Evening star., 1932-07-24
EMPIRES Troubled Path.

Empires Troubled Path.
1t would seem that the course of en-
pire, like that of true love, never does
run smooth. The Commonwealth Of
British Nations, now deep in conference
at Ottawa, is. at any rate, experiencing,
even in the earliest stages of its efforts,
that the process of tightening the silken
cords of empire is fraught with endless
difficulties. The program is to formu-
late some general sort Of trade treaty
including all the self-governing coun-
tries of the commonwealth Broadly
the objective is an interempire tariff
system with mutual preferences between
Great Britain and the daughter ma
tons Various dominions, with designs
on the British market for their special
ties, are already to the front with pref
erence demands which conjure up en-
barrassment for the mother country. On
Friday for example. South Africa and
Australia startled the conference with
suggestions for such preferential tariff
treatment in Great Britain as would
assure them large part Of the meat
trade now held by Argentina.
The statesmen from overseas now
pooling their wisdom at Ottawa with
Messrs. Baldwin and the other Spokes-
men Of the home government at Lon
1&A 1irfc OF
imperialists They have little enthu-
siasm for the grandioSe Beaverbrook
plan for free trade within the empire
and prohibitory tariffs against all the
rest of the world Even so stanch
protectionist as former Premier Bald
win promptly declared himself at OF
tawa to the effect that the practical
goal toward which the conference must
strive is lower duties as between Brit
ain and the dominionS and as little dis
elimination as possible against the trade
of non British countries.
The finance minister of South Africa,
Mr. Havenga, is speaking at Ottawa
with what has sometimes been described
as the brutal franknesS Of a blood re-
lation The South African Union, he
bluntly says, docs not subscribe to the
theory of self-contained and isolated
British Empire" He is uttering an OBJ
vious fact when he adds that not even
Great Britain itself. to say nothing of
6ominions like Canada. could exist ex-
clusively on business within the COM
monWealth.
The South African-Australian de-
nland for preferential tariffs which
would smash the Argentine meat trade
in the British Isles presents a typical
dilemma for Great Britain. 1t was
only year or two ago that the Prince
of Wales. the empires best commercial
traveller" journeyed to Argentina to lay
the foundations Of the existing British
commercial and financial alliance with
that country. Not only is Britain the
richest market for Argentine meat prod
ucts, but British capital in tens of mil
lions of pounds is invested in every
branch of Argentine industrial life.
Thus the economic welfare of that
country is a vital matter for thousands
Of British holders of Argentine stocks
and bonds. Cut off the Argentine meat
trade in John Bulls island and you
cut off almost the basic source of pros
perity upon which British investments
In Argentina are dependent.
1t is an unmistakably rocky path upon
which Britain is embarking at Ottawa.
In London the imponderables of the
situation are fully appreciated. I'VE
should blind ourselves if we believed
that lowering tariffs within the empire
is going to be easy" says the liberal
News Chronicle, but at least the OBJ
jective has been fairly stated and If
Ottawa is to make history, 1t is the
right objective
The United States is far from wishing
failure for the Ottawa conference, but
that need not deter us from realizing
that the insurmountability of certain
impediments to British tariff union is
water on the mill Of American trade.