Meeting forecast in my telegram 17th January Bell [1] now held.

Eden [2] presided and present Treasury, Board of Trade, Ministry
of Economic Warfare, Foreign Office and Essendon. [3] I referred
to the understanding when Essendon appointed, that all questions
relating to supplies to neutrals would be handled by him and
Bradford control would be limited to handling wool retained to
meet Military and civilian requirements in the United Kingdom and
stated that this understanding had not been carried out in that
before allocations for neutrals approved both in respect of
quantities and price, reference had to be made to Bradford.

I urged that Bradford should now be confined to its agreed
functions that the amount of wool necessary to retain to meet
United Kingdom or Allied requirements should be determined and
balance placed at the disposal of Essendon who would determine in
consultation with the Board of Trade export requirements and in
consultation with the Australian wool committee allocations to
neutrals subject to overriding considerations of Economic Warfare.

With regard to Economic Warfare, I urged the closest co-operation
between Essendon's Committee and the Department of Economic
Warfare and that the Department should supply full information of
the reasons for its decisions. On this point it was agreed that a
memorandum should immediately be prepared giving the Department's
views in detail with regard to supplies to Japan.

I also stressed the seriousness both from point of view of
Australia and of the United Kingdom Treasury of accumulated
supplies and the dangerous stimulus to substitutes by too high
prices and urged that the determination of prices should be taken
out of the hands of Bradford and be dealt with on a basis of high
policy.

In the discussion which followed there was an agreement as to
necessity of ascertaining immediately supplies available after
meeting Allied requirements, avoiding accumulations, of
maintaining reasonable prices and of close co-operation between
the Departments concerned. I am not confident however that this
agreement will be translated into really effective action. [4]

BRUCE