THE ECONOMIC CONFERENCE.

Press, Volume LIX, Issue 17811, 10 July 1923, Page 11

THE ECONOMIC CONFERENCE.

EMPIRE PREFERENCE A i VITAL ISSUE. ; LONDON. 1- j i The f-oi:imn.i c;' •Production j I an.l Export.'' i: •• .ivurnai »: ;irl " I ; i;<h Empire- IV, i U r-,Orwnwition, J i wit!, ft th* : ' C'inillU K r<-,i!l'.-!W : i time ha-, ii<nv f"r u«'!:iutc :t-tiou j ground !'<, r ;■ r;<<■ ri<:;■! r;'!'.-rt. 1 u they ! |dM nr.' i* j j in t!:• ■ i ■•:■! ••n-i:r.\ t !i" '.-iii'T on j ji" say: • • Tiic.v an- a !-•>!;.• "i mvn j who li.'-vi- tlu!io inngniiW-tii work in J the fii'- 1 ' i/n.-.-it flii)i cui!i l ". :iri>l tr:ir- i ily iin}'"s-'i jsniirjitions uii.j ,nwch mis- ! informed criticism, ;unl we have always I used i-'. '-ry eiTort to |ircv« »*■• the cut- J tint; (.1 <iv.'ii of tins service ;o :neli eetive | jjroj.tji'* ion.-'. Tlo-y an- the complement in the J lui'ii nions of the economic side of tin' ii'Lf'! Commissioners' work in this count ry: and just ad it is necessary ';> Law the views of the Hi^'h .< ;>» to the Moilicr Country in its iv-i.sti-'iis with the Overseas •Empire, so it is equally necessary to have tiie views of these experts up«:i the various Dominions and Colonies iji their relation to tho Home Country and to each oilier. In both eases a detached and unprejudiced view should he obtained. It is particularly important from the inter-Dominion and Colonial standpoint to remember that many of these officers have served in several parts of the Empire. A Comprehensive Scheme. "It is an interesting feature of the programme of the Conference that the work of the various bodies concerned with Empire economic questions will be considered, and it is to be hoped that the large and important number of bodies, both local and central, will be consulted fully. The council of this organisation have now under consideration a, comprehensive schemo for the development of Empire manufactures, and the production of various foodstuffs and raw materials, which will be laid, together with supporting evidence, before the Conference. The , council are already in communication with the Board of Trade on the matter, and members of the organisation are urged to submit any particular points which they desire to be considered for inclusion in any recommendations that may be made." Australia's Wholesome Rudeness. "The difference between the views of the Australian and Canadian Prime Ministers, respectively, as to their mission at the Economic Conference, has deeper roots than either personal outlook or even party conviction. Mr Bruce, speaking for the Commonwealth, has avowed his intention of pressing Empire preference as a vital issue at the Conference; and every Australian. Minister, State or Commonwealth, arriving on these shores, delivers almost at the moment of impact his views on what the Imperial Government should do in its economic relationships with Australia. Canada, on the other hand, preserves an attitude of frigid amiability and perfectly correct deportment. 'lt is not for us to dictate your policy,' says the Canadian statesman to the Mother Country. "In order to understand these two attitudes we must turn them_ inside out. Australia insists on this country giving fair-play to the product of British emigrants to her shores, because her national and racial policy demands imperatively that those migrants should fill her empty spaces. _ Canada, in declining to interfere with Great Britain's fiscal policy, is giving the broadest v of hints that Great Britain must not interfere with hers. On the whole, the grumbling aggressiveness cf the Australian has a much more Ilome-and-family feeling than the somewhat Arctic aloofuess of the Canadian. pire preference i# a matter of national belief with the Australians, and if they get a little rude about it occasionally, it is only that wholesome insolence or the younger generation which keeps elderly parties from developing into old fogies." ___________