THE POST-WAR WORLD

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26034, 24 December 1945, Page 8

THE POST-WAR WORLD

By Dr George Gretton,

(SDecial) During this month London has seen the beginning of a great and perhaps decisive experiment in human relations —the United Nations Organisation. The Preparatory Commission of the organisation comprising delegates of 51 nations, has been meeting to work out details of the new international body which may one day serve as a World Parliament. Appropriately, delegates are sitting in Church House, Westminster, scarcely 200 yards from the seat of the Mother of Parliaments. If these men lay the foundation well they may bring mankind niany stages nearer to political maturity. It was also appropriate that during the first days of the session another world conference was completing its deliberations not far away in the City of London. Delegates of the Chambers of Commerce of the British Commonwealth and Empire had come from five continents to discuss matters of commercial policy between their respective countries. Sitting in the council room of the London Chamber of Commerce in Cannon street, they were within sight of St. Paul’s majestic dome on one sideband on the other the monument which marks the spot where the Great Fire of London began in 1666. The relations between the City and Westminster was for centuries the thesis and antithesis of British democracy. In the seventeenth century, when modern British political institutions were beaten out on the anvil of constitutional strife, the political maturity and stubborness of the City was pitted against the authority of Westminster. Later, when the commercial genius of the city had done so much towards building up the greatest association of free nations in the world, it was at Westminster that the famous Statute was promulgated giving formal recognition to the political structure of this association—the British Commonhvealth of Nations. Pattern of Co-operation Within this comity of nations—embracing two-fifths of the world—there has already been established a modus vivendi which the world as a whole is now seeking. War between the British Commonwealth is unthinkable. Yet in the last 30 years they have twice spontaneously taken up arms as a body to defeat and avert threats to the domination of their way of life. In fact, it was precisely these nations , which entered the war voluntarily right at the beginning, never compromised with the enemy, and fought it through to a finish. Militarily they were the greatest unit of the war, mobilising more than 10,000,000 men and equipping four-fifths of them from their own resources. Yet not one of them has raised a single territorial claim. This achievement is a pattern of international co-operation. The Commonwealth has, of course, many advantages over a wider world organisation;. above all its peoples speak the same language, literally and metaphorically. Terms like democracy, contract and freedom mean the same to all of them. Often there are differences of opinion among them, but they are settled by free discussion compromise. . At'the conference of Chambers of Commerce there were no crises, disputed interpretations or conflicts of personality. Yet a remarkably wide .field was covered. Imperial commer-

EMPIRE ECONOMIC POLICY BRITAIN’S EXPORT TRADE

LONDON, Dec. 21. cial relations were reviewed, starting from the premise that “ Great Britain is a vitally important market for every constituent country of the British Empire.” The main points emphasised were: First, the development of Crown colonies along the lines of the Colonial Development and Welfare Act, 1940, and the Colonial Development Act, 1945. is of vital importance to the Empire and the world; secondly, fluctuations in prices of primary produce, with their attendant social and economic misery, can be avoided only by an expansionary policy; thirdly, a progressive and expansionary world economy can be based only on confidence—that there shall be no war, that traders shall receive payment for their goods, that if a nation buys freely other nations will in their turn buy freely from it—and, finally, that if through no fault of its own an economically sound nation suffers temporary embarrassment it shall receive fair and sympathetic treatment from its trading partners. Policy of Trade Expansion The report goes on to analyse Britain’s position as regards overseas capital assets and liabilities, and estimates that on this side the war has cost the United Kingdom something like £6,000,000,000. In order to maintain her imports and balance of payments, therefore, Britain must export about 25 per cent, of her national production. At the same time it emphasises that all the Empire countries are also faced with serious problems, owing to shifts in their balance of payments and their internal economies during the war. “Only by promoting a policy of expansion and efficiency in production and trade can the necessary adjustments be made.” Finally, the report urges the rational and planned development of primary and secondary production. It proposes co-operation between the countries of the Commonwealth and other primary producers to co-ordinate supply to demand, and eliminate the violent fluctuations in demand and price which were so ruinous during the inter-war years. Further, “the business communities of {he Commonwealth ought to work even' more closely together, and give mutual aid in the promotion of healthy secondary industries, and so contribute to the expansion of world trade.” Greatly Increased Output The success of this conference of Empire business men emphasises the importance to world economic relations of the Commonwealth and Empire as a whole. As an economic factor its importance has increased. Just as the last war saw a big industrial expansion in the British dominions, so this war has seen an intensification of development. Canada is now the fourth biggest industrial producer in the world, excluding Germany and Japan. Australia, New Zealand and South Africa' have all increased industrial output enormously without lowering their primary production. All these nations, with Britain, have an important and increasing part to play in the expansion of world trade. It is therefore gratifying both for them and for the world at large to note that the political solidarity of the nations of j the Commonwealth is reflected in the discussions of their business men.