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PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
Reference :-
C.O. 885
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PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BP REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH—NOT TO
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Sir WILFRID LAURIER: Am I right in this?
Mr. FIELDING: You can take it to carry on 10 Canada.
Sir WILFRID LAURIER: Am I right in this? I think am aight in stating that they treat Honolulu as part of the territory of the United States?
Mr. FIELDING: Oh yes.
“Sir WILFRID LAURIER: They tako fonolulu as part of the territory of the United States. Now, with regard to the effect of the new combina- tion, I do not know it is certain that the Araorican policy is to sell and not to buy, and to claim privileges from foreign countries, but to givo no privileges at all from their own in return. I have no doubt at all tho inten- tion of this new combine is to devolop the American shipping trade, and the American carrying trade, always at the expense of every other country.
The SECRETARY OF STATE: Does Canada apply to her coasting trade the navigation laws?
Wo
Sir WILFRID LAURIER: Well, wo apply the American laws, but not to the same extent, but we do not allow them to do the coasting trade. have offered them reciprocity in the coasting trule, but so far, all our overtures have not met with any favour by the United States.
The SECRETARY OF STATE: Would tho Dominion of Canada object, or would they desire that we should alter our laws to confine the traffic between Canada and the United Kingdom entirely to British-owned vessels?
Sir WILFRID LAURIER: That is a subject for the Conference.
We do not know what views they would be prepared to express on the point. Have you thought of it, Mr. Fielding?
Mr. FIELDING: It is rather an important question, Mr. Chairman, but, speaking off-hand, I should say we should not object to it.
We recogniso the fact that our American neighbours will make it as difficult as possible, and we have to look after ourselves. We do not allow them to take our coasting trade. We are sufloring embarrassment in various ways from their acquisition of new territory. For instance, Porto Rico, we did a largo trade between the eastern part of Canada and Porto Rico.
Now the Americans treat Porto Rico as part of their own territory, and our trade with that country is practically cut off, so in various forms wo are suffering embarrassment, we lose in that direction. Off-hand I should say there would be no objection from the Canadian point of view.
The PRESIDENT OF THE BOARD OF TRADE: To the reservation of coasting trade?
Mr. FIELDING: Yes.
The PRESIDENT OF THE BOARD OF TRADE: Meaning by coasting trade, trade between any ports of the British Empiro?
Mr. FIELDING: Yes. There may be forms in which I have not con- sidered it, and I would like to reserve my judgment on it. You would not shut out ships of any nations that reciprocate; take Norway and Sweden ?
The SECRETARY OF STATE: No.
Mr. FIELDING: We have interest in having our stuff carried by the ships that will carry cheapest, but a nation which grants as reciprocal privileges would be admitted.
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Thỏ SECRETARY OF STATE: Yes.
The PRESIDENT OF THE BOARD OF TRADE: That is a very important modification, for this reason, that there are really very low nations that do shut out our vessels from their coastal trade; I think the United States and Russia are the only two that do so wholly, I was about to ask Mr. Fielding when he stated that Canada would probably see no objection to the reservation of inter-imperial trade to British vessols, whether he con- templated that Norwegian vossels would be shut out from the Canadian timber trade, the timber trade between Canada and this country, by any such proposal. Of course, if it is to bo a reciprocity arrangement that is a vory different matter.
Mr. FIELDING: I anticipated that.
The SECRETARY OF STATE: But Mr. Balfour, am I not right in saying that what you have said about these othor nations applies only to the coastal trade as interpreted to mean the trade between the Mother Country and its Dominions. The actual coastal trade is still preserved in both France and Germany.
The PRESIDENT OF THE BOARD OF TRADE: Not, I think, in Germany; it is in France.
The SECRETARY OF STATE: I was told, I certainly understood, it was quite impossible for a British owned ship to carry goods between Hamburg and Bremen, for instance.
The PRESIDENT OF THE BOARD OF TRADE: I do not think that We are not provented by law from engaging in the German coastal
is $0. traffic.
Sir EDMUND BARTON: I take it that the primary object of any resolu-. tion of this kin is to ensure, in the first place, quicker communications, whatover may be done subsequently, or concurrently, with regard to freight lines, or with regard to the encouragement of trade. The first object, it seems to me, is to improve the rapidity of communication; because that seems to me the best way of improving all kinds of relations between the Colonics, and between the various parts of the Empire.
I would have welcomed this resolution more if it had not been confined to a service between Australasia, New Zealand, Canada, and Great Britain, because the principle of it applies to all, and heavily as the steamers are subsidised which carry
the mails between Australia and Great Britain by way of Suez, evon that heavy subsidy has so far failed to obtain rapidity of communi- cation at all commonsurate with the money paid. My own view is that it would be advantageous to convert this motion into a more gonoral one in order that the concurrence thus obtained night be applied in various directions as occasion arises, so that wider ground may be covered for action in the future.
I am quito with my friends, Mr. Seldon and Sir Wilfrid Laurier, in thinking that the lines here mentioned might well bo encouraged by a subsily which would produce the right class of vessels and the riglit speed. We have had some conversation on this subject with a view of soeing whether something could not be done with the concurrence of the Mother Country, if upon communication with us it seemed good to the Imperial Government to join in this project. It seems to me it would be only one; it would have become one of a series of similar projects, not perhaps numerous, but perhaps of equal importance, and therefore it would be an advantage if the resolution were not so confined in its terms. I can quite understand that the Admiralty might object to any terms in this resolution which bound them to arm and use as cruisers the vessels of the line, but I can scarcely think that Mr. Seddon put that addendum to his resolution with any such intention, or that it would become binding in the form which it holds now.
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