Dear Mr. Bruce,

IMPERIAL ECONOMIC COMMITTEE

The Committee resumed its sittings on Tuesday November 3rd at
least a month later than could easily have been arranged had the
Chairman [1] felt so disposed.

The first meeting was chiefly occupied with an interesting
discussion on the attitude of the Government to the first report.

The Chairman was asked for information and did not furnish much.

Members appeared to feel that the attitude which the Government
tended to take was not one which would lead to the satisfactory
carrying out of the Committee's recommendations. It was therefore
unanimously decided to give the Government an opportunity of
learning the views of the Committee in an informal manner.

It was first suggested that the Chairman should be asked to do
this personally. Wiser thoughts, however, prevailed and it was
finally decided to submit to Cabinet a section of the Minutes of
the meeting dealing with this subject. For your personal
information I enclose this section as prepared for submission to
Cabinet. [2]

During the discussion the Chairman very skilfully skated over the
thin ice covering an awkward situation so far as he was personally
concerned. He had, I believe, told the President of the Board of
Trade [3] that the Imperial Economic Committee would be quite
content with Departmental Administration in place of an Executive
Commission.

As regards the Canadian Cattle business [4], the Chairman's
statement was again a masterpiece of phraseology to cover an
awkward personal situation. I felt, however, that it was much
better to support the Chair provided one could feel sure that the
Committee intended to make its decisions perfectly clear. I
therefore helped to make Mackinder's path easy.

The discussion was striking as showing a definite intention on the
part of the Committee to be master of its Chairman.

With regard to future work, it was decided that the full Committee
should now undertake the fruit enquiry. As the trade in Bananas
with the West Indies and West Africa presented points of special
difficulty, it was decided to constitute a Sub-Committee to
investigate the position and to report to the Main Committee. I
was asked to serve on this Sub-Committee and although I felt that
the additional work would be a considerable burden, yet as no
other representative of a Dominion was on it, I felt that it was
expedient to demonstrate a proper Empire spirit and I therefore
agreed.

A Drafting Committee was also set up for the Fruit Report, to
consist of Sir H. Mackinder, Mr. Gubbay [5], of the Indian
Delegation, and myself.

In regard to the status of the Imperial Economic Committee, it is
a body responsible to the Prime Ministers of the Empire, while the
Indian and Crown Colonies' Delegations are responsible to the
Department concerned. There is, however, a marked tendency to
regard it as an Empire Committee, working under the President of
the Board of Trade. This attitude is strengthened by the fact that
the Chairman reports to the President rather than to the Prime
Minister. I quite realise that, for convenience, this may be
desirable but in view of the wide separation of Departments in
this country, I feel that the Imperial Economic Committee should
be clearly marked as a Prime Minister's Committee.

DRIED FRUIT INDUSTRY

I enclose my notes on the Economic position of the Australian
Dried Fruit industry, to which I referred in my last letter. I
have not included the appendices which are purely of technical
interest.

I also enclose a copy of the notes on Preference which I forwarded
as a confidential document to the Chairman of the Board [6] in
Melbourne.

Yours sincerely,
F. L. MCDOUGALL