186
| PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
بلنسيا
Reference :-
C.O. 885
8
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC-
COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO
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The SECRETARY OF STATE: Of course as long as the resolution merely conveys the opinion of the Prime Ministers I have nothing to say to it, excepting to express my own general agreement with its policy, but as the resolution has been put forward it commits the Conference, that is, His Majesty's Government as well as the Prime Ministers, and that Kam not in a position to do, as it involves another department which is at the moment not prepared to make any change. I would suggest; therefore, that the resolution should read as follows:-
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"That it is advisable to adopt the principle of cheap postage between the different parts of the British Empire on all newspapers and periodicals published therein, and the Prime Ministers desire to "draw the attention of His Majesty's Government to the question of a "reduction in the outgoing rate.
"They consider that each Government should be allowed to "determine the amount to which it may reduce such rate and the time "for such reduction going into effect."
That comes then as a suggestion from the Prime Ministers here present to the Imperial Government which they will have to take up as a Government, of course, but which I could not accept at present until the Government as a whole have discussed and decided that policy.
Sir WILFRID LAURIER: The outgoing rate you can reduce much
more.
J
The SECRETARY OF STATE: It was your own wording.
Sir WILLIAM MULOCK: If it secures any expression of opinion either from the Prime Minister of England or any Minister of the Imperial Parliament-
The SECRETARY OF STATE: No.
Sir WILLIAM MULOCK: We are not asking what we consider a favour to ourselves, Mr. Chamberlain.
Mr. SEDDON: All that we ask the Imperial authorities is to consider, we can ask them to consider the question as applied to the Mother Country.
Sir WILLIAM MULOCK: Of course there is another view to take of the difficulty advanced by Sir George Murray. His difficulty is that a step of this kind might involve the reduction in your domestic rate, and it appears to have been the policy as I understand him to make money out of the carrying of the newspapers. That is not the prevailing object, I think, throughout all parts of the Empire. Wo do not contemplate making money out of carrying newspapers and I do not know any country in the world that does; as a rule they carry them for a very cheap and non-paying rate:
The SECRETARY OF STATE: Surely that is a question of policy which must be decided by each of the Governments.
Sir WILLIAM MULOCK: Yes, quite so.
The SECRETARY OF STATE: We could not suggest to you that you should alter your policy and make a profit on your newspapers, and I do not imagine that you would suggest to us that we should alter our policy and refrain from making a profit on newspapers.
Sir WILLIAM MULOCK: I only make that observation for consideration later on. As to there being no case of a domestic rate being higher than a foreign rate coming from the Colonies, I think I can cite the case of Newfoundland, which has a domestic rate of three cents and a rate to Australia of two cents.
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Sir ROBERT BOND: That is correct; within the Colony the rate is three cents and to any outside portion of the Empire two cents.
Sir WILLIAM MULOCK: Three cents is the domestic rate, and two cents is the rate between the Colony and the Empire.
Sir ROBERT BOND: Yes.
Mr. SEDDON: How would this suit?
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"And desire to draw the attention of the Government of the United Kingdom to the question of reducing the outgoing rates on newspapers to the Dominions beyond the seas."
Sir EDMUND BARTON: Would that satisfy you, Sir William Mulock?
Mr. SEDDON: Draw their attention to it; that is all we can do.
The SECRETARY OF STATE: Would you just let me see your words. That will not quite meet Sir William Mulock's contention, because his is a general resolution proposing that each Government and not the Imperial Government alone should consider the question.
Sir WILLIAM MULOCK: Perhaps I could reconsider the two views if you had one clause bringing the matter to the attention of the Imperial Government just as Mr. Seddon suggests and then another clause giving cach Government now the right to reduce its ontgoing rate. If, for example, the English Government consented we would reduce at once our outgoing rates for whatever good it might do. I do not know that it would do any goo !.
you
would consent we would reduce our rate from what it is to-day from eight halfpennies a pound to a halfpenny. We must think that it wonki be desirable to have that option; at present you can veto it, and yet it does not affect your finances at all.
[f We keep our revenue that we collecr.
If
we carry it at a non-paying rate we are the losers,
Sir GEORGE MURRAY: Yes.
Sir WILLIAM MULOCK: Have you any objection to that?
Sir GEORGE MURRAY: Your reducing your rate without reciprocity :
Sir WILLIAM MULOCK: Yes.
Sir GEORGE MURRAY: I think there would be objection.
Sir WILLIAM MULOCK: What would it be?
Sir GEORGE MURRAY: Well, we importance to a reciprocal arrangement.
have always attached great
Sir WILLIAM MULOCK: You are not able to keep pace with it.
The SECRETARY OF STATE: Does this meet your view after Mr. Seddon's resolution :--
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"They consider that each Government should be allowed to determine the amount to which it may reduce such rate, and the time "for such reduction going into effect."
Sir WILLIAM MULOCK: Yes; I have also a clause.
The SECRETARY OF STATE: I will read it again :—
"That it is advisable to adopt the principle of cheap postage "between the different parts of the British Empire on all newspapers and periodicals published therein, and the Prime Ministers desire to
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