Manawatu Development Leaguo

Manawatu Times, Volume LVI, Issue 7067, 28 January 1933, Page 8

Manawatu Development Leaguo

ORGANISER’S SERVICES SECURED

1 Mr. W. G. Black, chairman of tho Manawatu and District Development stated yesterday that tho committee of the league had been busy during the past two months studying the future policy of tho league and seeking tho services of an experienced organiser who would' bo capablo of skilfully directing tho various activities of the movement. Mr. Black said that he could now inform tho league’s supporters that good progress had been made and arrangements completed for securing the services of Mr. Edward Cortis, a gentleman who has had a professional and business training which should mako him admirably capable of undertaking the task of directing the organised progress of our district. Apart from being an associate of the Chartered Institute of Secretaries of London —considered to be tho leading institute of its class in tho Empire— Mr. Corti's is a qualified land surveyor and civil engineer with considerable experience of land resumption and land reclamation and district developmental works. After serving as a commissioned officer in Franco with the Australian Mining Corps, where . Mr. Cortis performed valuablo work in planning and surveying operations at “Hill 60 and Messines Ridge, he studied financial and industrial practices in England for some timo, and on returning to Australia, devoted his energies to secretarial and managerial work in the promotion of enterprises and developmental work. He was the first Australian student of British and Continental financial, practice to advocate the introduction of investment trust “spread” principles in Australia and New Zealand. Mr. Cortis was appointed general organising secretary to the Riverina Development League in New South Wales, and therefore has had practical experience of organisation, having similar objectives to our own league. He has now been in New Zealand for several years and Mr. Black is confident that the league has been fortunate in securing his services. s The league has been formed for the general purpose of gathering together all sections of tho community with a view to taking concerted and practical steps toward the organised direction of district progress. Under normal conditions —when the natural increase of the district’s exportable production was finding ready absorption in oversea market's —the main objective of a development league would just naturallj have been consolidation and close settlement of land within the Manawatu district for the purpose of scientific and intense production. However, in view of the complex difficulties surrounding the existing situation of to-day, the committee of tho league realises that their problem is a. very compound one indeed; therefore, the committee proposes to advance toward tho league’s local objectives in a somewhat roundabout and indirect manner by making a “demonstration on the right,” as it were, for tho creation of new markets essential for the absorption of the production in this and other districts, bofore settling down to its' real and ultimate task of directing tho development and closer settlement and other enterprises designed for tho increased prosperity of the district. Mr. Black said .that it was necessary to take a long-sighted view of the way to secure the ultimate development of the district. ' After all, tho real objective of any progressive movement is to maintain and incrCa'so the purchasing power of the customers of our merchants and tradesmen and of the clients of our professional and businessmen. “I am very confident that we have the right man for the job in Mr. Cortis, and that with his experienced direction of the movement, great benefit will come to our district. We hope to make a definite pronouncement of our policy and plans within a few weeks,” the chairman added. Tho Development League's first task, therefore, will bo that of making some research into the prospects of opening up new markets for the Dominion’s surplus commodities. Straight away, it is realised that as far as our own main products are concerned, the problem of creating now markets i's a Dominionwido one, and that the solution of this complex problem calls for the co-opera-tion of all other districts.