The speaker passed next to the question of commercial relations between the mother land and its colonies. "Two salient facts" he set with emphasis before his colonial audience. "The first is this. That if we chose—that is to say, if those whom we represent chose—the Empire might be self-sustaining. It is so wide; its products are so various; its climates so different, that there is absolutely nothing which is necessary to our existence, hardly anything which is desirable as a luxury, which can not be produced within the borders of the Empire itself. And the second salient fact is that the Empire at the present time, and especially the United Kingdom—which is the great market of the world—derives the greater part of its necessaries from foreign countries, and that it exports the largest part of its available produce —surplus produce—also to foreign countries. This trade might be the trade, the inter-imperial trade, of the Empire. It is at the present time, as I say, a trade largely between the Empire and foreign countries. Now, I confess, that to my mind that is not a satisfactory state of things, and I hope that you will agree with me that everything which can possibly tend to increase the interchange of products between the different parts of the Empire is deserving of our cordial encouragement. What we desire, what His Majesty’s Government has publicly stated to be the object for which they would most gladly strive, is a free interchange. If you are unable to accept that as a principle, then I ask you how far can you approach to it? If a free interchange between the different parts of the Empire could be secured it would then be a matter for separate consideration altogether what should be the attitude of the Empire as a whole or of its several parts towards foreign nations? … "Three proposals have been made for the consideration of the present Conference, on the initiative of New Zealand. The first and the most important one is that a preferential tariff should be arranged in favour of British goods which are now taxable in the respective Colonies and in the United Kingdom. And although no proposal comes to us from Canada, I am, of course, aware that similar questions have been recently specially discussed very actively and very intelligently in the Dominion, and that a strong opinion prevails there that the time is ripe for something of this kind." {53}