TRADE AND COMMERCE

Star (Christchurch), Issue 11509, 4 October 1915, Page 6

TRADE AND COMMERCE

: POSITION AT HOME. INTERVIEW WITH MR HOLMES. 'Mr John I'lohmv, who, as Trade Commissioner, visited tho l.rdted Kingdom, America and otlirr countries about oio;ht; years ago, in jU.I, llilevvic,is to-day discussed the Imperial mission which !i.> joined during i- s lalest V!> ' < ' i 0 England. Tho mission, he said, had nenieved retiKirkahlo miccoss. The principal objects oi iho mission, ho explained, were to rise above yart.v politics, to advocate trade within t.ho Empire, to secure tajilf reform, preference to all i;ri);orts ,'ind to and IfOtlll Hl'itisfo pcsnKsioris, to din'f.t, tbo tido of otiiijrralioti to tho ovorsoa dominions, and to explain t-lio of Imperial solidnrity in coHinK'J'co and df-ltM'tno.. A strong oornmiueo had boen ssot U]). iiud .Sir Jo,s(;[di Ward alio Sir John Find lay worn a6.so<'iat<?<"l wiili t>ho Kcw Zealand brauchos. A>ked as to the development-, or .NewZealand trade in othor Mr Holmes said that, as manager of an Australasian branch ot a Loudon company opera ling in tlw meat industry, ho obtained: uineb additional practical esperieix'O in tlio general tsystom of handling meat cargoes. He usually went to Smithtield in the morning and to Too ley Hired- in the a! trrnoon, and met, many mcrcbanf-s, agents and brokers engaged in the disposal -oi: butter iiiid. cheese, ft.': l could testify to tbo zeal, industry at:d tact of Mr B. Alison, a former resident, of Christcliurelt, aw? now London representative of Jbe S National Dairy Assoeia tior. of New Zealand. '.llio lion T. Mfickeuzie, Higl)ipfdously guarded the jnteresis of ihe Dominion, and Captain Wright, of (lie .Agricultural Poparij meut, was doing ettk-iont work. H.e had many inoinr!e; ; . from irnit- merchants in London and tho provinces, but;, as then* were no consignments to ofl'or, no <!■'.••'>itit-o market could he quoted. The judicious distribution, from the. High Commissioner's Office, of an excc'leu:. brochure issued by the '.Vfoutere Amalgamated Fruit; La mis of Nelson, had done good_ service. After very careful consideration of the .markets in London and the province*, he* could suggest, the- be*t plan iof <rapturirig a fair share of the trade on a-profit-able basih, without the of any interests fcliafc too often happened wben lauuehing a- new export trade on tho Home 7nacket.