IMPERIAL CONFERENCE.

Taranaki Daily News, 2 July 1918, Page 5

IMPERIAL CONFERENCE.

IMPORTANT DECISIONS. By Telegraph.—Press Association. Wellington, Last Night. 1 The Governor-General has received the: following summary of the proceedings of the Imperial War Conference during' the week ending June 29, from" the Secretary of Stata for the Colonies: The Imperial War Conference has been engaged almost exclusively during the fourth, fifth and sixth meetings, held on June 24, 26 and 28, in continuing disoussions on various phases of post-war and economic policy, begun last week. : The first Bubject on which a resolution Was passed dealt with the recent NonFerrous Metal Act of the United Kingdom, and the question of similar legislation by the oversea dominions. This* resolution was to the effect that in pur-' suance of the policy of freeing the Em-? flire from dependence on German-eon-} trolled organisations in respect to non-: ferrous metals and ores the conference ; endorses the principle of the Non-Fer-rous Metal Industry Acfe of the United Kingdom, and recommends the Governments of the Empire to adopt effectives, measures in so far as these may Be necessary, and have not already been taken, to carry out this policy."

The next resolution related to*measures necessary to secure for the Empire and belligerent Allies command of certain essential raw materials, to enable them to repair the.effects of war, as soon as possible, and; safeguard their industrial requirements. The -conference agreed that this course was necessary, and expressed the opimon»-thst the Go?_ eniments of the British Empire should 1 make such arrangements among themselves as will ensure tlnrt.-essen.tial ia,w materials produced within the Empire shall be available for the purposes named above, and should, arrange with the Allied countries to utilise for-flj® Bame purposes the essential terials produced in those-countries.

A further resolution in connection with the same question recommend!& that a committee of members of tlze conference should first consider ible methods of each part of the Empire in obtaining command of essential raw. materials referred to in the previous resolution, and that the governments represented at the conference should, indto' light of information collected by then; representatives on this committee, con-, suit with representatives of the pro-: ducers and trades concerned as to- theu method of obtaining command best suited to each individual commodity.