The Star. Delivered every evening by 5 o'clock in Hawera, Manaia, Normanby, Okaiawa, Eltham, Mangatoki, Kaponga, Awatuna, Opunake, Otakeho, Manutahi, Alton, Hurleyville, Patea, Waverley. MONDAY, JULY 9, 1917. THE PREFERENTIAL IDEAL.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume LXXII, Issue LXXII, 9 July 1917, Page 4

The Star. Delivered every evening by 5 o'clock in Hawera, Manaia, Normanby, Okaiawa, Eltham, Mangatoki, Kaponga, Awatuna, Opunake, Otakeho, Manutahi, Alton, Hurleyville, Patea, Waverley. MONDAY, JULY 9, 1917. THE PREFERENTIAL IDEAL.

The question of preference which, bulks so .largely in discussions on the future of the •imperial relations between Great Britain and the oversea communities is by no means as simple as it might appear to be. at first glance. It sounds very well when public men talk of the necessity of Britain preferring the produce of her daughter States to that raised in foreign countries. As a general principle, this doctrine commands pretty well universal consent, but if, in its application, it is to mean that the consumers, the great mass of the poorer classes of people in Great Britain are to be expected to pay more for their food than they would need to pay if the markets were completely open, it can be readily understood that they may have strong views on the subject and may not be very keen to elect Parliamentary representatives favorable to giving such preference. "We know how closely the cost of living touches people in New Zealand, though here the wages and general conditions of life are much more favorable to the mass of the people than in older countries. No one can possibly foretell the state of affairs that will exist in the industrial centres of Great Britain after the war. There are widely differing forecasts. Some people think there will be a trade boom with high wages; others that.the destruction and waste caused by the war will inj evitably bring about bad times. But jin any case it may be very difficult to induce the mass of the people to believe that they will be benefited by a fiscal policy which raises the price of food. As a nation, and from the Imperial point of view, Great Britain has much to gain by stimulating the productive power and the wealth of the overseas dominions, making us out here stronger communities and enlarging our trade connections, but there may be in the future, as there has been in the past, a good deal of difficulty in harmonising with the Imperial ideal the needs and the interests of the industrial population in respect of the cost of living. A preference scheme which suits us and secures to us the splendid markets which have been opened to us during the past twenty years, and which really are the sheet anchor of our prosperity, presents no difficulties to us; but we shall have to bear in mind that there is another side to the question at Home, and endeavor to ap-

predate the difficulty of accommodating the divergences of personal interest. In or is ib to be forgotten that international considerations may play an important part. What of the feelings and interests of the great Allies who are now fighting with xis and helping us to maintain our existence? We do not suggest that a satisfactory system of preferential trading between the constituent States of the Empire can never be devised, that it is always to remain a sentimental dream, but it is as well for us all to realise that a scheme which broke so great a man as Mr Joseph Chamberlain presents inherent difficulties that are not easily to be overcome, and that we must not be disappointed if it does not eventuate so readily as we should like.