OTTAWA CONFERENCE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21542, 14 January 1932, Page 7

OTTAWA CONFERENCE

“NO PETTY BARGAINING” MR MACKENZIE KING’S VIEWS (United Press Association.) (By Electric Telegraph—Copyright.) OTTAWA, January 12. (Received Jan. 13, at 9.30 p.m.) Referring to the coming Empire Economic Conference, which is to be held here, Mr Mackenzie King, the Federal Libera] Leader, in an address at Manitoba on Tuesday, in which he criticised the fiscal trade policies of the Dominion Government, asserted that the Prime Minister (Mr R. B. Bennett) must modify his attitude on tariff matters and change his “ Canada first ” and adopt a more conciliatory attitude if the next meeting is not to be the fiasco which the last one was. He asserted that the Liberal Party wished the Economic Conference to be a success, consequently it wished “ the narrow spirit of either petty or blustering bargaining ” to be abandoned. He asked the Conservative members of Parliament to turn their attention to securing a modification of the Government’s extreme position on the matter of a tariff so that the conference would be a success. Mr King indicated that the efforts of the Liberals when they were returned to power would be to bring down the tariffs to the level which prevailed prior to the change of Government.

Dealing with the proposed wheat quota, he asked why Canada had been denied it for two years. It was proposed by the 1930 conference, and the British Government was prepared to consider it favourably then, but a great opportunity had been lost for two years. He warned the public against the substitution for the cry of “ Canada first ” that of “ Empire first.” “ Canada,” he said, “ must decline to a subsidiary unit of an Imperial holding company, and our trading relations must be organised on a world-wide basis.” BRITAIN’S SURPLUS PEOPLE. A NEWSPAPER SUGGESTION. LONDON, January 12. The suggestion that the British Ministers at the Ottawa Conference should propose an exchange not only of goods but of men against markets is made by the Morning Post, which says: “If Britain should offer preferential terms for her surplus produce the dominions should be ready to absorb our surplus people. The dominions, however, may reply that they have their own unemployed, but unemployment may result from a lack instead of a surplus of inhabitants. It has been stated that the prosperity of the United States only began when the 20,000,000 mark was passed, and Canada cannot expect prosperity until her population is at least 15,000,000.” The Post advocates settlement by communities.