Lord Beaverbrook asked in the House of Lords to-day if the Government would do anything to encourage the movement for free trade within the Empire.
Lord Arnold, replying for the Government, said: that they thought the prosperity of the Empire was; more likely to be achieved by their Policy than by any scheme of Em-Dire free trade, which could not be achieved without first reversing the fiscal policy of the Mother Country, and making it protectionist. The country had repeatedly refused to desert the policy of free trade, He challenged Lord Beaverbrook to produce the slightest evidence that the Dominions would come into the scheme, which would require them to reverse their fundamental systems of protection. He said that the scheme would mean a rise in the price of foodstuffs and the Govern ment could not possibly give it any' encouragement. 'They had, how r,, called an Imperial economic' Jeonferenco to consider means of improving Imperial trade—British roving Imperial trade—Reuter,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.