CANADIAN VIEWS ON N.Z. AND CUSTOMS UNION

Greymouth Evening Star, 26 September 1947, Page 7

CANADIAN VIEWS ON N.Z. AND CUSTOMS UNION

(Rec. 9.45 a.m.) 1 : 1 MONTREAL, Sept. 25.

( The Montreal Star, in an editorial, says the announcement, by the New Zealand Prime Minister, Mr Fraser, that an Empire customs union is unacceptable to . New. Zealand, probably rings down the curtain on Mr .Bevin’s hasty suggestion. Unlike. Canada, New Zealand' belongs to the sterling area, which means there is no purely monetary obstacle in the way of increasing Anglo-New Zealand trade.

‘Mr Fraser’s statement, therefore, suggests that other obstacles block the way. One of these might be that New Zealand does not want to put itself in the position of tying itseli more closely to a country'which cannot produce sufficient export goods to meet the demand.

“Even if an Empire customs union would work in the. long run, it certainly would not work while British industry is still only in the process of recovery, but other factors may be at work;

“New Zealand had, of all countries, the best record of trying to work inside the framework of the old League of Nations. It may be that the New Zealand Government now believes an exclusive Imperial scheme would weaken the United Nations. Moreover, it should not be forgotten that the two antipodean Dominions when they met the crisis of the Pacific war, realised for the first time that the long arm of American strength could reach and help them. They might therefore feel that the United States sentiment should be considered before entering into exclusive arrangement with the United Kingdom.”