NAURU AGREEMENT

Hokitika Guardian, 22 June 1920, Page 2

NAURU AGREEMENT

DISCUSSION IN THE COMMONS 1 Uy. Electric Telegraph Con., ight.i LONDON, June 10. In the House of Commons the question of the Nauru ngreement was again raised. Colonel Kenworthy maintained that owing to the distance between Nauru .and the United Kingdom the arrangement could not be a good commercial proposition for this country.Mr Leslie Wilson, replying, pointed out that before the War, Germany toolc all the phosphate she could at Nauru to Stettin ,an even greater distance than that to England and the company paid beween 25 and 50, per cent, dividend.

Sir Newton Moore congratulated the Government on the arrangements which would be of the greatest value to agriculture and would mean cheap wheat in many countries.

Several members repeated the opposition to tlie argument regarding the League of Nation’s aspect of the ques-

In moving the second reading o $ the Bill confirming the agreement between the Imperial, Australian and New Zealand Governments regarding Nauru Island, Mr Leslie Wilson emphasised the richness of the phosphate deposits on he island. H© pointed out that the natives keenly desired to remain under British rule,

The speaker also emphasised the urgency of the need for more phosphates in view of the world shortage of wheat in 1919,, and the exhaustion of soils. He quoted an estimate in a report to the New Zealand Parliament that there were a least 80,000,000 to 100,00,000 tons of phosphate on Nauru, which is believed to be the largest reserve of high grade ■ rock in the woild, while the deposit at Ocean Island is be. lieved to be the deepest.