BRITISH TRADE

Grey River Argus, 9 November 1931, Page 8

BRITISH TRADE

CHANGE OF POLICY, (Aus. & N.Z. Cable Assn.) LONDON, November 6. The meat markets believe that an early development of the Government Empire economic scheme will be the imposition of a system of restrictive licenses, under which foreign supplies of lamb and mutton will not be allowed to enter Britain until home grown and Empire supplies are exhausted. A world-famous foreign meat combine anticipating Government action, is believed to be attempting to purchase importan/t meat works in Australia. Smithfield officials declare that- the license scheme would incalculably benefit Australia and New Zealand, now suffering severely from the present demoralisation of markets. Australia House officials declare that Britain, Australia and Now Zealand can supply belt ween) them the entire British requirements of lamb and mutton. Sir E. Hilton. Young, the newly-ap-pointed Minister of Health, in a speech on currency problems, at Sheffield, said the object of the. national policy would be to balance the forces ( fhat tended to push the pound about, and then fix the value on some standard. Contrary io expectations, the shock of departure from gold, had by no means been absorbed by the rise in prices in sterling countries. I|f. had, in part, been absorbed by the fall in gold countries. This was a tribute to the credit of sterling, and a warning to gold countries not to presume too far on bullion alone. Before re-establishing it, it would be necessary to know how gold and sterling were going to share a place in the public confidence, and how much of the world was to be for gold, and how much for sterling. As to the fixed standard to which stabilised currency would be anchored, all that a«t present was certain was there was no gold standard available, and there would be none so- long as any of the chief creditor nations adhered to the bullionist fallacy of the middle ages, that gold is wealth.