APPENDIX (B). Combined Certificate of Value and of Origin to be Written, Typed, or Printed on Invoices of Goods for Exportation to British Colonies, &c. manufacturer/supplier of the goods enumerated in this invoice amounting to......... ..., hereby declare that I [(') have the authority to make and sign this certificate on behalf of the aforesaid manufacturer/supplier, and that I] have the means of knowing and do hereby certify as follows:- Value. 1. That this invoice is in all respects correct, and contains a true and full statement of the price actually paid or to be paid for the said goods, and the actual quantity thereof. 2. That no arrangements or understanding affecting the purchase price of the said goods has been or will be made or entered into between the said exporter and purchaser, or by anyone on behalf of either of them, either by way of discount, rebate, compensation, or in any manner whatever other than as fully shown on this invoice, or as follows (5)........... Origin. [In the case of goods exported to Colonies not granting preference to British goods, the following portion of the certificate dealing with origin should be struck out.] (Delete whichever of 3 (a) or 3 (b) is not applicable. If 3 (a) is used delete 4 and 5. If 3 (b) is used insert required particulars in 4 and 5.) 3. (a.) That every article mentioned in the said invoice has been wholly produced or manufactured in (®)........................ 3. (b.) That every article mentioned in the said invoice has been either wholly or partially produced or manufactured in ()... 4. As regards those articles only partially produced or manufactured in (®)............................ (a.) That the final process or processes of manufacture have been performed in that part of the British dominions. (b.) That the expenditure in material produced in (®).............................. and/or labour performed in (®)................. ...calculated subject to qualifications hereunder, in each and every (1) Here insert manager, chief clerk, or as the case may be. (2) Here insert name of firm or company. (3) Here insert name of city or country. (1) These words should be omitted where the manufacturer or supplier himself signs the certificate. (5) Here insert particulars of any special arrangement. (0) Insert" United Kingdom" or name of other part of British dominions. article is not less than one-fourth of the factory or works 5. That in the calculation of such proportion of produce or labour of the (")..... ..none of the following items has been included or considered "Manufacturer's profit or remuneration of any trader, agent, broker, or other person dealing in the articles in their finished condition; royalties; cost of outside packages or any cost of packing the goods thereinto; any cost of conveying, insuring, or shipping the goods subsequent to their manufacture." At the Meeting of the Imperial Economic Conference held on Friday the 5th October, 1923, a Resolution was passed instructing the Commercial Facilities Committee, in connection with paragraph (4) (B) of the draft Agenda, viz., Statistics, to consider and report to the Imperial Economic Conference what steps can be taken in the light of the Report of the British Empire Statistical Conference, 1920, and of subsequent experience, to improve Trade Statistics published by His Majesty's Government in order to increase their value from the point of view of the development of inter-Imperial trade. The Committee propose that the following Resolution (No. VIII— Resolutions I-VII, dealing with other matters, having been included in their First and Second Reports) should be submitted for adoption by a plenary meeting of the Imperial Economic Conference : RESOLUTION VIII. "The Conference, recognising the importance of rendering the trade statistics published by the Government of the United Kingdom as valuable as possible with reference to the development of inter-Imperial trade, recommends that the United Kingdom Board of Trade, after reviewing the statistics in question from this point of view, should draw up a detailed scheme and submit it to the Governments of the several parts of the Empire for their consideration." (6) Insert "United Kingdom" or name of other part of British dominions. With regard to the establishment in this connection of an Imperial Advisory Committee which was proposed by His Majesty's Government for discussion, the majority of the Commercial Facilities Committee were in favour of adding the following to the above Resolution : "In the preparation of the scheme referred to and in any further questions that may arise in relation to Imperial Trade statistics, the Board of Trade should have the advantage of the considered and combined views of the users of Imperial Trade statistics, and to this end should consult with an Advisory Committee generally representative of trade interests and nominated by the several Governments concerned.” The representatives of the Dominion of Canada on the Commercial Facilities Committee, however, explained that their Government could not support such an addition to the Resolution, as they could see no advantage in the setting up of such a Committee and, indeed, apprehended that it might exercise an influence detrimental to the expeditious carrying out of the proposal contained in Resolution VIII (as set out above), by hampering the establishment and maintenance of close contact between the Dominion Statistical Offices and the Statistical Officers of United Kingdom Departments. The representatives of Canada further stated that in the event of the establishment of such a Committee the Dominion Government would not wish to be represented thereon. The New Zealand representatives explained that they were instructed to state that the New Zealand Government did not favour the establishment of an Advisory Committee on the lines proposed. The Committee regret that they have not been able to reach an unanimous decision on this subject. They desire, however, to place on record that their failure to agree on the recommendation of an Advisory Committee does not imply that any member of the Committee would wish in any way to limit the right of the Board of Trade of the United Kingdom to establish whatever machinery they may think desirable or to consult whatever interests they may wish, either in regard to the preparation by them of the detailed scheme referred to in Resolution VIII, or for their own guidance in other statistical questions. Signed on behalf of the Committee, (Signed) S. J. CHAPMAN, Chairman. October 25, 1923. IMPERIAL COMMUNICATIONS. The questions before the Conference under this heading fell into three main divisions: (1) Shipping Communications, (2) Air Communications, and (3) Cables and Wireless. As regards Shipping Communications the Conference decided at an early stage of their proceedings that the most convenient procedure would be to invite Sir Halford Mackinder, the Chairman of the Imperial Shipping Committee, to make a statement which would cover the various matters arising out of the Reports of that Committee, as well as any other questions of importance connected with shipping. Similarly, it was decided to invite the Secretary of State for Air to make a statement to the Conference on Air Communications, and to invite the Postmaster-General to address the Conference on the subject of Post Office Communications (mail services, cables and wireless). (1.) SHIPPING COMMUNICATIONS. As regards Shipping Communications, the Conference had before them the various Reports of the Imperial Shipping Committee, viz., the Interim and Final Reports on the Deferred Rebate System (Cmd. 1486 of 1921, and Cmd. 1802 of 1923); the Report on Rates of Freight in the New Zealand Trade (Cmd. 1564 of 1921); the Report on the Limitation of Shipowners' Liability by Clauses in Bills of Lading and on certain other matters relating to Bills of Lading (Cmd. 1205 of 1921); the Report on the Functions and Constitution of a Permanent Imperial Body on Shipping Questions (Cmd. 1483 of 1921); the Report on the work of the Imperial Shipping Committee, 1920-1922 (Cmd. 1872 of 1923); the Report on the Economic Size and Speed of Vessels trading between the United Kingdom and Australia (Cmd. 1917, 1923); and also the Report on Methods of Assessment of Shipping to Income Tax within the Empire (Cmd. 1979, 1923), which became available during the Sessions of the Conference. They also had before them a memorandum by the General Post Office on Inter-Imperial Mail Services, Paper I.E.C. (23)--9, printed on page 333. The proceedings were opened at the Ninth Meeting of the Conference on the 16th October, 1923, when the following references were made to the question of Mail Services: Sir Laming Worthington-Evans: Mr. Chairman, I do not know how much you want me to say on this occasion, but I propose, if the Conference desires it, to give a brief résumé of the position of the mail services, the telegraphic services, and wireless. It is, of course, impossible for me to go over the whole field in detail, but I suppose all the Dominion Governments are pressed, just as we are at home, from many quarters to provide quicker and more frequent services to the oversea parts of the Empire without much regard to the cost which would be entailed by doing so. Mail Service Facilities dependent on Cargo and Passenger Traffic. It may be useful, therefore, to emphasise, at the outset, the elementary and obvious fact that ultimately the frequency and, to some extent, the speed of the mail services must depend upon the cargo and passenger traffic upon each route. The payments under a mail contract can, at most, represent a very small proportion of the cost of running a service, and it is therefore impossible, within reasonable limits of expense, to provide services in excess of what the passenger and cargo traffic demand. The development of improvement of the mail services, therefore, proceeds pari passu with the improvements in the commercial services, which increased commercial intercourse between the different parts of the Empire brings in its train, and it has been the policy of successive British Governments, for very many years, to confine the mail subsidies to the payments for services rendered, by which I mean, not only the actual conveyance of the mails, but the acceptance by the shipping companies of a definite standard of regularity and speed on the route to which the contract relates. Recent Improvements effected in Mail Services. In our view, the justification for a contract lies in the fact that without it the sailings on a particular Imperial route would be irregular and slow. On certain routes, served by several different lines, we find that the best service is obtained not by a contract with a particular company, but by utilising the ships on each and every line as may prove most convenient. For example, the West Indies, which before the war were served by contract ships giving as a rule a fortnightly despatch of mails, are now served by four or five different lines, giving a despatch to most of the islands at least once a week and, in some cases, oftener. As regards the main services which are still performed under contract, either with the Home Government or with one of the Dominion Governments, considerable improvement has been effected in the last two years. We have now on some of the important routes regained the pre-war standard. For example, the South African mail carried by the Union Castle Company under contract with the Union Government is now, as it was before the war, a weekly service, occupying seventeen days in transit. To Canada, the fastest service is performed by the Atlantic lines viâ New York, and it is also practically as good as pre-war, except that in the winter months some of the largest and fastest ships of the Cunard and White Star Line are laid up and slower boats have to be substituted. The Indian mail is a weekly service, as it was before the war, but the transit time is twenty-four hours longer. The Australian service is not so satisfactory. Before the war a weekly service was provided by the P. & O. Company in contract with the British Government, and by the Orient Line in contract with the Commonwealth Government, in alternate weeks. These companies are now only able to provide a fortnightly service between them, but by using the ships of the Commonwealth Line it is usually possible to secure a despatch of mails three weeks in each month. Both the P. & O. and the Orient |