OTTAWA CONFERENCE

Hokitika Guardian, 29 January 1932, Page 4

OTTAWA CONFERENCE

A BRITISH GOVERNMENT \ (British Official Wireless.) RUGBY, January 27. Preparation for the Imperial Economic 'Conference are making good pro- -A guess. Mr J. H. Thomas ('Secretary for the Dominions), .in an interview sa'd that a representative of the British Government would attend the Conference, and would not ba hampered by adherence to any particular creed which had hitherto guided British policy. For tile conference to achieve lasting beneficial results, the concessions must not be all on one side, and foil this reason, the British / Government had special interest in the viewpoints of the Dominions, whose individual interests differed widely. An advance detailed examination was essential, and here and iu ' the Dominions, representatives of the 'Governments% concerned were in contact. 'He said that the Federal Cabinet Committee, under Mr S. Bruce, was directing preparatory work inAustralia, and in 'South Africa the Government had appointed repi'-cstnfa-tives for a similar purpose. The British Government was discussing t-he trade question that would arise with interested bodies in England and to-morrow he would meet the British Committee on Empire Trade, comprising representatives of the Federation of British Industries, the Associated British Chambers of Commerce, the Ghamb.r'of Shipping, and the repr®- \ senta-tives of several manufacturing / and Trade Associations. Mr Thomas said that to advance the 'date of the conference would be impossible ill view of domestic affairs, both here and in tire Dominions, and of tile preliminary work to be done. Meanwhile no .negotiations whatever on trade relations with foreign countries would be undertaken that- would prejudice free unfettered discussions at the ■Ottawa Conference.

BRITISH READINESS

TO MAKE IT A SUCCESS,

LONDON, January 28

The “Daily Telegraph” says tbe British delegation to go to Ottawa is prepared not merely to strike a bargain Inut to lay the foundation of what Mr Benin tt called a "New Economic Empire;. I' Fooling strong throughout the country that the future of the British Empire is at stake, and failure would he an irretrievable disaster. Mr Thomas ivatlirmod tile assurances of Mr t'ha nbcrlaut and Mr Runciman that no preferences would be granted to a fori igu country until after the Imperial Conference. New preferences must lie revealed, not in clauses of the •tariff, but in the actual exchange of conunodi ' \ No two Dominions have the isaim predominant interests. That nhoiild m.' c i* easier for trade arrangemcius between themselves as well as with the C iteil 'Kingdom.