British-American Food Agreement

Greymouth Evening Star, 30 May 1946, Page 7

British-American Food Agreement

Mr. Morrison \ Explains How Misunderstandings Arose (Rec. 10.40 a.m. LONDON, May 29. The various misunderstandings which have arisen between the British and United States Governments on the recent food agreement were caused by cable press messages of his statement in the House of Commons being published ' in America before the official text was received in Washington, said Mr Morrison, in a statement in the House of Commons.

He added that he had since communicated with the United States Secretary of State (Mr Byrnes), and. was glad to say, on his authority, that there never had been any misunderstandings between them on what they had agreed upon. Subordinate Interviewed Mr Morrison, replying to Mr Churchill, explained that it would not have been practicable to make the exchange of confirmation documents without delaying informing the members of the. House of Commons. “It is a pity that a subordinate official in the United States—a public relations officer—should have intervened.” The Government, he said, had made representations on that point, and the United States Secretary of State had expressed regret, on behalf of the American Government. Mr Churchill observed that the matter had been closed in a satisfactory manner, but that the misunderstanding between Mr Morrison and the members of the House of Commons. remained. Mr Morrison: You do not understand the normal procedure in these things. (Laughter.) Mr Churchill: That is due to my I inexperience. (Renewed laughter.) I Mr Churchill said the members of the House of Commons had been told of the great sacrifice by Britain of 200,000 tons of wheat. “Were we not assured that in return the United States Government were associating themselves unreservedly in the task of supplying India and the British zone in Germany? The latter part of the agreement, he said, had been whittled away, but Britain’s sacrifice of 200,000 tons of wheat remained. “Political Capital” Mr Morrison, after declaring that Mr Churchll was trying to make political capital out of the misunderstanding added: “The United States Government is associating itself with us to the maximum extent within its available resources, and has thus instructed its Food Board representatives, The statement did not say or mean that the United States said that wheat would come from a particular place and go to a particular place. Mr R .S. Hudson interjected: It won’t come from the United States. Mr Morrison replied that the former Minister of Agriculture would be disappointed to learn that some of it was actualy on the move from the United States. .