SELF-SUPPORTING EMPIRE

Evening Star, Issue 20317, 28 October 1929, Page 9

SELF-SUPPORTING EMPIRE

THE BEAVERBROOK CRUSADE PROPOSALS OUTLINED Press Association—By Telegraph—Copyright. VANCOUVER. October 2G. Mr Carl J. Ketchum, foreign correspondent for the Beaverbrook papers, has made public hero a manifesto by the Empire Crusaders. Partly the Empire Crusaders demand that food from the Empire shall enter Britain absolutely free and unhampered by any tax or involved by any clumsy system of rebates. They claim that the Empire is already virtually self-supporting, and that there should bo Frectrado through every part of it, hut to achieve this there must be an inducement to the farmers in the Empire to expand their output. Tho best inducement is to guarantee a steady demand. It is proposed to give such a guarantee by imposing a tax on foreign wheat and meat, if in return the dominions allow tho claim for the free entry of British goods. Tho changed conditions during the last quarter of a century have done away with the old cry that “your food will cost you more.”

While advocating the creation of a single Frectrade Empire, the manifesto emphasises that .it is not, and never can he, part of the policy to destroy any industry now existing in any part of tho Empire. Any talk of making Britain the workshop of tho Empire is dangerous folly. It is the belief of the crusaders that the fostering of key industries in the dominions is of vital importance, and for this reason a measure of protection for certain industries may well prove desirable—even against imports from other portions of the Empire—at the outset of the scheme. There are, moreover, in many parts ot the Empire import duties levied for purely revenue purposes. It is not part of tho proposals that these should bo repealed. The security for revenue must be maintained, and a still higher duty imposed against foreign imports. Regarding food, tho manifesto says: “ Already 70 per cent, of our wheat imports arc Empire grown, and Canada and Australia could more than satisfy tho remaining needs from tho surplus which they now export to foreign countries. Eighty-four per cent, of the mutton we eat is raised in the Empire, and 55 per cent, of tho beef. These could easily he rapidly increased by stimulating agriculture in these islands ami by perfecting tho methods of chilling beef so that it would remain fresh on tho long voyage from Australia. There are enough cattle now in Australia to supply us with all our beef, but at present Australian beef has to bo frozen instead of chilled, and therefore is inferior in quality to the South African product.”