AELSON EVENING MAIL THURSDAY, APRIL 19, 1934 DOMINION TRADE WITH GREAT BRITAIN

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXVI, 19 April 1934, Page 6

AELSON EVENING MAIL THURSDAY, APRIL 19, 1934 DOMINION TRADE WITH GREAT BRITAIN

THE uncertainty of Great Britain s policy in relation to imported food-sup-plies is revealed in cablegrams recently received. When the Ottawa Conference was held it seemed as if the policy agreed upon was that, with the exception of certain foreign countries such as the Argentine and Denmark, the Dominions would be relied upon to supply all of the imported food required by the people of Great Britain, provision being made for the supply of the more perishable foods from the European Continent. But no sooner were the Ottawa agreements endorsed by the various Parliaments concerned than Mr Runciman, the President of the British Board of Trade, whose duty it was to put the Ottawa agreements into operation in Great Britain, was confronted with the objections of foreign countries which had been accustomed to send large supplies of food to the British market. Though it was known that the Dominions could supply all the imported food required from overseas, such pressure was brought to bear by vested interests that the British Government decided to depart from the spirit of the Ottawa, agreements, and Mr Runciman was instructed to arrange for similar agreements with foreign countries, such as the Argentine ami Denmark. Of course such a development as that made impossible the realisation of the ideal which had as its object the maintenance of an Empire which should be economically self-sufficient and self-sustaining. The Dominions were tci enjoy certain privileges in trading with Great Britain fin return for which they had given her certain preferences in their own markets) but similar privileges were to be granted to foreign countries which had been accustomed to find a profitable market in England. It seemed evident that the Liberal and Labour members of the British National Government had been able to enforce their views on their Conservative colleagues, and had used their influence to vitiate the policy seemingly evolved at Ottawa by* extending it to practically all Hie nations with which Great Britain might hope to trade. This development has caused no small friction between Great Britain and the Dominions, and in certain instances the latter have been accused of making reprisals which have been bitterly commented upon in England.

Now there is a new development. So far as the importation of food is concerned, the Conservative majority in Parliament has made a stand on behalf of the British farmer, and a Commission on Fat Stock has been investigating the possibilities of Britain’s home-grown meat supply. The cliief proposal of the Commission is “the restriction of imports, abandoning any attempt to restrict homo production,” and it is expected that, if the Report of the Commission is adopted by Parliament, the result will be a rise in the price of foreign and chilled meats and a decrease , in their oonsnmp-' iion. The Report goes further than that, for we read, “The (British) Government is asked to consider imposing a monetary levy on all imported meat which would be distributed among home producers.’' That seems to mean Unit a levy shall lie made on the money paid for imported meat, and the proceeds of the levy he distributed among fanners in Britain in order to enable them to compete successfully with farmers overseas. We can think ol nothing which would cause more heartburning in (Jie Dominions, and contribute more directly to unsettle their relations with Britain, than the implementing of that proposal. The suggestion of the “Manchester Guardian” that “Britain should rather lie grateful to he. able to get imported meat so cheaply at a time of unemployment,” is more worthy of consideration. But there is likely to he strong opposition to the Report, which would detrimentally affect

the buyers ami butchers, since the adoption would raise the price of meat and decrease its consumption. It can hardly he expected that a measure, based on such a Report, will bo accepted by Parliament, or that the British Government will act on it without parliamentary sanction. In the meantime it is to be expected . that the Dominions’ Governments will make such representations to the British Government as will caus'e the more objectionable clauses of the Report to he. deleted, and so destroy the very bad impressions which they would create, in the Dominions.