"CLEAR THE AIR"

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 2, Issue 254, 18 June 1932, Page 5

"CLEAR THE AIR"

(Press. Assn.-

OTTAWA CONFERENCE

HIGH H.OPES IN BRITAIN FOR SUCCESS OF MEETING A UNITED EMPIRE

— By Telegrsph— Copyright). '

Rec. Junfe 17, 8.5 p.m. LONDON, Friday. The Secretary of State for the Domiruons, Mr. J. H. Thomas, said that if all the Dominions were as ready for the Imperial Economic Conference at Ottawa, as they were in Great Britain, the conference would not fail for want of preparation. "We do not view Ottawa as .a sort of disarmament conference," he said* "it is going on for a long time, but we must be business-like. The British Government will certainly go to the conference prepared to state its views on the wliole question of currency." Referring to migration, he said that they only wanted an assurance of an outlet for the surplus .population, .and the restoration of the Dominion's prosperity. He said that he could not state the Government's intentionj regsyfding wheat or timber or anything else, as they were going to Ottawa with a free and open mind. Should Have Lead Sir Stamford Cripps (Liberal) con.tended that the House of Commons should be given an outline of the Government's policy, or at least the policy of the main questions, and how far Ottawa was going to override Lau-

sanne. They were entitled to know whether the Government would tax meat and wheat. Nothing would be more certain to disrupt the Empire than to make the British people pay taxes 011 these foods in order to subsidise the colonies and dominions. For Imperial preferences, Great Britain could not afford to limit her mai'kets for her specialised products. Furthermore, the Government had given no lead on the monetary question. Mr. L. C. M. S. Amery said that the world crisis had struclc down all international monetary systems. JLlie gold standard had not collapsed and nothing would be obtained at Lausanne or elsewhere to put humpty dumpty back on the wall in the near future, but Ottawa would enable us to right matters within the Empire. Referring to the Free State, Mr. Amery said there should be freedom to witlidraw auy preferences to those not playing the game. (Cheers.) If Mr. Neville Chamberlain were able to announce at Ottawa that their definite aim was to restore the price level to that of 1929 in terms of sterling, he believed there would be no difficulty in arriving at an agreement satisfactory to the whole Empire. Mr. Stanley Baldwin replying, said that the Ottawa Conference was specially important because we were at the parting of the ways. The whole economic pool of the world was in large units. If the Dominions did not come into closer union with us, serious dangers might come between the component parts of the Empire. Empire markets were the only ones in the world to whieh we might get preferential entrance. The colonies and the dominions were the only couiltries in which we might hope to see the population of British stock increasing, and many of our people finding homes. Chance of Lifetime His own view was that the Government's general objective was to share and restore free trade within the Empire, but he would he deeply disappointed if arrangements were not con-