SEEKING A WAY OUT

Dominion, Volume 25, Issue 276, 17 August 1932, Page 9

SEEKING A WAY OUT

Stern Battle Over Meat OTTAWA DISCUSSIONS Quota the Stumbling-block HOPES FOR A SETTLEMENT By Telegraph—Press Assn.—Copyright. (Jlec. August 16, 5.5 p.in.) Ottawa, August 15. The meat discussion at the Im- . perial Conference still hinges solely on the question of a quota. A British authority said to-night:—“lt isn’t a deadlock. We shall find a way out.” The “meat battle” raged again today. Neither side gave way. Mr. S. M. Bruce and Mr. J. G. Coates conferred with the British Ministers in the afternoon for several hours, the only break being a quarter of an hour’s walk across to the station to bid farewell to the Earl of Bessborough, the Governor-General, who is departing on a tour of Western Canada. The delegations then resumed _ the stern fight, and it was finally decided that both sides should sleep 'on it Mr. Bruce emphasised that he must insist on a reasonably fair agreement. He pointed out in the clearest possible terms that he would not be forced into acceptance of an agreement unsatisfactory to Australia. , It is disclosed .that there is not likely to be any difficulty regarding . Britain’s acceptance of the proposed Australian and New Zealand terms for any other commodities. Australia and New Zealand have already indicated to the last detail the maximum concessions they are pre- ■ pared to make, If meat “goes wrong. The whole thing has been thrown into the melting pot because the whole case of the two Dominions depends upon what they consider a reasonable measure of success with meat. Asked how the second round of the meat -battle was going, Mr. Bruce at lunch time replied: “Very well.” More Definite Progress Desired. The official spokesman, referring to the negotiations ' between Great Britain and the Dominions generally, said that unless there was more definite progress in the next two days there was a prospect of everything “getting cluttered up,” if the plan of closing the Conference on Thursday was adhered to. There is another possibility which is being widely discussed in the lobbies, namely, that the British-Domin-ion negotiations may be left in an unfinished stage, involving further discussions In London after the Conference. In that event the Conference will be regarded as a failure, inasmuch as the stage had been elaborate--1 ly set for the fullest business talk aiming at concrete agreements for united efforts to remove depression conditions. Five British Cabinet Ministers attended. Therefore the Dominions are. loth to. accept as. an excuse-that the plans must be. ref erred to the whole British Cabinet. Anglo-Canadian Difficulty. Canada’s dissatisfaction with Britain’s offer and the acuteness of the meat question as far as Australia and New Zealand are concerned have given rise to this, perhaps, pessimistic view. There is time yet to resolve the outstanding differences, and always the possibility of extending the Conference beyond Thursday. The spokesman admitted that the Conference’s most difficult task would be an Anglo-Canadian agreement because of Canada’s industrialisation. Mr. R. B. Bennetf conferred with the British delegates. Good progress is being made in inter-Dominlon negotiations. There is said to be a strong opinion among conference delegates that the new trade agreements should have a long term, a minimum of five years. The spokesman indicated that food taxes were still a difficult point in the present negotiations, and that suggestions for limiting Russian dumping were still being discussed. Films and Broadcasting. ' The second committee in addition to the Currency Committee, namely, the Committee on Economic Co-operation, has completed its labours. The latter’s sub-committee recommended the continuous development of wireless ' and Empire films and emphasised the cultural, instructional, and economic importance of Empire films. The report expressed gratification that since the 1926 Imperial Conference’s recommendations substantial progress had been made in the .extension of British films, due largely to improved quality. The report suggested that Empire countries should consider the standardisation of censorship methods, and British producers should in the meantime study the censorship requirements of the various Dominions, It recommended the closer liaison of responsible bodies controlling wireless, assisting toward an ideal, ensuring accessibility to the whole Empire of radio programmes of general interest. The sub-committee also considered the possibilities of mechanical recording and mechanical reproduction. Agricultural Products. The Committee on Economic Cooperation has accepted the report of the sub-committee on grading and standards of agricultural products. The report stated that there was no opportunity to give a detailed study to the subject owing to lack of time and the absence of technical officers. The report recommended the interchange of memoranda giving detailed description of grading standards operating in each Dominion and the possibility after the conference of a discussion of this subject by Dominion experts. Efforts should be made to standardise containers. Fruit Preferences.. The Dominions’ unanimous fruit proposals include preferences against the following fruits: Table grapes, grown in the open, 3d a lb during the period February to June; fresh peaches and nectarines, 3d a lb for tjie period December to April; fresh plums, 2d a lb all the year round. Fruit juices and cordials, fruit pulp, also fruit pulp free of sugar, 25 per cent, ad valorem. All Empire products free. Disclosure of Results. The official spokesman said that it was unlikely that the actual conference results would be announced except in general terms. Probably they would not disclose the details of the tariff changes. Personally he considered that the fullest disclosure would not be harmful, because traders were guessing at the general line of the outcome of the conference and had already made

plans for buying and selling hoping profitably to forestall the announcement of the decisions. Although it was a “big order,” the spokesman said that he expected that the conference would complete its I’lsiness on Thursday. He considered there was a 50-50 chance in the event of minor negotiations being outstanding that the appropriate British Ministers would remain behind. Mr. J. H. Thomas win sail homeward on August 19. The momeht he enters his cabin he will speak by radiophone to open the International Wireless Exhibition in London at Olympia. There was some comment on Mr. B. B. Bennett’s absence on Important business. Sir George Perley, who replaced him, said that the results of the conference would not be out of relation to the market’s absorption capacity. SUPPRESSED SPEECH Chancellor of Exchequer REGULATION OF SUPPLIES (Rec. August 16, 8.30 p.m.), Ottawa, August 15. It has been disclosed that the speech of Mr. Neville Chamberlain, Chancellor of the Exchequer, at the first meeting of the Currency Committee followed the lines of the report subsequently issued except that he said that among the points for serious consideration was whether the supplies of staple goods to the markets should not be regulated with a view to lifting prices. He practically suggested a universal yardstick and said that the Dominions might consider sending only the amount of products which the market could absorb. He said that it was impossible to imagine any yardstick more likely to be universally acceptable than gold. Britain had no intention of returning to the gold standard until assured that a remedy had been found for the conditions which led to the breakdown of the gold standard last year. Britain desired the utmost stability between sterling and gold countries. Nevertheless, the present world conditions were admittedly singularly unfavourable to exchange stability. Despite Britain’s exchange equalisation fund, it was doubtful whether exchanges could be kept at a uniform level. If price stability and confidence in the future of the market for staple commodities were to be restored it was necessary to search for some means of regulating supplies. If, regarding commodities sold on the sterling market, the Empire succeeded in raising wholesale prices and substituting an ordered adaptation of supply to demand replacing the present violent production fluctuations and the violent alternative of prosperity or ruin, the Empire thereby would give the world a lead which the proposed world conference might effectively support. The committee considered this a dangerous doctrine and it was there* fore omitted from the report. Unauthorised Publication. The unauthorised publication of the suppressed speech embarrassed not only the British but all the delegations. The Australians and New Zealanders were relieved when the suggestion to restrict production was eliminated from the report. To-day they feared that Britain was still pressing the Idea, but the official spokesman told newspapermen that Mr. Chamberlain had not authorised the publication. It is stated that a high Canadian authority supplied the speech to a section of the Canadian Press as part of studied propaganda to cause friction between Britain and Canada in the interests of Canadian manufacturers. Both Mr. Chamberlain and Mr. Bennett are gravely annoyed. Commenting on Mr. Chamberlain’s currency speech, Mr. 8. M. Bruce and Mr. J. G. Coates said that they objected strongly in committee against this doctrine of restricting the Dominions’ production. , Consequently, this part of Mr. Chamberlain’s statement was deleted from the committee’s report, and therefore was definitely not part of the conference’s monetary policy. CANADA’S PROPOSALS No British Decision Yet RAPPROCHEMENT IN VIEW (Rec. August 16, 10.45 p.m.) Ottawa, August 16. The Canadian Cabinet sat during the forenoon yesterday and again from 2.30 till midnight. The Prime Minister, Mr. R. B. Bennett, said: ‘‘l believe that our proposals will now accord with the British delegation’s deNevertbeless there are grounds for doubt, because the British representatives have not indicated their intentions regarding Russia—nor given a final decision on any other matter. An additional preference on lumber will be acceptable to Canada, but not fully satisfactory. The general Impression is that only two main questions remain unsettled. The first is meat, which especially concerns Australia and New Zealand and which may be adjusted in a mutually satisfactory fashion to-day. The second is the limitation of Russian dumping of lumber and wheat, on which Britain Is delaying her decision. Assuming that Britain yields to Australia’s and New Zealand’s determined stand on meat, Mr. Bennett feels that he may be placed in an unenviable isolated position as the last contestant hampering a harmonious agreement. It Is hoped that to-day’s discussions will bring the parties to a rapprochement, allowing Ottawa to end on a note of triumph.

GRAPPLING WITH FACTS Conference’s Supreme Merit , (Rec. August 16, 7 p.m.) London, August 16. “The Times” says: “The broad results of the Ottawa Conference are already plain. In all the circumstances they represent a very remarkable achievement. In the nature of things the results could not be spectacular. They consist of a series of provisional agrements—some bilateral, some multilateral—for the extension of various lines of trade between the countries of the Empire. “There is nothing to suggest that they involve any sacrifice on the part of either Britain or the Dominions comparable with their advantage. The British Empire has definitely chosen the better road. The supreme merit of this Conference is that it has steadily refused to be diverted from grappling with facts.”