CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE OF THE EMPIRE.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XLIII, Issue XLIII, 15 September 1909, Page 4

CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE OF THE EMPIRE.

' THE AUSTRALIAN. CONGRESS, f OPENING OF THE SYDNEY | ■CONFERENCE. j P&ssa Association.— Copxriqhx. '■-''." SYDNEY Tuesday. When tlle E-npirg Cliam-ers of Comme.ee Conference,: assembled the que. tioii 6f voting was dealt with. ■ Several British delegates stated that ifiejr repfeser£te_ several chambers, and \m mr __o_i_ -._*»• vot«s *« e_jh i ° ATtef'discussiort it *as decided that j delegates co_ld vote for atilf o»e chame On the arrivat.o. Lord. Ducfley, «« addreso to ifc. Wig #_s ; P™** I***1 *** " him, which the Governor-General; Undertook to cable to his Majesty. Lord Dudley then. as. Hon'orSf? President, declared the Conference open. ■"« said that its members came there in no small or selfish spirit, or with" any desire to advance the interests of one'portion, of "the Empire, but with the sole ■ aim of securing that the position of Oleic •' .orefa+hers should- be .. retained. Looking tli^the position of affairs in the world to-day, tll6y found that the real > struggle between the vaH-Os nations was almost entirely concerned u'ltß the necessity of acquiring increased oii'tfet- of trade. To secure an open door abroad was the policy of every modern foreigner, and as year by year the internal xeshtiroes of every nation became developed", -rid its' producing powers increaseed the pressure of -.mnetitiqn became keen--er. : Some- peoplfi" Were : dUpoSedV' tto take -a very gloomy vieW of „the = facts, : 'and 'ito -ssert that' the apex- of . British prosperity had beeff reached, and; Olitta ■ dscadence of the. Tace, had "begun. He thought' there was no good reasOTKlor any such unpleasant foieboduigs. They had lost ground not from decline of capacity, but because they had, owing to thaii. phenomenal success,- not : realised thSE other' nations possessed capabilities ] not less great than our own. Their eyes ] \\-ere-now opened, nnd to-day -■ over the Empire, they were busily, engaged in 'putting their, house ih prd.er. - - .. -.- , ; Sir Albert Spicev, irt Ulif Presidential address, reviewed at length the .-twin" ments ofrijirevions congresses, kqw. lo AufjM-. they had come from -many lanS <i»"«epres'eniatives of the . Irhp-jnal comttere'e to coritel' on. subjects <>f eonimon^interest.! The Imperial fedei-ati-n which had been the subject of the f>..*V congress in 1886 still lay iii the distant future; but since the period mentioned they -had witnessed the evolution of the Australian Commonwealth. Er> thyear closed they would see the ret'i ation of the South African Union, rising out of the aßhes of a lamentable con- i flict; a conflict made memorable by evidence of practical loyalty on the part of the British dominions. The various Co lonial Conferences which had been held bad done much to encourage the spirit underlying their aspiration for an Imperial Federation. Before the next conference met it was within the bounds of possibility that they might have wireless telegraphy all over the globe. Thero were few subjects of so much importance in binding the Empire as cheapening telecraphic communication. The press had lerved them well, but it could not do Justice ib the Itask of keeping them fully informed of what was going on in ail parts of the Empire at the exist"ing rate for transmitting news. The importance of speeches by Imperial statesmen could not be intelligently conveyed in a few lines. The subject was one that had not received the attention it deserved, and he hoped they might be able to. strengthen the hands of the recent Press Conference in the matter. Thoy would look forward with interest to learning from their Australian hosts something of the experience with arbitra-. tion in Tegard to labour differences. The programme that would be presented to the Conference, contained many unsolved problems. The British Empire was like a great family whose many sons and daughters had gone from the old home into new lands; the relations between the young and the old had improved in spite of distance, and the period of discipline had developed into that of companionship and consultation. If danger appeared to confront the old home by attacks on. its outlying lands the various branches of the family rallied to its help. Freedom in management of their new homes was the watchword of the old people at home; and thus,. in spite of the occasional argument as to various developments, the family continued to grow m unity and good relations, ever realising that the crimson thread of kinship runs through all. The parents freely and continuously lent of their accommodation to their children away, and commercial j relations arising therefrom had been : large and satisfactory. There must now be an endeavour to promote the best commercial relations between the various parts of the Empire ; to try and remove {liindrances where hindrance exist; to promote easier and regular communcia- ; tion between all parts of the British Empire, to assimilate their commercial ■ laws and their administration ; to raise ' the standard of commercial and technical education; to devises wise measures for ! enabling some of the' teeming .masses of the Old Country at the right age to emigrate to the lands of newer countries, where they may find opportunities for using their lives to greater advantage, and at some time to take a share in the development of new state-; and to extend the commerce of the Empire on lines most likely to be beneficial for all parts.