THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES FRIDAY, MAY 20, 1932.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21649, 20 May 1932, Page 6

THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES FRIDAY, MAY 20, 1932.

THE OTTAWA CONFERENCE. If the Government has received rather more advice than it deems necessary in respect of the composition of the official delegation which is to attend the Imperial Economic Conference at Ottawa it may be reasonable to attribute that partly to its own delay in announcing its choice of representatives. Apparently so long as it withholds its decision in this matter, the effort to influence its selection will be continued. The primary producers have shown their sense of the importance of the Conference by actively offering for the Government’s consideration suggestions the adoption of which they would regard as helpful to their interests. It is very desirable that the official delegation should be as strong and representative as the circumstances will permit, but, as wo have said before, the effort by interested parties to influence the Government’s choice by urging the claims of this person or that to selection means a drawing of invidious distinctions, and is to be deprecated. It is open to all organisations that are concerned in the trade outlook to send representatives to Ottawa, as some of them have already arranged to do, these including, as is now announced, the New Zealand Fruit-growers’ Federation. To the primary producers, it is to be noted, the Government has issued? a warning against expecting too much from the Conference. Possibly a reminder of that kind is needed lest excessive optimism should give place to a measure of disappointment later on. The Canadian correspondent of The Times recently pointed to the danger to which the success of the Conference was exposed from what he called the ultra-British and the ultra-Canadian point of view. There is just as much possibility, of course, that the ultra-Australian or the ultraNew Zealand point of view might, in contrast with the ultra-British, be a source of embarrassment. It is quite unnecessary, however, to suppose that in these days there are many Englishmen who imagine that Canadians, or Australians, or New Zealanders, are prepared to buy British goods ouf of sentimental loyalty, to ,the Empire unless they get value for their money, or are going to do much to encourage British trade unless they are convinced that by so doing they will be helping their own country as well as Great Britain. On the other hand, as, The Times has observed, none of the dominions can hope to prosper by pursuing a policy of economic isolation, or to maintain and extend its market in Britain without contributing to the prosperity of that market by buying British goods In exchange. The general, object of the Ottawa Conference, as expressed by the Secretary of State for the Dominions, is fully to examine the means by which inter-Imperial trade can be preserved and enlarged. There will be a search for mutual advantage all round, and it need not be doubted that this will present its pitfalls and difficulties. The position would be greatly simplified as regards the extension of trade reciprocity between the different parts of the Empire if they all produced different commodities which they could freely exchange. But primary production does not cover by any means the whole field of industry even in New Zealand, and a problem that will have to be satisfactorily solved consists in the discovery of a way of bringing about an improvement of the position as regards the exports of the Dominion without adversely affecting its manufactures. The desire of the dominions to build up secondary industries of their own is well understood by British statesmen. But in their own interests the manufacturers of this country will be well advised to take steps to see that they are adequately represented at Ottawa during the period of the Conference, so that,' through keeping closely in touch with the official delegation, they may ensure that the importance to this country of its secondary industries, in respect of their output, the employment they provide, and the money which they circulate in wages may not be overlooked.