LEGATIONS ABROAD

Greymouth Evening Star, 15 September 1945, Page 2

LEGATIONS ABROAD

HIGH COST AT MOSCOW OTTAWA HOUSE PURCHASE’ WELLINGTON, Sept. 14. When the House went into committee to consider the Estimates, Mr. Polson continued the overnight discussion of the votes for overseas’ representation. A feature of the vote, he said, was the entertainment allowance. The Washington Legation had no entertainment allowance but Ottawa and Canberra each had. £BOO for entertainment, compared with the modest £350 for the High Commissioner in London. But in Moscow, the cost of entertainment must be very high, because the allowance was £lOOO. „ . Opposition voices: The cost of living there is very high. Mr. Polson asked if the vote of £2,000 for New Zealand’s share in the Moscow Press service was “for the reports we have not had.” There was also £4,258 for office equipment in Moscow and another £2,700 had been asked for the same purpose. Mr. Langstone, discussing the purchase of premises in Ottawa as an office and residence for the High Commissioner there, said he himself had made the purchase. He was hmazed and disappointed at the amount of money now required for repairs, maintenance and alterations to the building. He had purchased it for eighteen thousand dollars, after favourable reports from the Ottawa municipal authorities and Canadian public works department. The. property was on the bank of the Rideau River, within a mile of the centre of Ottawa, and had an acre of ground. It had 15 to 16 rooms and three more in the basement. It was a bargain, according to the reports of those whose advice he sought. Mr. Polson: But it is not a bargain. They must have seen the honourable gentleman coming. Mr. Langstone said the building was structurally sound but now it was reported to be slipping into the. river and a sum of £7,450 was the estimate for the work that had to be done to restore it. Nor could he understand the vote of £4,600 for office equipment and furniture, on top of the furniture he had purchased when in Ottawa. ... , Mr. Polson: Perhaps they did not like your taste. Mr. Langstone said he was conscious he was spending public money and exercised restraint in purchasing furniture.

“REMARKABLY CHEAP” • Mr. Fraser said that everything possible was done at the time the purchase was made to ascertain the soundness of the property. Any other Member in the House in like circumstances would have completed the purchase. The price was remarkably cheap. But in January. 1944, the building was inspected, prior to reconditioning and it was found that certain faults had developed. Apparently a portion of the building had subsided before it was purchased but repairs were carried out. in such a way that the repairs were.not aPPf 1 '" ent to the architects who inspected it on Mr. Langstone’s behalf. Climatic extremes had since aggravated the fault. The work had to be carried out on a cost-plus basis, but before it was done a further inspection early this year showed the subsidence had extended towards the river. cost involved in saving the budding was L 9.025, but as portion of this has already been spent £7,450 was the amount on this years estimate. Mr Fraser said he was not apolo«isin° for this expenditure unfortunjfe though it was" Other building nearby which were occupied by othei legations had experienced similai subsidences towards the river, but the fault vzas at its worst with New Zealc discussing the Moscow legation said it was important to be represented there and necessary tor New Zealand to know what was hapn en ins?. Mr. i-Iolyoake: But we do not know what is happening there. Mr. Fraser said that a representtative from the Agricultural Department had gone to Moscow and investigated certain stock and had received all possible assistance. Mr. Boswell and his staff were very capable. ' Mr. Acland: Tell us what they are up to. MINISTER’S WRONG IMPRESSION Mr Fraser praised the work that Major Costello had done and in regard to the general work ol the legation it should not be thought they were living in a palace. Furniture had not been sent from New Zealand, but had been purchased in Stockholm. 1 he Ministei in Moscow was operating from a hotel bedroom and though representations had been made from this.end, all that they had succeeded in doing up to the present was shifting the Minister and bis staff from one hotel to a better one. ' Mr. Fraser said that when the French and Russian representatives came here, we were going to have a problem in finding adequate accommodation for them, but he hoped we would be able to do better than the countries which were so hard hit. by the war. It was a wise step sending a New Zealand Minister to Moscow, but it was impossible for diplomatic reports to be published. Mr. Fraser said he personally had a better conception of the conditions in Moscow and the rest of Russia than he had before the Minister was sent there. Opposition voices: That’s what we want to know. Mr. Fraser said the publication of impressions would only cause unnecessary trouble. After all the Minister was only human, and had already had to qualify some of his first impressions. , . Mr. Fraser said he hoped, that in any political campaign in this country vzhile there should be no limit to the scope of criticism there would be nothing said or done to impair the goodwill between ourselves and. other nations. Mi’. Boswell was held in the highest esteem in Moscow. Mr. Fraser said he had received reports from Messrs Averill, Harriman, Molotov, Sir A. Clark-Kerr and the Canadian Minister, all praising Mr. Boswell. The Prime Minister added that if a committee of the House were set up to deal with foreign affairs it could obtain full information. The debate was interrupted at one o’clock.

MR FRASER’S ESTIMATE The value of the New Zealand Legation at Moscow and other aspects of New Zealand’s overseas representation was further discussed when the House continued the debate on the Estimates in the afternoon. Mr Clyde Carr (Govt., Timaru) said: We are prone to regard Russia with the Old World outlook. New Zealand’s natural approach to the U.S.S.R. is through the Pacific. He considered there was ample justification for maintaining a Moscow - Legation, because of the future trade prospects. An Opposition member then suggested tnat, so far as the Moscow Legation was concerned the principal reasons why no information from it was forthcoming was that because while events in Russia were all right for Russians, they were no good for New Zealand. Thirty thousand pounds had been spent on the Moscow Legation since it was established, but there had been no benefit or advantage accruing to New Zealand. Mr Fraser answered a question as to whether he has been more attract-

ed to the Russian system as the result of reports that he had received from Mr Boswell. Mr Fraser said he had never stood for the Russian system. 1 Hq considered our own system is vastly superior. But he did want to say that the Russian .system suited the Russans, just as our system suited the people here. That was as frank as he could make it. and he did not believe in dictating to another people; , nor was he attacking the Russian system. On the contrary, he hoped for every degree of cooperation. But he considered that the British way of life was the best. Mr Doidge (Nat-., Tauranga) said the Prime Minister’s expression of faith in the British way or life would be received with great interest and appreciation throughout the country. Mr Bowdeh. (Nat., Wellington West) said that one reason why our Moscow Legation cost so much was the price of commodities in Moscow. A saucepan cost £B/15/-. A cup and saucer cost £l/16/-. Four ounces of bacon cost £3/10/- in Moscow. According to the information given to the Public Accounts Committee, said Mr Bowden, a dinner at Moscow to which 18 persons were invited, cost the Legation £2OO. A cake of chocolate which cost sevenpence ‘ in New Zealand, cost £3/12/3 in Moscow.

Mr Fraser: That shows how well off we are here. Mr Bowden said that lemons in Moscow cost 15/- each, but eggs had fallen in price from 7/6 each to 4/6 each. Mr Richards (Govt., Roskill) said it should be remembered that in future Russia might be as valuable to defence in the Pacific as she had been in Europe. If the Czar’s people were still in charge in Russia, there would be no complaint from Opposition members. Mr Harker (Nat., Waipawa) said that with the price of lemons in Moscow at 15/- each, it seemed that there might be a profitable market' there for New Zealand. Mr Sheat (Nat., Patea) considered that if New Zealand required representation in Moscow then the country could well be served by an attache with the British Legation, which had infinitely more diplomatic experience. He did not think that Mr Boswell would cut much ice with the diplomats in Moscow. “If all of this representation is to be so costly,” he said, “ then it is time that the whole question of our overseas representation should be investigated.” TRADE WITH RUSSIA Mr Goosman (Nat., Waitaki) returned to the question of the Moscow Legation. He said that the Prime Minister had failed to give reasons justifying its establishment. The Prime Minister should prove its value in the minds of people, or else, he should recall our Minister. Air Fraser said that Russia was one of the greatest Pacific Powers. The sending of the Minister there was important, because Russia traded with us. A great amount of crossbred wool had gone to Russia during the war. Her looms were suitable for our wool. Her ships came to New Zealand. He hoped other countries would continue to visit oui’ ports. We wanted the trade of Russia and of other countries without it interefering with our main trade with Russia. We had the problem of the disposal of our wool in our hands, and Mr Boswell had inquired into many of the industries in Russia, and the day might come when we would be very glad, from the trade point of view, that we had made contact there. Russia was a good, honest customer. The appointment of the Minister to Moscow was a thousand times justified from the trading point alone, apart from other considerations. Moreover, all of the other members of the British Commonwealth were directly represented in Moscow.

Mr Nash, replying to suggestions which had been made for improvements to Parliament Buildings, said that he favoured improvements being made when it was possible, but the war had made it impossible for the present to provide such facilities as a central telephone exchange in the building. Mr Nash said that, despite some improvements which were effected to Bellamy’s last year, the House'of Parliament, still compared poorly with the legislatures of other countries. When the time came, Parliament Buildings should be improved from the point of view of efficiency as well as comfort. The vote of £125,081 for the Legislative Department was passed before the House rose at 5.10 p.m. on Wednesday.