-ly-returning purchasing power on the part of New Zealand’s best customer, which is bound to reflect itself in an improved demand, at remunerative prices, for some, at least of the Dominion’s primary products. “This demand seems likely to be progressively augmented, if at the forthcoming Empire Economic Conference at Ottawa, the genuine yearning which Britain has, to confer material economic benefits upon this much-loved Dominion, can find full practical expression, as the result of readiness on the part of New, Zealand to afford reciprocal preference to some of her chief factory products, which now are largely imported from countries outside the British Commonwealth of nations. “Each Empire unit will, I feel sure, in the meantime generate, so far as possible, an internal atmosphere favourable to mutual confidence and to

:lig achievement of a fair balance of commercial reciprocity.” Lord Bledisloe added: “Let us all Etrivo in our respective spheres, by cooperative effort, by wide vision, and with minds fully informed on the world problems, to put all dangers behind us at the earliest possible moment, so that wo may seize every opportunity for promoting national progress, and economic rehabilitation. This will assuredly, in due time, present itself, an opportunity of which ‘the sweet uses of adversity,’ will have sharpened, our wits, strengthened our arm, and tightened our moral fibre to avail ourselves, with confidence and success.”