TRADE WITHIN EMPIRE

Evening Star, Issue 20256, 17 August 1929, Page 15

TRADE WITHIN EMPIRE

MEANS OF EXPANSION HR CHURCHILL'S PROPOSAL Press Association—By Telegraph—Copyright. OTTAWA. August 15. A suggestion for an Empire :.conference of business .men antecedent to any actioi. by the various Administrations of the Empire countries, and that the conference should canvass all different ways and, ipeans of expanding Imperial trade was advanced by Air Winston Churchill; in. a speech here. He urged that the whole issue .of Interimporiai commerce ■ should be dragged out of the arena of party politics, and lifted to a higher and more reasonable platform, ami experts in the world of business should survey the problem in the same spirit as a board of directors of the world’s largest merger and should advise the Empire Governments following their investigations,

Mr Churchill confessed, that while he still considered himself a Freetrader he was not wedded indissolubly •to that ancient school of. economics.' ‘‘The question of making the Empire independent transcends the economic dootrineUan' it a plan is made I cannot say that it would be condemned because it did not conform to the economic doctrine.” He appreciated the fact that there were some things that simply could not bo done in Britain. No taxes could ever ho imposed on imported goods, while the dominions could not he expected to demolish the harriers raised as a protection for their own industries.—Australian Press As-sociation-United : Service, INCREASING TRADE. (British Official Wireless.) Press Association—By Telegraph—Copyright. RUGBY, August 15. Important figures regarding the trend of trade in food supplies within the Empire are given in a White Paper published *by the Ministry of Agriculture. Imports of grain during the year 1928 showed a notable variation in favour of Empire sources. Wheat imports from foreign countries declined by 350,000 tons in the year, while barley and oats showed reductions of 37,000 tons and 2,000 tons respectively. On the other hand, the receipts of wheat from countries within the Emj lire increased during the year by 38,000 tons, and barley and oats showed additions of 19.000 tons and 40,000 tons compared with the quantitities received in 1927 While the quantity of beef from Empire sources increased by 25,000 tons as compared with 1927 the supply from foreign countries showed a decline of 99,000 tons. On the other hand, there was an increase of 3,000 tons of mutton and lamb and 24,000 tons of pig moat from foreign countries, while the supplies from Empire sources showed practically no change as compared with the previous year. Rutter and_chee.se from countries outside the Empire decreased in quantity by 4,000 tons and 550 tons respectively, while receipts from Empire countries increased by 17,000 tons in the easo of butter and 3,000 tons in the. case of cheese. Imports of maize and of potatoes from Empire .sources also increased to a notable extent, Further' details show that in 1924 impoH ot frozen beef from the United States and South America wore more than double than those from Australasian "countries, but in 1928 the position was largely reversed, imports from Australia and Now Zealand amounting to about 50 per cent, more than those from American countries.