Evening Post. FRIDAY, OCTOBER 14, 1932. THE OTTAWA REPORT

Evening Post, Volume CXIV, Issue 91, 14 October 1932, Page 8

Evening Post. FRIDAY, OCTOBER 14, 1932. THE OTTAWA REPORT

A picturesque item in yesterday's news was the claim cabled to us from Suva that

owing to her geographical position Fiji is the first Empire Legislature to pass legislation implementing the/ Ottawa agreement.

The geographical position of Fiji is indeed remarkable. It is a standing refutation of Kipling's statement that "East is East, and West is West, and never, the twain shall meet," for diey are meeting every day and all die time in Fiji. The 180 th meridian of longitude passes dirpugh the islands, and Suva is some four degrees nearer, to it dian Wellington. But it was really something more dian the geographical, position diat enabled Fiji to say yesterday diat "what Fiji thinks to-day the Empire diinks to-morrow." Her Parliament isf limited vtb a Legislative Council of ) twenty-one members which holds its* sittings in die morning, and being doubtless unanimous on this occasion it :was able to put:die whole Ottawa programme through before lunch. Thus it was diat at Suya everydiing was according io Ottawa—which is die immediate Imperial equivalent off "according to : Cocker"—before any odier Legislature had begun- to. move, and diat die news had reached | Wellington, about four hours before die queues -had begun to fofin:outside ;the gallery doors of our House ofjßepieseatatives. Instead of grudgr ing : Fiji: die honour we may thank her for; | the excellent lead and trust diat it will be promptly followed by al|-;the':6dier Legislatures of the Empire. The incident may also serve tof : remihd us diat in one sense at any iatejdie ; Ottawa Conference Has befen^ Imperial to an extent never realised by any previous Imperial Conference. The Conferences which had .previously arrogated that title were. limited: to Britain,' the selfgoverning t Dominions, and. India, .but |at Ottawa die whole Empire was represented."

A fortnight ago Mr. Baldwin was attempting in a broadcast address to balance the resignations from the British Government on the ground that Britain was conceding too much by Mr. Fenton's resignation from the Commonwealth Government on the ground that Australia was conceding too much. But we were compelled to point out that it was quite possible that Mr. Fentbn.was right and that Lord Snowden and his friends were also'right. It was obviously conceivable that each party to the Australian agreement was doing itself an injury by' its concessions which exceeded die -benefit it was deriving from,die concessions of the other. We are diankful to say that the news of die last twenty-four hours has rendered it quite unnecessary to speculate on die possibilities of mutual injury in the New Zealand agreement and highly probable diat it will work out in the mutual benefit that was intended. The general summary of the schedules to the Ottawa agreements, which contain die particulars of the concessions offered l Dominions, and had been held back mainly at dieir request, were summarised in a message from London yesterday, which created a favourable impression but inevitably omitted many essential details. This impression is. confirmed from the British standpoint from the Press opinions reported to-day. And the lightness of the price that New Zealand has to pay for the great benefits that she is to receive was put beyond a doubt-by.Mr. Goates's anxi-ously-awaited statement in the House last night. There are two points in die documents diat we dp not quite like, and it may be as welt to dispose of them first. Bjr a resolution of the Conference, which apparently is made a preamble to each of die agreements, die "over-riding consideration" is declared to be ...'■•■.

that by the lowering or removal of barriers among themselves, provided tor in the agreement, the flow of trade between the various 'countries of the Empire would be facilitated, and that by;the consequent increase of'the purchasing power of their people the trade of the world would also be stimulated and, increased; . . .. •'■'.■

But this suggested increase of world trade, which was probably introduced for die purpose of salving the conscience of the British Government, is. so remote from the main purpose and the main effect of the Ottawa policy that it is a gross exaggeration to treat it as a material part of the *over-riding consideration" for that policy. The foreigner who sees the Empire getting, say, 99 per cent, of the benefit of this policy and leaving him an incidental and imperceptible 1 per cent, or less as his share may reasonably regard this inclusion of his tiny crumb in the "over-riding consideration" as another sample of British, hypocrisy. A kindred point is the wide scope given to the quota. It is a blessing ithat there is to be a general lowering of tariffs, and Britain may be

congratulated on having taught even more flagrant offenders than New Zealand so much sense. But in consenting at the instance of the Dominions to give them preferences by means of a quota, Britain has adopted a principle Swhich, though it may not present:the same red rag to the, prejudices of her people that, a food tax does, is bound to exercise a similar effect upon prices, and is, in the opinion of so. level-headed a critic as Lord Astor, far more dangerous. From the standpdint both of Britain's domestic needs and of her world trade that reduction of her imports of foreign mutton and lamb by proportions rising from 10 to 35 per cent is the part of the New Zealand agreement which we like least.

But it is fortunately beyond question that the fears that New Zealand might be paying too high a price for the great benefits that her primary industries will receive under her Ottawa agreement have been dispelled by the comprehensive and lucid statement which Mr. Coates submitted to the House last night, and that he, his colleague, Mr. Downie Stewart, whose judgment, capacity, and loyal service he did not fail to acknowledge, and their staff are entitled to very hearty congratulations on the'result. As we deal with the details of the tariff concessions in another article, it will suffice to say here that they are estimated to cause a loss of- revenue which will amount during: the remainder -of the financial year to about £250,000—n0t in itself a small item, by any means, under existing conditions, but. small .in comparison with the immense benefits received. Anbther part of the consideration— the overhauling of the tariff with a view to further reductions in Britain's favour—will certainly, if judiciously, conducted, justify the expectation of Mr. Coates that it will be in our interests also. After all the troubles and anxieties of his labours as Minister of Employment it is a special pleasure to congratulate him on the, success of this mission and on the recognition which it received last night. The special compliment which was, paid to him by the Reform and United Parties at the instance of the Prime Minister did equal-credit to both leaders, and we trust that. this enthusiastic demonstration of our Coalition unity may have a lasting effect.