NEW ERA

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXX, 8 October 1936, Page 7

NEW ERA

WORLD TRADE PROSPERITY REMOVAL OF QUOTAS AND EXCHANGE CONTROL MR NEVILLE CHAMBERLAIN’S HOPE (United Press Association—By Electric Telegraph—Copyright) LONDON, 7th October. Mr Neville Charaberlan, Chancellor of the Exchequer, at a a bankers’ dinner, expressed the hope that a new era in world trade prosperity would follow the removal of quotas and exchange control. Such a development. Mr Chamberlain said, should be the next step to devaluation of the gold bloc currencies. Sterling would remain free, but in the end we would come back to the international monetary standard on the only basis giving general confidence, namely a system based on the free exchange of gold. He added that rearmament expenditure had not gone far enough to affect Britain’s trade revival, although it had upset the Estimates, but even without this impetus the country’s trade continued to expand. International trade was also showing signs of revival and progress was being helped by the growing realisation that economic nationalism could be carried to extravagant and harmful lengths.

CURRENCY SYSTEM

BASED ON GOLD NO INSUPERABLE DIFFICULTIES (British Official Wireless) (Received Bth October, 11.59 a.m.) RUGBY, 7th October. Mr Neville Chamberlain, Chancellor of the Exchequer, in a speech at a dinner given the Lord Mayor of London, said that there was some indication of improvement in export trading during the past twelve months, due to more prosperous conditions in countries which were formerly good customers of Britain. The step taken by the French Government and the assurances given by the 3ritish and United States Governments that readjustment would not be followed by any deliberate depreciation of the pound sterling or dollar was like the cracking of ice at the approach of the warmer season to a Polar explorer whose ship had been frozen for many months into immobility. Sterling was still free. It was not linked to gold or any other currency. There was no alteration in the credit policy necessary to preserve the internal prosperity of this country or other countries of the British Empire. “We welcome most heartily the announcement by the . French Government in their desire to follow up with reduction of duties and the abolition of certain quotas which they have already effected by the elaboration of the new customs tariff, from which quotas will be entirely excluded.” Mr Chamberlain added that he thought it very unlikely j\ye were in for any new system of managed currencies, but before we returned to gold, we must provide security against violent fluctuations in the value of gold as expressed in terms of commodities, which had occasioned so much disturbance in recent years.

“If we can do that.” concluded Mr Chamberlain, “and it is a matter for further international cooperation, then I do not see any insuperable difficulties in the way of our ultimately arriving again at a currency system based on gold.”