Poverty Bay Herald. PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING GISBORNE, THURSDAY, DEC, 5, 1929 QUICKENING EMPIRE DEVELOPMENT

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LV, Issue 17126, 5 December 1929, Page 4

Poverty Bay Herald. PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING GISBORNE, THURSDAY, DEC, 5, 1929 QUICKENING EMPIRE DEVELOPMENT

Air. ,T. H. Thomas’ plans for tho relief of unemployment have been characterised by a very wide outlook. It is generally agreed that his visit to Canada for the purpose, among others, of opening up a market for British coal, while it did not accomplish, very much, was nevertheless a step in the right direction. And now we learn that in his recent statement, in the House of Commons Mr. Thomas gave further evidence of the spaciousness of liis policy regarding unemployment by linking it up with the general question of Empire development. The resolution which he introduced contemplates the establishment ol a special fund for the purpose of assisting Colonial Governments to finance approved schemes of development. This fund would consist of an'annual sum of £1,000,000, the Minister ex-

plained; and after a wonderfully brief discussion the House approved of this payment from the Treasury. Tho discussion did not proceed without ,tho expected bleatings of a few Socialist doclrinaries, but- it was significant that Conservatives and Liberals alike gave a cordial reception to the proposal and wished the Minister well in the carrying out of this part of his great task. One feels that things are moving along very practical lines when such a policy is so widely approved, and is justified in hoping for a. good measure of speeding up in the whole question of Imperial development. Air. Amery, who is not the least informed member of the House on matters affecting the Dominions and Colonics, was enthusiastic in his support of the scheme, and pledged the full support of his party. This ho did very naturally, for the good reason that tho scheme is that of the party lie represents. In passing it may be said that observation compels one to believe that British Labor is promulgating an amazing number of proposals that have already been adumbrated by the other parties in the House, and that, judging from much of its legislation one would scarcely recognise the Labor touch at all. This proposal to borrow on behalf ,of colonial development is really a legacy from tae former Government, and the intention of setting up a fund for this purpose was clearly stated in precise terms by Mr. Baldwin a few 'months ago when he out lined in detail the programme of the Conservative Party. It says much for Air. Thomas that he has so readily appreciated the merits of the scheme and that he has allowed no mere party prejudice or bias to interfere with its adoption. lie did not do what he has done without trouble from the Labor benches, but in a manner that was firm to the point of impatience he categorically refused to have the idea meddled with by those of the Labor Party who scented in it the awful possibility of private enterprise desiring some benefit from its application. The one .thing that could have been improved upon in Air. Thomas’ statement of the case was his tacit assumption that the scheme had originated from himself. It was Air. Baldwin who pointed out some time ago that the essence of tho value of the.scheme lies in the fact that the financing of important development schemes “is frequently beyond the resources of the colony concerned.” It means, if .adopted, that the Government wopl(,l by that token realise its duty and responsibility as a trustee of the interests of tho vast and wido-

spioncl population not only in the Crown colonies but also in the protected and mandated territories to which the scheme is also- meant to apply. Mr. Thomas approaches the problem from the point, of view primarily of Britain's n6od, and part'of his statement in support of the proposal was to the effect that such an arrangement would serve to bring much work into the country at a time when it was urgently needed. That there is every justification for such a belief may be evidenced by a consideration of the Zambesi bridge proposal, which affords an excellent illustration of the principle. In the ease of this bridge the plans are ,all complete .and ready, and there is nothing but the initial difficulty, of raising the necessary capital to stand in the way of £2,000,000 worth of orders, mainly for steel, being placed in Great Britain. All over the Empire there are similar enterprises that are being held up or postponed because of the lack of such a scheme as is now to bo put in operation. Mr. Thomas made it his business to meet the criticism .that a million a year is not very much, by saying that many of the colonies asked only to have one-half of the interest of development loans guaranteed by the Mother Country, and that on that, basis of calculation, £1,000,000 would allow of £40,000,000 worth of work being undertaken. This may possibly be an overstatement, but it affords an indication of the fact that there are in existence throughout the Empire many important sources of employment that have been hitherto untapped for want of the initial means to develop them. Further to the question of speeding up, one important detail of the scheme is that each annual million must be taken advantage of during the year of its contribution by the British Treasury. By this means hesitant policies will be roused into action in the colonies and there will be an increased likelihood of actually getting things done. When those concerned in the necessary operations of development are led to see that this source of strength, amounting to a million pounds, will not be there next year, but has to be used as it is given, the work of development cannot but be advanced with greater speed and efficiency. It is a fine idea all through, and is - based on sound economic principles. It amounts roughly to an investment on the part of the Mother Country in her children overseas; and what she gives to “start them in life," so to speak, here and there in certain enterprises, will assuredly conio back to her, not only in the added respect and confidence of her offspring, but in more tangible ways. All lovers of the Empire will like to think that it may after all became the proud task of the Dominions and Colonies to render the greatest amount of assistance towards the solution of the grievous unemployment problem at Home. Such a scheme should make this possible, for it is workable, it is reasonable, and there is no evident reason why it should not ultimately be profitable to all concerned. Again, it has the distinct merit of having commended itself to the leaders and members of the political parties of all shades of opinion. It is all a proof of the truth of Jilr. Baldwin’s words when he announced the idea first: “We regard the employment of British capital to finance British enterprise ns likely to prove a more, fruitful investment for this country than speculative loans or guarantees to a foreign Government which has squandered its own resources."