STATE LUNCHEON

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22540, 3 October 1936, Page 15

STATE LUNCHEON

delegates welcomed TRADE AND EMPIRE 10RP ELTBANK'B VIEWS IMPORTANT WORK AHEAD [nr TKLKOHAPR —Plffcss ASSOCIATION] WELLINGTON, Friday A State luncheon was tendered to-day to delegates attending the 14th congress of the chambers or commerce of "the British Empire, which opened this morning. The Prime Minister, Mr. Savage, presided. Welcoming the delegates Mr. Savage said the time would come when nations would bury their arms and when they would realise that the brotherhood of man was the rial thing. The Leader of the (pposition, the Rt. Hon. G. W • Forbes, said the holding of the congress hero was a great compliment to Xe\y Zealand and he wris sure the Dominion would receive a great deal of wise guidance from the congress deli bora t ions. "It is my privilege to reply on behalf of the visitors and this I do with great pleasure." said the president, Viscount Klibank. "At '.he same time I feel my special role is in acknowledge on behalf of the Federation of Cham- j bers of Commerce of the British Km- ; pire the generous hospitality which you ' and the Government of New Zealand j are extending to us tr-day. We are ' < particularly gratified a*, this honour which is being paid us ind we regard it as a happy augury for our deli bora- i tions in your midst, as well as of the j friendly feeling which your Government Las toward us in the work wo shall be undertaking in the congress I j which is before us. Governments and Commerce "In these days it is more essential i than it has ever been fo- Governments 1 and commerce to collaborate and co- I operate with each other. Governments! are unable to carry on i.heir functions j unless they are provided with the wherewithal to do so. The sinews of 1 that support are invariably measured j by the degree of success or otherwisej attending the efforts of the commercial communities. "When trade* is prosperous Governments prosper. When trade is bad Governments suffer decline in power and prestige and very often topple and fall. | Fortunately for us in the British Km- : pire we realised this tru sm and I sup- ! pose th'?re are/no Governments in tho world which work mor; closely with or place more confidence in those rep- | . resenting trade and commerce within ; their boundaries than the Governments cf the British Empire. "It i:s probably becat se of this circumstance that the com: tries constitut- j ' ing the Empire have recovered from the recent grave financial crisis more | quickly and more solic.lv than other ; countries in the world and this is a ! lesson which we should not forget. i Day of Individualist Gone "During the next few days we shall ! be considering yall sorts and manner of: problems connected wit.lt the promo- : tion and solidification of Empire trade. These subjects will range from shipping j to . air mails, from Ottawa agree-! ments to telegraph charges. But during j all our debates we shall not only view the purely commercial aspect of these questions, but our discretion in discussing thern will be tempered by the thought- of how: far we believe it may j be possible for the Governments con- j cerned to bring our proposals into ] force. "The great majority of commercial i men have in the past been individualists ! of the purest character, but to-dav! they recognise that with tariffs, | , quotas and other restrictions the day of ; the purely .individualist trader has j ( passed away. But they still ask for as \ much freedom from control over their ! operations as is consistent with the wellbeing of the community as a whole and | : they often yearn for n ore than thev j . get. . • j: " New Zealand lias ft proud record | . in the Empire. Her population, though i \ comparatively small, lias done wonders ] ' .. in the development of these islands. The') \ federation, in accepting the invitation j ' of the Associated Chambers of Com- j merce of New Zealand to hold the tri- | ! ennial congress in Wellington this year \ : were glad to have the opportunity to I meet this essentially British community and to see for themselves the way in ■which their problems were being ' handled. We have been overwhelmed by the warmth of the welcome which we have received." Migration and Air Mails Continuing, Viscount Klibank said: One of the questions which the con- ( gress i.vill consider will be that of migration within the Empire, and I believe we shall decide that the time has arrived when migration can be resumed to those Dominions who are prepared to accept immigrants. My °nly comment at the moment on this ' matter is that whatever is done in this direction should be undertaken in a hold, comprehensive spirit and not in a ! niggling way which wilJ achieve little j . °i" nothing.' ' "As a federation we are particularly < interested in the negotiations that have 1 recently been proceeding for the estab- < lishnient of Empire air mails on lkl rate. There is nothing that greases the i wheels of commerce more effectively < than quick- mail communication and i there is no doubt that already trade ; within the Empire has been augmented | ' by the quick communication achieved > by means of air service;. Anything that J . J'OU can do to press this forward will | be much appreciated by the federation. j Developing Empire Resources I " In these calm, peaceful surround- j ' ings, situated many thousands of miles ] * from the Old World, it is not easy to visualise conditions in Europe to-day. j \ Let us. take all possible precautions, , ; whether it be measures to secure our j commerce or preparations for our de- j fence. But apart from this as an Em- i 1 pire I believe our best policy is to pro- [ «ed calmly and quietly to consider j our affairs, to deliberate upon them, to develop our resources and to create out ! of our Empire such a position as will enable us to take the leadership in tho settlement of any world disputes that may arise. * " Of this I am convinced, that Eng-lish-speaking peoples will, in the event of any future European war, have to stand together. Tho more, therefore, we can co-ordinate our ideas, o"'" actions and our defences in the British Empire, consisting of a quarter of the world's surface, during these times, the more forceful can we bo when the moment, arrives." *