EMPIRE SETTLERS

Evening Star, Issue 22578, 20 February 1937, Page 28

EMPIRE SETTLERS

BRITAIN'S NEW PLAN WORKING WITH DOMINIONS OLD VOTE HALVED Mr M. MacDonald, in moving the resolution in the House of Commons in connection with the Empire Settlement Bill, said that the Empire Settlement Act passed 15 years ago expired l on the last day of May of this year (reported c The Times ’ of January 20). In spite of the economic blizzard', which among other things crushed almost every form of activity under that Act, certain migration schemes survived, and those schemes, such as the 18 to 20 settlement scheme, under which young men went out to take up farming in South Africa; the Barnardo’s Homes scheme, under which settlers went out to Australia; and the Fair bridge Farm .School scheme, under which boys and girls went out to Australia, and now to Canada, were still being developed And continued! to get Government assistance. The Government wished to continue that assistance, and therefore the first amendment which they would make in the Act was to continue its operations beyond) the end of May, 1937, for another 15 years. The fact that they were now, proposing amending legislation was not a signal that the United Kingdom Government proposed of itself ■ any ‘unilateral action to start immediatelypumping migrants again into the dominions. A sound policy of Empire migration must be one in which the Dominion Governments and the United Kingdom Government co-operated' fuliy as partners. The United Kingdom Government realised that there were economic and; possibly other difficulties in the dominions, and they understood those difficulties. Unemployment had not yet been reduced to what might be called normal after the depression. .But while they must wait on conditions ’in the dominions, they must have their preparations ready for the time when the dominions said the word " Go.” He hoped that the day would not be far distant when they would make _ some _ beginning again in cooperation with the dominions to expand the movement of migration. “THINKING AND PLANNING.” The Government were making use of the present period of lull to do some thinking and planning, so that when the opportunity came they would be

able to seize it at once. He had asked the Overseas Settlement Board to examine the question, and the -proposals which the Government had in mind were based o,u the board’s recommendations. At present under the existing Act the maximum sum which the United Kingdom could spend in any one year on migration schemes was £3,000,000. It was proposed to reduce the maximum sum to be expended in any one year to £1,500,000. This did not mean that the Government were only half as enthusiastic as they were in regard to migration. He wad still one of those who believed that migration to a judicious extent would be a very great need of the Empire before long. (Cheers.) When the figure of £3,000,000 was put into the Act no one knew how it was going to work out. Since then they had had a great deal of experience, which had been examined by the Overseas Settlement Board and the Government. It was found that in the years 1926, 1927, and 1928. which were the peak years of migration, the figures were: 1926, 132,000 people left this country to settle in the dominions, of whom 66.000 were assisted migrants ; 1927, 123,000 and 61,000 respectively; 1928, 109,000 and 48,000 respectively. The expenditure of the Government during those, the best migration years, was: 1926, £1,129,000; 1927, £1,282.000; 1928, £1,139,000. Therefore the figure they proposed to put into the amended Act did conform much more closely to realities to experience, and to the prospects, and yet at the same time it did allow a reasonable margin over and above the actual figure which they had experienced in the past. SCHEMES TO BE EXAMINED. The Overseas Settlement Board was free to examine all schemes for development or land settlement and to recommend any such schemes to the Government. The Government would consider them strictly on their merits. If it were found necessary the Go,vernment would introduce amending legislation in order to have funds to finance its share of any scheme. In the present Act the maximum percentage grant which the Government could give to any migration scheme was 50. They proposed in the amendments to enable the Government in certain cases to increase that to 75 per cent. In many schemes the Government’s partner was a voluntary society, and voluntary societies were essential in any humane policy of assisted migration. Their help and advice, and their after-care wo.rk, had been a great boon to tens of thousands. There were unfortunately casualties to be recorded, but the voluntary societies had saved the new generation of pioneers many o,f the harshest experiences of the older

generation. They had performed a great service to countless individuals and to the Empire as a whole. But it was inevitable that the resources from which they used) to. draw their funds had tended somewhat to dry up, and their power to give their invaluable help to migrants had tended to be limited. The Government proposed so to alter the Act that in future in the case of efficient societies they could give up to a 73 per cent, grant in their migration work. DOMINIONS AS PARTNERS. Then there, were schemes where the Government’s partner or one of the Government’s partners was the Government of one of the dominions. In that case they did not propose to alter the terms of the Act, but still to limit the grant which the Home Government could give to such schemes to 50 )>er cent. Sometimes it was urged that he should persuade the Treasury to allow the United Kingdom Government to give 100 per cent, grant in such cases. He believed that the adoption of that principle would be very bad. Criticism, suspicion, and hostility against migration in the dominbns would be encouraged. A sound migration policy when conditions were favourable should be of advantage both to the receiving country and to the Mother Country. Both countries benefited, and a proper migration policy should Ire one in which both Governments co-operated as full partners. The United Kingdom Government was not seeking, by any act of its own, to release a great migration movement again. Its action would have to he supplemented by dominion action, and it was for the dominions to decide when the time and condition were ripe for that supplementary action. He believed the time was not far distant when a beginning could be made. The beginning of a greater migration movement would become a need of the Empire as a whole in the not distant future, and as a step towards achieving it, he hoped the committee would accept the resolution. (Cheers.) LABOUR CRITICISM. Mr Limn said that he had rarely heard a Minister putting a case who showed so little faith in his subject. He agreed with Mr MacDonald that there was no prospect of any immediate migration to the dominions, It was a waste of time to be discussing the matter at this stage. It would have been far better to have discussed the possibilities of migration after the Imperial Conference, when we knew how far the dominion Governments would co-operate. The Minister’s lack of faith was shown by the halving of the amount to £1,500,000. If there was to be development and bigger schemes in future, why not retain the £3,000,000 P (Hear, hear.)

He wished the United Kingdom was in the Empire for the purpose of this legislation. Many local authorities would be able to find laud and settle our own unemployed on it if they were offered 75 per cent, assistance. Since 1930 scores of thousands more people had come hack to this country than had loft fur the dominions. There was no possibility of anyone going to the dominions to-day and finding prospects as bright as they were at Home. They were dealing with human beings and should take into consideration every factor affecting the migrants, and not merely concern themselves about getting them out of the country. They should know fully the conditions under which these people were going to live. (Hear, hear.) Many of the migrants had been exposed to hardship and suffering. The Interdepartmental Committee which was presided over by the Dominions Secretary had recommended that child migration to Canada, which ceased in 1924, should he restarted. He hoped that that would not be .so. as investigation had proved that the children had been made little drudges. VALUE OF VOLUNTARY WORK. Sir H. Page Croft (Bournemouth, Conservative) said that it would be to our advantage, particularly during the next 10 years, to give opportunity' to men who desired to go to the r dominions to do so on the easiest .passible terms. He was distressed that the Dominions Office had decided that the amount to be expended should be reduced from £3,000,000 to half that sum. (Hear, hear.) And the reduction was all the more regrettable as all parties in the House had approved i the larger sum. Migration schemes should not be left to the two Governments, but should be seen through by voluntary organisation, which should keep in touch with the migrants, and, in the case of failure, bring the people home again. This was a wonderful opportunity .for the right hon. gentleman to prove that he was a man of great imagination. He hoped that he would not allow thoughts of the past to envelop him, but that he would strike out a line for himself.