TRAIN OF EVENTS

Evening Post, Volume CXIV, Issue 18, 21 July 1932, Page 11

TRAIN OF EVENTS

LEADING TO CONFERENCE

MR. BENNETTS PART

The background to the prosent Im; perial Economic Conference dates from February, 1929. . Tho exact origin is a matter of controversy. -Mr. Bennett early in 1929 made a speech in the Commons in which he advocated the summoning of an Imperial Economic Conference; to con* sider "two great problems, settlement and developine'nt." At the same time General A. D. Meßae, one of Mr. Bennett's lieutenants, revived his proposal of the preceding year for a Government ■ settitonent scheme" involving 300,000,000 dollars oyor a^teE-year period, to bring 2,000,000 additional population, chiefly from Great Britain, to the prairie provinces, - - -', ■■;■.;..-..■

This, according to a recent speech by Air.'Bennett, was. the genesis of the present Conference. But Mr. Mackenzie King; disagrees with him. It seems that the> late Liberal Government was favourably, impressed by, the firpt Im-, perial Economic Conference,, held at London in 1923, and'that Mr. King, at the 1926 Imperial Conference, suggested holding economic meetings at frequent intervals. Ho was not concerned so much with settlement and development as with trade and communications, says the "Winnipeg Free Press."

Anyhow, acting either upon theii;~own initiative. or accepting .Mr. Bennett's advice, the Liberal Ministry in 1929 invited the rest of,the Empire to join in an Economic Conference. After some negotiating the invitation was accepted, the locale fixed for London, and tho time—the summer of 1930. The Canadian General Election caused a postponement until.October/ and ineautinia Mr. Bennott had : succeeded- Mr. King in the Premiership. Prior to leaving for London, Mr. Bennett, in September, 1930, summoned a special session of Parliament at which ho raised the British' preferential tariff on most of the important items of- British import trade. In addition, the Custom ict was amended to empowerIho Government to raise the tariff by Order in Council. This special power,

however, was not exercised until after the Imperifi.l Economic Conference had concluded. / NO COMPROMISE. Mr. Bennett sailed for London late in September, and-raade his first Conference speech on Ist October. In this speech he affirmed his belief in the tariff, enactments recently achieved at Ot-1 tawa, and said ho would have definite views to put before the Conference at-.' tho appropriate time. He chose Sth Octobor, •and in a spbeeh oh that day,ho put this, proposition very forcibly before the delegates:— -

"I put the question, definitely■ •■ to you, and definitely it should bo answered. Thero'is no room here for compromise. There is no possibility of avoiding the issue. This is a time for plain speaking, and I speak plainly when I say tho day is.now'at hand when the peoples of the Empire must decide for once and all whether welfare lies in. closer economic union or whether it does not. Delay is hazardous, and further discussion of tho principle is suroly unnecessary. The1 time for action'"lias come:" Then came the policy:— "I Offer to the Mother Country and to all other parts of the Empire a preference.in tho Canadian market in exchange for like preferences in theirs, based upon ■ the' addition of a 10 per cent, incrcaso in the prevailing general tariffs, or upon tariffs yet to bo created. In the universal acceptanco of this, and in liko propdsals aiid acceptances by all other parts of tho Enipire, we attain to the ideal of Empire preference." At the same time, Mr. Beunott mado it quite cloar that the policy of protection was not to be abandoned. He said: — "Tho Conservative Party of Canada believes in and employs the principle of protection of tho-homo producer of 1 agricultural and fabricated products I from harmful interference by world • competitors. But it is not part of our policy to exclude from . our - markets ' foreign goods so long as their importation does not threaten a reduction |m the high standard of living which our ' citizens enjoy. On the other hand, it 1 is our declared policy to provide for the consumer!a cheap market by stimulating the' growth of competing domestic '.■: industries to that1 point o£ development where they will bo able,-in fair competition ■with others beyond' our Dominion, to offer to tho Canadian pub-!

lie products of like quality and at pric<:« comparable to thoso prevailing

in t'.le large markets of other countries.

. . . This policy of tho Conservative Parly has come to be know-n as tho policy of 'Canada First.' Tn approaching the cconomio problems of our Empire, I stand foursquare behind that policy."