AUSTRALIA AND CANADA

Otago Daily Times, Issue 19505, 13 June 1925, Page 12

AUSTRALIA AND CANADA

IRE COMMERCIAL TREATY. MATTER‘AGAIN DEBATED. Press Association —By Telegraph—Copyright. OTTAWA, Juno 11. (Received Juno 12, at 10 p.m.) Attempts by members of both the Conservative and Progressive Parties in the House of Commons to-day to secure information relative to the Australian treaty resulted in little except a state-, meat by Mr J. A. Robb (.Minister of Finance) that certain trade interests both in Australia and on the Continent of Airtf.rica were doing their best to create divisions and prevent the treaty from being consummated. Mr Caldwell (Progressive) said that New Brunswick business interests complained that their business was dragging owing to uncertainty over tho treaty, the consummation of_ which would be very advantageous to the lish-canners, for example. He urged tire Government to take power to complete the treaty as soon as the negotiations were finished, even if the House was not in session. Mr Meighen said that apparently everyone in the United States, Australia, and elsewhere knew and was permitted to say what they liked about tho treaty, except the Parliament oi Canada, where'members were not even allowed to know what Mr Robb’s attitude was towards the 75 per cent, clause. He urged Mr Robb to say what was holding the treaty up. After Mr Robb’s statement (as above) Mr Caldwell repudiated the suggestion that members of tho Canadian Manufacturers’ Association or tho Progressives were opjtosing the treatv. How could they when they did not know what was in it?—A. and N.Z. Cable.