PACE BEGINS TO TELL

Hawera Star, Volume LIII, 16 June 1933, Page 5

PACE BEGINS TO TELL

World Economic Conference

STRAIN OF LONG SESSIONS

New Zealanders Hear Speeches

CANADIAN PREMIER. VIGOROUS,

OTTAWA ATTACK SUSPECTED

(United Press Association—By Electric Telegraph

Copyright.)

LONDON, June 5,

The pace is beginning to tell on conference delegates. Long sessions, unofficial meetings, and nightly social engagements resulted in barely 100 being present at the opening session this morning. ' . The speech of the Portuguese delegate, Senor Damatta, failed to arouse interest, but the attendance was large, including the Rt. Hon G. W. Forbes and the Hon. R. Masters, when Mr. Soong (China) spoke. . . Mr. S. M. Bruce is not participating in the main debate, reserving the Australian case till the committees meet. The conference heard a vigorous speech by Mr. R. B. Bennett (Canada), who made the first definite disclosure of his wheat policy and came out strongly for curtailment of acreage and a concerted effort by importing, countries to enlarge their demand instead as hitherto, of aggravating the fall in price by defensive tariff increases. There is a suggestion in the lobbies that Argentina will be amongst the restrictionists in this resiiect. There is unmistakable and growing evidence in the, lobbies of the American aud Europeans’ determination to attack the Ottawa agreements. American journalists sought Mr. S. M. Brice to discover his views on Mr. Hull s and M. Litvinoff’s speeches, which they interpreted a.s~ implying the strongest disapproval of the Ottawa agreements, but Australian and other Dominion delegates saw nothing with the slightest bearing on the Ottawa conference in , the speeches Mr. Lloyd George, speaking at Carnarvon, said that if the Economic Conference succeeded it w'ould be splendid; if it failed it would not be an irrevocable disaster provided the failure was not marked by serious resolutions that nothing must give the world a chance of saving itself , of which it was quite capable. The “Financial News” says: ‘Real progress has been made towards a gen. eral understanding on the subject of currency stabilisation.” M. Bonnet (France) to-day had long conversations with Air. Chamberlain and Mr. Hull. Well-informed French circles believe an agreement will be a matter of only days.