EMPIRE PREFERENCE.

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXXXI, Issue 19008, 8 May 1924, Page 6

EMPIRE PREFERENCE.

BRITISH GOVERNMENT’S ATTITUDE. STRONG COMMENTS BY MR. MASSEY. WELLINGTON, May 6. “With regard to Empire preference/’ said Mr. Massey,, “which is naturally attracting a good deal of attention both in England and overseas, I cannot help thinking that the course of action which is being followed in the British Parliament, will be very disappointing to British citizens in overseas countries of the Empire, and will certainly not be viewed by them as in the best interests of the British Empire as a a hole. I do not suggest for one moment that the Dominions have ever done more than their duty, but, for all that, I cannot help thinking that the treatment which is now being meted out i to them is not what they, expected or deserved. Take the case of this country. New Zealand gives preference in her Customs tariff on 425 articles imported from Great Britain,, At present Great Britain gives preference to nothing imported from New Zealand and apparently refuses to consider any proposal in that direction. According to my way of thinking, this is not in accordance with the true Empire spirit. It is not giving encouragement, to either the British citizens at Home or in the Dominion in any movement towards tho attainment of a self-supporting Empire. Unfortunately, the lessons of the war have been partly forgotten. What was agreed to at the last economic conference an.d recommended to the British Government was but a very small instalment of what many people who recollect the situation at the outbreak of the Great War would like to see. At that time it was brought home to us very forcibly that we had been relying on foreign countries for many of the commodities essential to our everyday life, which should have been produced within the Empire itself. To us in oversea countries, it seems inimical to the Empire’s interests that large sums of British money should go to foreign countries for the purchase of commodities which, with proper encouragement, can be produced in abundance by British citizens on unoccupied lands available in our oversea countries. There is much unemployment in Great Britain at present. Steps should be taken to bring about an improvement, but I feel convinced that our unoccupied territories will not be peopled, nor the Empire’s industrial supremacy restored or maintained, by the policy which encourages the purchases of a large portion of our requirements in foreign countries. My strongest reason for assisting to promote Empire preference has been that eevry item so arranged for is another tie to assist in keeping the Empire together. What, is happening now will not affect our loyalty to the Empire in the very slightest. British we are, British we intend to remain. I hope that some day our fellow citizens in Britain will come round for a better way of thinking and learn to look at such matters with the Empire spirit rather than from the narrow outlook of what will suit some particular section of the community I cheerfully admit that the British Government have never attempted to impose taxation upon any of our products which were being placed in their markets. On the whole, Britain has been our best market and I believe will continue to be our best market, but. what is happening now is encouraging people to think about the possibility of Freetrade within the Empire. That may not be possible just yet, but I think the time has come when we should seriously consider whether something might not be done to have Freetrade within the Empire in food stuffs and raw materials. It. is possible to have a certain amount of preference without increasing prices, because anything in the way of a reliable market will greatly increase production in the Dominions and so bring supply up to demand, at the same time providing more cash for Britain’s best customers and purchase goods required from there. I admit that the British Parliament has a perfect .right to treat the recommendations of the Imperial Conferences as they think proper, but I do think that the recommendations of the last conference were worthy of more favourable consideration than that which seems to be the fate in store for them.”