Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-10-19
Dominion'S Business Men
Disposed to Seek Reciprocal
Relations With England.
PREFERENCE GRANTED
SINCE 1897 IS RECALLED
Complaint Heard That Premier
Failed to Insist on Equal
Protection.
BY JOHN +. SINCLAIR.

BY JOHN +. SINCLAIR,
Special Dispatch to The Star.
TORONTO, Canada, October Ia
Canadians are frankly puzzled. They
want their foreign trade to expand, not
only with Great Britain, but with
every other country. For foreign trade
is the breath Of life to Canada.
Now, If . system Of protective pref~s-
entail tariffs Is inaugurated between
Great Britain and the various dorr.rn-
ions, will 1t spell at the same time q
corresponding drop in Canada's for
eign trade elsewhere-with the United
States, for example?
Canadas business men do not know.
They wish they did. But no British
imperial conference has ever been fol-
lowed more closely here than the pres
ent one.
Some Canadians complain that Pre-
| mier Bennett did not play his cards
as well as he should have played them.
They admit that he carried fine hand.
but that he threw out his best cards
first, instead of keeping them until ne
EQUATIONS entered the serious stage.
Gives Britain Preference.
Ever since 1897 Canada has given
British goods q preference in her mar
kets. At that time Sir Wilfred Laurier,
the Canadian premier, agreed to such
a program at the imperial conference
| as a magnanimous gesture to the
mother country. That preference Brit
iSa goods still enjoy in Canada. Cam
: ada has asked nothing in return. She
| couldn't very well ask anything, be-
cause in the British market-a free
trade market-every one, friend or foe,
has exactly the same opportunity.
But now, Premier Bennett. these
same Canadian business men say.
should have made great point of this
| fact. But he did not. He said nothing
about It. He did not bring out that
Canada is entitled to preferential con-
sideration not only from what I'VE may
do In the future, but for what we are
doing now" said one business man.
Present Contributions.
A leading student of Canadian-British
relations believes the problem of trade
! between Grea. Britain and Canada will
never get on On the right foot until
the preferences which Canada isS given
| to British goodJ fer a generation are
considered before new arrangements
are mace.
British industralists and politicians,
even the conservatives, wish to ignore
Canadas present contributions entire
ly," says H. Napier Moore Canadian
writer ANY concessions made by Brit
| ain must be In return for further con-
| cesSions by Canada and the extent Of
the British concessions must be deter
| mined, they think, by the extent of
Canada's further concessions"
The Manchester (England) Chamber
of Commerce, reviewing the proposals
M nVrnfn %nf% fra
preferential duty to British goods in
return for the same favors on British
markets said THE Canadian proposals
seem to us to call for sacrifices by Great
Britain out of all proportion to the con-
| trihutions proposed by Canada"
Such comments are frequent. Most
British periodicals are taking the same
stand They believe that any future
negotiations must start from scratch
and ignore everything that has hap
pened In the past.
To such a proposal, most Canadian
business men object. They feel that
the great sacrifice which Canadian bust
ness men have made to British business
men in the past generation should be
recognized in any future negotiations.
Partnership Idea.
But. there is even. a larger question
involved in these relationships. One of
Canada's leading. bankers expressed it
this way. .,.... ....,.
Doubtless In your life you have had
friendships that you remember above
others. You kept those friendships
rather sacred in the corner of your
mind. You might. not have met such
a friend for q year or two years, but
when. you did ne. excuses were offered,
you began right where you left of be-
fore. It was more than a casual ac-
quaintance. 1t was in the larger sense,
spiritual friendship.
Nov, suppose that after 80 years Of
such frie ndShip you meet your friend
again and suggest to him that you both
go into partnership in some business
venture in order to make a lot of money.
To me, that friendship would never be
quite. the same again. It would be
lowered to a commercial basis. Nothing
wrong with 1t, but it would never be
just the same in the future.
'FThat is the way I feel about our
Canadian government going to Great
Britain and telling the mother country
that we will give her something If she
win give us something. Otherwise, we
will make our deals with people outside"
Business Basis Urged.
There is another class of Canadian
business men who belong to the younger
group. They have been brought up on
business; they recognize that any BUSH
ness transaction should be carried on
in a business way, whether 1t happens
to be with your brother or your mother.
Canada has goods to sell. She wants
the best price she can get. Great
Britain has goods to sell, too, but she
also has goods to buy She expects to
get them at the cheapest price possible
It Is business transaction-the striking
of a bargain. Why not recognize it for
what really is-a purely business trans
action?"
Floyd s. Chalmers, editor of the
Financial Post Canada's most important
business weekly, puts the case this way:
There is general feeling in Britain
that what Canada has done has been
but the rendering of filial duties; that
our concessions have been merely
return for what Britain has done or is
doing for Canada. But British and
Canadian relations must be on a bust
ness basis today.
Great Britain, while 1t may have
rendered certain services to Canada q
hundred years ago, Is not now exploiting,
managing or defending this country we
have a right to demsnd definite,
tangible return for whatever fiscal pref
erences we give to producers in Great
Britain, return not only for whatever
further preferences we may give. but
for those We have 80 freely given rOr 80