HOMELAND TARIFFS

Greymouth Evening Star, 18 November 1931, Page 5

HOMELAND TARIFFS

PROTECTIONIST DEMANDS THOMAS’S TOUR QUESTIONED [by CABLE —PRESS ASSN. —COPYBIGHT.] LONDON, November 16.

In the House of Commons, Mr Leopold Amery (Conservative) said that customs tariffs must be the foundation of the Government’s task. He claimed that a mandate had been given for tariffs and said that it demanded prompt action. The economic situation was still very serious, and if the Government suspended action till February, a crash might come in the interval. The postonement of an Imperial Economic Conference was only justifiable if Parliament immediately decided what duties it would adopt, and what offers it could make to the Dominions. Negotiations, he said, should be opened before December3l, in order that agreements might be ready for confirmation by the Imperial Economic Conference at Ottawa. If Mr Thomas toured the Dominions without any plan, he would be told that his journey was useless. The Dominions did not want any more* talk and any more “hot air.” If there was going to be an, emergency tariff, it would be better to have it in December than in February. Mr H. L. Boyce (Conservative, Gloucester) said that Mr Amery, and not Mr J- H. Thomas, should have been chosen to represent the Government at the Imperial Economic Conference. It was a mistake to delay that conference until July. The majority of the Dominions wanted it early in the New Year. So did the members of the House of Commons. Personally, he could not help feeling that this delay was not unconnected with Mr J. H. Thomas’s desire to make a visit to the Dominions. What was the object of his tour? The House should have the assurance that any appeal that Mr Thomas was going to make to the Dominions was different from that which was made to the Dominions Ministers when they were here in London. Mr Boyce continued that the Dominions’ viewpoint was already known. The Australian Government were pressing for an earlier Ottawa Economic Conference. The opinion of successive New Zealand Governments had never been doubtful. Mr Albery asked which Dominions Mr Thomas proposed to visit before the Imperial Conference, when he will depart, and how long he will be absent. , . Mr Thomas said his plans were not yet definitely made. Mr Albery: Is inability to answer the question due to the fact that it is intended to hold the Conference earlier? Mr Thomas: No Sir, the date was arranged to ensure the attendance of all the Dominions. Nothing would be more fatal, in my judgment, than any Dominion being unable to attend, u is far better to fix a date for qjl,’ than to be premature. Replying to another questioner, he said the detailed estimate of the cost of the trip was not made, but the value of a general Empire agreement outweighs all consideration of cost.

ANTI-DJJMPING DUTIES. LONDON, November 17The Conservatives and many of the Liberals commend Mr W- Runciman's speech on the new duties and the proposals, though some of the SamueliteÜberals are glum. There is disappointment that agriculture has been left till later in. the matter and also that canned and preserved foodstuffs are not to be included in the dutiable articles. This exhausts criticism heard in the lobby. The speech satisfied' even the critical Sir Henry Page Croft (Conservative), who said that it was evident that the Cabinet were impressed by the urgency of the problem. , The Government’s powers will apply to the whole range manufactured and mainly-manufactured imports, including the Part Three of the Board of Trade Monthly Returns, representing between 200 and 300 millions worth of imports annually during the present year. The value of these imports to the end of October was 215 millions. The Conservative Press cordially welcomed the proposals.

BILL TO BE RUSHED THROUGH. [OFFICIAL wireless.] RUGBY, November 17. No time will be lost in passing through the various stages in both Houses, the Bill to deal with the threatened abnormal flow of imports into England, which was outlined in the House of Commons yesterday by Mr Runciman. As the Bill will be a revenue-producing measure, a financial resolution must be passed in the Committee of Ways and Means of the Commons, and both the Committee and report stages of this resolution will be taken at to-day’s sitting. A special authorisation by resolution of the House will be necessary to enable this to be effected, and this will probably be moved by Mr Baldwin. When these preliminaries are completed, the Bill will be read the first time to night. The second reading will be taken to-morrow, and the third reading on Thursday. It is anticipated that the House of Lords will pass the Bill through all its stages on Friday and that it will receive the Royal assent on Friday night. The Bill will apply to all articles included in Class 3 of the Board of Trade returns. Articles wholly or mainly manufactured, which come under this heading, include the follow, ing general categories: Coke, manufactured fuel, pottery, glass, abrasives, etc., iron and steel and the manufactures thereof, non-f erreou 3. metals and the manufactures thereof, goods and apparatus, machinery, the manufactures of wood and cotton yarns and manufactures, woollen and worsted yarns, and manufactures, silk and silk manufactures, the manufactures of other textile material, apparel, chemicals, drugs, dyes, colours, oils, fats, leather and the 1 manufactures thereof, paper, cardboard, vehicles, including locomotives, ships, aircraft, rubber manufactures, and miscellaneous articles. As under the ordinary procedure of the Commons, in dealing with financial business, it would take a fortnight to pass'into law the legislation. The Government to-day received

the approval of the House for the exceptional procedure. In moving the resolution in the Committee of Ways and Means tonight, Mr Runciman said that when the importations were first brought io the Government’s notice, they were exceptional, 'but they had since/ increased in volume considerably. Under those circumstances, the Government was bound to take the steps, which he had described yesterday. The resolution on procedure, moved previously by. Mr Baldwin, was passed by 396 votes to 51.

PRINCE OF WALES’ APPEAL. RUGBY, November 16. An appeal to the nation to ’ buy British goods to lessen unemployment and restore prosperity, made by the Prince of Wales in a speech at the opening of the “Buy British” campaign of the Empire Marketing Board, was broadcast to-night from Birmingham. He backed the appeal, he said, not only as a consumer, but also as a farmer and breeder in both England and Canada. He also appealed as mastei; of the fishing fleets. He was concerned to see the arduous labour of the fishermen justly rewarded. As one who had been able to travel widely,, in the Empire overseas he realised how greatly overseas prosperity and ability to buy from the United Kingdom depended upon their finding in Britain markets for their own produce. _ ' Mr. J. H. Thomas, broadcasting after the Prince of Wales, declared "that he was carrying to the Dominions a message that the habit of asking wheyiet articles were British was becoming rooted more deeply than ever in Britain. He was making the tour to discover how possible or practical it was to utilise more fully the great potentialities of the Empire, enabling it to be independent of outsiders. \ TRADE BOOM PREDICTED-

LONDON, November 17. Sir William Morris, speaking at Dundee, said that trade in the South of England was improving by leaps and bounds. He would not be surprised to see a , business boom in Britain within six to twelve months. Sir William Morris also recalled,a conversation with the Prince of Wales, when returning from Argentina. The Prince said, “Morris, I am going back to advertise my . country. We have been hiding our light under a bushel too long.” U.S.A. PERTURBED. WASHINGTON, November 17. A report from London that the British Board of Trade might be empowered to place duties as high as 100 per cent, on certain classes of manufactured articles, some of which are largely exported from the United States, has been received here with surprise and apprehension by the Government experts, who have not foreseen any such rapid and drastic action on the part of the British Government.