MORE CONCILIATORY TONE

Stratford Evening Post, Volume II, Issue 22, 18 August 1932, Page 6

MORE CONCILIATORY TONE

OTTAWA CONFERENCE | BRUCE AND COATES SLEEP! MORE SOUNDLY ANXIETY TO AVOID A I RUPTURE Press Association. —Copyright. j OTTAWA, Wed—A s the result of| the evening conference, which was! characterised by a more conciliatory! tone, Messrs. Bruce ami Coates are; sleeping more soundly than for a, week. Although the British ■Ministers,) Mr. Neville Chamberlain, M,r. Waiter: Uunciman, Lord Hailslxam and Sir lean Gilmour, have not yet given a positive sign of their surrender to the meat quota principle, there is the, clearest evidence that all concerned are realising their responsibility until are anxious to avoid a rupture with, possibly far-reaching consequences. : The Sun representative says there; is growing admiration for Mr. J Brace's gallanjt fight i agatnpt the I powerful free trade Influences m| England in favour of Argentina inter-1 ests. Mr. Bruce believes he is light- j iug the battle of the meat industry of the whole Empire, which he considers is doomed unless South American supplies can be controlled. He is now pitted against the whole Bri-j tish delegation, which is reported t»j be more unanimously opposing hinij on the beef question. Everyone retrr-i ed last night in a state of grave! concern and perplexity, because it was impossible to see how the difficulties could be reconciled. The Sun adds that Mr. J. H. Thomas spoke to Mr. MacDonald at Eos. siemouth tonight over the trans, Atlantic telephone and discussed the Anglo-Australian and Anglo-Canadian deadlock. Mr. Macßcnald made it clear that no action of a purely political character aimed at, Russian trade by Britain would be taken. "Thus vanishes the last hope of a Russian embargo," the paper adds. I The following leader will appear in j today's New York Herald-Tribune: j There still seems to be some doubt.; as to the precise extent of the eon.) i'erence's achievements. Can it be that the Ottawa Conference will not after all amount to much except in its spiritual achievements? Whatever its immediate relationship to American j commerce the conference does repre-i sent a serious effort to grapple with j the basic economic problems com. • mou throughout the world. The task of protecting heif own national in-, dustries and at the same time pro-1 meting world trade and restoring thoj old free flow of capital in a world j embarrassed by often excessive poll, j tical nationalisms and riven by special rivalries is a serious one. "The .conference already has attacked (only in a relatively narrow, simple field the questions which the economic conference will consider. If Ottawa makes little progress j there is less hope of any practical achievement in the larger area. With-, out an important achievement by the conference there will be less confi deuce in the future of the British Empire. "As all the political development of the Empire seemed to lead more definitely towards separatism, it was to the economic factors that thought, j ful Englishmen turned to find the I bonds which would counteract this j centrifugal tendency." An announcement fit the postponement of Thursday's plenary session, with the official explanation that cer. tain difficulties will require another] -18 hours, is interpreted as indicating ] that Canada, Australia and New Zea- j land will not shift their ground, Rus sian'wheat dumping being Canada's! main problem and the meat quota the] chief concern of Australia and New j Zealand.

There is an atmosphere of reliei among the Australian and New Zealand delegates, contrasting with yes. terday's gloom. Although the position is unaltered, Britain not having hinted that she is prepared to surrender to the quota idea, the i'act that there is a longer breathing space raises hopes cf a mutually satisfactory ad. justment.