NEW ZEALANDERS DINE DISTINGUISHED GUESTS

Manawatu Times, Volume LIV, Issue 6887, 17 April 1929, Page 7

NEW ZEALANDERS DINE DISTINGUISHED GUESTS

FUNCTION IN LONDON. United Press Association—By Electris • Telegraph—Copyright. Beceived Tuesday 8.5 p.m. LONDON, April 16. Over 300 guests attended the New Zealand Associations’ annual dinner, including Lord Peymouth, Sir Basil Blackett, Mr Montague Norman, Sir James Fergusson, Sir Otto Niemeyer, Sir Thomas Inskip, the High Commissioners for Australia, South Africa, the Irish Pree State ,and Southern Rhodesia, the Agents-General for Now South Wales, South Australia and Queensland. >•« Sir James Parr, in toasting the guests, paid tribute to Sir Basil Blackett as chairman of the now communications company linking up cable and wireless throughout the Empire. , In welcoming Sir Granvillo Eyrie (Australia) he pointed out that the Commonwealth was 40 times the size of New Zealand, yet the latter generally managed to borrow in London one half to one per centum better than Australia. I In alluding to trade, he said New Zealand had never known greater prosperity than t'o-day. The trade of a mere one and a half millions of people last year amounted to £101,000,000. New Zealand’s problem was. to find markets for the increasing volume of her products. Personally, he still believed the British was the best market. Sir Basil Blackett, in responding, said one of his earliest visits to Britain was to Bradford, where' he had been most impressed with tho need for the rationalisation of the wool trade. Ho believed the producers of wool in Australia and New Zealand and the wool manufacturers in Britain could advantageously get together and arrange a deal with an increased production of wool and its manufactures throughout the Empire and tho world. He pointed out that during the seven years before the war, out of £454,000,000 which London had lent to the Empire, £188,000,000 had gone to governments and municipalities, and £266,000000 to business concerns. Por tho seven years to 1928. London had lent to the Empire £500,000,000, of which £365,000,000 had- gone to' governments and municipalities, but only £136,000,000 to business. Herein lay the ojp-

portunity to study Empire economics, for obviously advances to business generally yielded profits more quickly, than advances to governments. Sir Thos. Inskip, in toasting Sir James Parr, recalled that he had made two fortunes, as farmer and lawyer, before he was aged 40 years, while he was as versatile a politician as Mr Churchill. Sir James Parr, in responding, suggested that Sir Thos. Inskip, if unemployed after the general elections, should write his own biography.