550
( 110 )
only be ascribed to the greatest desire on the part of the natives of this Colony to bear, without murmur, any burden purporting to have originated from the War. We were therefore content to treat the hardship And we sincerely trust entailed as one of the cruel necessaries brought about by the appalling War, that upon immediate cessation of hostilities, the present condition of things as regards prices of European goods will die a natural death.
9. With regard to the manufactured articles after the War, I am fully hopeful that not only will their quality excel in superiority, but that the immediate wants of the natives will be obtainable in immense quantities; and then there will be nothing to stir a faint recollection as to the quality of any class of goods sold in the Country before the War by an Enemy Firm. I consider there is every evidence that Great Britain will make supreme efforts to place her manufacturing ability upon unexcelled basis, and once that the assurance has been given there must be no doubt as to its execution. I have some difficulty in following the Assistant Comptroller's suggestion that a special tax say 10 per cent be levied on the value of the Enemy Trader's turnover (paragraph 10 of the Memorandum). I would rather suggest that any stipulations under which an Enemy Trader could be admissable, should be left entirely, with the Home Government to dictate, and that all such stipulations should be fulfilled in England before his admission into any of the British Colonies or Dependencies. Not only am I inclined to think that the local collection of the suggested tax would be a source of little or no embarrassment to the Enemy permitted to come out to trade, but that the tax will be exacted entirely from the Natives; and in this connection also there is a chance for a possible temptation into which the British and other friendly traders are very likely to fall, for there will be nothing to prevent a combine raising prices of goods so as to asimilate with Enemy's prices of goods. In that case too, none but the Native is the sufferer.
10. With regard to the questions propounded to the Commercial and Industrial Policy Committee, I should on the whole support a policy of Imperial Preference, which, in principle, should aim at preference being given to the products and manufactures of the Colonies in the Empire, having regard to the Customs duties imposed on imports into the United Kingdom. The Policy that resolves itself into the remission or reduction of Customs duties on the products or manufactures of the Empire is, in my humble opinion, bound to meet with both an enthusiastic reception and most satisfactory results. Where higher duties were imposed on products outside the Empire the products of the Empire would be preferred to those of other places, and the economical relations of the Empire's Colonies with the United Kingdom would then be more developed and strengthened. In every circumstance however, it behoves the Local Government to take every precatoinary measure so that the Enemy Traders, and not the indigenous population, should be the sufferers of any burden that the innovations necessitated by the War would create.
11. I beg to apologise for the serious delay in answering your letter which reached me at the time my whole attention was occupied by the matter of the recruiting for the War.
THE HONOURABLE,
THE ACTING COLONIAL SECRETARY,
VICTORIABORG,
ACCRA.
I have the honour to be,
Sir,
Your most obedient Servant,
OFORI ATTA,
Omanhene, Akim Abuakwa.
Enclosure V in Gold Coast Confidential Despatch of 15th August, 1917.
GENERAL SCHEME OF TRADE RECONSTRUCTION
BOTH NOW AND AFTER THE WAR.
( 111 )
In dealing with so big a question as the general scheme of trade reconstruction both now and after the war in so far as this country is concerned, patriotic considerations should not be allowed to outweigh the logic of facts. It is essential that the commercial and political aims of the Empire should be safeguarded and promoted in the most beneficial manner. But there are certain elements of danger in the proposal which may work against the interests of the people of this country and which should be given careful and mature consideration.
This country has no manufacturing facilities for converting raw materials into suitable commodities for British and foreign markets as well as for home consumption, consequently when penalties are introduced for the purpose of penalising enemy and neutral countries in order to reserve our exports for the Empire and its Allies, a monopoly of economic products would be created, and native producers, deprived of the right of supplying foreign markets, would be compelled to sell their produce at a great loss. In such a state of affairs, the small planters or farmers will gradually drop off and so will the big planters eventually. And it is not unlikely that, placed in such a predicament, the forces of organised capital may bring pressure to bear on the Government to stimulate production and legislation for the purpose may be introduced. In a word, economic serfdom will be introduced in this country and great disaffection would result.
In considering this question from the Imperial standpoint, one is tempted to ask are the rights of the native races of the Empire going to be enlarged and respected after the war, if so, on what guarantees ? In the light of recent events, cocoa producers of this country have suffered great financial loss in their output of crops this season. From 18/- a load at the beginning of the season, the price has gradually dropped to something like 3/- and 2/6 per load. There is a consensus of opinion that if the present state of affairs continue, the industry will be killed eventually. Now, if after the war restrictions are imposed in order to reserve the exports of this country for the benefit of Great Britain and her Allies, and when one recalls the fact that even before the war "trading rings" had controlled local prices to the detriment of the producers, what guarantees are going to be provided against the resultant legislation to stimulate production, when natives, dissatisfied with conditions inimical to their interests, discontinue the production of commercial products? Will Great Britain and her Allies give assurances to the native races in the Empire that they will be fully prepared to deal with all the commercial products they wish to reserve for themselves and pay fair prices for them, in order to guard against exploitation and slumps in prices as the result of want of competition from without? The whole question is so fraught with danger that serious consideration should be given to it before any step is taken. Germany and her Allies must be punished for their present conduct and be restricted by legitimate means in their economic warfare after the war. the fact should not be lost sight of that Germany, in her economic war for the World's trade before the war, did not do so at the expense of the native races in her colonies now lost to her. She encouraged them by offering fair prices for their products and by helping them to produce the best.
But
The proposal to surtax enemy and neutral imports would not, in my opinion, operate as an effective measure to oust enemy and neutral competition. On the contrary, the German with his remarkable resourcefulness would very soon compete and capture the trade unless he can be entirely prohibited from trading in the Empire and the Allied countries. If, however, the door be closed to Germany and her Allies and neutral countries in friendly relations with them are allowed to trade in the Empire whether under a surtax or not, leakages to Germany and her Allies would not be improbable and the same conditions which existed before the war would prevail to their manifest benefit.
History has always repeated itself, and who can say that Russia and France who are to-day the friends of Great Britain may not be her enemies to-morrow, and who knows that Germany may not be the friend of Great Britain and her Allics some day after this great war? Why then create landmarks of " commercial disabilities" at the expense of the native subjects of the Empire? For her present conduct Germany deserves punishment. But care should be taken by Great Britain to see that the evil effects of non-com- petition under the proposed reconstruction do not press unduly on those who have given freely of their men and money to fight the common foe. It has been well said that " competition is the soul of business," and Great Britain should see to it that the myriads of divers races under her sway who naturally look up to her for protection in their commercial relations with herself and her Allies, receive just and equitable treatment. In other words, they should be granted the full enjoyment of legitimate and healthy com- petition which accords with the principle of "Live and let live."
I am not in favour of imposts on economic products such as palm oil and palm kernels as has been suggested, for the purpose of keeping enemy and neutral interests out of this country for the benefit of Great Britain. The proposal would seem to argue the introduction of economic serfdom to the detriment of the native population as I have pointed out above. If British Merchants in England and Allied countries desire to deal with enemy and neutral countries in such products, the weight of any resultant taxation must be made to fall on dealers on the other side and not on those on this side.
MR. MITCHELL, the Assistant Comptroller of Customs, has so fully and ably dealt with this subject that I propose to make only a few comments thereon.
E. J. P. BROWN.
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
19
C.O.
Reference :-
885/25
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
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