EMPIRE MENACE.

Waikato Times, Volume 108, Issue 18165, 1 November 1930, Page 9

EMPIRE MENACE.

BEAVERBROOK’S CAMPAIGN. LORD BEAUCHAMP’S SPEECH. A warning of the danger to the British Empire of Lord Beaverbrook’s . campaign for Empire free trade was given by Lord Beauchamp (a former Governor-General of Australia) at a dinner in Canberra, when he was the guest of the Canberra branch of the Empire Parliamentary Association. ’ ■ “England is going through strenuous and anxious time.s,” said Lord Beauchamp. “I have been delighted during my stay to notice the sympathy, good feeling and friendliness • that exists in Australia towards the Mother Country, and I can assure you that there is a very sincere feeling in, Great Britain towards Australia. “I have seen danger in the ’Beaverbrook campaign for Empire free trade. I see that Sir James Lithgow, whoever he might be, has said' that free trade is dead. On the contrary, free trade is very much alive and at the last general election in Great Britain ” 13,000,000 votes were cast for free . trade against 8,000,000 for modified protection.- Lord Inchcape, who was present at the same, dinner as Sir James Lithgow, has made many speeches in favour of free trade.” “The Beaverbrook campaign is formidable. Lord Beaverbrook had a large press and a great deal of money at his disposal. Ha had unprecedented unemployment to help him. He made use of,lmperial sentiment and in the name of prosperity in the British Empire was advancing a policy which yvoul<& destroy the one and damage the other; I am glad to have noticed that Australia, Canada, South Africa and India have rejected his policy. It was a case of injuring trade worth £1,400,000,000 for the sake of a trade worth £22,000,000. Great Britain cannot accept it and Australia does not want it, and that should be the end of it.” Continuing, Lord Beauchamp - said that Great Britain would not accept it on a vote.' It might be-that in despair or on a snap vote Mr Baldwin would get a majority at the next general elections in 1931, but it would be very unsettling to everyone if that vote were rejected in, 1933. He regretted the attempt toi introduce interImperial matters into party quarrels. Referring to the scheme of Mr Bennett,'the Premier of Canada, Lord Beauchamp said that the proposal ' would be looked at with very mucii suspicion by manufacturers if it mgans a reduction of ten per cent on prohibitive tariffs. British manufacturers were not likely to be content with anything except a flat rate of ten per ceqt. on goods they imported. It means petty quarrelling on questions like the value of defence, the Colonial Securities and Trust Act, which are all qu.esitons of selfish interest. He felt sure that if Great Britain and the Dominions could proceed on the same lines of common ■ ideals and traditions, there was no reason why the British Empire should not continue to be for many years the greatest f-orce in the -world.