THE BONDS OF EMPIRE.

Otago Witness, Issue 3111, 29 October 1913, Page 74

THE BONDS OF EMPIRE.

ADDRESS’ BY MR AMERY.

ENTERTAINED BY EXPANSION LEAGUE.

On Friday, in the Young Men’s Christian Association dining hail, Mr L. S. Amery, a visiting member of the House of Commons, who represents the South Birmingham constituency in the Unionist interest, was entertained at a complimentary luncheon by the Reception Committee of the Dunedin Expansion League. Mr A. Bathgate (president of the league) occupied the chair, and had on his right the guest of the meeting, and on his left his Worship the Mayor. There was a large attendance of representative men of the city. In extending a welcome to Mr Amery, the Mayor said that their visitor would understand that if the welcome he offered him were brief it was none the less hearty. He congratulated the league on getting another bird on the wing. They had caught Sir Joseph Walton flying north, and now they laad got Mr Amery flying south. Mr Amery had told him that all through the dominion he had been scolded for the briefness of his stay. They were not going to scold him that day, because they wore glad to get him at all. He had distinguished himself in literature and had taken, and was taking, a more and more prominent part in politics, and his interest in the dominion and the affaiis of the Empire as a whole arose from a sincere desire to understand the affairs of the Empire and to build them up on a sound basis. —(Applause.) Mr Amery, who was very cordially re-* ceived, said, in the course of his address, that he felt that ho ought perhaps to apologise for the impertinence of visiting Dunedin for merely a day, but as a matter of fact he was not now on a visit at all, this being just a preliminary scouting expedition so that ho might make up his mind as to how to plan a future visit. —(Applause.) When thinking of what he should say at tliis luncheon, the title of the Dunedin Expansion League had suggested a few thoughts. Whilst not presuming to try to teach the people of Dunedin how to deal with the expansion of Dunedin or Otago, ho would lake the opportunity of saying something about the idea of expansion teclf. Ho believed that expansion, or development, supplied the keynote for solving most, if not all, our social problems in every part of the Empire, and of the 'lmperial problem as a whole. In the first place, expansion v/as really the foundation of all true social progress. They were so often absorbed by detailed questions of wages, housing,, and so on, that they were apt to forget that in the long run the prosperity of any society depended upon man’s mastery over the resources of Nature. For instance, if the Maoris of a century ago were behind the present population of New Zealand in regard to the standard of comfort, it was ■ not for want of social legislation, but for want of knowledge as to how to develop the resources of the country. This dependence of prosperity upon expansion was especially true where it affected the working man. His welfare depended in the main on two things—the greatest possible volume of production and the highest possible efficiency of that production. The more rapidly production increased the greater the demand for labour, and consequently the more rap:d the rise in wages, and as long as that expansion was accompanied, as it normally was, by increased efficicncv of production, then that rise in wages was not counteracted bv a corresponding rise in the cost of living. On the other hand, raising wages without regard to increased production tended to frustrate itself by simply adding to the cost of living a corresponding amount. Expansion was also essential as a foundation of national security. The whole problem of Imperial .defence, as it confronted them to-day, was at bottom a question of population and industry. It was Germany’s immense expansion industrially, due to a sound system of education and an intelligent commercial policy, that had created her immense strength and made her the formidable power she was to-day, and it compelled them to rnCot her expansion with a similar expansion if they wished to maintain thoir security. The British Empire depended fbr its existence on the command of -the sea, and that neccsstated a two-power standard. But they could not in the long run have a two-power standard in ships unless they had something like a two-power standard in industrial power—in the national development behind b —in r.an power. If the 45 millions in the Old Country were hard put to it to hold the North Sea against the 70 millions of Germans, what could the 5£ millons of Australasia hope to do in the way of holding the Pacific against the 50 millions of Japanese and possibly against the 400 millions of Chinese? This question of defence reacted again on soc al questions, because unless expansion kept ahead of the burden of armaments efforts at social improvement would be checked by an excessive load of taxation. Some persons seemed to think that it was better to have a small population enjoying a high standard of comfort, and not attempt to increase the resources. But he would ask them to remember that to maintain the defence of a small population against the resources of a great State must involve taxation so high that the high standard of living would be destroyed. It was impossible to maintain a high standard of living over any long period unless by so increasing the population as to spread the burden of taxation over the shoulders of largo numbers, lie felt convinced, therefore, that the willing spirit in which Australasia had undertaken a share in the defence of the Empire would ultimately, force the Australasians to’consider seriously the question of largely increasing the number of their people, so as to spread the burden of taxation. This question of expansion also affected the • whole constitutional problem of the Empire. Sooner or later the people in these dominions must confront the problem of how to arrive at a really satisfactory constitutional partnership as between the Motherland and the oversea States. In part, this difficulty arose from the great disparity between the population abroad and at Home. The outlying dominions were naturally reluctant to consider any proposal for such a partnership as would seem likely to result in their views being swamped by weight of numbers. It seemed to him that the°incrcasc in the population of the dominions would itself help to make the whole constitutional problem of the Empire far easier of solution, as well as making the burden of Imperial defence far lighter for each portion of the Empire. So much for the bearing of expansion upon their different problems. The other question wa3

liow should any part of the Empire bring about the expansion which was needed? What were the methods most useful and the things most urgently required? For the development of any great country, and especially of a new country, one of the first requisites was capital. They must have the help of the accumulated capital of the older societies. lie was a convinced believer in the wisdom of building railways ahead of development, with the intention of bringing about development as the result of railways. Nor would ha discuss which was the best method of dealing with that or other problems of development—such as the question of State or private administration—but, whichever method was used they must have capital. The danger, it seemed to him, that was sometimes run in those countries where they relied upon the State to do these things was that, while relying upon the State to do the work, some were liable to be rather critical towards the State when it began to borrow money to carry the works out. They would have to insist upon the State borrowing as freely and paying approximately the same rates of interest as private individuals in other countries paid for the money for the same development. When they considered the difference between the value of an acre of land within 10 miles of a railway and of an acre that was inaccessible, it was relatively a small matter whether they paid £ per cent, or 1 per cent, more interest, ihe interest on the difference between the value of the developed and the undeveloped land would more than outweigh the small fractional difference in the cost of the capital in one year or another year, according as the world’s markets stood. This was possible: that more might bo done in the way of Imperial organisation to direct the flow of capital to help the different parts of the Empire. Something had boon done ing up dominion securities as trustee funds. There had boon an immense saving in many parts of the Empire in consequence of that. Then, capital was nothing without men. If they wanted to develop quickly they oould not rely simply upon the natural growth of population. In the Brit : sh Empire they had the immense advantage that they could get in from outside people of their own stock, of their own language, and possessing the same thoughts and ideas, who would assimilate their political institutions—for alter all theirs were the same as those of the English—and bring on their development with greater speed than would bo possible in other circumstances. Proceeding, Mr Amery reminded his hearers that if they wanted immigrants to be assimilated by their institutions and methods of work they must get them y mug. The supply of agricultural workers from England was getting very limited. He believed that they were on the eve of an agricultural revival in England, but there were plenty of young, healthy, strong, and adaptable fellows who could be brought out to the dominion. A healthy tree lost nothing by a littie pruning, and England would not suffer by the loss of those men. Under the crowded conditions of industry in their country ho was not one of those who thought that England would suffer even if tens of thousands of capable 1 , vigorous young men were taken away, because there were others to take their places, who, if they had not the opportunity of doing so, might be stunted and narrowed in their outlook. Ho did not think the dominion should be afraid of taking plenty of them. Anything helping towards expansion helped in the long run to raise the wages and conditions of the people. It was only momentarily that an influx of population brought down wages. In the long run it would mean better conditions for those here already, and not worse conditions. A third thing that they needed was a market. He was not a Freetrader. He had always had strong views about Protection in the Old Country, but with a small market and limited population it was not always possible to protect a largo number of industries at one and the same time and get good results. There was one form of protection of their markets that was more valuable than local protection. That was protection Imperially. He believed there was an immense opportunity for each part of the Empire to help the expansion of each of the other parts by encouraging trade with the rest of the Empire rather than to a foreign country. It was not the direct money value, but as they developed the trade they developed better means of communication and lowered freights. If they lowered freights, they brought about lower prices for the consumer, but better prices for the producer at tbo other end, though some would not believe it. It was the How of capital that was in the best interests of the new country. It was from the point of view of tending to create more trade and direct the flow of capital that ho thought Imperial preference could be of the very greatest value. Unless they could expand their resources and make the Empire what it ought to be they should not bo allowed to keep it. Unless they could have two hundred million white people to inhabit the fairest parts of the Empire he doubted whether their Empire would bo more enduring than other empires had been.—(Applause.) On the motion of Mr Bathgate, Mr Amery was tendered a hearty vote of thanks and a round of cheers, and the gathering broke up with the singing of a verse of the National Anthem. AT THE BOYS’ HIGH SCHOOL. After the luncheon Mr Amery was taken by his Worship the Mayor to tbo Boys High School, where he received a hearty welcome from the boys on hall. There were also present the Hon. T. Fergus (chairman of the High Schools Board of Governors), who presided, and Messrs G. L. Dcnniston, G. It. Ritchie, and J. C. Stenhens. Mr Amery, who was received with enthusiasm by tbo boys, on rising, said although it had been remarked that ho was a stranger ho did not feel very much like one, tor their rector (Mr Morrell) and himself had been at the same college together, and wlu.4i ho looked round the room he felt very much as if be were back in his old school. After all, there was not much difference. Imjcause they wore all boys at one time. Of course, the other schools were older. Harrow, whore ho had been educated, had 1)0011 founded in the time of Elizabeth, and they wore all proud of the men it bad turned out —men like Sir Robert Fool and Lord Byron. What the schools of the Old Country had dope to make the Empire what is was to-day the schools of the new countries had to do in the future. The Empire was only in ihe making. The great countries that made it up—Uanada, Now Zealand, Australia, South Africa—all had to develop. There was a tremendous task in

1 frofit of tho next generation, and they need not bo afraid, because they came a little later than tho giants of old, that there was not just as great and glorious work ahead of them as there had been ahead of their grandfathers. Whatever they did in after life they were not only doing something for themselves, but they were doing something for the country and for the Empire as a whole. He was glad to learn that all of them in Now Zealand were going to learn to defend themselves. He hoped it would not be long before they followed their example in England. In conclusion, the speaker said he hoped the boys would look upon themselves as each going out into the world to take part in tho great work and a work well worth doing.—(Applause.) After Mr Morrell and the Mayor had briefly spoken, the boys tendered a hearty vote of thanks to Mr Amery, and later, on the suggestion of tho Hon. T. Fergus, w r ere released from further scholastic duties for the day.