Poverty Bay Herald. PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING. GISBORNE, OCTOBER 4, 1926. COMMERCE THE LIFE STREAM

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LII, Issue 17155, 4 October 1926, Page 6

Poverty Bay Herald. PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING. GISBORNE, OCTOBER 4, 1926. COMMERCE THE LIFE STREAM

Commerde- is the life-stream of the 'KmpirfV Let foreign bodies interfere with its flow,/and the pulsations will become feebler and feebler.. Drain the stream, and the. heart, will to boat. Throughout the British Empire, it is becoming more fully recognised that' the continued existence of Britain as the arbiter of the world's destinies is bound up with her material success in commerce, and that the fortunes of the Dominions, and, dependencies will flow or .ebb with hers, as the tides of the. rivers and streams flow and ebb with, those of the ocean. New Zealand's prosperity, its development, its very , security from annexation by a foreign, power, stand upon the foundation 'of British trade,- and in the Dominion, as elsewhere where British influences find their best' expression, the ties of nationhood are reinforced by the bonds of a common danger. Only the restoration of Empire commerce can ensure the continuance of our present existence, which, irksome as it may be to-some; is yet the envy of all other nations. What foreign country can boast the spread of a. culture of peace,..justice, ail’d i security such as that Which Britain has brought to the new ’worlds of y.tho .western and southern seas?.'" Where has the bloodstream. bdon % maintained, •! undefiled, Save in 'the new lands • settled by Britishers? How- have others fared ini their' adventuring* into unknown oceans, why have they failed to acclimatise their strange gods among The ancient civilisations, and when shall we see- another race inspire so worldwide a response to the call of an Imperial necessity as was witnessed twelve years, ago?' British courage, British diplomacy, and British good faith—and of these the greatest is good faith—have set a standard for the world. The principle of fair play to the other fellow has been carried to the uttermost extreme, to ridiculous extremes perhaps, in dealing with native races in the now lands, and of late years it has been epitomised in the tremendous sacrifice involved in the voluntary effort fo liquidate the crushing war debt. Britain is paying for the war, paying to a stubborn creditor nation .the duos of equally stubborn debtor nations. How long can she continue to bear the, burden, while the sapping of her life-blood by both creditor and debtors goes on? In what degree arc. t}ie Dominions and dependencies assisting the commercial foes of the Homeland? These-arc questions that every man may put to himself. To-day ushers in for Gisborne, and for other centres in this, country, one short week during which the claims of the Old Country will be emphasised. British goods will be. displayed in the shop windows, and full scope will be given to the prepossession of the householder for products of Britain’s industry. For a single week sons of the race will be urged to study the quality and design of Empire goods. For one week! It should be so the year round. MAKING CONTACT The Prince of Wales, in his presidential address to the British Association at Oxford on August 4 dealt mainly with the development of the relationship between science and'the State, but in his concluding remarks , lie touched a more intimate point, when ho urged personal contact, between scientists throughout the Empire, and the introduction into the curriculum of schools of facilities for training youths for overseas life. There arc developing in Great Britain at the same time parallel movements for the Jmperialising of education as a cementing bond in the structure of Empire. Victoria has announced a scheme of scholarships for boys to finish their careers in 1 hat state. New Zealand is welcoming English public school boys, lads of fine character and up-bringing, and finding them opportunities to embark on farming life. What is of more importance is that there has been concluded the reorganisation of the Imperial Institute —hitherto not an unmixed success—under a new director, in the hope that it may become not only a museum of Empire products, but a propaganda medium for their commercial and industrial development. Another noteworthy development is the scheme put forward by the Law Society and the Inns of Court for the establishment under Government auspices of an Empire School of Advanced Legal Studies. This idea is not new, for early in the, century Lord Russell of Killowen suggested a central librnry i'or studies of the post-graduate type especially developed to the investigation of the constitutional problems of I Empire. The now,proposal makes it a sine qua non that all the Governments in tho Empire should take part, and thnt they should contribute to the library and send their professors to give instruction. Such a body might throw important- light upon the constitutional, questions now to the fore in Canada land South Africa and to the jurisdiction of the Privy Council which is so often called in question. Interest also attaches to the deliberations of tho Congress of Universities of the Empire held in Cambridge in July and attended bv about 50 representatives. Mr. Amory, in welcoming the delegates, stated that intercourse between the universities of the Empire could not fail to have its influence in promoting the unity of life throughout tho Empire. He pointed out. that university development in Britain was proceeding by leaps and bounds, and that there were now 4.1,000 students, half as many again as before the war. Lord Balfour laid stress upon the university aim of n>“high standard of service,” and laid emphasis upon the fact that the Empire was not mainly a political or commercial entity but *‘ a thing of the spirit.” This is a matter which too often is lost, sight of in the discussions as 1 o the relations of the Dominions to tho Empire. The London Times, in commenting on these deliberations, reminds those who wish to substitute the term 1 ‘Commonwealth of Nations” for “Empire” that The British Empire does not* only consist of Great Britain and five self-governing Dominions. There are Within it huge areas where East moots \Y>st and where education encounters an older civilisation. It is hero that there occurs the difficulty of establishing nn Imperial policy in education. However, there is tiuth in its hopeful conclusion that “tho Dominions are crying out for men and women who will bring to these new worlds now powers of character, mind and thought.”