EMPIRE PARLIAMENT.

Auckland Star, Volume LVII, Issue 252, 23 October 1926, Page 9

EMPIRE PARLIAMENT.

IMPERIAL CONFERENCE BUSINESS. DELEGATES BITTERLY DISAPPOINTED. MARKETING AND MANDATES. (By Cable. —Press Association.—Copyright.} LOXDON, October 22. The deep impression made on the Dominion delegates by the exposition of foreign affairs questions by oir Austen Chamberlain, was in striking contrast to the effect "f the statement on Empire trade development, and Imperial economics, made by the president of the Board of Trade, Sir Phillip CunliffeLister and Mr. L. C. M. S. Amery, Secretary to the Dominions. While the speeches of the delegates will not be available until to-morrow, it is no secret that the comments of Messrs Bruce, Coatea and Hertzog were frank and very critical, particularly regarding the searching qiiestionairre of the Mandates Commission. A committee has been appointed to draw up a statement from the Dominions interested for submission to the Mandates Commission. There is a very strong opposition to the suggestion of the Commission that aggrieved persons in mandated territories should have the right to approach it as petitioners over the heads of the administrators. TRADE SURVEYS.

The debate on the trade survey was postponed, but sufficient has been said to show that the Dominion delegates were bitterly disappointed at the lack of any constructive suggestion, not to say of a practical plan, which characterised both trade surveys. One view is that, if this is the best the Dominions Office and the Board of

Trade can do, the present conference is not likely to get anywhere on the way toward developing inter-Imperial trade. « In his review of the operations of the Imperial Economic Committee and the Empire Marketing Board, Mr. Amery's only positive conclusion was that it would be most desirable to empower the committee to plan out a programme of inquiries a reasonably long time beforehand. The Marketing Board had been most valuable in helping to create voluntary preference for British goods. Enormous work could be done in the direction of

research. For instance, it was estimated

tiiit 10 per cent of the world's crops v.i destroyed every year by insects. Research would also be most'important into the problema of transportation and cold storage.

Mr. Amery added that the low temperature research station at Cambridge had done excellent work in spite of its inadequate equipment. Extra capital, amounting to £25,000, and a yearly income of £5000 were to be allotted to the station in order to develop its inquiries regarding the carriage in cold storage of all perishable foodstuffs from overseas. PREVIOUS CONFERENCE. Sir Philip Cunliffe-Lister said the success of the 1923 conference could be seen in the growth and present prospects of inter-Imperial trade. The overseas portions of the Empire were taking an increasing proportion of British exports, and Britain was doing vice versa.

"There will be special need to continue the process in the next few years," said Sir Philip. "While the effects of the war, with depreciated foreign currencies, continue to be felt, the more we buy and sell within the Empire the easier it will be to maintain our own exchanges."

The development of producers' organisations and of producers' pools would improve the standards of quality, grading and packing, also the regularity of Eupplies. But the consumers would be watchful fearing an artificial increase in price and also the policy which aimed at holding up supplies. Buyers and sellers would be assisted by a fuller disclosure of the size of stocks.

The Minister said the Marketing Board's £1.000,000 grant was a substitute for the abortive preference proposals. He expressed the opinion that it would be more valuable in increasing the sales of Empire produce than the limited preferences for which the gTant had been substituted.

Much had been done to win approval for preferences as a permanent feature of the Briltish tariff. This was rightly 80, seeing that over £100,000,000 worth of British exports enjoyed preference in ■various parts of the Empire. Close attention should be given to the Vast possibilities of advertising Empire goods by means of the cinema, from which America had admittedly derived enormous profit.

FOREIGN AFFAIRS SPEECH. DELEGATES HAVE TIME TO THINK. (Received 11 a.m.) LONDON, October 22. Copies of Sir Austen Chamberlain's speech at the sitting of the Imperial Conference dealing -with foreign affairs, have been circulated among the conference delegates for the weyk-end study preparatory to the resumption of the debate on "Monday. It is learned that the discussion on the Singapore base is reserved for the debate on Imperial defence.