FACTS ABOUT TRADE.

Timaru Herald, Volume CI, Issue 15456, 19 September 1914, Page 2

FACTS ABOUT TRADE.

ENGLAND'S PROSPECTS. j NOT IN COMMERCIAL DOTAGE. SPEECH BY MR W. G. "\YTCEHAM. Mr AY. G. Wickhara, commissioner in New Zealand for the 13nt.sk Board of Tiade, was the guest of honour at the New Zeaiand Club's luncheon in Wellington tli s week. Mr Wickham, who was given a cord.al reception, said that ne had just cxinpl'c-tea a four months' tour of the industrial centres of England, having been int-erv.ewed by 450 firms and been shown over 50 factories. Though in the earl ysummer thero were s gus of a slacken ng, after four years of unprecedented trade boom, almost all the English industries were still go.ng at I'uli pressure. Ho could never remember being so impressed by tho rush and bustle of the O-d Country, which .t was rather the fash on nowadays to talk ot as sleepy and behind the t.mes. "I know of no country," sad Mr Wickham, '"of which one can say more truly that leisure means the opportunity or right to select tho sphere in which to be busy, just as it Is tiue that the attainment of le.suro is the goal which prompts and justifies hard work." BUSINESS AND SENTIMENT. Referring to the commecial aspect of tha war and the relationship between business and sentiment Mr "Wickham sa.d that while it was not true that there was 110 sentiment in bus'ness, he expressly disclaimed any suggest on that New' Zealand shou.d buy unsu.tab.o or expensive goods for sent-mentai reasons. If Britain coiikl not supply tho goods, she must stand down and let them bo bought elsewhere. He maintained, however, that Britain could hold tho market by supplying the best goods and that she had not besn g'ven a fa r run In the past. He depreciated unsupported statements damaging to the British manufacturer, which wero tco readily accepted, although they would not bear examination for a moment. A GOOD MAXIM. "A ma.vim which was impressed on nio many veais ago," he cont.nued, was, "Never take It for granted that people are foo.s because you don't understand than. 1 ' 1 quote this because I feel convinced that what is primarily needed to put bus.ness relations with the Old Country on a more sat-.sfactory b.isls is great read.ness to look for explanations of apparent anomalies, and a good deal less read.ness to convert the lapses of ind.viduais, whether in common sense, energy, accuracy, or honesty, into general to;.damnations of a whoie nation. It s only too easy to produco equally or more accurato generalisations flatly contradicting tKoso which I complain of as current. But this method of argument is bad, because oils cf this kud are almost invar.ably unfair and mislead, ing. They are bad at any time, and ar>pl.ed to any country, but they are especially unk nd and d sloyal when ap- . plied, to the United. Kingdom, and I am eonviiiciyl that ~6od ; .w\ll ; ho .done to' Bnta : n and 1 to British .'if all pecI ji.'e. profess onal as well as commercial, would make a. pout' of challenging tlit-so statements when they hear them or read them. If more people would start w.tli the presupposition that England and Scotland are not- anwyhere near commercial dotage, and demand facts, when t-hoy are given these claptrap _ generalisations, they would be suiprsod to find haw little knowledge it takes to make tli;ni van sh into smoke. THE TRUE TEST.

"If you want to know Sheffield's repihav „n steo. nia.ing go and ask 111 America. If you want to know what British manufacturers can do, don't ook 111 the' London newspapers, but in the stat st;cs for the exports ot all sorts and kinds of manufactured goods wh ch we se.l at a profit ill countries which have tho higliLSt protective tariffs. Go and ask the -ocal manufacturers there whether British torturers and merchants are antiquated frss.ls. And when j.e.p.o 1.0.1 \o.. i.ow nvieU cleverer tho Germans are at original designs, go and ask in any of our industrial centres about pirated designs and trademarks and cheap imitations of standard Br'.t.sh makes. THE FOUNDATIONS OF TRADE. ''There is much talk just now 0" boycotting German and Austrian goods on tho ground that it is g vng s.news ot war to potential enemies. That .s a. so it:mont which may endure for a t me. But- though there may be some, there is not much sentiment in business, and I want a more sure foundation for British trade. Dp not forget the millions of Germany's commercial and industrial classes who, if they had a vo ce in the Government, would have had no frantic warship build ng, no annual additions to tho national debt in peace t'me, and no war now. THE BEST ECONOMY. '"I want to seo our trade relaFohs based 011 a foundat'on which will lastbeyond the war t- mo when racial animosities are forgotten. Tho only true and endur ng bass is qual.ty. Manufacture tho bsst quaiitv here, export tho best quality .and import the best, quality. } 011 will find it the best economy in tho long run, and vou will aso find that the bulk of vour export and import trade is with the Old Country. Learn to laugh at our pess:m stic cronk ng • and if nrn at- tho same time to treat other countries' barmen's lales as they should be treated. 'Manuiacturers are not fairy godmothers, though they iniy be vei*y clever, thev wii.! g:ve you value of a lend if vou rni-. Hi- nr>e flow", but for a l] the;ttalk, they wrJI take it out of the filial'.tv."