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Press, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 25249, 30 July 1947, Page 7

MOSCOW TRADE , TALKS

BRITISH ACCOUNT OF FAILURE

SIR STAFFORD CRIPPS’S STATEMENT (N.Z. Press Association—Copyright) (Rec. 7 p.m.) z LONDON. July 28. The President of the Board of Trade (Sir Stafford Cripps), in a statement on the failure of the trade discussions at Moscow between Britain and Russia, said that the Soviet Government regarded it as an essential preliminary to the resumption of trading relations that Britain should adjust the terms of repayment of the credit advanced to Russia under the civil supplies agreement of 1941 to lighten the load of immediate repayment. Russia had asked particularly for a reduction of the rate of interest to J per cent., the waiving of the obligation to pay 40 per cent, of the advances still falling due in cash, and to spread the repayment credit over 12 annual instalments instead of five.

Russia had been willing to supply really substantial quantities of cereals over the next four years, and had also been prepared to ship to Britain almost all the timber available for export in 1947. Britain had succeeded in reaching agreement on all matters within the trade field, including quantities, prices, terms and conditions of shipment and had also signed contracts for building timber and pit wood. The agreement for cereals had been practically ready for signature. Britain had also reached agreement on the quantities of equipment which Soviet importing organisations would buy from British firms. “Unfortunately, with so wide an agreement on trade matters, we failed to reach agreement on the terms of repayment of the 1941 credit,” he said. Britain was prepared to meet the Russian requests for reducing the rate of interest to i per cent, and to waive the 40 per cent cash payment in respect of all contracts not yet signed, and also to go some way at heavy cost towards meeting the Russian request for lengthening the period of repayment of all advances, but Britain could not go the whole way as Russia demanded.

Sir Stafford Cripps said that the difficulties over fixing the wheat price in the Moscow talks had been overcome in the last stages of the negotiations. Britain would have secured 1,000,000 tons of grain from Russia’s 1947 harvest and rather larger quantities from subsequent harvests.

RUSSIAN GRAIN SOUGHT

REQUEST BY POLAND SEQUEL TO AMERICAN DECISION (Rec. 8.30 p.m.) LONDON. July 29. The Warsaw correspondent of “The Times” says that the Polish Government is negotiating in Moscow for larger quantities of Russian grain to meet Polish needs, which are considerably increased by the American refusal to allow Poland to participate in post-UNRRA relief for Europe. An official Polish spokesman, the correspondent adds, says that America’s decision and Poland’s own shortage of crops will force about 9,000,000 of the non-agricultural population in Poland to live this year on 1800 calories, which is 500 calories short of normal.

EMPLOYMENT OF POLES ENTRY TO BRITISH UNIONS OPPOSED MEN OF RESETTLEMENT CORPS (Special Correspondent N.Z.P.A.) (Rec. 9 p.m.) LONDON, July 29. Although th > Trades Union Congress agreed nine months ago to ask its constituent unions to accept Polish workers, fewer than 30,000 Poles have so far been admitted to British unions, and more than 70,000 still remain in the Polish Resettlement Corps, which is a direct burden upon the British taxpayer.

Some unions do not disguise their hostility to the admission of the Poles, and in a number of cases, although the union headquarters have agreed to accept them, individual lodges or branches have refused to carry out

has been created by the powerful Engineering Trades Union, which has refused outright to accept Poles as members, and has requested that those Poles already admitted to the engineering trades shouldMie dismissed. The

Ministry of Labour has been asked to investigate this immediately, and it is thought likely that the Minister of Labour (Mr George Isaacs) may personally intervene. The labour corresponde t of the “Manchester Guardiar.." discussing the growing hostility of unions towards Poles, says that much of it is attributable to a feeling among British workmen that too many of their fellow workers are being unnecessarily held in the armed forces. The Miners’ Union has succeeded in persuading its branches to accept 1600 Poles, who are already in the mines, while another 2600 men are under training, but. says the correspondent, it has admittedly found persuasion difficult. Opposition to Poles also springs from the recurrence of unfortunate incidents in which members of the Polish Resettlement Corps are involved. Recently, the Caithness County Council unanimously decided to request the Government to close *U Polish camps in Caithness. This followed a request by the council that Poles encamped in the district should be strictly disciplined and placed under a curfew. The latest protest followed a disturbance in Thurso, when two drunken soldiers caused a fight on a : bus end the polite had to be called in. Members of the council alleged that I Polish soldiers “with criminal records” were terrorising women in the 1 neighbourhood.