RECIPROCAL TRADE.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 20708, 4 May 1929, Page 19

RECIPROCAL TRADE.

HULL AND NEW ZEALAND. SIR JAMES FARR’S MISSION. . VISIT TO A GREAT POUT. (From Our Own Correspondent.) LONDON, March' 19. ln_ pursuance of his campaign on beh'ulf of New Zealand trade. Sir James Parr lias been visiting Hull (or Kingston-on-Hull, to give the port its correct name). Being so j near the ■Continent, Hull ■ lias most of its' trade interests in the Continental markets. Nevertheless, the citizens want direct shipping - with the dominions, and they received the High Commissioner and his -party with cordiality and enthusiasm. With Sir James were Mr W. F. Ferguson (produce officer), Mr H. T. B. Drew (publicity officer), Mr .1 B. Kenny (secretary of the'Napier Harbour Board), Lieutenant-colonel Eric Murray, 0.8. E. (secretary of the British Empire League), Mrs Murray, and Captain T. Si Horgan-(Empire Marketing Board). The party travelled from London as guests of the London and North Eastern Railway, on Sunday afternoon; ■ and were met at Hull station by , the, ; sheriff (Dr T. Rit chic Rodger), Major Sir Arthur Atkinson, K.8.E., J.P. (president of the Hull Chamber of Commerce and Shipping). Mr i’j. V. Taylor (district goods manager of the L.N.E.R.), Mr J, R. Howard Roberta (the town clerk), and the Lord Mayor’s secretary (Mr Wright). The Lord Mayor was not well enough to be at the station, but he received the High Commissioner at his house. In an interview on his arrival Sir James referred to a previous visit he had made to Yorkshire. "I recall with pleasure,’ ho said, "my visit last year to Whitby to celebrate the bi-centenary of the birth of one of the greatest of Yorkshiremen—Captain Cuok. who discox’ered New Zealand in 1769. If that great navigator could look down.and view New Zealand to-day, what a change he would see. When ho found it there were no white people in it. It was a land peopled'by tens'of thousands of fierce warlike savages. To-day, thanks to AngloSaxon colonising capacity, New Zealand is a highly colonised progressive State. With a trade of £100,009.000 per annum, she is almost more British in characteristics than Britain herself. _ What a monument to the colonising genius of bur race! ■ “ Why am I here? Well. I am come to see whether we cannot do more business with Yorkshire, and especially to ascertain if ’it may be possible to do more business through the port of Hull. The High Commissioner wont on to speak of oonditi as in New Zealand. Proceeding on the ordinary publicity lines, the Hull newspapers had published at the end of last, week photographs of the High Commissioner and notes regarding his career. VISITS TO THE DOCKS. On the Monday morning a large number of representative citizens assembled at the Station Hotel to meet Sir James and his party.- Among these were railway officials.'councillors, and representatives of the Chamber of Commerce, the wool trade, the provision trade.. the fruit trade, the corn trade, and officials and. others con-nected-with the movement for the development of the Port-of Hull. The party first visited the King George dock and-made a halt in the wool shed Hull is the natural port for the impor’ tion of wool to the- immense manufacturing district of the West Riding of Yorkshire. Both tire King George and Alexandra Docks are specially equipped for dealing with wool,' This huge wool warehouse, in which can be stored 140,000 bales in tiers of II or 12 bales high, only conl&ined a few tiers of hales in one corner. •Sir James could not help but be. impressed with the shed and its equipment, also when lie viewed other sections o'f the docks, with the facilities for discharging friijt; grain, etc. Another halt was made at the grain silo, where grain was beinc loaded into ko.els. The party also tourer! Alexandra Dock and went along to'riverside quay and St. Andrew’s Dock TRADE WORTH HAVING.

The High Commissioner, speaking on the floor of the Pacific (after a cordial introduction by, Mr F. B. Bailey, chairman), said that exchange was interested mostly in grain and in the crushing of seeds for oils and in the manufacture of oil cakes, and he must confess, that for the moment New Zealand was not,greatly interested; in either side of their work. They did not grow enough wheat’to feed themselves; they could do so,' and the land was of such a .fertile character that it would give them a record average production,; but it paid the New Zealand farmers better to go in for grazing and pastoral pursuits, consequently nearly all their exports were wool, butter, cheese,' lamb, mutton, arid apples. When they were short of wheat they had to -o to Australia for* supplies. ' _ With: regard to the crushing of oil seeds Sir James said they did not need oil cake for their cattle. The New Zealand cows had the inestimable privilege of feeding all the year round in the open and on sunlit pastures, and of drinking water from their mountain streams, the purest m the world, whereas the Continental cow (and the English cow, for that matter)' was stalled for six or seven months of the year. That was why they made their oil cakes.—(Laughter.) After emphasising the pre-eminent quality of New Zealand produce, Sir dames said it would pay the pocket and their patriotism and health, of the people of this country to eat a good article pro? rlueed under such conditions by their kith and kin across the sea. New Zea|and_was the most productive part of tho Empire ih its supplies of foodstuffs to this country; 156 per cent, of the cheese. 24 per cent, of the butter.. 58 per cent, of the mutton and lamb, and about 24 per cent, of the wool imported into this country came from New Zealand. So that the Now Zealand trade rufi nnn°nnn Jl ,lßvin K- Tt was worth H 01.000,0,00. the amount of the trade for the past year, all produced by edmparaitivcly a, handful of people.

, AN UNENVIABLE DISTINCTION. I am . anxious to see more of our products m tins district.”'Sir James .went ' c" liavo unenviable distinction of consuming less foodstuffs H.°™, • 1 /e , al ?? d than any other part of the United Kingdom. It i a a blot you should remove. I wish vour wives were here; I could talk to .the women better than to men who do not realise that it pays their pocket as well as their health to buy good stuff.” trade relation's, he continued, should be more jntimato and closer than they InmfV t Why fillon A tta'-South of Eugmmo °f,Now Zealand's goods r s,IGII , a "’onderfnl market Lon l dIM,s i , and « this district for w P a,d .. thel u better to deal with 7 2e ? lan , d than with foreign people New Zealanders among the best customers ot tins country. Out of . even£l spent with New Zealand. 15s came VnfL f ° r thc ripply of manufactured fo l‘ the world. .- V l6 !-* - IR , Cl ominissioner said that ho t d ln b n ir ned p" ldea of thc facilities for the handling of cargo at the port of Hull-' they were exceffent They wanted more w♦/ * S l f ', w , Zc , alr >ud to come to Hull, and, that could. bo brought about bv busifoT ;,i™r ettk ' tocp ; llPr a " d "VranS, tm dnect cargoes from New Zealand. At (he same. time, they should arranw 00( non <ta f rflOeß - , Xow inland took ♦W f manufactured goods from this country most, of which came fro, the area served by. the port of Hull. SHIPPING’AND COAL TRADE. o« 8 r-w" 1CS U a, ‘ r T ;,s ?••«*<«! afterwards br/ hV ''' lPl f ', i T ,ld( l rcsso d 'the momT P . li.'fodiiccrl by Mr B. il. .Micks. siiol-e of'V) "' ,! i n ' t lP Hi'-'b Commissioner spoKc.ot the depression in the-coal trade jind in slnpp,ng. but having been in Eiwbind for the past three years and having watched, things carefully, he could see signs here and there of a trade recovery He thought they were about to turn if bey bad not already turned the corner both in regard to shipping, of which ho was pretty sure, and also in regard to the coal trade. There .was evidence' of a return if not to normal conditions, at anj rate to a comparative state of prosnentv. 1 s

England ami the dominions, ho conrr7nT;o,^ Cre Ti tCr ‘ flcpcn(,P ' ,t }n their trade relations flip success of one was bound up in the success of the .other, Tliev must set together for their mutual beneht and future prosperity, Tf thev were to drift apart, in trade and if any other cnmitry was as.jiood to (hem ns (1 10 Motherland, it would be "God help the.

Empire.” In his opinion the binding power in the Empire to-day was mutual and profitable trade. Was the Empire worth keeping? Surely it was one of the finest institutions that the world hail ever known. Thc cry of stinking fish was of no use in those times. Mistakes might’ have been made, but of what concern were they compared with the great ideals of peace, justice, and liberty that the Empire had upheld throughout the apes. INFLUENCE OF THE EMPIRE. ■There was nothing to compare with the great influence which-, the Empire had exerted for thc highest civilisation of mankind throughout the world. We should bo proud of the Empire and not detract from it as so many miserable Englishmen in these days were inclined to do. Referring to a question as to whether there was any chance of coal export from this country to New Zealand, Sir Janies Parr said that ho had been commissioned to make inquiries, and ho had made Ids report to the New Zealand Government. He could not repeat what he had stated in that report, because it was confidential. The matter was still under discussion in New Zealand, and lie was not altogether hopeless ,of a satisfactory result.