TE AWAMUTU COURIER. Printed on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. WEDNESDAY, 16th SEPTEMBER, 1936. THE OLD FIRM.

Te Awamutu Courier, Volume 53, Issue 3809, 16 September 1936, Page 4

TE AWAMUTU COURIER. Printed on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. WEDNESDAY, 16th SEPTEMBER, 1936. THE OLD FIRM.

“ I come among you representing the old firm of John Bull and Company, a firm that I hope you will continue to deal with, because it is still the soundest firm in a somewhat uncertain world.” IN these words His Excellency the Governor-General addressed commercial travellers in Wellington recently. He assumed the role of a salesman among salesmen; he was not limited to the question of merchandising but rather enlarged on the wider scope of an inter-Empire relationship. What he said was indeed sound in theory and in fact. It was a timely reminder of what cannot be too often echoed and re-echoed from one end of New Zealand to the other. Discarding sentiment as though it had no place in business, Viscount Galway was content with keenly practical economics when he said: “ Far-sighted persons are now agreed that it is necessary to purchase as much as possible from the United Kingdom. The reason is that the United Kingdom purchases the greater proportion of the primary produce of New Zealand, and to preserve the necessary balance of trade the Dominion must buy as much as possible from the United Kingdom.” Of course, sentimentally, New Zealand is entitled to regard Great Britain as “ Home,” and that naturally creates every conceivable sentimental or preferential consideration. All of our codes in civil conduct, our freedom and liberty, our democratic constitution, our every social enjoyment have an origin in England, and are founded on British precedent. The bag to us is something more than an emblem, for in it there reposes a confidence, a trust, and an alliance which are the keynote of all that we hold sacred. Sentiment and patriotism may very well direct our trade 'low, but His Excellency was content not to parade Imperialism as though it could level to the grade of merchandising. He was convincing without appealing to ideals, and had a strong case to present on sound, com-mon-sense grounds. Britain provides our best market, and in the normal course of business we have a place in that market, not only as a seller, but as a purchaser. The exchange mechanism must move trade both inward and outward. A one-sided transaction must soon accumulate a dead weight which will destroy itself for want of balance. Market buoyancy is a condition of buying as well as of selling; market stagnation occurs when buyers cease to operate. That is the rudimentary lesson in economies, and it is an obvious truth that should never be forgotten. Britain’s market means so much to New Zealand that it should claim a larger share in our every-day considerations. The relationship is more_ clearly revealed in the comparative standard of living conditions, and orf this Viscount Galway offered a most opportune reminder when he said: “ One reason why a still greater trade interchange is desirable is that in nations like New Zealand and the United Kingdom there is a standard of living not approached in some other lands, and Japan and other countries of the kind are hardly likely to buy from New Zealand to nearly the same extent because the standard of living of their populations does not demand the comparative luxury provided by the quality of goods produced in New Zealand.” Could a more direct “ reason ” be assigned for preference than this ? It is a remarkable fact that there are some people in our midst who, when clamouring for a standard of living which assures greater leisure, greater comfort, and a more abundant supply of everything which modem ingenuity has designed for health and enjoyment, will at the same time demand access to the cheapest markets. This, be it said, is the height of selfishness.

Would we lower our living standards

to those obtaining in some countries from which supplies can be drawn cheaply ? Would we condone industrial conditions which permit child and female labour at a value which is barely equal to sustenance ? Or would we discard housing and social independence for the herding together of people as those countries do ? The answer is found in the appeals to our Arbitration Court to-day. Then, would we ask our kinsmen in England to resort to sweating and worse ill order to comply with the demand for cheapness ? And if they did do so, what would happen on the market which supplies purchasing power to the people of New Zealand ? These are simple questions; yet it is a remarkable fact that as the costs in New Zealand rise in conformity with our new industrial standards so many pedple are hurrying away to any market which offers cheap supplies. Thoughtlessly, perhaps, they are destroying themselves. They are undermining a condition which has been designed for their comfort. No advice could be more opportune than that which His Excellency has tendered. To take from the market just as we expect the market to give is the best advice imaginable. It remains with each and every citizen to interpret the advice in a personal and a practical way. The duty is purely an individual one, and each and every citizen in their mode of spending decide a fate on which so much depends.