HUMPTY-DUMPTY

Grey River Argus, 23 October 1936, Page 8

HUMPTY-DUMPTY

AND IMPORTS AND EXPORTS (By the Rev Clyde Garr, M.P.) We imve just had Mr. Bennett, exPr'.me Minister of Canada, with us. He had a big fail last election. But All Mackenzie King. too. alas, has failed to rise to the occasion wilh his promised. banking reform. I'here s two Humpty Dumptys for you. Air Ben nett runs true to form. Being a. good Methodist lie lavs his hand on the Bible but his addresses are inspired in another sense, providing reasonaßly gout ainmuiiition for the torces of reaet.on. There are no short-cuts ’o progreshe told us; never have been, hence never can be; also that we must avoid a. levelling down. That way we Humptys would all tall together. Well, then, what about a .tall up.’ Some of his arguments were so plausible, and of course he is such a good fellow, mc almost expect our own people to be found repeating him. One true thing he said; You cant balance exchanges by balancing trado. There are, of course, invisble imports and exports. And there are debt commitments and interest on loans, To meet these last we must have, he told tis, a. bigger population. Jolly good idea, eh? [nv-te our cousins from Britan over here to help us pay them what we owe them, to help shoulder debts they didn’t help to insur. Just like posterity. A nice, polite form of repudiation, what .’ Hui ol conrse. wlieii it comes Io paying onr debts, we arc all get'd llumplxs logclher. Wlial tibciiil th s balance of trade, though ' Not a “l'a\'nniable balance, which is, after all, io’ilhci favourable not a h.’ilatice. Hcte is \ew Zeiiiaioiu trade and, England’s Irnde. I’.ngland is devolopiiig agricii 11 it re. .X’ew Zea'aiid nmnnfaeturing. Hut England is nut de sirous of icilucing her manufacturing nor are we our agriculture. She wishes to sell us her factory products, we to sell her our farm products. Just suppose she can still take our agricultural surplus, can we take the same qnant it y of her ma tin fa et uri ng' surplus ? Not if we’re going to nmiiut'act'iire more oiirstdies. Unless, of eonrst 1 , w"‘ import mb n n fact n ring tnach.nery instead of m'anul'ai'tured goods. And wlic not ?

Fverv progressive nation goes through three stages. Hirst it exchange, nriniarv products for maniifaetiired, then for maii'iil'actiu'ing nriehinerv. then for ihe niheli’nery fo make her nPiinifaeturing machinerv. Tn ihe last stage, T suppose, she will manufacture her manufactures, which in practice is not really at all confusing except when you have a look- al ihe nr.-u-liin-orv in operation, Thev have been doing it for a ceiilurv oi two in P>ri ‘ain. Of roiii.-e i| Im- taken millions of TTumpty Dunipty- to do it. find v<mv many of llieme lifive fallen by ihe wayside and been thrown on the human scrap heap. Tn any i .'ise ii will bp long enough at the present riile before we reiieh th.at final slag" 'n New Zealand.

But we must balance shipping, too. No more emptv British bottoms coniineoui hero for meat, butter, cheese and wool. All right, lei's import more manufacturing machinery Mislead of manufactures. That way. you sav. lies econoine n’iliontilisni. Why not? When

the world's ships are not needed to carry goods, they can carry more people Some day we shall all be seeing our own world as well as our own epuntry.