THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES SATURDAY, MAY 4, 1907. PREFERENTIAL TRADE.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 13894, 4 May 1907, Page 8

THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES SATURDAY, MAY 4, 1907. PREFERENTIAL TRADE.

With the extension of Empire and the spread of the Imperial idea the question of the fiscal relations of the Motherland with the self-governing colonies becomes a most complex and perplexing problem. Thus the Imperial Conference undoubtedly approached a confessedly difficult subject when it essayed to discover some ground of agreement between the unswerving Freetrade principles of Great Britain and the Protection* ist practices of. Australia, New Zen* land, Canada, and South Africa. There is no disguising the fact that the value of the preference resolutions carried by the Colonial Conference of 1902 were heavily discounted by the rejection of Mr Chamberlain's proposals and the subsequent defeat of the Balfour Government; whilst Ml' Seddoji's preferences in favour of Great Britain, which became law in 1003, have always borne the impress of a revenue-raising scheme under the guise of, Imperialism. Thus of late, despite the resolutions passed last year by the Congress of the Chambers of Commerce in favour of

Mr Chamberlain's project, preferential trade has been regarded by the majority of men as a kind of >himera, which, however enticing on fie surface, embodies a mischievous p'iuciple. But the question entered 11)011 a new phaso with the prominence given to it in the proceedings of the Imperial Conference, tho reprts of which for the last two or three days have occupied so largo spaie in our columns. It would be idle to ignore the ability and force of the speeches in which Mr Deakin and Sir Joseph Ward opened tho discussion, whilst the admirable spirit in which these utterances were couched is deserving of all pi'Aise. Tho people of Great Britain cannot fail to be impressed with tho eloquence and earnestness of the representatives of the Commonwealth and New Zealand when pleading for what they believe' to be the. embodiment of a magnificent Imperial idea; but the question of Imperial reciprocity'must ultimately be decided not so much by an Imperial sentiment as by the hard facts of arithmetic. In the face of the emphatic verdict in favour of Freetrade given at the last English elections, the point blank refusal of, Mr Asquith to even consider the granting by Great Britain of any fiscal preference to the colonies might almost have been anticipated. For the decision of the Chancellor of the Exchequer is only the echo of Mr Winston Churchill's emphatic statement that the Imperial Government stands pledged to the maintenance of a Freetrade policy, and therefore could not approach the subject with an open mind. It is impossible, however, ,to avoid the feeling that had the three British Ministers who graced the proceedings with their • .preseuce—to which triumvirate Sir Joseph Ward so eloquently appealed—been open to conviction, they could scarcely have failed to be somewhat shaken in. their uncompromising attitude' by the able arguments and forceful figures with which they were so vehemently assailed. Prior to this discussion the question of preferential trade had hardly entered the region of practical politics, former discussions having been conducted almost entirely upoh acadetnic lines; but it must be conceded that after the utterances of the Prime Ministers of Australia and New Zealand the idea of Imperial reciprocity ceafies to be the vision of an idealist, and will have to be considered upon its merits from a purely economic point of view. Sir Joseph Ward, with that mental agility which is so striking a ftiature of his personality, argues for an essential distinction between preference and Protection; in that while Protection tends to raise the price of imported products, preference will enable the colonial producer to undersell the foreigner without raising the price—the competition between the colonies being sufficient to keep values down. But withdtlt stopping to dwell upon the undisguisable fact that preference, properly considered, is after all only the thin edge of Protection, we may note one important particular in which the discussion of the subject has been advanced by the speeches of Mr Deakin and Sir Joseph Ward. Wo have always held that so long as the colonies were content to utilise the preference idea purely for revenue-producing purposes, and declined to concede anything to the British taxpayer, there was not the remotest possibility of any arrangement being arrived at. And Sir Joseph Ward touched upon this very point when ho remarked that while he would not attempt to disguise the fact that New Zealand wanted the preference to be as advantageous to her as possible, the colonies" were not so selfish or so stupid as to suppose that England would reciprocate to her substantial hurt. Herein, of course, putting on one side for the nonce all preconceived prejudices on the fiscal question, lies the crux of the whole matter. As Mr Deakin and Sir Joseph AVard pointed out, Australia and New Zealand are both committed to tariff revision in the immediate future, and the burden of their speeches was to tho effect that if Great Britain would consent to the preference idea, Australia and New Zealand would be prepared with a substantial quid pro quo. And for this reason Mr Asquith's point blank refusal is to be regretted, since it will unquestionably damp the ardour of the tariff reformers. Nothing would have helped so materially to clear the ground for the settlement of tho Imperial reciprocity question, so far as the colonies are concerned, as a distinct statement on the part of both Mr Deakin and Sir Joseph Ward as to what inducement Australia arid New Zealand had to offer Great Britain; whilst the amount of support which the respective Prime Ministers would receive in their preference proposals at the. hands of

Parliaments and people would bef matter ,of equal -interest. Bn although preference pure and siinj o is, by Ml' Asquitli's action; relcg'a i( i once more to the academic spb l ret there is the possibility ot-antial gain arising out o' the discussion. Mr Asquith, while absolutely declining to enter! ll " any proposal for fiscal prefcrenct hinted —vaguely enough, it is'ti-u—at the possibility of bringing abut closer relations between the jtotherlnnd and the colonies by meafi of steamship lines and cables. Here the Chancellor of the Exchequer certainly referred to what we regard as the most valuable pirtion of the striking ..speech doli'eretl by Sir Joseph Ward—namrfy, his appeal for an improvemeit in our mail services and trade .'outes. It was a distinct touch of genius which led Sir Joseph to ask/or the freeing of the Suez Canal Irom the present vexatious impostf) thereby opening that speedy route for the passage of tramp steamcs carrying colonial produce, for tie Hotne markets. The saving of time in the carriage of dairy produc! alone would mean a great enhancement in value, to say nothing of the improvement in qiialitv, arid both Australia and New Zealand could well afford to' join hands with England in financing the project. Sir Joseph Ward took advantage also of the unexampled opportunity which the Conference presented to urge the claims of the Vancouver route for mail-service purposes; .and ho pictured in glowing terms the great advantages likely to accrue from a partnership between Great Britain, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand entered into for the purpose of launching a mail service across the Atlantic and Pacific, via Vancouver—a service which would bring New Zealand within twenty days of Loudon. We congratulate Sir Joseph upon the all-embracing and thoroughly practicable nature of, this project, which so thoroughly embodies the Imperial idea in that it forges another link in the Imperial chain, binding together Motherland and three important dependencies. It is to be hoped that Mr Asquitli's vague' hint comprehends the serious consideration of this project, which, should it happily be brought to speedy fruition, will give ample proof of the value and worth of the Imperial Conferences, .and at the same time place another laurel upon the brow of New Zealand's able and eiiergetic Prime Minister.