561.311D1/11
The Minister in Canada (MacNider) to the Secretary of State
[Received April 28.]
Sir: With reference to the Legation’s despatch No. 302 of April 8, 1931,62 regarding the conference of wheat exporting countries to meet at London on May 18, 1931, I have the honor to report that a member of my staff endeavored, in the course of a conversation, to ascertain from the Under-Secretary of State for External Affairs the list of the countries invited to the above-mentioned conference by Mr. G. H. Ferguson, the chief Canadian delegate to the recent wheat conference at Rome. Dr. Skelton stated that the only reports received from Mr. Ferguson in regard to this matter had been by cable, and that, as far as the Government was aware, all the countries represented at the Rome conference had been invited; that Mr. Ferguson’s invitations had been verbally issued to the delegates in Rome and that no actual list had been forwarded. He said that some further details might be available in a few days when written reports came in from Mr. Ferguson. He seemed to be unaware that the American citizens present at the Rome conference had no official standing and it is possible that, in the absence of an official representative, no invitation was extended to our Government. He said that he was going to discuss the general matter of the London conference with the Prime Minister.
In talking of the Rome conference, he intimated that the Canadian Government did not hold a very high opinion of the Institute or its method of procedure. This is in line with opinions expressed the previous day by the Assistant Deputy Minister of Agriculture, who was pessimistic regarding the Institute and the results of the recent Rome conference. The latter said that apparently the European nations were attempting to unite against the exporting nations of the American continent and that there seemed little prospect of an agreement in view of the European attitude.
The relationship of the London wheat conference to the adjourned Imperial Conference63 and the relationship of the former’s proposed export quota plan to the British Empire quota plan scheduled for study at the resumption of the Imperial Conference, are discussed in [Page 635] an interesting editorial from the Montreal Gazette entitled “The Wheat Problem”. Copy of this editorial is transmitted herewith64 and it is interesting to note that Russia is apparently to be represented at London.
Respectfully yours,