It is popular to abuse all Government enterprise on the grounds that governments cannot do business, and that all trading, ete., should be left to private enterprise. I have referred more than once to the attacks upon Government trade commissioners and to the deficiencies of private entecprise which they have pointed out, but it came as a shock even to tha directors of private enterprise themselves to learn from two lead-jing _pastoralist-politicians, who have just returned from a visit to England, that the depression in the sale of Australian beef was practically the fault of the Australian themselves. They described how the Australian cattle were knocked about before reaching the meatworks, as compared with the Argentine methods of padded railway trucks, shower-baths and other amenities afforded Argentine stock, while in the United Kingdom the Argentine sellers had established 3,000 retail shops to get their meat before the public, though it was possible to discover many leading men in Britain who had never even. heard of Australian beef. The speeches from which these summarized statement are extracted were made in connexion with a Bill which has passed both Houses to grant a small subsidy on the export of beef, frozen or in cans, The total subsidy will not amount to more than £160,000, but it was offered conditionally on the costs of production being brought down.
Senator Bakhap, whose report on his visit to China has now published, has quite a lot to say on the incapacity of private ~nuterprise to exercise initiative and push trade. Most of the leaders of Australian business houses come from the old country, where conservatism is still rampant, despite the scorching criticism by the present King when, after his torr round the world as Duke of York, he addressed the citizens of London and told them what he thought of their foreign trade policy. So far as China trade is concerned, we are appreciating some very cogent home truths from Mr. E. 8. Little.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.