Extract from the minutes of a meeting of the Cabinet
(Cab. 6/59)

6. Imperial Economic Conference

The Vice-President and the Minister for Industry and Commerce outlined the provisions of the treaties made with Canada and South Africa at the Imperial Economic Conference. They indicated that those treaties were not completed until the last day of the Conference and that there was no opportunity before the session of the Conference, at which the treaties were signed, of conveying the provisions to the President in accordance with the Cabinet instructions to the delegation (Cab. 6/45).¹

The Vice-President stated that he had not adverted to the fact that the Cabinet had instructed the delegation that initials only, not full signatures, were to be appended to special agreements concluded at Ottawa.

The Minister for Industry and Commerce also reported that it had not been possible in the time available to complete agreements with Australia and New Zealand at the Conference. Arrangements had, however, been made to resume later the negotiations commenced at Ottawa.