Part of the debate – in the House of Commons am ar 29 Gorffennaf 1926.
Mr. THOMAS:
That may be so; but these people will not quite appreciate whether it is on the hoof or not. All they know is that there is, in their judgment, something radically wrong. If that is a cause of irritation, surely we might to deal with it. When we say that we want to help our Dominions and to encourage the buying of Empire goods, that may be, and is, a good slogan for our Colonial brothers, but at the same time they turn round and say, "We are delighted at your encouragement, but we rather deprecate the tendency to give us so small a price, while the consumer is paying so high a price, and we want to know where the difference goes." The hon. Member for Kennington (Mr. G. Harvey) may have given the explanation; I do not know. I am satisfied that it is the duty of the Colonial Office to give an authoritative answer, and to say where the difference lies. It is the duty of the Government to say, "This is a question that ought to be tackled. This is something that we are interested in. This is something that does not affect tariffs." If an investigation could be made, if an authoritative statement could be made—assuming that the explanation given by the hon. Member for Kennington is correct—it would he something of a tangible answer to those who complain from the other side of the Empire.