Manawatu Evening Standard. TUESDAY, APRIL 26, 1927. THE EMPIRE MARKETING BOARD.

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLVII, Issue 125, 26 April 1927, Page 6

Manawatu Evening Standard. TUESDAY, APRIL 26, 1927. THE EMPIRE MARKETING BOARD.

It is to be hoped that in the working- out of the British Government’s retrenchment scheme under which it isproposed to terminate the separate existence of the Overseas Trade Department, the activities of the Empire Marketing Board will not be affected to any appreciable extent. The British Chancellor has a difficult task before him, and it may take him all his time to balance his accounts during the financial yearentered upon at the beginning of this month. Trade between the Mother' Country and the Dominions should be encouraged in every possible way, as it is upon her trade and commerce that Britain so largely r#lies for her wealth. Marvellous as her vitality is in financial matters, she cannot afford to, nor is it desirable or even necessary, that she should restrict her efforts to foster and encourage inter-imperial trade, especially as the tariffs of othercountries handicap her so heavily in trading matters. As we remarked the other day, it is not so much matter for surprise that last year’s troubles should have created a deficit of over forty millions in thp National Exchequer. The surprise is that the deficit was not greater, the falling off in revenue alone accounting for £29,000,000 under the three headings of Customs, Income tax and Post Office receipts, while the direct losses, as the result of the industrial troubles, amounted to £32,000,000. The return to the gold standard hah been spoken of as a mistake, but its justification is surely found in the admission of one of the leading American financial critics of the soundness of British finance, as apparent in the fact that credits, totalling three hundred million dollars, obtained in New York two years ago, are not being renewed, Britain having no further need to drew upon them. Mr Churchill claims that London is still the centre of the world’s finance, but necessarily its lending powers are not as great as those of America, where such huge stocks of gold are held. Trade with the United States should, as we ha\ l e repeatedly urged, be restricted, and the activities of the Empire Marketing Board have been directed towards creating a greater, interest in Dominion produce, with the view of increasing its sale and the demand for it, so as to encourage the Dominions in return to trade moje and more in British goods. The Board was established on the recommendation of I the Imperial Economic Committee

for th purpose of conducting- the movei lent. for trade in Empire prodtn e, and also for the purpose of acTv sing the Secretary of State for D< minion Affairs as to the mannc • in which the annual grant of £1, 100,000 (reduced last year to £5( 0,000) should be. expended in fur hering the sale of Empire produ< ts. That grant, it may be remem oered, was promised by the Britisl Government in lieu of certaii preference in favour of Empir -grown foodstuffs which the Bi itish Government was unable tc give effect to, as the result of tb e events following the Imperial Conference of 1923 and Mr Baldw a’s appeal to the country that 71 ar.