ARTIFICIAL WOOL MAY SET BACK AUSTRALIA

Manawatu Times, Volume LIV, Issue 6884, 13 April 1929, Page 8

ARTIFICIAL WOOL MAY SET BACK AUSTRALIA

Trade Problems COMPARISON OF HER PER CAPITA INCOME MEN, MONET AND MARKETS. United Press Association—By Electric Telegraph—Copyright. Received Friday, 7 p.m. LONDON, April 12. Australian trade problems weri» lengthily discussed at a dinner in London. The dinner was held at Australia Houso and was given by Sir Granville Ryrio (Australian High Commissioner) for members of the Economic Mission. The guests included Mr M. S. Amery, Lord Novar, Lord Plymouth and the Agents-General. > Sir Granville Ryrie, in proposing the toast of members of the mission, simply emphasised the conclusion that though some loans had been spent on projects without the fullest investigation, Australia’s national' income and sources of revenue were amply sufficient to pay for them. He hoped this statement would stop carping criticism of Australian finance, which was too common in the British Press. . Mr Hirst, in response to the toast, said he could not forget his impression on' the discovery that Australia was not one country, as he had thought, but six States, with a most proud sovereign status.

Mr. F. ~W. Hirst believed the chief cause of British misunderstanding of Australia’s needs was failure to realise that one-third of Australians lived on the land and two-thirds in the cities and had the same pleasures and aspirations as the people of Britain. In all discussions between employers and employees, they found economic heresies on both sides but were proud of the most hopeful industrial peace conferences with which they had been a§sociated. The greatest lesson learned, by himself was the importance of British trade principles. They themselves were going to study Australian conditions. In the second placo, Australia's scientific and other problems could not be left to Australians alone. They were Empire problems, the solution .of which all experts of Britain must take in hand. , Sir Ernest Clark stressed the fact that constant inertia was encountered in Britain in connection with Dominion problems. For instance, financiers picked out a passage referring to sQme Australian borrowing in recent years as bolstering up the preconceived notion that Australia had over-borrowed. He believed they could best serve Australian interests by the circulation of a statistical table, comparing Britain in 1818 after the Napoleonic wars, with Britain and Australia at present, showing that on the basis of £IOO iu 1818, Britain’s per capita income in 1926-27 was £4.60, and her debt charge, £567. Australia’s per capita income was £523 and her debt charge £266. Sir Ernest, in dealing with Australia's wonderful resources, warningly -declared that if by any chance artificial wool were discovered, it would deal Australia a blow from which it would take years to recover. Mr. Dougal Malcolm expressed the opinion that Australia had a chance of becoming a gTeat cattle country if she realised the necessarily large capital, which could not be attracted without facing questions of real security of tenure and adequate areas. Mr. L. C. Amery, in toasting Sir Granville Ryrie expressed the opinion that the most valuable part of the report of members of the mission was yet to come. He suspected that though Mr. Bruce wanted a report, he wanted still more a band of trade ambassadors for Australia. Britain, who could not be suspected of partiality, thoroughly endorsed the view Sir Granville had recently expressed in favour of not only buying but investing in British goods Mr Bruce had emphasised that men, money and markets were inseparable. He would like to put it a different way. The more they invested in and bought British goods, the mora they would be able to sell British goods. ... Mr. J. H. Thomas facetitiously toasted Sir Granville Ryrie. He said he supposed he would shortly be reforming the Colonial Office, unless ’he got an even bigger appointment. Though he intended to fight for the ideals of his party, he was determined not to let down the country and tha Empire, of which he was very proud.