“HAPPY AND PROSPEROUS.”

Hawera Star, Volume XLV, 20 August 1925, Page 10

“HAPPY AND PROSPEROUS.”

FORTUNATE If URMA. COUNTRY Oh' VALUABLE PRODUCT®. , Comparatively happy 'and prosperous by comparison wun many parts ot the Empire is the impression ot Burma gatnered from Mr. ii. tomr.es, of the jtangoon Gazette, who is visiting iNew Zealand' as one of tne delegates to the conference or the Empire rress Union.

noth from the political and economic points of view Burma, was in a fairly happy condition, said Mr. armies. As a province of the Indian empire Burma had been granted a rioeral constitution, ;\nd mere was more co-operation with the governing race than in any otner province oi India.

Burma’s case was in sharp contrast to tiiat of Bengal, where constitutional leforms had broken down. On- the whole the new regime worked well, aitrougli there was a large demand among tiie native population for Dominion status. The political influences were often the rettex of -the economic conditions, and in- Burma’s material well-being was to be found the secret of her contentment. The province had very large exports, and tor her. produce there was a ready market. The post-war depression that had affected most countries was only temporary in Burma, and leeway had long since oeen recoveied. The solid basis of Burma’s trade was rice, of which, there was a n exportable surplus annually valued at from £20,030,UU0 to £30,000,000. Tne' market was almost unlimited among the Eastern peoples, but Burma sold principally to India. Germany, however, bought a good deal of rice for use in making lager beer. Timber, chiefly teak, was also exported, largely, and there were oil deposits- 300 miles from the coast whose product was brought to sea. by pipe line. The Burma Oil Company was large and prosperous, and with the British Government was . the largest shareholder in the Anglo-Persian Oil Company. The imports came largely from Britain, although. Germany was slowly re-establishing her pre-war connections.

So far as New Zealand was concerned there was not much opening l'or trade- save that the. Dominion could supply Burma with certain classes of provisions. Australia had already entered, that business, and was sending Burma jams, biscuits, tinned butter, and other provisions. More direct steamer connections would be required) before New Zealand could hope to share in this- trade. As showing the difficult}’’ of connections, Mr. Smiles said it had taken him fortythree clays to reach Auckland, coming via Colombo, while the English Press delegates after travelling twice as far would arrive o n Sunday only thirty days out of London. “Your country, however, offers a favourable field for retirement of Burmese officials,” said Mr. Smiles. “I know several who have come here, and they like vour land. On the other hand you have sent engineers to Burma and, during the twenty years the gold dredging industry has been established there, it had- been staffed chiefly by New Zealand- engineers.”