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1916. NEW ZEALAND

ECONOMIC CONFERENCE OF THE ALLIES. TELEGRAM FROM THE SECRETARY OF STATE TO HIS EXCELLENCY THE GOVERNOR.

Presented to both Houses of the General Assembly by Command of His Excellency.

Telegram from the Secretary of State for the Colonies to His Excellency the Governor. London, 20th June, 1916. The following account of the proceedings of the Economic Conference will be published here to-morrow :— Economic Conference of the Allies. 1. Eepresentatives of the Allied Governments have met at Paris, under the presidency of M. Clementen, Minister of Commerce, on June 14th, 15th, 16th, and 17th, 1916, for the purpose of fulfilling the mandate given to them by the Paris Conference on March 28th, 1916, giving practical expression to their Solidarity of views and interests, and proposing to their respective Governments appropriate measures for realizing this solidarity. 2. They declare that after forcing on them this military contest in spite of all their efforts to avoid a conflict the Empires of Central Europe are to-day preparing in concert with their Allies for a contest on an economic plane which will not only survive the re-establishment of peace, but will at that moment attain its full scope and intensity. 3. They cannot therefore conceal from themselves that agreements being prepared for this purpose between their enemies have the obvious object of establishing the domination of the latter over the production and the markets of the whole world, and imposing on other countries an intolerable yoke. In the face of so grave a peril the representatives of the Allied Governments consider that it has become their duty, on the grounds of necessary and legitimate defence, to adopt and realize from now onward all measures requisite on the one hand to secure for themselves and for the whole of the markets of neutral countries full economic independence and respect for sound commercial practice, and on the other hand to facilitate the organization on a permanent basis of their economic alliance. For this purpose the representatives of the Allied Governments have decided to submit for approval of those Governments the following resolutions: — A. Measure* for the War Period. 1. Laws and regulations prohibiting trading with enemy shall be brought into accord for this purpose.