842.612 Peaches/33
The Minister in Canada (Phillips) to the Secretary of State
[Received March 26.]
Sir: Replying to the Department’s instruction No. 183, of March 20, 1928, I have the honor to state that this morning I called on Dr. Skelton, the Under Secretary of State for External Affairs, and explained to him that I had a request to make regarding the lifting of the Canadian embargo against peaches. I said that the general embargo against peaches was a matter that had been taken up last year by the Consul General directly with Mr. Motherwell, the Minister of Agriculture, with fairly satisfactory results, but that this year we hoped that the embargo could be raised against peaches entering Ontario.
I pointed out that we knew that the Destructive Insect and Pest Act Advisory Board of the Dominion Government had recommended to the Canadian Department of Agriculture the lifting of this embargo, with the exception of the Province of British Columbia, a recommendation which was perfectly acceptable to my Government. I also pointed out that the United States Department of Agriculture had information that the lifting of the embargo from Ontario was strongly opposed by the peach growers of that province. I read to him the clause in the Secretary of Commerce’s [Agriculture’s] letter to the Secretary of State, dated August 6th,74 “with respect to means [Page 108] of control and remedies”, etcetera, and said that in our opinion the status of control of this pest is on all fours between Canada and the United States.
Dr. Skelton replied that the peach growers were complaining that the American peaches, because they ripened earlier than the Canadian peaches, had a great advantage over the latter. Towards the end of the season prices fell, and the sale of Canadian peaches was very seriously handicapped. He promised, however, to take up the matter with the Minister of Agriculture and would see what could be done.
I have [etc.]
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