ENTRY TO BRITAIN

Evening Post, Volume CXV, Issue 82, 7 April 1933, Page 8

ENTRY TO BRITAIN

SHOULD BE UNTRAMMELLED

(From "The Post's" Representative.) ~: LONDON, February 21. ' The "Daily Mail," in its City column today, comments:— "Holders of New Zealand Government issues are watching with a certain amount of concern the trend of events which indicate a desire to restrict New Zealand dairy exports to this country. Such a course appears highly inadvisable, inasmuch as if it were pursued it might event aally place' New Zealand loans, in'jeopardy. New Zealand's improved position of late is due partly to the lowering oif her currency to the same level as AYistralia, and partly to the belief that as a result of the Ottawa agreement she was to enjoy unrestricted entry cf her dairy products to this country. • "Our. Dominions should certainly be encouraged to export to capacity even if this entails our taxing foreign dairy imports. While both tho Australian and New Zealand, financial positions have been greatly improved during recent mouths, they still need all the assistance that can be given them for their exports. Confidence has been reestablished in the Union of South Africa as a result of the recent change in her monetary system. The costly nature of the twelve months' unnecessary delay is now generally appreciated. With such striking examplos available as are offered by Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa, it is remarkable that Canada is still fighting what I believe to be the inevitable "Admittedly her external debt to the United States introduces a difficult clement. At the same time, I feel that the Dominion would find that she made more on the swings of export trade than she would lose on the roundabouts of external debt payments if she harnessed her dollar to sterling without further delay. AVhile I gather thero is a steady stream of sales of Canadian dollar securities by foreigners, there is also a counter movement in the direction of buying of Canadian gold shares. , Each of these operations is based on the belief that the Montreal dollar -will weaken further." "THE EROPEB COUKSE." In a leading article tho journal says:— "News which we publish today shows that the British suggestion of restrictions on tho dairy exports from New Zea^ land to this country is causing (as it well might) no little anxiety iii that Dominion. She has faced the world slump with magnificent courage and is "pulling through," to use the phrase which tho Prince of Wales employed in his stirring speech last night. On her access to our market she depends for the funds to pay interest on the loans which she has coatracted hero and which amount to & 160,000,000. Her people are among our very best customers and are loyal citizens of the Empire. If the importation of food products has to ,bo limited, our proper course is surely to act in the Ottawa spirit and to restrict food imports from foreign countries, not those from British Dominions. We could do this by imposing quotas or levying higher duties on foreign imports. "Tho Argentine, for cxnmplo, has sold in this country produce to the value of £160,100,000 in the last three years, and has bought from us goods of a value of only £50,500,000. Whero its imports compete with those of New Zealnnd. it should pay much neavier duties. "Again, thero is tho Free Stale, which, under Mr. do Valera, has repudiated the land annuities, and is proposing to shut out British manufactures from its ports and to annex Ulster. There should be no hesitation in imposing much . .Heavier duties on any Tree State, products that compete with New Zealand, thus ■ giving tho loyal Dominion fair play."