THE EMPIRE'S CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XLIII, Issue XLIII, 16 September 1909, Page 4

THE EMPIRE'S CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE.

THE CONGRESS IN AUSTRALIA. 1 a Message .MoM tHe TgrnwPbess Association. — Coptkicht. SYDNEY, Wednesday." '' At the Congress of the Empire " Chambers of Commerce a cable was received expressing tho King's thanks to the Congress for its addross. , Aa invitation was received for the. delegates t6 vijjit tS'dw Zealand. j Mr Davies, London, ill jffltfMii/j (he preferential trade MSdltttloiJ, $iia this was tho first occasion upon which the lbndon Chamber had formally j given its official assent to such it resolution. Canada offered the Mother Country to treat her even more generously than ehe was doing at prdsent, if she could offer a quid pro quo; but the -trouble was that as their fiscal system stood at present, ' they had nothing to offer. They were in the same position in regard to all ■ other nations; thoy had nothing to fight with, Snd hefoiii they . could consider sutih a proposal -fIS". that-i which came from Canadd, they-.irii^ alter tho fiscal system. If thoy look- ! ed at the results of the various elections they could not disguise the fact that public opinion in Eoglailft,- .Jjlfi. ■ niatter what might be said to thd contrary, was rising by leaps and bounds in favour of an alteration of ' the system. He quoted from a Jot- ' ter he liad received from Mr Joynson Hides, M.P., in whieh the latter said "The Government have a vast majority, and it will be some time be- ' foro our party regains office; but 1 when it docs I am convinced that the ' first thing it should do would be to summon a round-the-tablo conference 1 with a view to entering into a commercial partnership with the sister- . States iboyond the S"t<is,"' Mf Davies^ continuing, said that their great object should bo to become like that glorious count/y, the.' . United (States — self-supporting .They should seek to obtain their "goods , from their own kith and kin. Tt. was , for this rcaßon that the Lourton Chamber had come to the conclusion ' that protection and reciprocation; i wore necessary between ajl ''the ped- ; plos living under tho British flag. Britain must protect the commerce o.f i the Empire, for the people bt tlio' ■ Empire. Prolonged cheering, .greeted ' tho mention of the name of' My' Jos seph Chamberlain, and Mr Davies read a letter from Mr Chamberlain fc to the Congress, in which he stated: * "I have no doubt that yo'u Will find Australians ready to listen f.'lvdiltably to what yon have to tell thom. I ' wish very much that I were still sih'e to take an aiJtivt* p'aft in the . promotion of what I believe to be thc ' greatest movement in our own interest and thoir own which I have seen ' for 50 yearn. I Tdo not- doiibt that wo will -win a"t the inest election. " Mr Cockshutt, Toronto, ..seconded the motion, and outlined the --growth of the preferential movement In -Canada. Never in thc history of tho . world, he said, was there amalgamatj ed under one government so many States and so much wealth as were j found to-day under thc British flag. 1 The consolidation of the Empiro tvfts the greatest question of . modern 1 times. Should they pass it down that 1 it was beyond the wit of man of. his - genius to devise ways and nl<?ans hy - which it could be dbnef He thought, .not. They must work for it, live . for it, strive for it. No one in' the Congress dared to say that tho position of Britain was as far in advance of America or Germany as it was 25 '• years ago. Britain was purchasing more than she was selling; and that 3 was the wrong track. It was tho ex- ' ports of the cbuntry that must show B in the final analysis what wan in the 1 pocket at the end of the year. Let ' them within the Empire give a little 1 bettor discount to their brethren in 1 Australia, New Zealand, South Afrii"" ca, or Britain that was given to A.mc--8 rica, Germany, or France. '. Since the last Congress Canada had negotiated 9 two foreign trado treaties, if not more; one with France, and one with Japan, in which she waa giving more 1 advantage to those two nations than "> sho was giving to her sister States. Would anyono toll him that" it was '• proper to negotiate a treaty with a " most definite commercial rival, but *■ that with one's own people an advan--1 tage to the extent of a single penny '■ could not bo given? Would anyone a say that thoy could make treaties with * all foreign nations, but not amongst * their own family Delay was dan- ' gerous; now was the time to strike ' the •blo-'.v. Tho whole of the c.olo--1 nies and the Mother Country peemed 6 to be ready for it; why ask the Uiiit- •> cd States and Germany what they '- thought of it? Thoy should follow r what they thought was best for themselves. In matters of trade Britain s should have regard for her own citi- * zens first, and retain for tho benefit ' of her own race and flag and Empire that grand heritage with which Provi" ' dence had blessed them. ' * Mr Cormack, Ediuourgh, moved an 1 amendment for the appointment of Commissioners to inquiro iuto tho f question ae affecting the parts of the Empire they represent, the Com--5 missioners to afterwards confer and 5 report jointly with a view to enabling tho Government of Britain and tho colonics and dependencies fto tako legislative. action to give effect 3 to the resolution. Although Britain was the Tidiest country, she was un- » able to provido employment for a considerable proportion of the indus--1 trial population, and was ■ seiiding abroad T wages that the people . at J home should be roceiving. They "were spending for* the support of thij ppor nearly as much as they were spending on the support of the Navy. ' Mr Boyse, Manchester, said that be , represented a-Chamber that was !?ree- . trade from conviction, and op, eeonp- : , inio Hues freetrade bad been pur-: ) sued for many years with eonspicu-' , ous «.uco«ss. The Old Country waa ! dependent upon other countries for , her food supplies and raw material- . arid anything which tended to ini crease -the prices of what was wanted 1 made the Old Country less ablo to ; compete in tho markets of the world. 1 no hoped the Congress -would pause before it passed a resolution which : was a fixed and definite one to adopt , reciprocal trade in tlio Empire. Tho tTade with India was yery valuable; : it amounted to something Uko 40 ! , millions. What might be good for Canada and Australia- might not be] ; good for the Mother Country. Had I it been said, "We will "join with the' Empire in absolute free trade." j that would have been a coble sentiment. Mr Dixon, .Sheffield, believed tho resolution "would give more work for the working classes. Mr Marriner, . Christchurch, read statistics - showing the Dominion 's trade, and the value of tho preference she had given to England. What suited England would not always snit her! dependencies, Tlio great i^sue at Mrs B. Gadd, 307, Madras-Ft.. North ChriVtchureh. N.Z. , write. .- "Chu-nher ' lain's Cough Remedy is ;i. mosi .ynluable medicine." I" s<-'! "i "Jf oi :l in my shop, and it Is u»ed in mv huino.' 3 have recommended it to stiver.-iJ people and haye never known it to fail. Then is.no question but what it is the fore ; iiost oough medicine sold ifl this i'g, tnd'." For sAlp everywhere- * **

stake was whether Britain and tbe colonies were to be welded into a compact body, or were the colonies to drift apart on their several ways, making tbeir own. commercial treaties With foreign Powers. The time for pre'feiientiai .tte«tmtat was ripe, and the .chance should not bg let slip. Mr Sogers, Sydney, regarded pfe_ferential trade as a wolf in sheep's clothing. The binding influence of the Empire must be free trade, under . which the dumping of foreign ar--1 tides could be dealt with. i Mr Mcfiobert, Upper India, op- ■ posed the resolution. Foreign countries were India's best customers. , Mr' Wiriihcpmbe, Sydney, said the arguments for the prop't&£d ehange i had so far not proved the necessity : for it. To protect themselves against the outside world, and then expect the outside world to buy from thom was a one-sided arrangement. Tbey could hardly expect, if thoy sank down to tho level of producing only what they could eat, driuk, aud wear; but it would reduce the British Empire to a lower position in the family of nations than it occupied to- . day.