IMPROVED TRADE

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 55, Issue 243, 27 July 1935, Page 5

IMPROVED TRADE

FINANCES OF THE COLONIES.

MORE BALANCED BUDGETS

(United Press Association-Copyright)

LONDON, July 25

Mr Malcolm MacDonald (Secretary for the Colonies), in submitting the Colonial Office vote in the House of Commons, spoke of the colonies’ financial condition and the improvement in their trade. He discussed the effects of the regulation schemes for tin, tea, and rubber.

Mr MacDonald was able to report further progress in the securing of balanced budgets. Kenya, Malta, and the Federated Malay States, after having deficits in 1933, balanced their budgets last year. A comparison between 1934 atid 1933 in several representative colonies showed on the whole, an improvement in their trade figures. Efforts had been made to expand the markets for colonial products in Empire countries. By a wide extension of the system of preference for a great- many commodities, Britain had so arranged her purchases that almost the whole supplies came from the colonial Empire. The exports of Ceylon and Malaya had* shown a great increase in value and better prices through the schemes regulating the production of tea, rubber and tin. Mr MacDonald defended the international tin restriction scheme from criticisms arising from the recent market scare on the grounds that over a period of a great many months it had smoother violent price fluctuations. Success also had attended the tea and rubber regulation schemes, which restored prices to an economic level for producers. The economic depressions made it inevitable that educational development was at a standstill but the colonies were spending more money on medical research. When trade and revenue expanded more money could be spent on improved health, educational, social and political services. The primary object sought by the Government in the development of territories and their resources, the Minister said, was the benefit of the people tliemslves, both white settlers and natives.