Nelson Evening Mail TUESDAY, APRIL 10, 1928 ADVERTISING THE EMPIRE

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXI, 10 April 1928, Page 4

Nelson Evening Mail TUESDAY, APRIL 10, 1928 ADVERTISING THE EMPIRE

oTil Kill: .an he no doubt whatever as in lliti important work which the Kin" s suns are with a view to interpreting the Empire, ami especially the Domillions (which ihey have traversed from end to end), to the, people of Great Itri lain Yesterday vv»i referred m the i'nn.e ~! Wahs's speech to London

■ ,m..,l children, quoting in its entirety what In- said. To dav we would refer In

at: eipi'dly important speech made by 11,.- Duke of York, at a dinner held at the Mansion House., lo mark the open in"; of the P.rilisli Industries Pair. Aft<-«' inferring to various factors which proved liie slow hut sure economic recovery "f P.ritain and the Continent of Knrope from the effects of the ('treat War. His I'oyal Highness went <>n to speak of the Empire outside I'.riiain. Another encouraging factor (lie siiid) is thai the peoples of the Empire are lieeoming conscious of a unity of pur pose and interest in fmperial matters. In i-ni-h of the Dominions and Colonies of <in \ 'isl Rmpire (he question of how tn improve Imperial trade and how tn develop Imperial communications is being ecaselev-.lv explored. And, best of all. it is being explored in the traditional British spirit. That is to say that all parties 10 the dis-

eussion are seeking the. fairest solution

which will meet the necessities of each case. In my opinion—and I may claim perhaps some personal knowledge since my recent journey through the Em-pire—-it is difficult to over-estimate the strength of this great current of interest in the Imperial problem. It will increasingly affect for the better the agriculture and the industries of all the nations concerned. Immigration

will develop the productive powers of the Dominions and Colonies, and at the same linn* the Home Country will benefit )>} similar increase of employment overseas for those, for whom it may be difficult to find work a] home. No one, I am sure, ronld visit out great Dominions, as the Duchess and 1 have, had the Rood fortune to do, without bringing back an urishakeablc belief in (he future which awaits these young countries and their vigorous peoples. That makes very pleasant reading in theDominions, and it should broaden the. outlook of those in Britain who bavo not had the advantage of visiting the Dominions; it should encourage the peoples of the Dominions to make increasing efforts to solve the problems of inter. Empire trade and of improved intercommunication, and it, should draw the attention of the British people to the interdependence of all parts of the Empire. if pre-war prosperity is to return to Great Britain.

,U about the. same time as the Duke ~t York was .speaking a I the Mansion House, Mr Lionel Amery, Secretary for riio Dominions, was speaking to the. Empire Parliamentary Association at. the House of Commons. After describing his tour of the Dominions, during which he. travelled '"0.000 miles. Mr Amery asked this pertinent, question : Are we to approach the problem of our own economic development in a narrow and selfish spirit, or are we to bear in mind the wider internals <> our fellow-citizens in the Empire; I feci sure that it will he found that, what helps our fellow-citizens overseas will in the long run more than repav us. The importance of these remarks ot the Dominions' Secretary lies largely in the fad that they were made to a body of parliamentarians of all parties who arc associated for the purpose of interesting all other members of Parliament in the Empire and its problems and possibilities. The wide publication of the speeches of the Duke of York and Mr ,A„i,,y bv the British press will have brought full knowledge of what they said to the British public. Thus it will be wen that a three-fold effort, in the heart of the City, in the House of Commons, and throughout the country, was being made to interpret the economic importance of the Empire, and especially ~[ the Dominions, to the Mother Country. It. may appropriately bo asked why it "is necessary to use. such strenuous ,„eans lo interpret the Dominions and their aspirations and potentialities to ■he peoplo of Britain. It is because the average Briton, who has never been out- '. ide his own country, has no very clear realisation of the immensity of Empire outside Britain, and of the great contribution which the Empire overeas makes to the greatness of Britain. It was the late Joseph Chamberlain who said, after his historic visit to South Africa, when be was Secretary of Slate to the Colonies, that no one who had not seen thatemit, territory could imagine the immensity of its future and the importance of its' development to Britain's economic prosperity. The. lesson which he taught and which is today being taught by his successor at, the Colonial Office and by '.he Duke of York, needs constant reiteration. The peoples of the Dominions are widely awake to this great principle, nf Empire interdependence, but much morn could be done by I hem in interpreting themselves to their fellow-citizens ,n Great Britain and by advertising the immense possibilities of their countries per medium of the British press.