LABOUR AND THE EMPIRE.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 5 July 1924, Page 14

LABOUR AND THE EMPIRE.

‘TRANSFERENCE” OE POPULATION. LONDON, May 20. Mr J. H. Thomas (Secretary of State for the Colonies) presided over a luncheon given by the Government in connection with the Conference on Empire Settlement. In addition to the many private and official representatives of Dominions and colonies who were present there was an excellent attendance of members of every party of the House of Commons.

In proposing the toast of the Empire, Mr Thomas said that there was no party in this country that was other than proud of the Empire and genuinely anxious to do everything possible for its interests. He would take that Exhibition —the Empire in miniature. "When folks asked, as some did in the House of Commons on the previous day, whether it was going to prove successful as a balance-sheet, he had no answer to that type of man. He was not going to tender a balancesheet, an affair of income and expenditure, of pounds, shillings and pence, on an issue such as the Exhibition. It would he unnecessary to measure- its advantages from the standj point of a balance-sheet if it brought j home to the humblest of our citizens | a full and frank recognition of how I great had been the past of the Empire 1 and how immense were its future possibilities. If it enabled men and women, of different classes and political vews, to try to meet and settle the problems upon which they were agreed, rather than those on which they were disagreed, how 'much good would accrue from it? He applied in that connection the all-important problem of emigration. Prejudice against it had been created because it had been left to people other than responsible Governments to tackle it, and it was too important to be left to others. It had been associated with a sort of feeling of driving, or encouraging men to get out of their own country. They wanted to disabuse people’s minds of that idea, and on a broad, big, comprehensive, commonsense, business system to transfer one section of the Empire to another section with the maximum advantage. That was the spirit in which they approached the problem, and they ought immediately to take steps to make it possible for a man who had "gone across the seas to find his wife and family brought to him as soon as possible. If they did get the family to go together it" would be better still. They were proud of the Empire, and wanted to- make it great and worthy of our people. The Government made no apology for its existence; His only complaint was that they did not have . the benefit of his advice a long time ago, hut that was their misfortune. (Laughter.) Whatever differences must exist between parties and individuals, it. must go forth to the world that the first Labour Government was as jealous, and proud, and mindful of its Imperial responsibility as those that had preceded it.