EMPIRE FREE TRADE.

Press, Volume LXV, Issue 19813, 28 December 1929, Page 10

EMPIRE FREE TRADE.

! DEBATE IN THE LORDS. i j LORD BEAVERBROOK'S SPEECH,veo« or;- ■-v t osßr..*roKr>*N i : I.ON PON". November -1. Lord IVavt-rbrook has bcr-n applaud ed for taking his case for Empire Free Trade to the Hou.o -f Lords, and tber.fating criticism. His action is contrasted with those of other noble proprietors of newspapers who have left it to their newspapers to state their '•Lord Deaverbrook is much to be commended," savs "The Times,'" "tor the exemplary breach with tradition which led him to transfer a personal newspaper campaign to its rightful place in Parliament. He has set a precedent that should fortify other eminent journalists whose success ui their calling has brought them promotion to the national Senate but who can seldom be induced to face their critics. The argument which he pressed upon the Government in support of 'Empire Free Trade' thus had one element of novelty, ami if in all else it was necessarily familiar, it was irreproachably so -'' , i-i Lord Beaverbrook trom his place in the House of Lords, asked the Government if they would do anything to encourage the movement for free trade within the Empire. By free trade within the Empire was meant a movement which was to develop the resources, the industry, and the commerce of all parts of the" Empire to the fullest possible extent, and for that purpose, so far as might be possible, to make of the whole British Empire one economic unit, to do everything in our power to break down all obstacles to free trade within tTie Empire, and to make the financial resources of the Empire more fully avail able for the benefit of all parts of the Empire. He supposed that in those proposals there would be general agreement, but when it came to the methods by which it was hoped to carry them out thero might be considerable points of difference. It was hoped to carry the proposals out by building up Bitch a tariff against the foreigner as might be necessary to realise that object, but the building of that wall would depend upon, and was conditional on a reasonable responso from the rest of the Empire. No duty at all was proposed on Empire goods. On the contrary, the Empire should be free of dury. Attitude of the Dominions. Later in his speech, Lord Beaverbrook dealt with the question most frequently addressed to him: Would the Dominions consent to it? In the Howe of Representatives of New Zealand, he said, on July 18th, Mr Cobbe, the Minister for Industry and Commerce, stated that he knew of no remedy for the state of affairs which had been brought to his attention during the debate except free trade within the Empire and a tariff ' against foreign nations similar to the tariffs which they imposed. His statement showed that New Zealand regarded the scheme as not only feasible but as something that would be beneficial to New Zealand itself. In the Canadian House of Commons a Progressive member had put down a proposal with a view to the achievement of Empire free trade. That showed that there was genuine support for the proposal among politicians in Canada. There was also newspaper support, although he did not say that newspaper opposition was non-existent. Canada had a great deal to gain from free trade within the Empire, because Great Britain ws the greatest market for its wheat products. Australia also had a great deal to gain out of the "pooling" of the resources of the Empire. She had a great need of credits, and if the Empire was in a position to furnish Australia with financial facilities, that in itself was a verv great benefit. Great Britain took more wheat, meat, and wool from Australia than any other nation, and the exports of that Dominion were primarily agricultural. So far as British manufactures were concerned, there was a, great opportunity for expansion of the British motor trade in Australia without any damage to the existing key industries of that Dominion. Ihe Dominions, Lord Beaverbrook proceeded, would have great opportunities under Empire free trade of trading with each other and with the Coir onies and the Protectorates. The electorate, -t was said, would never consent to a tax on food. But the Dopunions rnd the Colonies would send their food products into this country without tariffs.- The scheme had merits which the electorate had never had an opportunity of considering. Beef Supplies. Lord Beaverbrook dealt at .some ength with the question of Argentine beet I<ive large firms controlled the trade, he paid, and they fixed among themselves the price a t which thev bought Argentine beef. One of the firms had 5000 retail butchers' shops rll*i£ ea * Brita ' n - These firms might £l? ?i. the Same markpt for Eni P'™ -f ; t 5 e 4l °Pl )o f tun ' t .V was there. It was said that they could not chill beef from Australia; it had to be frozen because the voyage was much too long! r that view. In the first place he ArUnMn el ' eVe th & b r f bro »ff h *' fr<»i nforn,^ % f r >Zen " He WM informed that a cargo of beef rmilil' and bI Tb P t ht + [ ,om AUsfr »''"' l '■» » <■■« and that the average time occupied n loading and unloading was four da.*-', making ,n all 33 dnvs. If [Zf couM be brought from Argentina n f •om ed A, C T d, . tion ifc , «* W »*kro, ght torn Australia m the s a me Period nt tune, so that it was only noSrv to tcrsuado these (inns of winch he had tt Cn i b - v « Con «*m''« advantages t. X^T'W 0 t,,rn t,lpir 'nerji,., to Srnl" 5l i r r ,M,n r at P 1 " »*M "f tlnTmU'cT alU>pether to U,e Ar «- He admittod that the Australian quality must I* improved, but nil" "»> tiiere was not going to be any im provement in quality until the" A rahans could find a market. But even n thev could n „t divert thr. rtlHi, 1 " 8 V* 6 t0 Au.tr.li?7hs. wa 3 still Rhodesian beef and Canadian beef which wag mueh better in quality than Argentine beef. * Government's Eeply. thizti Taol i f et this "p° !iti »" with the ■treotyped free trade ease, a belief m Which would prevent the Govern. He n a,se e rT^ Ur f a h ßi f ng . Me asserted that an Empire tariff against other countries must put up prices, because import duties alvvavs aid. lie was much more effective when he pointed out the variations in Lord Beaverbrook's own interpretation of Empire free trade. Last Julv the latter h f' e ' aime <* that it meant free entry of Bntish manufactures into the Dominions. To-day he said that the Dominions would be allowed to protect key industnes and preserve revenue duties H depended on what local tariffs survived under these headings whether the exceptions destroyed Lord Beaverbrook s proposals. Judging by the known attitude of the Dominion, he tnought the exceptions would be fatal Again, he pointed out that the Dominions to-day had a comparatively small share of British imports in ,tanl, "tides and he questioned their abilitv to supply ioo pe , fMt . He d Lmpir* trade waa common to all par-