"AMERICAN BLUFF."

Evening Post, Volume LXXIX, Issue 71, 26 March 1910, Page 5

"AMERICAN BLUFF."

TAffIFF MftgSEftS. THE TH«€AT€*£D W*R. MR. BRYCE ASTEAfcSD- TO. JJy Telegraph.— Press Association.— Copyright. (Received March 26, 9 -a an.} LONDON, 2S«b March. The Times' Washington carrespoadw* states that a ebon* of ieJegrapkie protests against tie threatened tazMf war is raachmg Washington. Tithe BepuWicaire are impressed by the protests, and urge peace. The unpopularity of tha ■tariff is growing East and West. The Morning Post says that Mr. Taft fl*as requested t-he Right Hon. James Bryce (British Ambassador to the United States) to impress Canada, vitih, the necessity of granting concessions. Thi* is ithe first time that the Eight Hon. Mr. Bryce lias been interviewed since the negotiations began. A CONFERENCE. TEMPORARY AGREEMENT? CONTEMPLATED. RECIPROCITY. NEW YORK, 25th Marcli. The Canadian Finance Minister, tho Hon. W. S. Fielding, is proceeding to Washington to confer v.ith President Taft. It is believed a temporary agreement is contemplated , by which Canada escapes the maximum basis. Negotiations will be commenced shortly with a, view to reciprocity upon an extended list of articles. APPEAL TO U.S. SECRETARY OP, STATE. PRESIDENT TAFT~INTERVIEWED« WASHINGTON, 24th March. A large deputation, representing the lumber, grain, and manufacturing interests, has appealed to the United States Secretary of State (Mr. Knox) to avert a tariff war. Th«y state chat 200 million dollars' worth of trade is affected. Mr. Knox advised the deputation not to feel unduly alarmed. President Taft* in the course of an interview, said he must first have tim« to interpret an inelastic law. But for, that he would not hesitate to giv* Canada the minimum under the Payne Tariff. SIGNIFICANT BY-ELECTION. WASHINGTON, 24th Marcn. A significant by-election has taken place in Massachusetts, where Mr. Foe* turned a Republican majority of 14,980 into a Democratic majority of 5640. Mr. Foss's platform was a moderate tariff and reciprocity with Canada. WHAT FRANCE WILL DO. SATISFACTORY RESULT. LONDON, 24th March. Router's Paris correspondent reports that France has conceded the United States a minhnnm tariff on less than 100 articles out of 600 sd*edaksd, bat reserves entire liberty to raise the- rates. This is regarded as a satisfactory reealt, due to France adopting the Canadias. attitude of refusing to yield to American bluff. The opinion prevails in France that President Tafrs pliancy is due to the unpopularity of the tariff in the United States, and to the dimirmtion of America's foreign balaneo raising tho problem how to prevent targe exports o£ gold. FRANCE AND BRITAIN. ' DUTIES ON TEXTILE MACHINERY. PARIS, 25th March. Despite the French Government's opposition (at the instigation of Sir Edward Grey, British Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs), the Senate declined to modify its amendments increasing th# existing duties on British textile machinery by 25 to 30 per cent. At the end of January last the excessive character of many of the import duties adopted by the French Chamber of Deputies was occupying the attention of the British Chamber of Commerce in Paris, which addressed representations to the French Government' with reference to the extraordinarily high rates which had been imposed upon agricultural machinery, gas engines, steam engines, and many other classes of goods. In particular the British Chamber of Commerce pointed out, both in interviews with the Government and by memorial, the strange position which was being created v.-ith regard to agricultural machinery by the action of the Chamber of DeputieF, who had substituted for the present duty of 9 francs per 100 kilogrammes the minimum tariff, rates of 12 francs and 15 francs per 100 kilogrammes according to class. These new duties will represent an ad valorem rat« of from 17 per cent, to 30 per cent. At the same time the American tariff rate of 15 francs has not been changed. If the Chamber of Deputies had beea animated by a desire to penalise Great I Britain for her excellent treatment- of j imports from France, they certainly could not have done it in a better way J than this (remarked the Times' Pang correspondent) The increase of toe minimum tariff to 12 francs and 15 francs is the more extraordinary, because, according to a dsclaration expressly made in the Chamber of Deputies, it was not asked for by the French manufacturers I who are interested.