The Wanganui Chronicle. "NULLA DIES SINE LINEA." THURSDAY, APRIL 24th, 1919. BRITAIN'S OVERSEAS TRADE.

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXVI, Issue 17553, 24 April 1919, Page 4

The Wanganui Chronicle. "NULLA DIES SINE LINEA." THURSDAY, APRIL 24th, 1919. BRITAIN'S OVERSEAS TRADE.

The problem of demobilisation in. the Mother Country, as stated by a representative manufacturer in a thoughtful article in a London contemporary, is j the provision of jobs for men and work for the machines operated by the men. It is not sufficient to get the men to the machines; the machines must also be geared to the orders. During the war the machines have been enormous'y increased in number and in efficiency, and this increase has developed the productive capacity of Great Britain beyond all the dreams of pre-war enterprise. Tn order to keep the new machines employed, it it; necessary to expand the country's export trade swiftly and smoothly. Great Britain must enable her manufacturers to secure their full share if the ordeHs in foreign countries, for which all the belligerents and all tha neutrals are eagerly competing. It is, therefore, urgently necessary t<o discover what the Imperial Government is <~oin<>; to enable British industries to leap from war work into peace work. Is it trusting to the old policy of muddling through ? Or is it using the best brains of the industrial world to make the process of industrial transition both rapjd ami efficient ? According to the authority from whom we quote, the position in this respeot is not as satisfactory «s it ought to be. There is in existence ? Government Department which ought j now to be humming with energy ;\v.:\ J initiative. It is the Overseas Trade Dy- ; partment. Bat tho writer affirms that the business world is profoundly dis- j satisfied with it. This Department, j which is expected to organise the recovery of a foreign trade which amounted before the war to .many hundreds of millions per annum, is, he pays, working with a meagre and underpaid staff; and, as he pertinently adds, '"'You cannot run an Al Department with a C 3 personnel." Both Allies and neutrals ar« cayer to give their orders and place their contracts at once. British niaiuifact-ur-

ers cannot get into ton oh with x3rOspective foreign customers by means of their agents, because not only havo their staffs been depleted by the war, but also ruling conditions make it difficult for private firms to trade abroad. Before the war, in many countries British manufactures were exported through German agents. This must not occur again. Yet the writer is fearf il that unless the Overseas Trade Department is strengthened, so that it can carry out a bold, aggressive policy, much of the Mother Country's foreign trade will be captured by her Continental rivals and by the United States. But British manufacturers haA7e no reason to fear competition if their Government will act strongly with foresight and imagination. To this end there ought to i>e in each country an expert for each group of industries, and all these experts ought to work in each country under the direction of a Trade Commissioner with the best possible qualifications. Advisory committees from the various industries should be set up and attached to the Overseas Trade Department. These committees should assist hi finding suitable men to represent the country abroad, should collect and collate information and should be acquainted with all proposed schemes, in order that they may offer constructive criticism. Britain's rivals are not emulating her lethargy and inertia. The Americans are setting a good example. Tlu?ir; activity, not only in the United States and South America, but also in devastated Europe, is magnificent in its push and go. The different countries swarm with American business men, who fire securing orders for plant and machinery. Contrasted with American virility, the following pen picture of British impotence makes sorry reading: "In one of the great European capitals our Commercial Attache is in poor health, nnd is forced to be absent from his duties for long periods. His staff at present consists of one, typist. He has no funds to enable him to pay a staff. At one great Continental port the British Consul was, previous to his appointment, a librarian in the Foreign Office! Such men are worse than useless; they ha^e not the power to get on; therefore, let them get out. Appointments to our Commercial and Consular Services must no longer i>e regarded as the perquisite of hackneyed officials whom a grandmotherly Government won't sack, but. wishes to lose sight of." As an offset to this somewhat severe criticism it may be mentioned that so far as New Zealand is concerned the Mother Country has for some years been ably and efficiently represented by a thoroughly competent Trade Commissioner.