OTTAWA DECISIONS

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LIX, Issue 17909, 13 October 1932, Page 7

OTTAWA DECISIONS

REPLY TO CRITICS MR. GULLETT’S COMMENTS MELBOURNE, Oct. 1. The Minister for Customs, Mr. Gullett, told 2CO business men, at a luncheon today, tiiat ho realised that the necessary reticence concerning the full text of the Ottawa trade agreement had aroused certain fears and certain criticisms, but he did not propose to engage in any controversy on that aspect. He contented himself with saying that he was confident, and he was sure that Mr. Bruce also was confident, and that the representative of the Chamber of Commerce, Mr. R. W. Knox, was reasonably confident, that, when the full agreement was published, that publication would sweep away all anxiety. The conference at Ottawa was probably the greatest business conference the world had ever known. Remarkable as had been the services which Mr. Bruce, had given Australia in the. past, he had’ never served the Commonwealth as finely as lie had served Australia at Ottawa

Mr. Bruce had been a great force in bringing about the measure of success which had been attained.

“It is somewhat unfortunate,” Mr. Gullett added, “that, in the interests of the Ottawa agreement itself, and of the Empire as a whole, we were not able at once to announce the full text of the agreement. “Although we have disclosed as much as we could, we have not been able to disclose such' important matters as Dominion tariffs until the Dominions concerned are ready to disclose them.

“Again, we were not able to disclose the particulars of one of the subjects of greatest importance—the meat agreement,’’ he added.