EMPIRE TRADE

Greymouth Evening Star, 13 August 1930, Page 6

EMPIRE TRADE

BRITISH MINERS NEUTRAL.

[BY CABLE —PRESS ASSN. —COPYBIGHT.]

LONDON, August 12.

The opening of the Miners Federation Conference took place to-day. Mr Richards, the acting President,, in his opening address, declared the conference offered no objection to the General Council of Trades Unions investigating the possibilities of industrial and economic relations with the Dominions in order to enable Britons to form a judgment on the schemes proposed for the mutual exchange or commodities, independent -of tariffs, but the coalmining industry was not interested, owing to the fact that the overwhelming proportion of the coal exported from Britain went to Europe. Lord Beaverbrook’s scheme of Empire free trade, however, would seriously affect the miners in the coal exporting districts, and’ it would involve great unemployment.

SOVIET FOOD “DUMPING.”

[special to “stab.”]

WELLINGTON, August 12.

Drawing attention to a cablegram in the newspapers to the effect that the Russian Soviet was planning to dump large quantities of foodstuffs into England, including butter, thus affecting the produce imported from New Zealand and other Dominions, Mr. Samuel asked the Prime Minister, as a matter of urgency, in the House, to-day, whether when he went Home to the Imperial Conference, he would give this important question his attention and see what could be done to protect the New Zealand producer. The Prime Minister (Mr. Forbes) said he would be very pleased to go into the matter. It affected the question of preference to the Dominion, which no doubt, would come up for discussion at the Conference. . Mr. H. E. Holland: Surely you would not take that cablegram to be anything more than propaganda?

PUBLIC UTILITIES.

(Recd. August 13, 11 a.m.) LONDON, August 12.

It is now disclosed that a comprehensive scheme will be submitted to the InYperial Conference, involving the formation of public utility corpora tions for the purpose of developing the unsettled parts of the Empire. The proposals differ from the present migration methods, inasmuch as the aim will be to build up entirely new settlements, containing self-support-ing communities of varied occupa-' tions. The corporations, backed by Government credit, would act as Government contractors, employing men and women for definite periods.