477
54
Uganda Chamber of Commerce, Kampala, 11th September, 1916. RESOLUTIONS passed at a special general meeting of the Uganda Chamber of Commerce, held on 28th July, 1916, and forwarded to His Majesty's Secretary of State for the Colonies per His Excellency the Governor of Uganda.
1.-That it should be compulsory for all non-Allied firms and individuals trading in this Protectorate to produce balance sheets for audit by the Adminis tration, and that a tax be levied on all profits shown, such tax to be the equivalent of the income tax charged by the Home Government on British dividends or profits, at the time of audit.
2. That an export duty be charged on all produce or other exports not intended for consumption or use in the British Empire or Allied countries and their
colonies.
3.-That specific duties be charged on all goods imported which are the manu- factures or part manufactures of those countries not allied to Great Britain.
4.-That all ships of alien countries' registration shall pay greatly increased harbour dues, over and above those paid by British shipping.
5. That the subjects of non-Allied nations be not allowed to hold land on the same terms as British subjects.
6. It is the opinion of this Chamber that a Ministry or Board of Commerce should be established, to deal not only with the home trade, but also with the trade of the British Empire.
7. That the system of Trade Commissioners be extended.
8. That the Consular system be extended, and only business men who are British subjects be appointed.
9.-That better banking facilities be established. His Majesty's Government undertaking to support banks in the Colonies, especially those operating in newly- opened countries.
10. That this Chamber particularly begs that steps may be taken to prevent dumping of merchandize at the close of the War. Large stocks of goods are known to exist in Germany and Austria, and these will undoubtedly be exploited as soon as circumstances permit, and there can be no doubt that the Governments of the Central Powers will encourage such action. We would suggest that specific duties would be a suitable method of restricting such an abuse.
CHAS. W. HATTERSLEY,
Vice-President.
15637
No. 14. TRINIDAD.
THE GOVERNOR to THE SECRETARY OF STATE. (Received 26th March, 1917.)
(No. 55.) SIR,
I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of Mr. Bonar Law's Circular despatch of 25th September, 1916,* asking for the views of this Government on the recommendations of the Economic Conference of the Allies held in Paris in June, 1916, and on the questions submitted to the Committee appointed to consider the commercial and industrial policy of the United Kingdom after the War.
Government House, 18th February, 1917.
2. I availed myself of the permission accorded in the concluding paragraph of the despatch under reply to consult representative persons and bodies, and I enclose a copy of a statement submitted by the Chamber of Commerce in reply to a request that they would give their views on the question. A copy of a resolution of the Legislative Council passed on the 14th of July, 1916, dealing with trade conditions after the War, is also transmitted. It will be seen that the principles laid down by the Conference of the Allies command general assent, and, so far as this Colony is concerned, there should be no difficulty in taking such action as may be considered necessary to give effect to them.
* No. 1.
55
3. The staple products of Trinidad, apart from asphalt and oil, are cocoa, sugar, and coco-nuts. No reference need be made to the asphalt industry, which is in the nature of a monopoly; and adequate measures have already been taken to safeguard the oilfields from foreign control. Of the other products, it is probable that cocoa and sugar will be regarded as falling within the category of essential raw materials in respect of which it is desirable that the British Empire should be independent of enemy sources of supply.
4.
At present cocoa from Trinidad is admitted into the United States on fair terms, and, so long as such favourable treatment is accorded, America will provide a remunerative market for the greater part of that product; and the demand so created will probably afford sufficient stimulus to ensure the maintenance and development of the cocoa industry. Moreover, it is understood that the amount of cocoa produced in British colonies is in excess of the requirements of the Empire, so that foreign supplies need not be drawn upon.
5.
The position of sugar is different. Owing to the preferential treatment accorded to Cuba and Porto Rico, the United States market is closed to Trinidad sugar. It is unnecessary to refer to the vicissitudes that the cane sugar industry has undergone in past years through the competition in the United Kingdom market of beet sugar, aided by a system of cartels and bounties, or to emphasize the need for increasing the production of sugar in British territory. It is sufficient to remark that the sugar production of Trinidad, which in 1895 amounted to 69,000 tons, had dwindled in 1912 to 40,000 tons. The rise in the price of sugar, due to war conditions, has, however, given the sugar industry a marked impetus, with the result that the crop for 1916 amounted to 68,000 tons, and the estimate for the crop for the current year is 70,000 tons. Recent inquiries show that the present production of the Colony might be increased by about fifty per cent. It is, how- ever, unlikely that the capital necessary for such development will be forthcoming unless there is reasonable probability that prices after the War will be maintained at a paying level. Such stability could be assured by the granting of a moderate preference to colonial sugar in the United Kingdom; and, if a policy of preferential tariffs is adopted by His Majesty's Government, it is recommended that such a preference should be granted to colonial sugar.
6. I have not thought it necessary to express an opinion as to the measures to be taken to prevent the sources of supply of raw materials within the Empire from falling under foreign control. His Majesty's Government will no doubt lay down the policy to be adopted in the colonies regarding such matters in the light of their experience of the enemy's operations throughout the Empire.
7. I enclose a valuable memorandum by the Collector of Customs, in which the trade conditions in Trinidad are briefly described and several practical measures are suggested with the object of enabling British firins to keep in close touch with the trade of the Colony. I commend these suggestions to the favourable consideration of Lord Balfour of Burleigh's Committee.
8. In connexion with the question of trade after the War. it may not be inopportune to point out that the import trade of the British West Indian colonies is valued at about £15,000,000 per annum. All the colonies have different tariffs and different Customs laws and regulations, a state of affairs which causes incon- venience to trade, external and intercolonial alike. As you are aware, an inter- colonial conference will shortly be held with the object of establishing uniformity in the Customs laws and regulations of several of the West Indian colonies; and such uniformity, if it can be established, will greatly facilitate trade. The trade of all these colonies would be still further benefited if they were to combine to form a Customs Union. Such a Union would place the colonies in a much more favour- able position to negotiate commercial agreements with other countries than they are at present, and would have other obvious advantages. I am aware that a serious obstacle in the way of establishing such a Customs Union arises from the fact that the colonies derive a large portion of their revenue from their Customs receipts, and there is a natural reluctance, on the part of the smaller colonies especially, to endanger their financial equilibrium by a general readjustment of import duties. It is suggested, however, that this difficulty might be overcome if it were arranged that the Customs receipts of the colonies belonging to the Union should be pooled and divided between them in fixed proportions.
I have, &c.,
J. R. CHANCELLOR,
Governor.
885/25
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE