STRONG POSITION

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXXII, 17 April 1939, Page 10

STRONG POSITION

BRITAIN’S MAJOR INDUSTRIES EMPIRE TRADE RELATIONS HOME GOVERNMENTS POLICY il’niteil pres* Amociatinn' WELLINGTON. This Day. In spite of the unsettled international position, the major industries at Home were definitely in a strong position, said Mr A. G. C. Deuber, acting British Trade Commissioner in New Zealand. when replying to the toast of "British Trade” at the second annual ; dinner of the Wellington branch of the • Royal St. George Society on Saturday ! night. 1 Mr Deuber said though the people j would be foolish to close their eyes to j the fact that they had many anxious j limes ahead of them, they could per- | haps take comfort in the thought that the spirit of the old merchant advenI turers still lived, that initiative, cour- ' age and enterprise in business matters ' were still to be found as characteristics j of the British race. | "Friendly relations between countries I are always facilitated by close trade | connections,” said Mr Deuber. "Still , more is this so in the case of members j °f the British Commonwealth of Naj lions. The lies between the Mother- ■ land and the Dominions are, without ; doubt, greatly strengthened by their j close trade relations, i "Returns show that practically 50 j per cent, of the United Kingdom manufactures go to British Empire countries and more than 40 per cent, of what the ; United Kingdom needs comes from Em- | pire countries. To come nearer home. : more than three-quarters of New Zea--1 land's exports have for some years now ; gone to the Old Country and about one- * | half of her imports have come from the 1 i United Kingdom. s ' COMMERCIAL MORALITY l! “I think I can safely say it is a fact that no other two parts of the Empire [ arc more closely tied, particularly in trade matters, than are the Old Country and New Zealand, and I say that withj out in any way wishing to deprecate ; the importance and the loyality of other parts of the Empire. “Manufacturers at Home have definitely come to look on New Zealand vs one of their best markets, not necessarily from the point of size, but chiefly because of the high commercial morality of the people here. Believe me. it is a very great pleasure to anyone like • myself when I come here after spending most of my time dealing with foreign nations, to find there is practically i no work at all connected with that horI rible job of collecting bad debts. That ■ applies, 1 think, generally throughout ■ the Empire, but I think it applies still 1 more in the case of New Zealand.” ) In recent years, said Mr Deuber. trade had undergone great changes. The day of the great merchant adventurers ! had gone. It could safely be said that England’s history was bound up with those men. They were also soldiers and ' , pioneers. It was to their enterprise, courage and foresight that the people owed that Empire of which they were all members. j UNITED KINGDOM'S POLICY Since the Great War, there had been 1 very many changes in trading eondi- | lions. National trade to-day was an exI tremely delicate and complicated ma- , chine. In many countries there were artificial restrictions. such as import and export regulations and currency - control. It could be said, however, that I all the efforts of His Majesty’s Government in the United Kingdom had been s to assist industry without in any way , interfering with the initiative or cur’oi ing the activities of the individual dlllMlllim

traders. He thought in that way they were unique. In referring to British initiative, courage and enterprise, Mr Deuber said that as an example one might mention the achievements of that great industrialist and philanthropist Lord Nuffield, who was recently in New Zealand. As Mr Morris, and from very small beginnings—a tiny little cycle shop in England—he had built up a huge industry which was so vast that it provided employment for thousands of people, and which, without exaggeration, rank- | ed as one of the greatest achievements of the age. "We can. I think, without conceit or undue self-satisfaction, cl ui that oui workmen at Home can still produce goods of merit and reliability so thai when the words ‘British made’ appeal on articles it means the goods are firs class in every way,” added Mr Deuber "So long as we can continue to maintain this high standard which is charae teristic of our products, and so lons as British manufacturers maintaii their initiative, progress and ability, w* can, I suggest, feel that the future aw continued success of British trade i: definitely assured.”