Poverty Bay Herald PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING GISBORNE, THURSDAY, NOV. 6, 1930. CONFERENCE PROSPECTS

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LV, Issue 17409, 6 November 1930, Page 6

Poverty Bay Herald PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING GISBORNE, THURSDAY, NOV. 6, 1930. CONFERENCE PROSPECTS

Only ,a few days remain for the Imperial Conference, the delegates to which Teel that the time has fully arrived when they must return to their respective spheres and attend to their own particular administrative business. Even Mr. MacDonald finds it irksome to prolong the Conference whilst the House of Commons is in session. The question which interests everybody now is as to whether this Conference, which has attracted such world-wide attention, and on which such fervent hopes l'or a restoration of the economic strength of the Empire were placed, is to accomplish any practical result. If it fails not only will there be intense disappointment throughout the British Commonwealth of nations'but a certain measure of odium must fall upon the present Government of Britain which has blocked in a most uncompromising manner the proposals of the Dominions for the betterment of inter-imperial trade. The conviction seems to be growing that whilst there is nothing to be hoped for in the way of tariff preferences, Mr. Ramsay MacDonald and his colleagues may attempt to “save their face” by advancing at the last moment alternative proposals which will be acceptable to the Dominions as a fair compromise. Mr. Graham has declared that the Government did not enter the Conference empty handed, that it has not advertised its wares, and generally has given the impression that there will be some endeavor to meet the desires of the Dominions for the building up of Empire commerce. As a substitute for tariff preference the British Government has advanced for discussion the project of a system of regulation by quota of the imports of various foodstuffs, and also that bulk purchases should be instituted, with tin* object of giving a substantial preference to Empire goods over foreign products. TJp till now, it is understood, there have been no concrete proposals, but it is quite possible Mr. MacDonald will spring some as a surprise rather than allow the Conference to lapse abortively. The two schemes are distinct, though they may be inter-related. The bulk-pur-chasing proposal promises to be an arrangement whereby Britain, through a specially created board, would purchase the surplus of certain Dominion products.-- After provision had been made for local needs and foreign trade the supplies remaining available would be taken over by the purchasing body in Britain, distribution to be effected through ordinary channels as is done to-day. An Imports Board would buy in bulk, pool costs, and satisfy the requirements of British millers, manufacturers, or merchants, as the case might at a steady average price. As a logical corollary a fixed price would have to be guaranteed. The scheme requires that the controlling authority be invested with n largij measure of administrative authority,, with power to make contracts and arrange prices quite irrespective of the wishes or opinions of those primarily affected as producers,' manufacturers or consumers, and for this reason, the element of compulsion, it lias been strenuously opposed in the Dominions and by the Dominion delegates. The other proposal, the quota system, is not without similar difficult* and objectionable features. Under it Britain would take from each Dominion a certain quota of a given product. The germ of the idea is contained in the British Labor Party's pamphlet “Labor and the Nation,” which sets out that the bulk purchase of food supplies and raw materials is part of Labor’s policy and that in this scheme the Dominions would play an important part. The outstanding obstacle seems to be that the Dominions might have coincident surpluses greater than Britain's need,

and that once the quota was supplied they would still be up against foreign competition. Moreover, there would ue great difficulty in satisfactorily determining prices. In the case of wheat, with a quota plan in working order, Britain, the heaviest purchaser of wheat in the world, would be out of the competitive world market for the largest part of her requirements, and Canada, the largest seller, would also have withdrawn a large part of her exportable surplus from the competitive world market. In these circumstances parity of the remainder of the world’s price would favor the buyer. So much divergence of opinion would arise as to what would be a just quota and what would be a just price that bickerings would be certain. However, these aspects arc sure to be presented by the Dominion Premiers, and it is quite possible Mr. MacDonald and bis Ministers may be able to propound some acceptable safeguards. The Conference has certainly reached a most critical stage and its concluding deliberations will be watched with a great degree of interest.