The Gisborne Herald. IN WHICH IS INCORPORATED "THE TIMES.“ GISBORNE, THURSDAY, JUNE 3, 1948. DR. DALTON BACK IN LIMELIGHT

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 22654, 3 June 1948, Page 4

The Gisborne Herald. IN WHICH IS INCORPORATED "THE TIMES.“ GISBORNE, THURSDAY, JUNE 3, 1948. DR. DALTON BACK IN LIMELIGHT

r re-cmergenco of Dr. Hugh Dalton into the limelight of Cabinet rank after some eight months in political semi-obscurity was not unexpected on both sides of the House. His elevation was generally welcomed by his Government colleagues, by whom he is regarded as an extremely able and distinguished leader. The House of Commons generally sympathised with him last November when he resigned the Chancellorship of the Exchequer following the premature disclosure in the press of Budget secrets, through replying to a journalist’s questions as he was entering the House to deliver his Budget speech. His retirement from the Treasury post also marked the end of dual control of financial and economic policy which he and Sir Stafford Cripps had exercised up till then. Sir Stafford combined both functions with success in an extremely troubled financial period.

Interest in Foreign Affairs

Since then Dr. Dalton has shown more interest in foreign affairs than in financial questions, on which he is recognised as one of the most able exponents in the Government, and press opinion in Britain expects him to devote more attention to the international political issues in his new role of Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, which is regarded as an "umbrella” post, for important duties which the Prime Minister may allot him.

In the welter of speculation and conjecture on Dr. Dalton’s new role, is the suggestion that he may be chosen to co-ordinate British policy toward Western Europe and Commonwealth obligations which urgently require knitting and clarification. So far the Labour Party loaders in both the House of Commons and the party conference have gone little beyond generalities in definitions of the Western Union and what they are prepared to contribute to it. The proposed Commonwealth conference might, help both Mr. Ernest 1 levin and the Dominions representatives to clarify their minds on the question of reconciling Britain’s participation and leadership ill the Western Union with her special relations with the British Commonwealth. It, is possible that Dr. Dalton may have the role of one of the lending British spokesmen at this Empire consultation.

Dual Relations Problems

Recently both Mr. Bevin and Dr. Dalton expressed the opinion that there are no insuperable problems to Britain maintaining dual relations with the Commonwealth and the Western Union. The Economist, one of the oldest advocates of Western Union, nevertheless was not blind to the difficulties of this dual relationship, and examined them in detail. The paper concluded that it would be unrealistic to expect the Dominions to enter the proposed customs union. Canada economically, it said, is much more closely bound to the United States than to Europe. Australia with New Zealand "to a lesser degree,” is evidently determined to protect home industries against all-comers, and the new Indian Dominions are wholly of a different economic substance. It would therefore be a question of arranging the means by which the European customs union could be set up without breaking the commercial ties existing between British countries. To compensate the Dominions for any loss of preference in the British market, it was suggested that it would he possible to offer some form of long-term bulk-purchase policy by which the Dominions would, be guaranteed a market for certain quantities of their produce at prices acceptable to them.