MIGRATION URGE

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXV, Issue 19820, 23 December 1938, Page 7

MIGRATION URGE

EMPIRE LANDS PEOPLE FROM BRITAIN OPINIONS IN COMMONS GOVERNMENT APPROVAL FINANCE SUGGESTIONS (Eire. Tel. Copyright—United Press Assn.) (Reed. Dec. 22, 3 p.m.) LONDON, Dec. 21. The House of Commons, without a division, to-day accepted a motion urging tiie Government, tin conjunction with the Dominions, to consider all practicable plans for promoting the settlement of people from Britain and affirming readiness to co-operate in approved schemes.

Mr. J. F. E. Crowder (Con., Finchley), inm'oving the motion, asked the Government to increase the financial assistance for migration. He hoped that the Government would at an early date invite the Dominions to consider a composite well-thought-out plan. Experience showed that an increase in production, employment and wages resulted from an increase in population.

Brigadier-General Sir Henry PageCroft (Con., Bournemouth) suggested the formation of an Empire Development Company, the original directors Of which would be approved by the Prime Minister and be financial and agricultural experts. The money advanced to the company by the State would be an investment to be repaid, probably within 23 years. Only £10,000,000 would be necessary for a small experiment in British Columbia. Acceptance by Government The Dominions .Secretary, Mr. Malcolm MacDonald, in announcing that flic Government accepted the terms of the resolution, said that if the British people did not develop the new and young countries, they would be open to the reproach of sitting on a vast area o/f the earth’s surface and preventing beneficial use ot it. Moreover, increased prosperity and power in the Dominions was, perhaps, the best way of augmenting the strength of Britain itself. (Cheers).

Mr. MacDonald indicated that, he was thinking, not only of the Empire’s physical security, but of its moral influence throughout the world. The Empire Settlement Board would discuss General Page-Croft’s scheme with him.

The Government contemplated much larger populations being settled in tiie Dominions and anticipated the time when millions additional would got their livelihood there. Ultimate Objective “That is The scale on which we are thinking as the ultimate objective," he continued. Tie did not wisli to minimise the importance of land settlement, but if the House was thinking in terms of millions of settlers it must .accept the fact, that such a settlement would only be possible by the steady development of secondary industries. He would like to -see manufacturers here and in the Dominions produce simpler forms of goods, taking additional population to help in the production thereof and thus increasing tiie army of consumers for the more complicated forms of manufacture which Britain was still able to send in under preference.

He was not convinced that the development of secondary industries in the Dominions would mean a decrease in British exports.

“It seems to me not merely an essential, but a principal part of 4110 policy of Dominion development that secondary industries in the Dominions should steadily be expanded,” continued Mr. MacDonald. “If we are not going to allow the steady expansion of the secondary industries, ict us not talk about developing the Empire overseas, because it cannot be "done on any other conditions.”

Mr. Ellis Smith (Lab., Stoke) said that the statement issued by the Federation of British Industries bad done more to undermine confidence in the New Zealand relations with Britain than anything in the past few months.