MR L. S. AMERY

Otago Daily Times, Issue 20337, 20 February 1928, Page 9

MR L. S. AMERY

WELCOME BACK TO ENGLAND A STRIKING ADDRESS. IMPERIAL UNITY AND CO-OPERA- . TION. VALUE OF PREFERENCE. (Press Association— Bj Telegraph—Oopyrignt i LONDON. February 17. A representative gathering of British, dominion, and colonial administrators, financiers and industrialists attended the Empire producers’ organisation luncheon to welcome Mr L. S Amery (Secretary of Stale for the Dominions) back to England. Amongst those present were Lords Glendync, Clarendon, and Rodney, Mr W. C. Bridgeman (First Lord of the Admiralty), Mr W. G. A. Ormsby-Gore (Under-secretary of State for Colonial Affairs), Mr A. M. Samuel (Financial Secretary to the Treasury), and Mr J. H. Thomas (ex-Cabinet Minister). Mr J. G. Coates. Prime Minister of New Zealand, forwarded a cablegram offering his congratulations. He stated that he hoped the tour would be productive of real value in promoting Imperial

unity and co-operation. Mr B. J. Morgan, chairman of the organisation, said that the Empire producers regarded Mr Amery as the greatest advocate of Imperial preference in a Government to which they were indebted for preferences relating to sugar, tobacco, wine, and dried fruits. These had vastly stimulated Enip’ne production. Such expansion was iwrely a hint of the developments likely to follow a fullblooded policy. Mr Amery, in responding to the toast of his health, said that he returned with a ten-fold greater optimism and a feeling that a new spirit was stirring the Empire to a sense of n common destiny and responsibility and an idealism that would enable the Empire to triumph over all clifliculties and achieve world-wide combination with absolute freedom and effective unity. He paid a tribute to the amazing progress of the dominions in primary and secondary production and also in research, instancing New Zealand’s aim to create the world’s leading dairy research in memory of the late Mr Mnssev.

The British Government is co-operat-ing, through the Empire Marketing Board, in a large scale of research, which is vital to the efficiency of Empire production. “ If,” he said, “we eipbark on a new policy of Empire co-operation, it is essential {to stimulate efficiency in every part of the Empire, and not to is essential to stimulate efficiency in Britons make up their minds to develop Imperial preference, it will not b e sheltering inefficiency at tho British consumers’ expense, but still further encouraging efficiency and securing an increased production without cost. Similarly, British manufacturers cannot expect preferences nnless they keep efficiency to the forefront in order to conquer the Empire markets. It would be disastrous to British trade if Australia and New Zealand discontinued preferences. The Empire needs creative and economic development. By co-ordinating the immense human materia) and resources and organising the purchasing power every part could thus achieve prosperity and social well-being, such as the world has not known.

Sir Hugh Denison, in toasting Mr Morgan, said that he had studied American methods of business, mass production, salesmanship, and organisation, and he had heard big industrialists explain how they proposed to capture the markets of the world. It was especially interesting to hear them because the majority of the successful were of British stock. They admitted that the only markets still open were inside the British Empire. The only remedy against invasion was Imperial preference.—A. and N.Z. Cable.