The Importance of Inter-Imperial Trade. ,
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IN HIS speech to the Scottish members of the Federation of British Industries, the President, Col, 0. C. Armstrong, D.S.O., laid stress upon the need for the development of inter-Imperial trade as a means of alleviating the present stringency. Because of our great national advantages (similarity of ideas, close relationship between individuals and peoples, identity of language, and favourable conditions of tariff and exchange) the.task of cultivating this trade should be eaaier for us than for our foreign competitors, and every forward step in the required direction must eventually be to the benefit not only of the Empire, but of every constituent part.
The total population of Canada, New Zealand, Australia, and South. Africa is 22,000,000, and every rtionth the emigration figures show a steady outward flow from the Mother Country. it may be hard to lose good men, but the population of the Dominions can only be increased advantageously at the cost of the Homeland, and the resources of the Dominions can only be developed by an adequate population. With the products of enterprise in the Dominions trade can be concluded with this country, the consumption power of both markets thereby being improved.
Col. Armstrong is right inadvocating a careful study of the legitimate needs and aspirations of the Dominions themselves, and the avoidance of schemes which do not accord therewith, even if, at the moment, they may seem to deal with our present necessities.
Building for Overseas Trade.
NE OF the greatest of the difficulties which face the British designer of motor vehicles is that of producing machines which can successfully be employed in all parts of tho world. Few designers have at their command an extensive knowledge, or the means of obtaining such, of the vat ions districts throughout---the world where suitably designed and equipped motor vehicles are, or can be, employed, and yet, to be successful, local conditions must most certainly be studied.
At the recent annual dinner of the Institution of Automobile Engineers, the president, Lt.-Col. .11 J. Smith, referred to a new development in the activities of the Institution. This is the gathering of full information as to the conditions obtaining in all parts of the Empire, and of the vehicles, required to meet those conditions. This information will be colltted and will be at the seivice of the members of the Institution, and the scheme, if carried out in a thorough manner—as will no doubt he the case—will certainly prove of the utmost value.
A New Six-wheel Move.
ANEW turn is being given, at the _present moment, to the question of adopting an increased number of wheels for certain types of commercial vehicle chassis, in order the better to distribute the load and to reduce road wear. An opportunity is being provided for British manufacturers which, in our opinion (for all the facts have been communicated to us and we, ourselves, are doing all we can to bring the representative of the concern making the offer into touch with the right men on the administrative staffs of the British manufacturers), is particularly valuable. We think that the proposal which -will be put forward should be subjected to a very thorough consideration by the technical and sales departments, and a careful report made to the management.. The drawing office, on a scrutiny of the facts and figures submitted, will, we feel .sure, find that the six-wheeled vehicle (four of the wheels driving) offers distinct technical advantages, whilst the sales department will admit that the possibility of carrying larger loads at higher speeds and with lower running costs per ton-mile, appeals very greatly to those who to-day are C011sidering the purchase of new vehicles.
We do not wish to ha too direct in our remarks at the present juncture, for reasons which we think desirable in the interests of British manufacturers to withhold (except in correspondence or by word of mouth), but if any manufacturer, who may not so far have been approached, is anxious to know the nature of the proposal, we shall be pleased to bring the two sides into touch with each other. We regard this move as the most useful that has yet been made in the matter of an advance, in the direction of mme wheels to carry the, load.. .
Fire Risks in Small Communities.
IT IS an established fact that, in spite of the great improvements and increases which have been . effected in the fire-fighting equipment of many of the smaller towns, there are still thousands of fairsized communities and very large areas in different parts of the country in which there is a lamentable lack of the wherewithal for combating even the
smallest outbreaks. The situation of the private estate or country mansion is often very bad, and if a fire oecurs, the burning buildings are often doomed from the outset, as is proved by the irretrievable loss of so many of our ancestral homes—often. architectural gems of national importance. The difficulty in arranging for the upkeep of equipment at such points has always been the great cost which had to be incurred for fire pumps capable of dealing with fair-sized outbreaks. This difficulty has I1ONL, to a great extent, been overcome, and it is unnecessary to purchase an. expensive and complicated machine. This has been achieved by the use of really efficient, self-contained pumps cornprising a petrol engine and turbine fire pump coupled together and spring-mounted on a pair of wheels shod either with solid or pneumatic tyres. If required for towing at speed behind a motor vehicle, then pneumatic tyres are essential. Where fires occur :in farm, buildings or cottages it is often difficult-, if not impossible, to take an ordinary engine close to the scene of action, but the trailer pump can. be dieconitected from its towing vehicle arid man-handled to any point required. •
Where an even cheaper outfit is desired, small aml efficient turbine pumps can be fitted to existing motor vehicles and driven by the engines of the latter. By making use of a second-hand vehicle, such a, pump-equipped fire tender can be built up for something like £250. For estates and country houses, such a machine will pay for itself in a very short time, for the fad, a having a fire tender in the immediate vicinity of the premises brings an automatic reduction of something -like 12 per cent. in the fire premiums, and it would not be going too far to say that, before very long, the larger isolated houses and even the smallest villages will allbe well equipped to withstand the ravages of one of man's greatest enemies.