B—6

In time of peace the issues do not show up in such sharp relief as during war, because the consequences are slower moving and less spectacular. Nevertheless, the enemies of prosperity and security are all the while quietly waiting all along our economic ramparts. Those enemies are not now armed men and machines. They are thoughtlessness, selfishness, non-cooperation, and short-sightedness. They are unobtrusive because they move slowly; they are insidious because their work is not. always recognizable at first but inexorably makes itself felt in a falling standard of living, and a gradually growing feeling of frustration and discontent. So far as New Zealand is concerned, we are dependent on the rest of the world—(i) To take our exports; (ii) To supply us with imports. As we take pride of place in all the world as a trading nation (i.e., per head of population) two facts are clear — (i) People in New Zealand are greatly dependent on what is produced by people elsewhere. (ii) People elsewhere (millions of them) are dependent on the work and production achieved in New Zealand. Therefore, we should never look at interdependence as one-sided from New Zealand's point of view. The major objective of the next year is the maintenance of the high status of the United Kingdom and the British Commonwealth in the world of Nations. It is a practical, businesslike proposition that the people of New Zealand should do all they can to foster prosperity and relieve distress in the country which is the home of their best customers. But we should do more; we should treasure in our memory all that Britain's indomitable bravery and matchless endurance and faith have meant to us in our time of direst peril. From the well-springs of our prosperity, our comfort, our security, and the priceless natural endowments of this country of ours, let us therefore with one accord hold out to the Mother-country a hand all the more strong to help her in her greatest need, because our natural self-interest is ennobled by a deep sense of appreciation, gratitude, and respect for a great nation and a great people.

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