15 DECEMBER 1939, Page 34

Tin has now been placed on roughly the same basis

as rubber. Supplies are controlled by the quota, which is generous, and exports by licences, which are not easy to obtain. The other non-ferrous metals and many other vital commodities are in a very different position. The Allies have no exportable surplus of them. That is one reason why tin has now been freed. The other is that an imme- diate shortage has to be overcome by means of a generous price and a high quota. The policy now adopted is right, but I do not blame the control for having first tried low prices.