COMMERCIAL NOTES

Otago Daily Times, Issue 18851, 2 May 1923, Page 4

COMMERCIAL NOTES

PROSPECTS OF TRADE REVIVAL.' SLOW AND STEADY PROGRESS. A - RESEARCH IN INDUSTRY. (From Odr Own Corhf.srontiknt.) LONDON, March 3. Sir W. Joynson-Hicks (Parliamentary Secretary of tho Overseas Department. °f Trade) says that this country is £300,000,000 down in its export trade in comparison with 1913. In 1913 Germany was its most serious competitor in regard to shipping. She was the second greatest maritime power with about 5,000,000 tons afloat. By tho Treaty of Versailles she was reduced to 400,000 tons of shipping. She has already got 2,500,000 tons, and by the end of the present year tho figure will probably be 3,000,000 tens. People do not realise that Germany is not the poor country that some people are ap" to imagine. Germany will soon be a very serious competitor in the shipping of the world. _ “In that connection,” said Sir William,. “I should like to- say a word about the black cloud which has at present come over the revival in trad© that was taking place at the end of last year. I,mean the difficulties on. the Continent between France and Germany. As you know, our Government did not feel. itself able to take part with Franc© in what in effect is a renewed invasion of Germany. -Our Government feels that the action of France has put .back for some time the repayment of reparations to' ourselves by Germany, but at tho same time I phould like to plead for just a little thought of what the position is in Franco in regard to Germany.- Wo must not forget, though we may not agree with what sh© is doing, that France suffered in an entirely different manner from that in which we suffered. France has suffered twice with the Gorman enemy on her land within 50 years. , Franc© naturally wants to. make her position secure, and I for one, though I realise to the full that the action, of France is detrimental to our immediate hopes of reparations—l realise to th© full that, though that is the case, France was op* Ally, and Germany was our enemy,' “Though there is not going to be an unsatisfactory boom, : -as in ■ 1920,' revival of trade is'showing signs ol continuing. It .was a hectic boom, blit the rebound was quite as great as- the booni, because during it we were -unable to supply our great dominions, because of tho demand for our products to repair the ravages in Europe. America got a much greater proportion in our colonial and dominion trade than previously. Ho was convinced that we wanted, as far as possible, to bind together, from a trade point of view, these igreat dominions with the Mother Country. The effect of the boom of 1920 was wearing off, and we were getting back our position vis a vis America in our . own dominion markets. The revival which began-, in the autumn, of 1922. as slowly and steadily., progressing, and there are indications of a continuance of that revival, and we .shall show this year a considerable improvement upon the figures for 1922.” S s THE MANCHESTER SHIP CANAL COMPANY. During the past year the gross receipts from Manchester Ship Canal tolls, ship dues and miscellaneous receipts amounted to £1,332,490—the second highest year on record. The year 1920 was the highest record, when 1 the total receipts amounted to £1,461,909. The tolls then,. however, were higher than now. The chairman told the shareholders at the annual meeting that the improved result is due to the increase in the tons of tollpaying traffic, which -passed over the waterway. The tonnage - was nearly th© same as tho year 1920, but was almost a million tone, or 30 per cent, more, than the year 1921. Relative to the development of direct trade with New Zealand and Australia, he referred to the probable continuance of the shipment of wool to Manchester, and said: “The Federal Shir© Lines have been for yearn past running steamers to Manchester, and it only remains for importers to insist on their shippers sending a portion of their, purchases of wool by direct steamers to Manchester. There is always a saving to the importer when the wool can bo sent direct to its destination via our port. I referred at the last meeting to the formation of an importing company to induce the shipment of produce to Manchester from Australia and New Zealand. This company is flow fully at work, and in consequence of its activities we havo already had several shipments of butter, cheese, meat, and other frozen produce, which has found a ready market in Manchester. We wish this company every sudoess in its efforts to develop an importing business at Manchester. If this company is successful, other companies working with a similar object will undoubtedly be established, all of which will be helpful in inducing the flow of trade to our port. “Captain W. J. Wade, who was appointed exclusively to represent the company’s interests in Australia and New Zealand, went out in September, and I am sure that you will agree that it is wise for us to have a man on the spot to ensure our getting our fair share of tho trade. Captain Wade, before he took this appointment,' was superintendent of the Markets Committee of the Manchester Corporation. W© knew him in that capacity, and also in connection with the Ministry of Food during the war, he is a very good man for the position.” Remarking upon prospects for the future, to which ho looked forward with confidence, he voiced the warning: “I am afraid, however, that tho country as a whole has still very* difficult times in front of it. To my mind therd is nothing for it but a spirit of confidence, higher endeavour, end hard work all round to pull us- through. ” LORD ROBERT CECIL ON- BRAIN POWER. „ In ani inaugural speech at the opening of research laboratories of the General Electric Company, at Wembley, : the chairman (Mr Hugo Hirst) said; it took th© war to teach this country that industrial independence might lead tet political and national death. The electrical industry proved during the was to be a key industry. His firm drew a lesson from it and improved plant and set up new buildings and factories in order, to be able to hold its own under all conditions. To-day the company, which employed '20,000 people, was prepared to produce everything) necessary for the biggest power station in th© world, for railway equipment or for a telephone exchange, for a battleship or for a West End- mansion. Such a concern cojjld not again b© dependent on the foreigner. Lord Robert Cecil considered that the task now before this country was to do something to repair the waste of war and to enable the world once mox'© to get upon its feet and function os well as, 3 not far better than, it ever functioned before. The first' and most essential requirement was that they should, by every means in their power, increase, the output of human energy and skill. There were only two ways \of increasing output—by reducing expenditure, for that would enable them to carry on their industries' at g profit, and by increasing efficiency. If they could ’ make every man's skill go farther than ,before they had really added to the wealth of the world in a way not attainable by any other method. The electrical industry touched every department of domestic, legislative, and manufacturing life. The laboratories being opened,were to enable highly-skilled men and women to work out problems, discoveries, and inventions in the technical and the material side of the electrical industry. It was to get greater results out of the material handled. _ But they must go beyond that. The spirit of research must go through the whole industry. An industry must be organised in a singularly , unintelligent fashion which failed to make use of the highest faculties of those engaged in it. Brains had been too much neglected in this country, it had been thought they were confined to an Intellectual aristocracy. A ,great source of wealth had been allowed to run to waste. They must use tho resources in the brains of the people. Such work as was to b© done in these laboratories had no national boundaries. Interchange of scientific knowledge was on© of tho first duties of civilised man. The work being done there might make happier and better the lives of people all over the world. Science had no territorial boundaries. In promoting research they were improving the relations between this country and the world, and if there were not an advance towards a national and international system civilisation ‘had no promise of future existence. NECESSITY OP RESEARCH. Sir J. J. Thomson found everyone now to bo impressed of the necessity of research to industry. Some of the great firms 30 or 40 years ago were spending sums on research which would be thought largo even to-day. The research laboratory before all things must have a highly efficient staff. If the right man were got he would got good results in a barn. The wrong man would not get any even in these new buildings. The capacity for the highest kind of research was not common, and a man able to direct such a laboratory as they were opening was born and not made. Training might increase the efficiency of such a man, but training would not put insight and originality into him. Research consisted in a series of booms and slumps rather than in a continuous • outpouring. No research laboratory could guarantee delivery. The only thing on© could be sure of was that the process would take three or four times as long as was estimated. The aspirations attached to research work were something more than intellectual, they were almost spiritual. If people did not use their brains, they would soon have no brains to use, and it was good for industry to have problems to worry at and so get mental exercise. The research spirit should go beyond the laboratory into the workshop.