EMPIRE TRADE

Manawatu Standard, Volume LIX, Issue 195, 19 July 1939, Page 10

EMPIRE TRADE

GROWTH OF PROSPERITY. IMMENSE EXPANSION. (United Press Association—By Electric Telegraph—Copyright.) LONDON, July 1/. The Minister for the Dominions (Sir Thomas Inskip), opening the Empire Chamber of Commerce Congress, which is being attended by 300 men from all parts of the Empire, said the Ottawa Treaty remained the keystone of the Commonwealth’s economic system. It had undoubtedly stimulated the United Kingdom’s trade, for which, even it it had not solved all and perhaps had created new problems, Britain was grateful, for the agreements made at Ottawa had enabled Britain to offset the contraction in foreign trade caused by economic nationalism. But this bad been achieved without the exploitation of any part of the Empire. The Earl of Dudley, in lus presidential address, said the world was still erroneously concentrating on the problem of how to increase production, whereas the twentieth century s greatest problem was how to increase consumption. . . , The Earl of Dudley criticised the backwardness of the Empire air seivices, and recalled the advocacy or night-flying by the congress held at AYellington in 1936, hilt the Air Ministry was still pondering. The Earl presided at the luncheon in the Grocers’ Hall, when Mr Malcolm MacDonald (Secretary for tne Colonies), proposing the toast of the Empire’s commerce, referred to tne present artificial devices for restricting markets, current political unrest, and the fear of war with eonsequen paralysis of international trade. Nevertheless, there had been an immense expansion of Imperial trade, which had partly counteracted other losses. This sprang from the Ottawa Agreement, hut a more fundamental cause was that the countries of the Empire did not regard each other witn suspicion and preserved their markets for each other. Despite this being a a year of “non-stop crisis, the Empire’s prosperity would further expand if confidence among the nations of Europe could be restoredJIIGB A'l'lON DISCI!SS ED.

The Empire Chambers of Commerce Congress, which was opened to-day, discussing migration, reaffirmed that a balanced population within the Empire was essential, but new methods must be introduced. , . The congress resolved to urge the Empire Governments to discuss the development of migration and also to ask Die Governments to shape their trade p„|:ni« in order to strengthen Empire markets.