BRITAIN'S DIFFICULT TASK WITH TWO LOYALTIES

Chronicle (Levin), 2 November 1949, Page 5

BRITAIN'S DIFFICULT TASK WITH TWO LOYALTIES

Received Wednesday, 10.15 a.m. PARIS, Nov. 1. The British Chancellor of the Ex-

chequer, Sir Stafford Cripps, addressing the Ministers of the 18 Marshall Plan nations, tonight emphasised Britain's joint responsibilities to the Commonwealth and to the .development of European unity. . He said: "We have made it clear from the beginning that our task was to try to combine -our responsibilities and interests as the leading member of the Commonwealth and of the sterling area with support for the development of unity in Europe. This is not an easy task for I must make it clear thkt.our relationship with the Commonwealth and the sterling area is not a limited one, b'ut spreads into North America through our association with Canada and into Asia, Africa, Australia, and New Zealand, in which Continents the foreign trade is predominantly carried through in sterling." Sir Stafford said that the approach of the end of Marshall aid must empha,sise. for all those concerned the urgency of the practical suegestions put forward by Mr. Hoffman. A great advance had already been made in the liberalisation of intra-European trade. He added: "Had we not become accustomed to a large degree of co-operative action through the Organisation of European Economic Co-oneration, this would have been hailed as one of the most outstanding international economic events since the end of. the war."