57
473
SIR,
Enclosure 1 in No. 14.
Port of Spain, Trinidad,
1917.
British West Indies, 20th January, I HAVE the honour to acknowledge receipt of your letter No: 6133/1916/3480, of 13th November last, with enclosures as stated, with respect to measures to be adopted after the War. This was laid before the Chamber at a meeting held yesterday, and it was unanimously resolved to forward, by way of reply, a statement by the Committee, dated 22nd December, 1916, a copy of which I beg to attach for the information of His Excellency the Governor.
The Honourable
W. M. Gordon,
Acting Colonial Secretary.
Port of Spain, Trinidad,
I have, &c.,
ADAM SMITH,
Honorary Secretary.
British West Indies, 22nd December, 1916. THE Committee of the Chamber have considered the Colonial Secretary's letter of the 13th November, with its enclosures respecting "trade after the War." They have read carefully the letter of the Secretary of State for the Colonies of 25th September, the recommendations of the Economic Conference of the Allies held at Paris on 14th, 15th, 16th, and 17th June, 1916, and the reference to the committee appointed by the Prime Minister as embodied in questions (a), (b), (c). and (d), and, after discussion, beg to submit the following suggested answers to those questions:-
-
(a) What industries are essential to the future safety of the nation; and
what steps should be taken to maintain or establish them?
The Committee gather from the letter of the Secretary of State that it is intended each colony should speak for itself from the viewpoint of its own con- ditions, and, bearing this in mind, the Committee desire to express their opinion that the sugar and oil industries, with their subsidiary products, as also the cocoa and coco-nut cultivations, are all in varying degrees essential to the future safety of the nation, and they are, of course, essential to the existence of this Colony. The steps which should be taken to maintain them can be summed up in three words, "inter-Empire preference." This policy would stimulate the progress of industries and products of all classes, and, so far as this Colony is concerned, would give fresh life to the important sugar industry, which had been nearly crushed out of existence by the dumping in the United Kingdom of enormous quantities of beet sugar, chiefly of German and Austrian origin, which, owing to the system of bounties and cartels, could be sold at prices under the cost of production of sugar made from British-grown cane.
(b) What steps should be taken to recover home and foreign trade lost
during the War, and to secure new markets?
With
This is a question more for the Mother Country and for the large Self- Our export trade governing Dominions than for a small Colony such as this. generally has benefited by the War. At present, however, one of our most important products, cocoa, is suffering because foreign-grown cocoa, which heretofore has been absorbed chiefly by Central Europe, is now, owing to the more effective blockade of Germany, thrown on to the London market with depressing effects. The remedy for this would again appear to be "inter-Empire preference." regard to our import trade, it has been inevitable that, owing to war conditions, we have had to seek in foreign countries many of the supplies which we heretofore obtained from the United Kingdom. On the resumption of normal conditions most of this trade will revert to the home country, especially if manufacturers will abandon the policy of conservatism that has moved a very substantial proportion of business from the United Kingdom to foreign countries and show themselves prepared to meet the wishes of consumers as regards the style of their manufac- tures. To insist upon a customer taking an article square when he wishes it round, because the manufacturer has not been in the habit of making it round, is a very sure method of driving trade away, and such a policy must be abandoned.
The way to secure new markets is to be prepared to supply those markets with goods which they prefer.
(c) To what extent and by what means the resources of the Empire should,
and can, be developed.
The resources of the Empire can be developed to an extent practically illimitable, and to attain this end a British Trade Bank should be founded to give more assistance to both agricultural and commercial enterprises. The Govern- ment should also foster and encourage private enterprise, and should control or do away with all rings" or combinations which tend towards destroying com- petition, such, for instance, as the Conference of Steamship Lines, which has raised rates of freight to figures not by any means justified by existing conditions, and which has also established an objectionable system of rebates under which shippers are unfairly bound for long periods of time. No steamers seeking employment need call at this port, as any firm shipping by such an opportunity is boycotted or penalized thereafter. Thus, steamers desiring oil fuel or cargoes of asphalt are often discouraged from calling here, and our trade, more especially in those important products, is in consequence restricted instead of being developed.
(d) To what extent and by what means the sources of supply within the
Empire can be prevented from falling under foreign control.
It ought to be possible to prevent entirely the sources of supply within the Empire from falling under foreign control, but to do so effectually the Mother Country and the colonies must work hand in hand. So far as this Colony is con- cerned it has already been suggested that naturalization in general should not be so easily or lightly granted as has hitherto been the case, and that, as regards the subjects of what are now enemy countries, they should be debarred altogether from naturalization for a considerable period of years. The question has also been raised as to whether aliens of any country should be allowed to own or acquire real property. It is suggested that they should not be allowed to hold real property, and that this prohibition should attach not only to individuals but to companies or corporations in which aliens possess a controlling interest.
W. GORDON-GORDON. J. H. SMITH. A. H. CIPRIANI.
Enclosure 2 in No. 14.
G. F. HUGGINS.
T. BOYD.
E. TRIPP.
ADAM SMITH,
RESOLUTION PASSED BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ON 14TH JULY, 1916.
RESOLVED:—
1. That, in the opinion of this Council, it is desirable that legislation, both Imperial and colonial, should be initiated at as early a date as possible, having for its object the safeguarding of British trade after the War and its protection against the unfair competition formerly created by the dumping of the products and manufactures of Germany and other enemy powers in British markets.
2. That this Council advocates the adoption of efficient measures to build up the industries of the British Empire by British capital and labour on British soil.
Enclosure 3 in No. 14.
MEMORANDUM of Trade CONDITIONS IN TRINIDAD.
1. THE import trade of Trinidad amounts in value to about £3,000,000
per annum.
2. The imports are mainly foodstuffs from the United States and Canada; manufactured articles of almost every description, the larger proportion obtained from the United Kingdom: and coal, coke, and lumber from the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada respectively.
3. Importers may be divided into two classes, those dealing in foodstuffs and those in manufactured articles.
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Reference :-
CO.885/25
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