EMPIRE DEVELOPMENT

Waikato Times, Volume 97, Issue 15230, 5 May 1923, Page 5

EMPIRE DEVELOPMENT

DEBATE IN THE LORDS. OPENING BRITAIN'S EYES. THE. PREFERENCE ISSUE. Australian and N.Z. Cable Assn. LONDON, May 4. Commenting'on the debate in the ■House of Lords on Imperial preference the Daily Telegraph states: "The moral of the debate is that the questions which are to engage the Imperial Conference, ought not to be discussed in a huckstering spfrit .We .Want, to. cultivate a family spirit. The conference will supply the crucial test of our sincerity in what we. have spoken in the past of the unity of the Empire and its Dominions. By some means we must cultivate the newer markets of the world, which fortunately are British, since the old ones have, for the time being at least, failed us. It sometimes seems to observers that the peoples the Dominions are seized with a Clearer apprehension of our situation than the majority of our own people.

" The discrepancy between the> Dominions' preference rebate and our reciprocity will loom large at Hie conference, where representatives of the Dominions will want to' know whether nothing can be done to adjust it. Empire trade and Empire settlement constitute practically one- problem, with which Empire defence is also linked." Mr Archibald Hurd, writing in the same-.issue, says: " The people of this country may not appreciate the importance of the Singapore naval base, but the peoples -.of the Dominions do. We in this island are in danger of closing our minds to larger aspects of problems in which the Dominions, Crown Colonies, and ourselves are equally concerned."

The Morning Post remarks: "The Dominions are likely to remain our best customers. They consume far more per head of British goods than foreign countries, and their exchange is particularly useful, for generally speaking it is in food and raw materials. Moreover the Dominions give our manufacturers substantial preference over foreign goods-. It has been proved by many examples that their preference frequently decides contracts in our favour. Further, the Dominions in the war showed themselves the support of Britain. For all these reasons, it is in the real interest of this country to develop trade relations with the rest of the Empire."