Melbourne, Aug. 21, The Conference of State Premiers] which is drawing up plans for dealing with the present financial position, held a meeting yesterday. The Premier of Australia, Mr. J. H. [Scullin, although ill, presided and Sir Otto Niemeyer, representing the Bank of England, attended, The following resolutions were 1.—The State Governments shall do their utmost to balance current) budgets and to maintain balanced budgets in the future.
2—The Loan Council shall not raise further overseas loans until the existing short term indebtedness has been completely dealt with.
'3,—Approval shall not be given to undertaking of new: unreproduetive works.
'4.—In order to secure the regular service of the public debt from revenue all interest payments shall the made to a special account in the Commonwealth Bank solely for the payment of interes!
'5.—The Commonwealth and State Treasurers shall publish monthly in Australia and overseas a uniform. summary of budget and revenue expenditure, the position of the short term debt and the state of the Loan the Conference appointed a com mittee to give effect to the resolu-ions, This committee comprises the Treasurers of the Commonwealth and of New South Wales, Victoria South Australia who are empower-fed to consult outside financial and economic authorities, The conference, after hearing Sir Otto Niemeyer and Sir Robert! Gibson, the Chairman of the Com monwealth Bank, expressed the opinion that arrangements to relieve situation involved a heavy jinution in revenue and expenditure and also substantial orifices by the community but that the only possible way to avai So meet national obligations which failure was unthinkable.
Sir Otto Niemeyer's critical review] Jof Australia's. financial position, Jwhich he made at the Conference, has been published. He declared that the credit of the country, was Jat a lower ebb than the credit of any of the other Dominions, not excluding India, and that the only' minor alleviation was the absence of external obligations maturing in 1930 and 1931. Therefore Australia had two years in which to put her house in order.
He declared that the Australian standard of costs compared with the rest of the world increasing rapidly. Wool prices might maintain approximately their present level, but it was very difficult to see how wheat prices could be prevented from dropping further. There was evidence, he said, that the standard of living in A\ had reached point which was economically beyond the country's capacity.
"Australia's difficulties, however, Sir Otto concluded, could not be compared with those from which' other countries had successfully em-forged. They had only to be faced end they would be found capable solution.
At the conclusion of the Confer-fence Mr, Seullin left for Perth: to embark for England to attend the Imperial Conference—Reuter.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.