WINNING ESSAYS.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVII, 27 August 1927, Page 8

WINNING ESSAYS.

WINTER SHOW COMPETITION,

ENCOURAGEMENT OF EMPIRE TRADE. 'Tlie winning essays in the competition promoted by the South Taranaki Winter Show have come to hand from the judge. Sir Janies Alien. Aw already reported in “The Hawcra Star’’ the competition was open to pupils of any secondary school in the Dominion, the first prize for girls being awarded to Aline Wells, New Plymouth High •School, and for the boys’ section to James -Mnn.ro Bertram, Waitaki Boys’ High School, Oamaru. We publish both prize-winning -essays below, in that order: —

HOW CAN NEW ZEALAND BEST ASSIST THE MOTHER COUNTRY?

The British have always been an adventure-loving, sea-faring people. Their love for the sea led to their first exploration of New Zealand, and the lure of adventure called those brave, early settlers to come and make their hollies in this far off. little island. Since then one hundred years of toil and labour have poshed, and New Zealand to-day if* a fine country. We are all proud to belong to the great British Em pi ece, proud of those fearless colonists whose willing labour and unceasing loya.itv made our country what it is Greatest duty of New Zealanders today to do all in their power to assist at'the present time. Surely it is the the Mother Country. We can best help England by tradino- as far as possible with her. it is "obviously an advantage that the oreatest possible percentage of the money we spend be kept m the Empne to circulate among British people.

Trade depends on reciprocative agreements. From America "<J } ,n port oiW, benzine, motor *ecessones. iron, steel and machinery. But what does she, in return, import from Non Zealand? To England we must export to full capacity products of ti e ful lest possible quality, in order that lie may import the greatest possible quantity of British goods. Important results of our buying British manufactures are full employment tn England, and higher wages for If these are receiving highei tva„es. thev will he able to buy more New Zealand produce, and at better pi ices. Tn order that British manufacture*. niav he bought in this country, we must have Protective Tariff on foreign imports. If poor people are aide to buy Japanese or American articles at lower prices', we can hardly expert them to keep to the slogan Biiv Bn tisli Goods.” Lower duties on Biitish imports would result in more being hmmht in New Zealand, and. as a consequence. Elngland’s output would be increased.

For development loans we must apply to England, so that the prosperity of the Home capitalists is increased. and there is more money- for the development of British industries. 'Hie more British goods we bnv the better are we enabled to pay interest for these loans.

Most people, when shopping, pay little attention to the origin of the croods thev buy. Therefore, it is our duiv to educate the community to the necessity of purchasing British manufactures. We hare only to think ol the number of American motor cars mi New Zealand, to realise how necessary it is that people should be taught that they are helping.the Old country when they buy British goods.

Co-operation in Elm.pi.re trade movement is vitally important. To ensure this the Imperial Conference, to which Prime Ministers of all the Colonies o-n was inaugurated. New Zealand must always see that she sends men canaille of arranging matters of trade well and of bringing hack good ideas.

Sinre England is over-populated, and New Zealand, being a young country, is comparatively sparsely populated, New Zealand can assist the Mother Country by receiving imimgrants. Tsnb unless 'fclio iTnnii{p*ation •system .is properly organised, it Trill eertainlv he of ii(f assistance to England. First of all, we must make sure that English emigration _ authorities know conditions of labour in New Zealand. Then it .is important that immigrants are in suitable trades. Recently a man who mended stained glass windows was among the immigrants. Of course there is absolutely no opening in New Zealand for such a trade.

Since it- is essential that we find employment for all the immigrants, wc must make sure that the selected trades are sufficiently prosperous to absorb the quotas of immigrants despatched. In order that some of the immigrants mav he employed in Public Works, we must see that the finances of the country are in good order. Whatever we do, it is most important that we educate the immigrants, before they leave England, on condition's of labour in New Zealand. In recent years English Public School hoys- have been coming out to New Zealand to learn how to be farmers. At I 1 ’lock House, too. the sous and daughters of British seamen who were killed during the war are being trained in farm work. These are. both practical ways of helping England.

Although it is our duty as a colony to assist in the disposing of England’s surplus population, yet, to avoid similar conditions in this country, we must take care not to over-immigrate.

In case ol' war, New Zealand must be prepared to send men. money and supplies to the aid of England, and therefore it is most important that we maintain an efficient system of defence New Zealand also .assists the Mother Oountry by helping to pay for the establishment of the Naval Base at Singapore, and by keeping one cruiser in the Australian Navy. It is very necessary that the Australian Navy should be kept up, for, a.s England is mainly a manufacturing country, in times of war she would depend upon her colonies for food. New Zealand would certainly supply her share in this matter, and protection would be required for the ships carrying the food to England.

Apart from all these material] ways in which we can .assist the Mother Country, it is important that we are in all circumstances. an<l at all times, loyal. That New Zealanders ol the past were truly loyal was proved by their willingness to fight for King and country and in many cases to give their lives. If New Zealand is to continue to assi.it the Old Country to the utmost of her ability, we. of the future generation, must nob allow our standard of loyalty to he lowered for any reason at aiLl.

REASONS WHY NEW ZEALAND SHOULD SUPPORT EMPIRE, TRADE.

A brief survey of the recent events in world history dhows conclusively that we have arrived at a crisis at which the British Empire must inevitably play a. paramount part, not only for’ the preservation of peace and security. but in the maintenance of the principles that are the basis of civilisation. At. such a time, no effort should he spared that may help to weld into a more complete whole this vast fraternity of nations. Of the essential reality of the strongest bond of union—that intangible spiritual nexus that links each member of the Empire by the common ties of loyalty and patroitisin —no further proof could he desired than the wonderful response evoked bv the call to arms during the late Great War. Thus, by a concerted allegiance to the throne, under the protection and aegis of the Royal Navy, the far-flung sisterhood of Free States stand before the world as a compact and definite entity—the greatest political adventure of all time.

Besides the indefinable links, however there exist other, and moie concrete, factors in imperial unity, Not the least important of these is the influence of trade between various component parts of the Empire. It is only when wo add to mutual interests between the separate members of the great Commonwealth the intimacy ol close commercial relationship that we can hope to make the. .Empire an economic as well as a spiritual unity. From a purely material standpoint, then, it is obviously to the advantage of liie Dominion to support and encourage inter-Empire trade. The fact that New Zealand is to-dav Britain’s best customer shows that she is fully aware of the situation. The trade advantages she may obtain, however are Iml the least to be considered of the reasons for New Zeahuids loyalty. The Prime Minister has described our Dominion as being.“ British to the core’’ : it is only fitting then, that we should endeavour to pay back even a slight portion of the debt which wo owe to the Motherland. Together with the growth of the spirit of nationhood, there has come a stronger recognition of our obligations in this respect —a recognition which has been greatly augmented since the war. The result has been that from what was formerly in many cases an attitude of sentiment of regard there have arisen practical eiuleavou.s to improve inter-Em-pire trading relations and translate into terms of working patriotism a superfluity of somewhat nebulous loyalty. It must not he thought that the argument for the support of the Empire trade is based on purely sentimental grounds. There are several very definite reasons why New Zealand should follow a policy of Imperial Preference. First and foremost, Great Britain is the only country that admits New Zealand produce free. The value of this concession is in no wav diminished by the fact that for the most part foreign competitors enjoy the same privilege. While it may he claimed that free trade is Britain’s traditional policy, and that in granting this boon she is doing no more for us than for any other foreign nation, yet we must not forget that our Dominion is at entire liberty to erect whatever tariff barriers it may please to British manufacturers. Moreover, ever since Mr Joseph Chamberlain’s historic speech at Birmingham in May, 1903, there have been earnest efforts to obtain for the Dominion not only Iree, but preferential entry into Great Britain. Undoubtedly. any steps in this direction would be very gratefully received by New Zealand exporters; for tin's country lias for tbe last twenty-four years "offered generous preference in tariff to Empire goods, and it is only natural that we should expect a eertnin amount of reciprocity. In this connection we may well recall the reassurance of the secretary of State for the Colonies, the Hon L. S. Amerv, who expressed the hope that “the. day may not he long delayed when Britain will be in a position to add to the preference of mere sympathy definite measures of fiscal encouragement no less effective tTfan those which New Zealand extends to her.”

It lias been pointed out that one of the most serious menaces to the advancement of the trade-within-the-Em-pire policy is the legitimate industrial development of the larger Dominions, such as Canada and Australia, who are striving to make themselves as much a.s possible self-contained economic units. Whatever truth or not there mav be in the claim, it certainly applies to a. very small degree in this country ; for it is decidedly to New Zealand’s advantage to concentrate on export produce and rely on other countries for manufactures. Consequently, she depends to a great extent on Britain for her imports; it is extremely improbable that she will ever devote herself on a wide scale to the development of manufacturing industries. and so she finds in the United Kingdom, which offers a ready market for her export of foodstuffs and raw materials, the natural supplies ol her own trade requirements. As far as New Zealand is concerned, the London markets are the best in tile world. The'large firms of the Dominion with a wide range of overseas trade, would infinitely prefer to deal with English merchants than those ol any other nationality. The reason for this attitude is to he found in the high standard of commercial honour lhat Britain has always maintained, and in the accomodation and concession which she is always willing to grant in the case of any unforeseen difficulty or damage in the transit of goods There is a very strong public sentiment in favour of British goods in New Zealand; moreover, preference is often given to British tenders, even when such a course of action entails a substantial sacrifice of cost. In the words of the British Trade Comnvissioner for New Zealand. “True Empire partnership is given the fullest and happiest expression in the relations, between (treat Britain and New Zealand.”

A matter in which this country’s obligation to the Motherland is jstrciss-<-:(I is in the question of Imperial defence. It is generally recognised that Now Zealand’s share in the cost ol upkeep of the Royal Navy is entirely disproportionate to the amount of seaborne commerce which passes to and .from the 'Dominion under the constant protection of British war vessels. New Zealand has the largest per ca.pt i a oversea trade in the world, and, during the whole time that her exports and. imports are being conveyed across the ocean, they are being watched and safeguarded by the naval squadrons, whoso duty is the keeping clear of the trade routes, and the preservation from foreign molestation of the vast mercantile marine of the Empire. II the economic state of the country is .such that its finances do not allow of an increased monetary support, surely it is only the dutv of its citizens to show their appreciation by an increased interest in Empire afFairs and a whole-hearted support of Empire trade as a practical evidence of their feeling.

Perhaps the most serious clanger, that threatens the growth of iat er ' Empire trade is the increasing hold of the United States of America upon certain New Zealand markets. It is alarming to see that where before the war Britain supplied over 60 per cent,. of our imports, she now supplies only some 49 per cent. American trade, on the other hand, has been steadily increasing until it now constitutes over 17 per cent, of our total imports. Ihe bulk of this importation is in automobiles, but now that the British car manufacturers are studying more closely motoring conditions in the Dominion, and are producing Empire models suited to New Zealand roads, there is nothing to prevent the tremendous expenditure on motor cars remaining within the Empire instead of going to swell the money-bags of the wealthiest people of the world. When it is claimed that New Zealand should support Empire trade no justification for a new and startling proposal is required; but merely a defence of her present trade policy and an encouragement to persist in the same direction. Eor to-day, we have tlie largest percentage of exports to Empire destinations of all the Dominions, some 86 per cent of our export trade last year having been sent to other parts of the Empire. Similarly, our imperial imports amount to 72 per cent, of the total—also the highest figures for the Empire. Of exports, practically 89 per cent, go to the United Kingdom; of imports, 49 per cent, are British. Besides trade with the Motherland, 10 per cent, ol our imports are from Australia, with whom, on account of her proximity, trade relations are intimate. The treaty arranged between Australia and New Zealand in 1922 provided for reciprocated preference to native products; and has since proved mutually advantageous to both countries. The other Dominion with which we carry on extensive import trade is Canada. The percentage of Canadian imports is 7.0 of the total, and this figure shows the greatest relative increase of all within the last few years. So we see that the policy of Empire trade has been definitely established in this country for many years past; and, far from there being any reason lor its discontinuance, the history of New Zealand's trade relations point to it as the surest and most profitable course of commercial venture. So far, little has been said of the moral duty of New Zealand to the Motherland and to the rest of the Empire. Suffice it to say that our debt to Britain is almost greater than we can ever hope to pay; and that, at a time when she is so beset with financial and political troubles, the least that we can do is to assure her of the steady maintenance of our trade relationship and attempt by every means in our power to secure a yet closer connection. As regards the other great autonomous states of the federation, it is no less clearly oUr bounden task to foster amity and concord between them and jourselves; and the most obvious means of doing so is by commercial inter-communication. So may we entertain the hope “that all will work together in simple loyalty to His Majesty the King, who typifies the unity of his Dominions, not only to make the best of our Imperial resources, but to realise also the wondeiiul developments of every kind that are possible to so great a society.