My dear P.M.,

Amery [1] thinks that the wireless broadcasting of political
platforms before and during an election campaign is of the
greatest importance, particularly to Governments having the
political convictions of Baldwin [2] and yourself. He thinks that
broadcast political speeches of a quiet, restrained nature-almost
non-party-are very telling, as they reach listeners in a
contemplative mood in their homes when they are not susceptible to
mob influence. He thinks from this point of view that broadcasting
is of more value in propagating conservative (conservative with a
small 'c') principles than it is to radical politicians, who rely
more on mob appeal. And from his point of view it should be done,
he thinks, from the Broadcasting Studio and not merely broadcast
as a side issue from a public platform. This seems to be a good
point.

There is a non-public controversy going on at present between the
three political parties in this country as to the use of broadcast
political speeches prior to and during the General Election
campaign. As you know, the Government raised the ban on the
broadcasting of controversial matter some little time ago, and the
imminence of the Election made it necessary to arrange definitely
the relative periods of time that representative speakers of the
three parties should be allowed to declaim.

The B.B.C. proposed in the first place that after an inaugural
period of three weeks, during which each political party should
have equal opportunity, the Government should be given time equal
to that allotted to the other two parties put together, i.e.

Government and Opposition given equal opportunity. The Liberal
and Labour Parties naturally opposed this and the controversy is
proceeding and will, I suppose, end in a compromise.

I spoke to Amery this week with regard to the next Imperial
Conference. He is beginning to think that it is rather unlikely
that the Conference will be held in 1929. The British General
Election will not be before June and may be as late as October. If
it were in June it might be just possible to get ready for an
Imperial Conference in October or November, but if the election
happened to be a month or so after June, it would not be possible.

And as he thinks that the Prime Minister may not be able to make
up his mind about the date of the election until well on into next
year, he thinks a Conference in 1929 is rather unlikely.

With regard to the May-June-July period for Imperial Conferences
in general, he realises how much more pleasant this would be than
October-November, and he thinks that if the Conference were put
off until 1930, the June period might be possible as the burden of
legislation would not be so heavy in the first year of the life of
the new parliament. However, with an election in between, he says
that it is difficult to get his colleagues to think seriously
about the next Conference.

He tells me that before the next election he proposes to try to
get the Prime Minister to agree to the Government going to the
country with a greater measure of freedom with regard to Imperial
Preference than previously. His hope is that he will get the
Government to agree to give themselves latitude to switch the food
duties about a little so as to give a greater measure of
preference to Imperial products. However, he is not particularly
sanguine about having any great measure of success in this
direction. He says the complex that exists in this country with
regard to indirect taxation of food goes very deep and that any
tampering with it is a recognised political stumbling block.

I told Amery briefly about the formation of your National Economic
Council. [3] He said that he recognised that to get any accurate
idea of what the ideal tariff for Australia was, you would have to
have each industry examined piecemeal and in its relation to other
industries-which was an immense job. As an onlooker for a very
brief period the only thing that struck him with any force was the
possibility that the Navigation Act might be having more adverse
effects than good, as it represented the raw material (transport)
for so many industries, and it undoubtedly raised the price of
this raw material.

One of the Australian press men here tells me that 'Fleet Street'
is forecasting that Churchill [4] will spring an election
bombshell in the shape of a promise of considerable income tax
relief. Amery says this is quite impossible. He says that even in
his most optimistic mood he cannot foresee anything more than a
possible reduction of 6d. in the income tax in the course of the
next three or four years, with a possible reduction of another 6d.

three or four years after that. This, unless of course, in some
spectacular way they are able to convert the 2,000 millions of 5%
War Loan on to a much lower basis.

Hankey [5] tells me that Winston told him that Parker Gilbert [6]
(Agent-General for Reparation Payments) had been to him lately
with the confidential request that we should consider the
cancellation of German reparation payments altogether. To which
astounding request Winston said he replied that we wouldn't hear
of such a thing except on the basis of American cancellation of a
corresponding portion of our indebtedness to them. Parker Gilbert
is, of course, an American.

I enclose the first copy of Bottomley's new paper, 'JOHN BLUNT'.

[7] It is, of course, a rag but it shews that he has at any rate
an elastic spirit to make this rather impudent attempt to get
back. His one and only reference to his unfortunate incarceration
is rather clever.

The High Commissioner [8] is back from Geneva. I am told he got
through the rather trying experience of the examination before the
Mandates Commission quite well. The full papers are going to you
by this or the next mail.

As you know, he also attended the Labour meeting. The Minimum
Wage-Fixing Convention went through. It is loosely worded and can
mean very little. In any event it seems to me an advantage to have
some obligation, however loose, imposed on low-wage countries to
start to bring them up to our Australian wage level.

I have written Henderson [9] a personal letter on the subject of
the methods adopted by some members of the International Labour
Office in the compilation of I.L.O. pamphlets. It appears that
some of them (I have no doubt with the secret backing of Albert
Thomas [10]) employ underhand methods of getting highly coloured
information on Labour-Capital subjects. This comes to notice at
this moment by reason of their having tried to get Labour partisan
information about strikes and lockouts in Australia from sources
other than the official ones. There is nothing that can be done
about it, I think, other than to watch the I.L.O. publications
carefully and see that they do not contain distortion of the
truth. No doubt if Thomas were tackled on the subject he would
disclaim the methods adopted by individual members of the I.L.O.

and we would be no further. There is no need for you to bother
yourself with this subject, other than to know that the I.L.O. is
always tending to overstep the mark and has to be watched.

The recent 'booms' on the London and New York Stock Exchanges have
been of more interest than such flurries usually are.

Euphemistically they have been indicative of a broadening of the
investment and speculative markets by the participation of the big
outside public who have been for the most part looking for quick-
time capital appreciation. You can't put it fairer than that! Both
in this country and in the States the popular press is giving
increasing space to popularly worded market reports and market
tips, which undoubtedly encourage the small man and make him think
he knows something.

There is no doubt that the circle of people is broadening that
buys and sells paper securities. On the part of the small man, it
is at present a good deal speculative, but it has the effect, I
think, of getting him used to the idea, with the result that the
industrial 'rentier' class will grow. The democratisation of paper
securities cannot but be a good thing although it may bring
problems with it-the unloading of many small holders in times of
economic necessity, and the like. I expect we will soon have
broadcasting of Stock Exchange prices, if the present interest in
such matters is sustained.

Another point of interest is in the increasing number of British
securities quoted and dealt in on the New York and other American
exchanges. It may not be always to the good, this linking of the
comparatively staid and steady London market to the more mercurial
New York, but it will broaden the market and, if the tendency
grows, it may develop into a participation of each country in the
booms and 'shake-outs' of the other.

The question of the listing of more Australian industrial and
other securities on the London Stock Exchange would, I think, be a
means of creating a greater and more intelligent interest in
Australian development on the part of people here.

Another matter of some interest is the rise in popularity of the
Investment Trust Company. There are now well over 100 of this type
of company registered in this country. They distribute their
capital (a) geographically, (b) by industries, and (c) by classes
of security, i.e. debentures, preference and ordinary shares. The
amount of their capital that they can put into any one enterprise
is limited, usually to 10%. With experienced directorates and good
management, they represent almost an ideal form of investment for
a wide range of people. Their capital is usually spread over some
hundreds of investments. There are a few sound investment
companies of this type in Canada, but as far as I know none as yet
in Australia.

Hastie [11] (of J. B. Were & Son) continues to deprecate Australia
going to New York for loan money, but he is rather biased, I
think, on this subject. His argument briefly is that the status of
Australian loans in London is maintained by the London Stock
Exchange brokers who keep our loans before their clients, not by
reason of sentiment but because of the 'cut' that they get. When
they see a loan going to New York, it so depresses them that they
are missing an issue out of which they think they are entitled to
snatch a few crumbs, that they cease temporarily to push our
previous loans, and they sag in the market in consequence. He
points to what he says is a fact, that the recent 4 1/2% New York
loan has changed hands recently at 89 (issued at 92 1/2) and that
at the same time the recent 5% London floated loan is 15/- per
cent lower now than before the New York loan was floated. However,
I should think that both these facts could be more easily
explained by the recent financial slump in New York which
undoubtedly affected our New York loan adversely and had its
temporary reaction on our recent London loan.

I send in another letter by this mail a brief, simple statement
that the Board of Trade has put together for me on the tariff
arrangements of the various Dominions.

I saw Grigg [12] this morning, Winston's very able Private
Secretary, and found him very irritated. He said he didn't know
what to do with Winston who had lately adopted the habit of
addressing him as if he were a public meeting. He is evidently in
one of his rather mad declaiming phases.

I was recently in Oswald Birley's house in Hampstead. He is the
modern portrait painter of the moment. He is of the type of
Sargent and has a rapid and rather wonderful facility for painting
extremely pleasant and lifelike portraits (I think without any
great genius) which he reluctantly parts with for from 500 to
1,000 each. He showed us portraits of the King (in plain clothes
for a change), Reading [13], and half-a-dozen others that he has
in train at the moment.

I note and thank you for your letter about my continuing to keep
you and the External Affairs Department informed on C.I.D.

matters. I have sent copy of your letter to Hankey and have let
the High Commissioner and Trumble [14] know your wishes.

I am establishing the habit of seeing Amery about once a week
regularly, when I tell him anything that is in your personal
letters to me that I think it is politic and wise that he should
be aware of.

I am seeing a good deal of Sir Charles Nathan [15] and have been
able to be of some little assistance to him in one or two
directions. He is no doubt keeping you fully informed of what he
is doing so I will not deal with it here.

I send you a handwritten letter by this mail.

With best wishes, I am, Yours sincerely,
R.G. CASEY