A PURPOSEFUL SPIRIT

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22714, 29 October 1935, Page 9

A PURPOSEFUL SPIRIT

GREAT BRITAIN'S RECOVERY OPTIMISM OF THE PEOPLE (Special to Daily Times) ' AUCKLAND, October 28. " What struck me most in Britain was the sane optimism of the people and the quiet, cheerful confidence with which they were settling down to work," said Mr D. A. Ewen, of Wellington, a director of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand, who arrived to-day by the Monowai from Vancouver after spending several months abroad. The recovery of British trade and industry was taking place without fuss and flag-waving, Mr Ewen continued. The purposeful spirit he had mentioned was very noticeable the whole country over. It was true that Lancashire and Yorkshire had lost a large part of their foreign markets for textiles with little hope of regaining it, and coal was still very depressed for the same reason. On the other hand, the new naval; shipbuilding programme and the increased construction of mercantile vessels were greatly helping the iron and steel industry. Aircraft factories were working at high pressure and there was great development in new manufactures, particularly in radio sets and electrical goods, which were much in demand owing to the reticulation of fresh districts from the "grid" supply. In many industries connected with building the movement of manufacturing from north to' south, and especially to the neighbourhood of London was very noticeable to anyone visiting Britain after an interval of some years. Speaking of the textile industries, Mr Ewen said that the overseas trade they had lost was mainly in the cheaper grades of material. Yorkshire had once done a large business with Central Europe, but the rank and file of the people there were too impoverished to buy woollen clothing in anything like the former quantities. Lancashire cotton, of course, was being ousted from Africa and the East. The Lancashire manufacturers had made a determined and widespread attempt to put their industry on a better basis by closing certain mills and carrying out general rationalisation. Unfortunately, just as negotiations seemed to be reaching a successful issue the effort collapsed. It was, however, most satisfactory to find th-t there was still a great and almost unassailed demand for the higher grade British woollen and cotton fabrics and this section of the trade was quite prosperous. It was very significant, Mr Ewen concluded, that Britain's recovery had been achieved without recourse to financial nostrums. Although when he left London the whole country "as very gravely concerned with the issue of peace or war in the Italo-Ethiopian dispute, the city showed little or no anxiety over its financial aspect.