FEAR CONFLICT.

Star (Christchurch), Volume LXIV, Issue 849, 24 August 1933, Page 1

FEAR CONFLICT.

GREAT SMASH LIKELY IN PACIFIC. Remedies Must be Found. INTERESTS CLASHING ON MANY POINTS. United Press Assn.—By Electric Telegraph—Copyright. (Received August 24, 11.30 a.m.) BANFF, August 23. The opinion that the policy of drift in the Pacific would lead inevitably to a world calamity was expressed to-day at the conference of the Institute of Pacific Relations. It was considered that a great smash might come in ten, twenty or fifty years, but it certainly

would come if remedies were not found for the situation in which there were clashes on nearly half a dozen fundamental points. Sir Andrew M’Fadyen, the British delegate, urged the nations to stand by with their good offices to be applied to . any avenue that

might offer a prospect of peace and future security. Wljat was required, he said, was that rarest of qualities—commonsense. Reviews were made to-day of what the Conference had accomplished, and the reports indicated that much light had beep thrown on the causes of friction. It was stated, however, that frank differences on the application of the remedies had developed. The causes of the present era of conflict in the Pacific were set forth as tariffs, currency depreciation, raw materials and pressure of population. If the Dollar Falls— Professor T. E. Gregory, British economist, expressed the opinion that the course of financial and trade events in the' whole world in the next four months was likely to be dependtnt upon the action taken by the United States in respect to the National Recovery Act. He considered that it would be impossible to implement the National Recovery Act in the long run if the American dollar were allowed to fall. He predicted that a depreciated dollar would be followed by a further fall in the £ and yen. New Zealand Will Be Affected. “If the dollar continues falling and the £ and yen follow, we are likely to witness enormous pressure on the remaining gold bloc, France and Holland,” he said. “If they are driven off the gold standard, Indo-China and the Dutch East Indies, linked by political associations with these two countries, will follow. If Britain is forced to adopt a lower rate of exchange the Scandinavian, Australian and New Zealand exchanges will be affected, because the lowering of the £ would mean that one group or the other would be knocked out oi the butter market, the dairy market and the fruit market unless they followed sterling down.” Japanese Supported. Sir Herbert Samuel supported the submission of the Japanese group for the reorganisation of peace machinery for the Pacific area/ The Japanese urged that the existing provisions for alterations in the status quo should be implemented and outlined a draft

pact of security, which would include many of the provisions of existing treaties and the Hoover - Stimson doctrine of nonrecognition. “Nationalism and internationalism are not necessarily contradictory,” Sir Samuel said. “ The world must concen- ~ trate on making

them complementary and balanced. The nations should rely on international trade to the commodities they cannot themselves abundantly supply most economically. Unless this occurs there will be no alternative before such nations as Japan except a policy of aggression and Imperialism. Of the four agencies of specific action in the present situation the Governments, the League of Nations, the organisation of traders and public opinion, I believe that public opinion is strongest.” * Sir H. Samuel advocated that the development of peace and tranquillity, the stabilisation of currencies and the reduction of the barriers to trade. In view of the rapid extension of Japanese trade and consequent hardships for her competitors, an effort toward the allocation of markets should be considered. Many would watch with anxious interest the conference between Japanese, English and Indian textile interests at Simla. Sir Herbert Samuel mentioned the interesting possibility that Asiatic countries might substitute wool for the clothing materials now used. A similar statement might be made in regard to wheat.

China Rejects Proposals. Interviewed after the meeting of the plenary conference, the spokesman of the Chinese group said that China found herself absolutely unable to consider favourably the peace proposals set out by Sir Herbert Samuel. He explained that Japan’s proposals would have j been satisfactory if Japan had not vio- 1 lated the Nine Power Treaty, the Kel- j logg Treaty and the League of Nations Covenant by her actions in Manchuria, j Until this wrong was righted, and Manchukuo abolished, China would not be ! a party to the Japanese proposals. j