Britain's other dollar problem: Economic relations with Canada, 1945-50

Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History

Volumn 27, Issue 1, 1999, Pages 81-108

  Rooth, Tim ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF PORTSMOUTH   (United Kingdom)

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[No Author keywords available]

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EID: 0033468114     PISSN: 03086534     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1080/03086539908583048     Document Type: Article

References (133)

1. Notable exceptions are L.S. Pressnell, British Economic Policy Since the War, Vol.1, The Post-War Financial Settlement (London, 1986), and John Fforde, The Bank of England and Public Policy 1941-58 (Cambridge, 1992), both of which discuss the 1946 loan negotiations authoritatively, although Pressnell covers the years to 1946 only. It has a firmer position in Canadian historiography. See J.L. Granatstein, How Britain's Weakness Forced Canada into the Arms of the United States (Toronto, 1989), and B.W. Muirhead, The Development of Postwar Canadian Trade Policy: The Failure of the Anglo-European Option (Toronto, 1993); see also Robert Bothwell and John English, 'Canadian Trade Policy in the Age of American Dominance and British Decline, 1943-47', Canadian Review of American Studies, 8 (1977), and H.M. Mackenzie, 'The path to temptation: the negotiation of Canada's reconstruction loan to Britain in 1946', Canadian Historical Association, Historical Papers (1982), 196-220.
2. Notable exceptions are L.S. Pressnell, British Economic Policy Since the War, Vol.1, The Post-War Financial Settlement (London, 1986), and John Fforde, The Bank of England and Public Policy 1941-58 (Cambridge, 1992), both of which discuss the 1946 loan negotiations authoritatively, although Pressnell covers the years to 1946 only. It has a firmer position in Canadian historiography. See J.L. Granatstein, How Britain's Weakness Forced Canada into the Arms of the United States (Toronto, 1989), and B.W. Muirhead, The Development of Postwar Canadian Trade Policy: The Failure of the Anglo-European Option (Toronto, 1993); see also Robert Bothwell and John English, 'Canadian Trade Policy in the Age of American Dominance and British Decline, 1943-47', Canadian Review of American Studies, 8 (1977), and H.M. Mackenzie, 'The path to temptation: the negotiation of Canada's reconstruction loan to Britain in 1946', Canadian Historical Association, Historical Papers (1982), 196-220.
3. Notable exceptions are L.S. Pressnell, British Economic Policy Since the War, Vol.1, The Post-War Financial Settlement (London, 1986), and John Fforde, The Bank of England and Public Policy 1941-58 (Cambridge, 1992), both of which discuss the 1946 loan negotiations authoritatively, although Pressnell covers the years to 1946 only. It has a firmer position in Canadian historiography. See J.L. Granatstein, How Britain's Weakness Forced Canada into the Arms of the United States (Toronto, 1989), and B.W. Muirhead, The Development of Postwar Canadian Trade Policy: The Failure of the Anglo-European Option (Toronto, 1993); see also Robert Bothwell and John English, 'Canadian Trade Policy in the Age of American Dominance and British Decline, 1943-47', Canadian Review of American Studies, 8 (1977), and H.M. Mackenzie, 'The path to temptation: the negotiation of Canada's reconstruction loan to Britain in 1946', Canadian Historical Association, Historical Papers (1982), 196-220.
4. Notable exceptions are L.S. Pressnell, British Economic Policy Since the War, Vol.1, The Post-War Financial Settlement (London, 1986), and John Fforde, The Bank of England and Public Policy 1941-58 (Cambridge, 1992), both of which discuss the 1946 loan negotiations authoritatively, although Pressnell covers the years to 1946 only. It has a firmer position in Canadian historiography. See J.L. Granatstein, How Britain's Weakness Forced Canada into the Arms of the United States (Toronto, 1989), and B.W. Muirhead, The Development of Postwar Canadian Trade Policy: The Failure of the Anglo-European Option (Toronto, 1993); see also Robert Bothwell and John English, 'Canadian Trade Policy in the Age of American Dominance and British Decline, 1943-47', Canadian Review of American Studies, 8 (1977), and H.M. Mackenzie, 'The path to temptation: the negotiation of Canada's reconstruction loan to Britain in 1946', Canadian Historical Association, Historical Papers (1982), 196-220.
5. Notable exceptions are L.S. Pressnell, British Economic Policy Since the War, Vol.1, The Post-War Financial Settlement (London, 1986), and John Fforde, The Bank of England and Public Policy 1941-58 (Cambridge, 1992), both of which discuss the 1946 loan negotiations authoritatively, although Pressnell covers the years to 1946 only. It has a firmer position in Canadian historiography. See J.L. Granatstein, How Britain's Weakness Forced Canada into the Arms of the United States (Toronto, 1989), and B.W. Muirhead, The Development of Postwar Canadian Trade Policy: The Failure of the Anglo-European Option (Toronto, 1993); see also Robert Bothwell and John English, 'Canadian Trade Policy in the Age of American Dominance and British Decline, 1943-47', Canadian Review of American Studies, 8 (1977), and H.M. Mackenzie, 'The path to temptation: the negotiation of Canada's reconstruction loan to Britain in 1946', Canadian Historical Association, Historical Papers (1982), 196-220.
6. Notable exceptions are L.S. Pressnell, British Economic Policy Since the War, Vol.1, The Post-War Financial Settlement (London, 1986), and John Fforde, The Bank of England and Public Policy 1941-58 (Cambridge, 1992), both of which discuss the 1946 loan negotiations authoritatively, although Pressnell covers the years to 1946 only. It has a firmer position in Canadian historiography. See J.L. Granatstein, How Britain's Weakness Forced Canada into the Arms of the United States (Toronto, 1989), and B.W. Muirhead, The Development of Postwar Canadian Trade Policy: The Failure of the Anglo-European Option (Toronto, 1993); see also Robert Bothwell and John English, 'Canadian Trade Policy in the Age of American Dominance and British Decline, 1943-47', Canadian Review of American Studies, 8 (1977), and H.M. Mackenzie, 'The path to temptation: the negotiation of Canada's reconstruction loan to Britain in 1946', Canadian Historical Association, Historical Papers (1982), 196-220.
7. See note above.
8. A.G. Green and M.C. Urquhart, 'New Estimates of Growth in Canada: Measurement and Interpretation', D. McCalla (ed.), Perspectives on Canadian Economic History (Toronto, 1987), 187-88.
9. Granatstein, ch. 1.
10. Royal Institute of International Affairs, The Problem of International Investment 1937 (London, 1937), 133.
11. Mira Wilkins, The Maturing of Multinational Enterprise: American Business Abroad from 1914 to 1970 (Cambridge, Mass. 1974), 172. Eichengreen attributes the continued access of Canada to Wall Street as the central factor in the stability of the Canadian dollar. Barry Eichengreen, Golden Fetters: The Gold Standard and the Great Depression 1919-1939 (New York and Oxford, 1995), 241. The classic study of the Canadian balance of payments is John A. Stovel, Canada in the World Economy (Cambridge, Mass., 1959).
12. Mira Wilkins, The Maturing of Multinational Enterprise: American Business Abroad from 1914 to 1970 (Cambridge, Mass. 1974), 172. Eichengreen attributes the continued access of Canada to Wall Street as the central factor in the stability of the Canadian dollar. Barry Eichengreen, Golden Fetters: The Gold Standard and the Great Depression 1919-1939 (New York and Oxford, 1995), 241. The classic study of the Canadian balance of payments is John A. Stovel, Canada in the World Economy (Cambridge, Mass., 1959).
13. Mira Wilkins, The Maturing of Multinational Enterprise: American Business Abroad from 1914 to 1970 (Cambridge, Mass. 1974), 172. Eichengreen attributes the continued access of Canada to Wall Street as the central factor in the stability of the Canadian dollar. Barry Eichengreen, Golden Fetters: The Gold Standard and the Great Depression 1919-1939 (New York and Oxford, 1995), 241. The classic study of the Canadian balance of payments is John A. Stovel, Canada in the World Economy (Cambridge, Mass., 1959).
14. Tim Rooth, 'Imperial Preference and Anglo-Canadian Trade Relations in the 1930s: The End of an Illusion?', British Journal of Canadian Studies, 1 (1986), 205-29.
15. R.S. Sayers, Financial Policy 1939-45 (London, 1956), 322-23. See also J.B. Brebner, North Atlantic Triangle: The Interplay of Canada, the United States and Great Britain (New York, 1945).
16. R.S. Sayers, Financial Policy 1939-45 (London, 1956), 322-23. See also J.B. Brebner, North Atlantic Triangle: The Interplay of Canada, the United States and Great Britain (New York, 1945).
17. H. Duncan Hall and C.C. Wrigley, Studies in Overseas Supply (London, 1956), 49.
18. Granatstein, ch.2.
19. Total exports rose from $935,922 in 1939 to $3,483,099 in 1944.
20. 'A proposal for Maintaining Canada's Exports to the Sterling Area during the Post-War Transitional Period', G.T. Towers (Governor of Bank of Canada), no date but probably Nov. 1944, Bank of Canada Archives (hereafter BCA), Rasminsky Papers, LR 76-415-3-1.
21. 'Notes of conversation with Mr. Hudson United Kingdom Minister of Agriculture at Malcolm MacDonald's, January 5th', BCA, Towers Papers, Memorandum 479, 6 Jan. 1945.
22. Meeting, 18 Jan. 1945 and subsequent telegrams to London, PM to PM, telegram no.47 and SSEA to SS Dominions, telegrams 45 and 46, 23 Feb. 1945, National Archives of Canada (hereafter NAC), RG 25/47 154(s), pt.1.
23. Pressnell, 203-06. See also the vivid account of discussions in Cambridge by Douglas Le Pan (Canadian High Commission), in Bright Glass of Memory (Toronto, 1979), 53-110, where he recalls 'the significance and shimmer and iridescence of the occasion'.
24. Pressnell, 203-06. See also the vivid account of discussions in Cambridge by Douglas Le Pan (Canadian High Commission), in Bright Glass of Memory (Toronto, 1979), 53-110, where he recalls 'the significance and shimmer and iridescence of the occasion'.
25. For example by Clark, NAC, RG 19/3437, and by Towers, BCA, Towers Papers, Memorandum 499, 17 Jan. 1946.
26. Pressnell, 342-55, and Mackenzie, 196-220.
27. Commonwealth Economic Committee, Dairy produce, a summary of figures of production, trade and consumption, 1951 (London, 1951), viii, 55-65, 77 and 87; idem. Meat, a summary of figures of production, trade and consumption, 1951 (London, 1951), viii, 34-46, 70-3 and 81-2; J.G. Crawford et al, Wartime agriculture in Australia and New Zealand 1939-50 (Stanford, 1954), 175-6 and 321-30; J.P. Belshaw, 'Crisis in farm production in Australia', Journal of Farm Economics, 34 (1952), 497-508, and J.R. Roach, 'Australia's food production', Far Eastern Survey, 21 (June 1952), 85-90.
28. Commonwealth Economic Committee, Dairy produce, a summary of figures of production, trade and consumption, 1951 (London, 1951), viii, 55-65, 77 and 87; idem. Meat, a summary of figures of production, trade and consumption, 1951 (London, 1951), viii, 34-46, 70-3 and 81-2; J.G. Crawford et al, Wartime agriculture in Australia and New Zealand 1939-50 (Stanford, 1954), 175-6 and 321-30; J.P. Belshaw, 'Crisis in farm production in Australia', Journal of Farm Economics, 34 (1952), 497-508, and J.R. Roach, 'Australia's food production', Far Eastern Survey, 21 (June 1952), 85-90.
29. Commonwealth Economic Committee, Dairy produce, a summary of figures of production, trade and consumption, 1951 (London, 1951), viii, 55-65, 77 and 87; idem. Meat, a summary of figures of production, trade and consumption, 1951 (London, 1951), viii, 34-46, 70-3 and 81-2; J.G. Crawford et al, Wartime agriculture in Australia and New Zealand 1939-50 (Stanford, 1954), 175-6 and 321-30; J.P. Belshaw, 'Crisis in farm production in Australia', Journal of Farm Economics, 34 (1952), 497-508, and J.R. Roach, 'Australia's food production', Far Eastern Survey, 21 (June 1952), 85-90.
30. Commonwealth Economic Committee, Dairy produce, a summary of figures of production, trade and consumption, 1951 (London, 1951), viii, 55-65, 77 and 87; idem. Meat, a summary of figures of production, trade and consumption, 1951 (London, 1951), viii, 34-46, 70-3 and 81-2; J.G. Crawford et al, Wartime agriculture in Australia and New Zealand 1939-50 (Stanford, 1954), 175-6 and 321-30; J.P. Belshaw, 'Crisis in farm production in Australia', Journal of Farm Economics, 34 (1952), 497-508, and J.R. Roach, 'Australia's food production', Far Eastern Survey, 21 (June 1952), 85-90.
31. Commonwealth Economic Committee, Dairy produce, a summary of figures of production, trade and consumption, 1951 (London, 1951), viii, 55-65, 77 and 87; idem. Meat, a summary of figures of production, trade and consumption, 1951 (London, 1951), viii, 34-46, 70-3 and 81-2; J.G. Crawford et al, Wartime agriculture in Australia and New Zealand 1939-50 (Stanford, 1954), 175-6 and 321-30; J.P. Belshaw, 'Crisis in farm production in Australia', Journal of Farm Economics, 34 (1952), 497-508, and J.R. Roach, 'Australia's food production', Far Eastern Survey, 21 (June 1952), 85-90.
32. J.L. Granatstein, 'Settling the Accounts: Anglo-Canadian War Finance, 1943-1945', Queen's Quarterly, 83 (1976), 234-49.
33. 'Brief for Mr Abbott', no date but probably Aug. 1948, NAC, RG 19/3437.
34. Strachey to Dalton, 24 June 1946, document 115 iii (c) in R. Bullen and M.E. Pelly (eds.), Documents on British Policy Overseas, Series 1, Vol.IV (London, 1987).
35. Strachey to Dalton, 24 June 1946, document 115 iii (c) in R. Bullen and M.E. Pelly (eds.), Documents on British Policy Overseas, Series 1, Vol.IV (London, 1987).
36. See the account in Robert Bothwell, Ian Drummond and John English, Canada since 1945: Power, Politics and Provincialism (Toronto, 1981), 83-85.
37. This is discussed by C.F. Wilson, A Century of Canadian Grain: Government Policy to 1951 (Saskatoon, 1978), 846-87; D.A. MacGibbon, The Canadian Grain Trade 1931-51 (Toronto, 1951), ch VII; NAC RG 27/88 S.48.W.23, C.F. Wilson to C.D. Howe, 5 May 1950; I. Zweiniger-Bargielowska, 'Bread rationing in Britain, July 1946-July 1948', Twentieth Century British History, 4 (1993), 57-85.
38. This is discussed by C.F. Wilson, A Century of Canadian Grain: Government Policy to 1951 (Saskatoon, 1978), 846-87; D.A. MacGibbon, The Canadian Grain Trade 1931-51 (Toronto, 1951), ch VII; NAC RG 27/88 S.48.W.23, C.F. Wilson to C.D. Howe, 5 May 1950; I. Zweiniger-Bargielowska, 'Bread rationing in Britain, July 1946-July 1948', Twentieth Century British History, 4 (1993), 57-85.
39. This is discussed by C.F. Wilson, A Century of Canadian Grain: Government Policy to 1951 (Saskatoon, 1978), 846-87; D.A. MacGibbon, The Canadian Grain Trade 1931-51 (Toronto, 1951), ch VII; NAC RG 27/88 S.48.W.23, C.F. Wilson to C.D. Howe, 5 May 1950; I. Zweiniger-Bargielowska, 'Bread rationing in Britain, July 1946-July 1948', Twentieth Century British History, 4 (1993), 57-85.
40. This is discussed by C.F. Wilson, A Century of Canadian Grain: Government Policy to 1951 (Saskatoon, 1978), 846-87; D.A. MacGibbon, The Canadian Grain Trade 1931-51 (Toronto, 1951), ch VII; NAC RG 27/88 S.48.W.23, C.F. Wilson to C.D. Howe, 5 May 1950; I. Zweiniger-Bargielowska, 'Bread rationing in Britain, July 1946-July 1948', Twentieth Century British History, 4 (1993), 57-85.
41. Strachey to Dalton, 21 June 1946, Document 115 ii (g), Bullen and Pelly.
42. Memorandum from Strachey to Cabinet, CP(46)249, 2 July 1946, Document 115 viii (a), idem.
43. United Nations, Economic Survey of Europe since the War: A Reappraisal of Problems and Prospects (Geneva, 1953). Structural shifts in patterns of demand and supply also accentuated the advantages of the western hemisphere.
44. See Catherine R. Schenk, Britain and the Sterling Area: From Devaluation to Convertibility in the 1950s (London, 1994), 7-12, 59-62 for an account of these various controls. Although sterling area payments were unrestricted purchases might still be government controlled.
45. M.F.W. Hemming, C.M. Miles and G.F. Ray, 'A Statistical Summary of the Extent of Import Control in the United Kingdom since the War', Review of Economic Studies, 26 (1958-59), 75-109. The corresponding figure for the Sterling Area was 57 per cent. The authors note that shifting sources of imports was generally a more important objective than reducing their volume (98).
46. Note by G. Bolton (Bank of England), 11 Oct. 1946, T/236/638, Public Record Office, London (PRO).
47. A.T.K. Grant to Rowe-Dutton, 21 Aug. 1946, ibid. The monetary authorities also saw advantages in encouraging the international use of sterling in this way: ibid., memorandum, Grant, 30 Jan. 1947
48. Paul Wonnacott, The Canadian Dollar 1948-1962 (Toronto, 1965), 49-50 and 68.
49. The revaluation was aimed at the containment of inflation. R. Craig McIvor and John H. Panabaker, 'Canadian Post-war monetary policy, 1946-52', Canadian Journal of Economic and Political Science, 20 (1954), 215-16. Because price elasticities for Canadian imports and exports vis-à-vis the United States were low it probably had little responsibility for Canada's deteriorating external position.
50. Memorandum by Towers, n.d., Norman Hillmer and Donald Page, Documents on Canadian External Relations Volume 13 1947 (Ottawa, 1993), 1268-71.
51. R.D. Cuff and J.L. Granatstein, American Dollars, Canadian Prosperity: Canadian-American Economic Relations 1945-50 (Toronto, 1978), 21-3.
52. Grant to F.C. Hawker (Bank of England), 10 Oct. 1946, PRO T236/638.
53. Memorandum, possibly by Towers, 18 Feb. 1947, NAC RG 19/3437.
54. Cobbold to Eady, 3 March 1947, and Munro to Eady, 4 March 1947, PRO T 236/639.
55. Ibid., Eady to Bridges, 10 May 1947; Clark to Robertson, 13 May 1947, Hillmer and Page, 1277-81.
56. Abbott to Dalton and Clark to Le Pan, 16 June 1947, and Dalton to Abbott, 20 June 1947, Hillmer and Page, 1287-92.
57. Abbott to Dalton, 16 June 1947, Hillmer and Page, 1287-9. By torpedoing the Geneva talks it was feared that American isolationism would be encouraged and Canadian dependence on Britain increased: Robert Bryce (Director, Economic Division, Department of Finance) to Clark after discussions in London with Deutsch and Robertson, 27 Aug. 1947, NAC RG 19/3437.
58. Clark to Bryce, 25 Aug. 1947, Hillmer and Page, 1309-11.
59. Clark to Bryce, 3 Sept. 1947, Hillmer and Page, 1317, and Rasminsky to Clark, 18 Sept. 1947, NAC RG 19/3437. Subsequently Sir Eric Machtig, Permanent Secretary of the Dominions Office, telephoned High Commissioner Norman Robertson to apologize for the line Eady had taken
60. A view also held in Washington: State Department official A.B. Foster suggested 'In every respect except the miserable problem of the dollar balance the Canadians seem to be just fine and dandy. The dollar problem seems to arise largely because of the spree of buying U.S. refrigerators, automobiles, et cetera. There seems on the surface to be nothing in the Canadian scene comparable to the desperate conditions of the U.K., France and the rest.' Foster to Atherton, 8 Sept. 1947, Department of State, Foreign Relations of the United States 1947, Volume III (Washington, 1972).
61. A view also held in Washington: State Department official A.B. Foster suggested 'In every respect except the miserable problem of the dollar balance the Canadians seem to be just fine and dandy. The dollar problem seems to arise largely because of the spree of buying U.S. refrigerators, automobiles, et cetera. There seems on the surface to be nothing in the Canadian scene comparable to the desperate conditions of the U.K., France and the rest.' Foster to Atherton, 8 Sept. 1947, Department of State, Foreign Relations of the United States 1947, Volume III (Washington, 1972).
62. 1 Dec. 1947, ONC (47), PRO CAB 134/48.
63. Clarke memorandum, 8 Nov. 1947, PRO T 236/641.
64. J. Tomlinson, 'The Attlee Government and the balance of payments, 1945-1951',Twentieth Century British History, 2 (1991), 47-66, and Alec Cairncross, Years of Recovery: British Economic Policy 1945-51 (London, 1985), 81.
65. J. Tomlinson, "The Attlee Government and the balance of payments, 1945-1951',Twentieth Century British History, 2 (1991), 47-66, and Alec Cairncross, Years of Recovery: British Economic Policy 1945-51 (London, 1985), 81.
66. Cairncross, 153.
67. Tomlinson, 59.
68. United Nations; Philip W. Bell, The Sterling Area in the Postwar World (Oxford, 1956), 56, for net contributions and drawings.
69. Meeting on 5th Sept. in Sir Edward Bridges' Room, and Bridges to Dalton, 5 Sept. 1947, PRO T 236/640.
70. E. Rowe-Dutton (Treasury) to C.F. Cobbold, 6 Sept. 1947; memorandum by C.G.L. Syers (Dominions Office); and Treasury memorandum, 11 Sept. 1947, ibid
71. Ibid., memorandum by Eady on conversations between Abbott and Dalton, 17 Sept. 1947, and NAC RG 19/3437, Clark to Bryce, 3 Sept. 1947.
72. 'Dollar Programme for 1948', PRO CAB 129/21, CP (47) 283, 16 Oct. 1947. See also ibid, CP (47) 289, 17 Oct. 1947, 'The Food Import Programme 1947/8 from Hard Currency Countries', memorandum and note by Strachey, in which calorific consumption per person was predicted to fall well below wartime levels.
73. Clarke to Eady and Trend, 8 Nov. 1947, PRO T 236/641.
74. Cabinet meeting, 12 Dec. 1947, NAC RG 2/64. There is a very useful discussion of the negotiations by B.W. Muirhead, 'The politics of food and the disintegration of the Anglo-Canadian trade relationship, 1947-1948' Journal of Canadian Historical Association, 2 (1991), 215-30. See also Hillmer and Page, 1329-59.
75. Cabinet meeting, 12 Dec. 1947, NAC RG 2/64. There is a very useful discussion of the negotiations by B.W. Muirhead, 'The politics of food and the disintegration of the Anglo-Canadian trade relationship, 1947-1948' Journal of Canadian Historical Association, 2 (1991), 215-30. See also Hillmer and Page, 1329-59.
76. Liesching to Rowan, Telegram Drive, 15 Dec. 1947, PRO T 236/642.
77. Ibid., Clutterbuck to SSCRO, Telegram Drive, 15 Dec. 1947.
78. Economic Policy Committee (47) 30, memorandum, 15 Dec. 1947, PRO CAB 134/215. Emphasis in original.
79. David Lee, Search for Security: The Political Economy of Australia's Postwar Foreign and Defence Policy (Canberra, 1997), chs 1 and 2.
80. Clark to Bryce, 25 Aug. 1947, Hillmer and Page, 1309-11.
81. Atherton to Secretary of State, 29 Oct. 1947, Department of State, FRUS, 1947, III (Washington, 1972), 127-8.
82. R.D. Cuff and J.L. Granatstein, 'The rise and fall of American free trade, 1947-8', Canadian Historical Review, LVIII (1977), 459-82. Many of the original documents are printed in Hector Mackenzie (ed.), Documents on Canadian External Relations Vol. 14 1948 (Ottawa, 1994), 1030-72.
83. R.D. Cuff and J.L. Granatstein, 'The rise and fall of American free trade, 1947-8', Canadian Historical Review, LVIII (1977), 459-82. Many of the original documents are printed in Hector Mackenzie (ed.), Documents on Canadian External Relations Vol. 14 1948 (Ottawa, 1994), 1030-72.
84. King Diary entries for 22, 24, 29 and 30 March 1948, ibid., 1045-51.
85. Lawrence Aronsen, 'An Open Door to the North: The Liberal Government and the Expansion of American Foreign Investment, 1945-1953', American Review of Canadian Studies, 22 (1992), 167-97, and 'From World War to Cold War: Cooperation and Competition in the North Atlantic Triangle, 1945-1949', in B. McKercher, and I. Aronsen, The North Atlantic Triangle in a Changing World: Anglo-American-Canadian Relations, 1902-1956 (Toronto, 1996).
86. Lawrence Aronsen, 'An Open Door to the North: The Liberal Government and the Expansion of American Foreign Investment, 1945-1953', American Review of Canadian Studies, 22 (1992), 167-97, and 'From World War to Cold War: Cooperation and Competition in the North Atlantic Triangle, 1945-1949', in B. McKercher, and I. Aronsen, The North Atlantic Triangle in a Changing World: Anglo-American-Canadian Relations, 1902-1956 (Toronto, 1996).
87. Aronsen, 'Open Door', 182-83.
88. Peter Hennessy, Never Again: Britain 1945-1951 (London, 1993), 299.
89. Economic Policy Committee, 11 Nov. 1947, PRO T 236/641
90. Liesching Report to the Overseas Negotiations Committee, 69th meeting, 31 Dec. 1947, PRO T236/643; this was a constant theme in his reports to Whitehall (e.g. Liesching to Rowan, Telegram Drive, 15 Dec. 1947, PRO T 236/642). See also Cabinet Conclusions, 12 Nov. 1947, Hillmer and Page, 1442-44.
91. In extended discussions with their American counterparts, Canadian officials suggested that the trade restrictions would be less stringent if they could receive generous loans and if they could be certain of Marshall Aid. Hillmer and Page, 1407-52.
92. Wonnacott, 64-67.
93. 'Canada's imports from the United Kingdom. Past, present and prospective'. 8 Sept. 1948, NAC RG19 E2(f) vol. 3436.
94. Memorandum by Clark, 1 Sept. 1948, NAC RG 2/105 (T-50-U vol 3, 1948).
95. The Canadian side of this visit, and preparations for it, is covered in Mackenzie (ed.), 1090-139.
96. 'Negotiations in Ottawa, September 1948. Report by the Chancellor of the Exchequer's Mission', 25 Sept. 1948, PRO T 236/1796.
97. Cuff and Granatstein, ch 4. There is excellent coverage of developments during 1949 in Hector Mackenzie (ed.), Documents on Canadian External Relations Volume 15, 1949 (Ottawa, 1995), 892-950.
98. Cuff and Granatstein, ch 4. There is excellent coverage of developments during 1949 in Hector Mackenzie (ed.), Documents on Canadian External Relations Volume 15, 1949 (Ottawa, 1995), 892-950.
99. Attlee to St. Laurent, 17 June 1949, ibid., 1069-70.
100. Note of meeting by 'EEW', 8 July 1949, reporting Swan's views, Australian Archives, A4311/1, 29/4.
101. Memoranda, A.F.W. Plumptre (Head of the Economic Division of the Department of External Affairs), 17 and 22 Aug. 1949, Mackenzie, 986-92.
102. 'Memorandum on Informal Discussions with Sir Henry Wilson Smith of the United Kingdom Treasury. Aug. 2nd to 4th 1948', 12 Aug. 1948, NAC RG 2-18/105/T50-U (vol.3).
103. Memorandum, Plumptre, 22 Aug. 1949, Mackenzie (ed.) 1949, 986-92 (Plumptre was head of the Economic Division of the DEA); NAC RG 2-18/105/T50-U(vol.3), 'Review of the Balance of Payments and International Financial Policy of the United Kingdom and Sterling Area', no date, but summer 1948.
104. Memorandum, Plumptre, 22 Aug. 1949, Mackenzie (ed.) 1949, 986-92 (Plumptre was head of the Economic Division of the DEA); NAC RG 2-18/105/T50-U(vol.3), 'Review of the Balance of Payments and International Financial Policy of the United Kingdom and Sterling Area', no date, but summer 1948.
105. Muirhead, Postwar Canadian Trade Policy, 30-33.
106. Minute by S.H. Levine, 2 Feb. 1949, and memorandum by L. Storar, 30 May 1949, PRO BT 11/4152.
107. Le Pan to Towers, 28 Feb. 1948, NAC RG 25/123 (FI54(s)pt.3).
108. Towers memorandum, 2 Sept. 1948, NAC RG 19/3439, Cripps visit.
109. For example, memorandum from W. Thorp (Assistant Secretary of State for Economic Affairs) to Secretary of State, 'British Financial Predicament', 27 June 1949. Department of State, Foreign Relations of the United States 1949 (Washington, 1976), 794.
110. For example, memorandum from W. Thorp (Assistant Secretary of State for Economic Affairs) to Secretary of State, 'British Financial Predicament', 27 June 1949. Department of State, Foreign Relations of the United States 1949 (Washington, 1976), 794.
111. Michael J. Hogan, The Marshall Plan (Cambridge, 1987), ch.6 and especially 241-43.
112. 'The dollar situation', memorandum, 28 June 1949, PRO CAB 134/222, EPC (49) 72.
113. P.M. Williams, Diary of Hugh Gaitskell, 3 Aug. 1949, but referring to the meeting on 1 July. Gaitskell succeeded Cripps as Chancellor in 1950.
114. 'Meeting of Commonwealth Finance Ministers', memorandum by H. Wilson, 21 July 1949, PRO CAB 129/36 CP(49)160.
115. Ibid. 'Trade Relations with Canada', memorandum by H. Wilson, 27 July 1949, enclosing Treasury memorandum, CP (49)169.
116. The Dollar Situation: Canada's Attitude', Note of a Meeting held at Chequers, 10 Aug. 1949, PRO PREM 8/1178.
117. Murray to Plumptre, 'Notes on the meetings of the Working Group on E.C.A. eligibility', 9 Sept. 1949, Mackenzie (ed.) 1949, 943-50, and 'Ministerial Talks on Economic and Financial Questions', H. Wrong (Canadian Ambassador to US), 14 Sept. 1949, ibid., 1015-26.
118. Murray to Plumptre, 'Notes on the meetings of the Working Group on E.C.A. eligibility', 9 Sept. 1949, Mackenzie (ed.) 1949, 943-50, and 'Ministerial Talks on Economic and Financial Questions', H. Wrong (Canadian Ambassador to US), 14 Sept. 1949, ibid., 1015-26.
119. Article 5 of Britain-Canada loan agreement.
120. Cairncross, 203.
121. 'Imports from Canada', Note by Hall, 19 Oct. 1949, PRO PREM 8/1178.
122. Ibid. Telegram from UK High Commissioner to Commonwealth Relations Office, 11 Nov. 1949.
123. Ibid. Sterling was regarded as useless as a reserve because of its illiquidity: Heeney to St.Laurent, enclosing a memorandum from the Finance Department, 1 Oct. 1949, NAC RG 2 18/108/U-10-15-1949 (Oct-Dec), and Abbott to Cripps, 16 Nov. 1949, RG 2 18/105/T-50-U (vol.1).
124. The beef contracts were scrapped in 1948 after several years of falling output and underfulfilment; the embargo on exports of live cattle to the United States was lifted. Commonwealth Economic Committee, Meat 1951, 17 and 83. Meat, including bacon, was rationed in Canada until 1947. Bacon output also fell sharply after 1945, and progressively smaller contracts were not met; the export of live pigs was embargoed until 1951. Ibid., 81-2. Although Canada was able to meet the contracts for evaporated and skimmed milk, the production of cheese declined rapidly and the contracts between 1947 and 1949 were not met (prices were low, and the Canadian government was in effect subsidizing British consumers). Commonwealth Economic Committee, Dairy produce, 85-87. The wheat contracts were fulfilled.
125. The beef contracts were scrapped in 1948 after several years of falling output and underfulfilment; the embargo on exports of live cattle to the United States was lifted. Commonwealth Economic Committee, Meat 1951, 17 and 83. Meat, including bacon, was rationed in Canada until 1947. Bacon output also fell sharply after 1945, and progressively smaller contracts were not met; the export of live pigs was embargoed until 1951. Ibid., 81-2. Although Canada was able to meet the contracts for evaporated and skimmed milk, the production of cheese declined rapidly and the contracts between 1947 and 1949 were not met (prices were low, and the Canadian government was in effect subsidizing British consumers). Commonwealth Economic Committee, Dairy produce, 85-87. The wheat contracts were fulfilled.
126. The beef contracts were scrapped in 1948 after several years of falling output and underfulfilment; the embargo on exports of live cattle to the United States was lifted. Commonwealth Economic Committee, Meat 1951, 17 and 83. Meat, including bacon, was rationed in Canada until 1947. Bacon output also fell sharply after 1945, and progressively smaller contracts were not met; the export of live pigs was embargoed until 1951. Ibid., 81-2. Although Canada was able to meet the contracts for evaporated and skimmed milk, the production of cheese declined rapidly and the contracts between 1947 and 1949 were not met (prices were low, and the Canadian government was in effect subsidizing British consumers). Commonwealth Economic Committee, Dairy produce, 85-87. The wheat contracts were fulfilled.
127. Kenneth M. Wright, 'Dollar Pooling in the Sterling Area, 1939-52', American Economic Review, 44 (1954), 568-70.
128. Economist, 22 Nov. 1952, cited by Muirhead, 87.
129. This is discussed by Tim Rooth, 'Imperial self-insufficiency rediscovered: Britain and Australia 1945-51', Australian Economic History Review, Vol.39 (1999), pp.29-51.
130. Clark to Bryce, 25 Aug. 1947, where he also refers to earlier discussions with Norman Robertson, Hillmer and Page, 1309-10.
131. Le Pan to Pearson, 28 Aug. 1947, NAC RG 19/3437.
132. Pearson to Le Pan, 8 Sept. 1947, NAC RG 2/68 FD-12-5.
133. St. Laurent to Robertson, 9 Aug. 1948, 1090.(He was to succeed King as prime minister in November). Pearson, who took over External Affairs from St. Laurent, wrote in similar vein to him about Wilson Smith's visit, 17 Aug. 1948. Ibid., 1098-9.