EMPIRE MIGRATION

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXX, Issue 21552, 25 July 1933, Page 8

EMPIRE MIGRATION

A stimulating breath of the practical Imperial spirit comes from the manifesto of the Empire Trade League, wliicli proposes oversea community sett lenient under chartered companies or other auspices, such "colonising adventures" being regarded as a long-range plan for the future. Among the signatories are prominent men whose Empircluiilding doctrine is in sharp contrast with the present official policy of quotas, restriction of output and like, measures which would end the migration of British people to British Dominions, stop expansion, render it more and more difficult for the Dominions to pay their debts ai.d make more or less static the Empire market for the manufactures of the Motherland. It is not for a moment to he contended that, the new agricultural policy of .Britain is not in the right direction. It is a pity that the slogan of "hack to the fields" was not given practical effect long ago. But even the most enthusiastic advocates of this policy cannot imagine that the land can absorb the unemployed of the country, that under the greatest possible degree of protection British agriculture could so adapt itself to the opportunity that the inllow of foodstuffs will have to be progressively curtailed ,in a substantial degree, that land not suited for a particular type of farming could produce as economically as land ideally suited for it, even though it be in the Antipodes, or that control over Empire production is necessary so long as foreigners are not. granted overgenerous reciprocal terms. The principle of Ottawa was the British pro-

ducer first, tho Dominion producer second and the foreigner third. So long as that principle is to there ought to bo no need for Empire quotas. The Empire Trade League is aware, of course, that its migration schemo could not bo entertained under the shadow of such restrictions, and, probably, the reason why its manifesto has been issued at this time is to act as a corrective to a policy that is shortsighted and in the long run contrary to the interests of British manufacture. Imagine a migration policy that would place 100,000 of Britain's unemployed overseas every year. It would relieve the "dole" fund, increase the oversea market for British goods, which in turn would provide more employment, and create extra purchasing power for Dominion commodities. The manifesto is a tonic in a trying time, a panacea for a "policy of despair."