OTTAWA AGREEMENT

Greymouth Evening Star, 18 July 1939, Page 7

OTTAWA AGREEMENT

EMPIRE’S ECONOMIC KEYSTONE

IMMENSE TRADE EXPANSION

[by CABLE —PRESS ASSN. —COPYRIGHT.]

(Recd. July 18, 11.20 a.m.). LONDON, July 17.

Sir Thomas Inskip, opening tho Empire Chamber of Commerce Congress, which is being attended by 300 delegates from all parts of the Empire, said that the Ottawa agreement remained the keystone of the British Commonwealth’s economic system. It had undoubtedly sitmulated the United Kingdom’s trade, for which, even if it had not solved all, and perhaps had created new problems, Britain was grateful. The agreement at Ottawa had enabled Britain to offset the contraction in foreign trade caused by economic nationalism, but this was achieved without the exploitation of any part of the Empire. The Earl of Dudley, in his presidential address, said that the world was still erroneously concentrating on the problem of how to increase' production, whereas the twentieth century’s greatest problem was how to increase consumption.

The Earl of Dudley criticised the backwardness of the Empire air services. He recalled the advocacy of night flying >by the Wellington Congress in 11)36, but said that the Air Minister was still pondering it. The Earl of Dudley presided at a luncheon, in the Grocers’ Hall. Mr. MacDonald, proposing a toast to the Empire’s commerce, referred, to the present artificial devices for restricting markets, current political unrest, and fear of war, with consequest paralysis of international trade. Nevertheless, there had been an immense expansion of Imperial trade, which partly counteracted other losses. This sprang from the Ottawa agreement, but a more-fundamental cause was that the countries of the Empire did not regard each other with suspicion, and preserved their markets for each other, despite this year of “non-stop crisis.” The Empire’s prosperity would further expand, if confidence among the nations of Europe could be restored. MIGRATION QUESTION. (Received July 18, 2 p.m.) LONDON, July 17. ' The Chambers of. Commerce Congress, discussing migration, reaffirmed that a balanced population within the Empire was essential, but new method's must be introduced. It was resolved l to urge the 1 Empire Governments to discuss and develop migration, also to ask the Governments to shape their trade policies in order to, strengthen Empire markets.