SIR ALBERT SPICER.

Otago Witness, Issue 2902, 27 October 1909, Page 29

SIR ALBERT SPICER.

"THE BINDER LINK OF FREEDOM." j i Twenty-two years ago Sir Albert Spkser , and his wife visited Australia in connection with the jubilee of Congregationalism j in South Australia. They were accompanied on that tour by Dr Dale, a. leading Nonconformist minister in England and a well-known theological writer. Sir Albert himself, it may be mentioned, is the most prominent layman in English Congregationalism, and has always taken a leading part in the deliberations in council of the denomination. He is now, in adoftion, ths treasurer of the London Missionary Society, the largest missionary organisation in the world, and has always taken a keen interest in missionary and evangeli- j cal work. In connection with the previous i visit to Australia he had intended to visit j New Zealand, but. the death of his father | necessitated an immediate return to the i Old Land. He is therefore on the pre- ' seait occasion looking forward to hi 3 first ] journey through New Zealand. In reply ' to questions by a Daily Times reporter Sir j Albert Spicer eaict h& thought London had J grown more in proportion than Aus- ! tralia during th© same ime. He | proceeded to say that he could j hardly make a comparison between his I two journeys, for, on the previous occasion, having come in connection with Congregationalism, he had rather been shown the oouniry from that standpoint, whereas j on this occasion, he thought, he had had j a wider outlook, because, in connection with the congress, he had had the opportunity of comiusr into contact niOTe frequently with most classes of society. On the previous trip he had visited South Australia and the eastern States, but this time h^ opened up a new field in Western Australia. Remarking that when visiting a country he always liked to Ret at the root of things, away from the towns — for towns, he commented, are very much alike the world ov-st, — Sir Albert told of some of his trips into the interior of that western land. He thought very highly of its possibilities. It ha-U good wheat lands, had the great advantage of a regular rainfa.ll over a large pai-t of the State, and altogether he had wry groat confidence in the future opening out before it. Right into the jarrah forests he had gone, and had there seen an asp3ct of rugged frontier life. Sir Albert mentioned that he had also visited the mining districts round about Kalgocrlk?, and had altogether obtained a valuable exparienoe of the eonditiors obtaining in those localities and the State generally. And summing up the result of your trip asked thj report?-, to what do you ascribe Australia's development industrially — to Labour laws, natural development, o i- th© pr.-yl strive policy? "Well, was the respond, "it is difficult to answer thaF with any .dceree of accuracy. i n regard to the general labour concli^pns,thi3 is on® side of Australian life vith wuich I dsd not come much in contact I had the pleasure of meeting some <v the Labour leaders in Melbourne but speaking generally, I have not had a sufficient opportunity of learning their side of many qu&stioms on which, so to speak. I nave only heard the Opposition view. You ask me to make a comparison between th© Jabaur conditions in England and Australia, but I icallv cannot, do this, for I ha.^e, rot had sufficient experience- of the Australian aspect of the matter. Tho general conditions (.truck m© as bein->-tavomable, but I think we in the Old J-jand aro making general advances, and. further, some of the legislation that has been passed by the present Government— not forgetting the Budget if it goes through —will do a great dsal to continue the improvement. In regard to the general labour conditions in Australia, one sees evidence in every Srate tiial the Government is constantly aiming towards helping tho people, .and, u hero necessary, thov start lrduMiie* at oai !:<?'• stages V.wn would ha-ve been the ca»o if left sololv to private enter- ' prise. I vra* particularly struck by the i way in which niuniLipalities opened up new ' districts and suburbs with tramway lines in order to give the-** districts the advaniagr=. of this foim of cheap and easy communication. "On the epeord question of natural de- ' veJopment. tlup. no doubt, has had a great d^al to do with it. although, as I say 1 ilui'k London (Firetiade) has advanced j more lapidly in the same time than Aus traha (Protection) ha',. With resrard to thia protective policy, it is very "difficult to , cntJC-ise it generally. I am a strong Froo I trader, but I fully re^osnise that if .1 ' count: y has a surplus of food it can pay with Piofection for a time, and by io doing may be ablo to stare some industries . at an earlier stage than would otherwise , be poti>i!>!e. Bui a protective policy draws j «a great inanv other things behit.d it. You I h;ne the great moia! rjuestion in c-onn<?ction • « ith tho coi)«tant efforts to overcome the . Custoiiihoa-se, and. further, by attempting to limit five exchange I believe that whilst >ou may benefit a few the great mass of ' consumers suffer. When I look at the gieat j I asrncultural interests which are producing j articles to bp sent to th" Frerlrad© coun ■ tiies, I cannot forget that these articles aro produord at mci eased cost owing to the protectno j)ol:cy, while they can only renlisp in a Freetiade market the price of th© Freetrade produco." Sir Albert continued, and said that at tl'e present lime the Brif'sh Empire could not consume all it? own pi'jduca — it nm«t eend .-omo to otheicountries, for tl'e foreign mrtiket was c-^en-tial to it, ard it must be prepared to take in icturn a rertain anioimfc of foroign good 11 , for all tivde iv<t> but an exchange of comipc-.iiuec. He predicted that a great ' market v.ould open out in the future for , Australia ard New Zealand in the Kastpfii v>orld. When these races acquired the ta'-to for buftor in plaoc of gh"&, and mc^t in pl-c-3 of r.ce. as they were aLready beginning to do. then with that raising of their stantlarJ of li- m^ th-er-s -i-.o«Id bs<le\e!oprd a great ai>d cvor -extending market. On the ot!:or hand, Britain's market | iemai!;^<l largely w itli Gontinontal counti ies and ccu r itii<?s in a high stata of development, and she could not afford to [ impel ll that trade by dabbling with protec- ; lion. As an example of the effects ot Pro- ', to-ction on food supplies. Sir Albr-it referred to Germany with her tax cf 7« 2d • per cjuarter on wheat In 1907. ho said, j with the shortage of the world's hancst. I Oeri'ianj"s imports of wheat rose to 39.7 j of hor supply, and her market price was j rot merely 7< 2d — tho extent of the dut}- — J .above that, of England, but was actually I o\er 13s per quaKer luglier. Tho consum- j

ing public paid that extra price, in wni«. was included net only the duty imposed by the Government, but the expenses incurred by the merchants through that duty and the interest on the capital used m paying it. T s 1 Have you found any increased development of the Imperial spirit in Australia; since your last visit? was a further question. "Yes, I think there can be no doubt that it has gro.vn, and I am told that h has been very much stronger since the South African war. It is now very strong indeed, and very genuine. It ie this feeling which tends to make that desire for commercial union within the Empire so very strong. It is the welding of this sentiment into a commercial link that is desired, although, personally, I believe that freedom in our commercial relations is much more likely to keep alive the Imperial spirit than any compulsory arrangement." This last sentiment formed a fitting finale to an interesting interview, and as the reporter withdrew he recoltecijed Sir Albert Spicer's happy summing up after the congress in Sydney. This was :— " Freedom » my watchword," said Sir Albert, and morethan ever so since I have listened to the recent speeches; but freedom for one must not mean bondage tor The Mother Coun* try." In view of the standing of Sir Albert Spiccr in church and mission life in London, he was asked whether he could- substantiate the suggestion which has frequently been made that the splendid climate of Australia, by inducing a highiy-i developed open-air life, was imperilling tho religious life of the people; but, remarking that they had a good deal of that ix» England, Sir" Albert excused himself from entering upon this topic, as he had not S9en sufficient to warrant his forming an> opinion.

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