WORLD CONFERENCE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21993, 30 June 1933, Page 7

WORLD CONFERENCE

PROCEEDINGS DRAGGING THE AMERICANS BLAMED DEAD WEIGHT ON PROGRESS •;V"v / (United Press Association.) (By Electric Telegraph—Copyright.) LONDON, June 28. When Mr MacDonald declared at the Pilgrims’ Dinner; “We dare not fail,” critics sensed a tinge of disappointment that the conference had as yet achieved nothing concrete, and began wondering what to-hight’s meeting of the bureau would produce to give a fillip to the proceedings. The irresistible impression remains that the main dead weight on progress is the American determination to condition everything to her internal efforts at reorganisation. From the French angle still come predictions that the conference is already a failure. France is alarmed at the prospect that Holland may be forced off gold, in which event M. Bonnet is credited with saying that there will be a real crisis, demanding fresh attempts at stabilisation, regarding which special interest is attached to Mr Fraser’s gold standard policy. Difficulties face the Cuban attempt to get a ten years’ truce in sugar production. Britain intimated that limitation of production in Crown colonies_was unacceptable, though she was willing to limit production in hpme-grown subsidised sugar. A .sub-committee on which New Zealand is represented was appointed to consider the matter. - DISCUSSION ON TARIFFS . \ (British Official Wireless.) RUGBY, June 28. : General conventions and multilateral agreements to effect tariff modifications, instead of bilateral agreements, were advocated by the delegates of Belgium, Norway, and the Netherlands before the commercial policy sub-commission of the World Conference. The prolongation of the tariff truce and <a; return to the widest possible measures of Freetrade were urged by the Japanese delegate. ■ ; In the sugar sub-commission of the World Conference the Colonial Secretary (Sir Philip Cunliffe-Lister) supported the main object of the Cuban proposal that a working committee should examine the whole subject, of international limitations. He resisted a pro'posal 'that the construction of new factories should be forbidden, and said there were administrative and legislative difficulties in the tariff proposals in the Cuban plan. The Cuban delegates said the reservations destroyed the plan, but Sir Philip Cunliffe-Lister declared his readiness heartily to co-operate in its prime objects. A committee of 22 countries was appointed to consider the matter. . ■■ 1 , ■ , ; AMERICA’S RECOVERY GENERAL AND SUBSTANTIAL. - LONDON, June 28. Encountering a barrage of questions I in- a press interview. Professor Moley said that Amberica thought that domestic and international programmes for recovery could be co-ordinated. America’s ■recovery was general and substantial. Americans hoped that other countries would share in this recovery, but the methods of participation were their own affair, V WORKING OF GOLD STANDARD REMEDYING PAST ERRORS; LONDON, June 28. The Monetary Sub-commission adopted amendments to the Pittman resolution by Mr Fraser, president of the Bank for International Settlements, stating that gold was required not for internal circulation, buft as a reserve against central bank liabilities, and primarily to meet externa] demands for payment caused by disequilibrium on foreign account; further, in order to improve the working of the future gold standard greater elasticity should be given’to the central, banks’ legal cover by a reduction in the gold cover to 25 per cent. Mr. Fraser said he wished to expedite the return to the gold standard and remedy past errors in its working. MEETING OF THE BUREAU LONDON, June 29. (Received June 29, at 8 p.m.) The meeting of the Conference Bureau this' evening,'from which much was expected, brought no disclosures beyond the statement that the- ’bureau had agreed that the conclusions of the Economic Commission will be subject to the realisation of agreement on monetary stabilisation. This condition was imposed by speakers during the debates. M. Avenol reported on the present position with regard to the questions discussed. Mr Ramsay MacDonald said he thought the bureau'would agree that appreciable progress had' been made. The meeting lasted 40 minutes, and was strictly private. Professor Moley had a: long and busy day. He held many conversations with the American delegation, and in the afternoon again met British Ministers to resume the talks that were started on the previous day. -