Talks With Canada And United States Open On Friday

Chronicle (Levin), 6 July 1949, Page 5

Talks With Canada And United States Open On Friday

Received Wednesday, 10.40 a.m. . ' LONDON, July -5.?' / '"• •• Britain,- Canada and the United States will hold '^nancial talhs in London from July 8 as a preliminai-y to the Comifionwealth Finance Ministers' conference due to open at the end of the following week. Canada will be represented at the talks by the Finance Minister, Mr. Abbott. \ Canada, occupying the key position among the Comfponwoalth Powers in relation to the dollar area, is regar/ied as the most important single factor in any Commoriwealth at,tempt to alleviate the crisis caused by Britain's dwindling dollar resources.

Though soeculative reports abroad on sterling de'valuation have been a contributing factor to the nrespnt period of financial difficnlfv. there is no sign that the British Government has weakened in its determination to maintain the pound sterling at its present value. However, in the House of Gommons today. the Chancellor of the Exchequer. Sir Stafford Cripps, rejected a suggestion that Canadian orders for British goods shouM he guaranteed against the devaluation of sterling. Mr. Ovril Osborne (Conservative) said that Canadian orders were being withheld to the detriment of Britain's export trade, and cugfpcfpd that these orders shnuld be guoranteed against a devaluatie^ at a nominai r^te to demnnstrate that devaluation fears were grnnnd1ess. S^r Stafford said h° did not think the amount. of .such abstention was serious and he was not prepared to afe^t t.ho suggestion. Financial exn«rt.s n^edict that Sir PJ^fTord +eU the Commons that poi d anf Hoiiar resofvoc; have dron- , ned bv f Qn nnn.nno in the last quar- j ter to £380,000,000. I