Orders of the Day — Dominion and Colonial Affairs.

Part of the debate – in the House of Commons am ar 29 Gorffennaf 1926.

Danfonwch hysbysiad imi am ddadleuon fel hyn

Photo of Mr Eugene Ramsden Mr Eugene Ramsden , Bradford North

As one of the back benchers who takes an interest in Empire questions, I must say that I am glad an opportunity is given to-day to discuss Empire matters. Such questions are undoubtedly of real and vital interest, not only to this country but to the rest of the Empire. I had hoped that perhaps two days of Supply might have been devoted to Dominion and Crown Colony questions, but unfortunately that has not been the case. I want, in the first place, to refer to certain remarks made by the hon. Member for Dartford (Lieut.-Colonel McDonnell), in which be said that two of the requirements necessary for the development of the Crown Colonies and Protectorates were population and transport. I agree that these two requirements are necessary, but it appears to me that another one is also essential, and that is that we should make the fullest use of science in the development of our tropical. Empire Not only is it necessary that we should use science, and I mean science in its broadest aspect, in order to preserve the health of the people, to avoid the tremendous wastage which takes place every year in these countries, to prevent many of the diseases and cure others, but we must also use science in the actual work of the development of the Crown Colonies and Protectorates in the realm of agriculture. I hope this aspect of the question is one which will receive the careful consideration of the Government.

We have now in Trinidad the Imperial College of Tropical Agriculture, which has done as excellent work as can be done by any such institution. Under the guidance of Dr. Martin Leake, great results have been achieved. In this college, not only is research work carried out, but the training of those men who in later life are destined to be agricultural officers, themselves teachers or planters in different Colonies, whether it be in the West Indies, East Africa, West Africa, or in any other part of the Empire. It is fortunate that we have such a man as Dr. Leake at the head of that college, because he is not only turning out experts in agriculture but he is turning out real men who will be able to take their part in the development of these countries. But this institution which exists in Trinidad is not enough. We must have something very much more extensive than this if we are to use science as it can be used and as it should be used in the development of these territories. I hope to see the day when we shall get a chain of research stations throughout the whole of our tropical Empire. We want one for the West Indies, and the college at Trinidad supplies that. We must have another one in West Africa. We have the Amani Institute for East Africa, and then there are the territories further north for which we have a responsibility. Iraq, Palestine and certain parts of the Sudan, the dry-land countries. There, again, a research station to cover the whole of these countries would be of the greatest use.

Going further east we come to Malaya and the countries adjacent. problems there are somewhat similar in some respects, but they are very different in others, and another station would be needed in that part of the world. Lastly, there is the Pacific group of islands where we have responsibility, but in which the administration is under the control of the great Dominions of Australia and New Zealand. They have tropical problems which would be much benefited by some similar institution to that which exists at Amani or the one in Trinidad. If these were linked up together, united closely with and radiating from the Imperial College, we should have a chain of research stations where really practical work could be done and where the work that was done could be communicated to the other parts of the Empire and do much greater good than is possible at the moment. I hope that money in this direction will not be stinted. It will certainly come back to us a thousand-fold in the future.

Just one or two words on the Dominion side of the question. Their problems are different from those of the tropical Empire. Speaking roughly, the three main requirements of the Dominions are, first, markets, secondly, money, and, thirdly, protection against aggression. Let me take the last point first. This country has always borne the great bulk of the burden of defence, and I believe it will be necessary it should be so for many years. The Army, the Navy and the Air Force, which we help to support in such a great measure, act as a shield not only for the shores of this country but for the far distant Colonies wherever they are situated. It is our duty to see, until these Dominions get stronger than they are, that we continue to afford them this protection. With regard to financial assistance, there again we certainly have in the past given than great help by way of loans and guarantees, and in many other ways we have contributed materially to the development of these Dominions.

Then we come to markets. The Dominions require, if they are to expand as rapidly as we all wish, continually increasing markets where they can sell their products, and there, I believe, we can certainly help them. I am convinced that under these conditions it is obviously in the best interests of the Dominions themselves to see that our commercial and industrial strength is maintained and increased; it is in their interests to help us as much as they can. In the main they have realised this and are trying to do so. By the preferences they give they have helped us materially in the past. In the case of Australia and New Zealand, I believe the average amount of preference they give amounts to something like 12 per cent. There are many who believe that had it not been for these sheltered markets the unemployment from which we have suffered so much during the past three years would have been much more serious than it has. I quote as an example the textile trade of the West Riding of Yorkshire. I know that at the present moment it is actually easier for manufacturers of certain classes of goods to sell them in the Dominions than it is to sell them in the City of London or in any other place in this country, simply because the preference given by the Dominions affords them a sheltered market which they do not enjoy elsewhere. Consequently we must turn our attention more and more to the Dominions for an increase in trade which is so vital to them and to us.

We are rather inclined sometimes, even Governments, to pay too much attention to Europe and European affairs. We have to look further afield. It is the markets of the Dominions which can, and I believe will, play a very important part in the future in providing employment for our people. I do not want to quote too many examples, but Australia and New Zealand, with a total population of somewhere about 7,000,000, purchased in 1925 more goods from us than the whole of France, Belgium, Italy, Spain and Portugal together, and these countries have a total population of something like 114,000,000. Not only is that the case, but during the same 12 months, they bought more goods from us than the countries in the North of Europe, Latvia, Lithuania, Esthonia, Holland, Poland, and even Russia, about which we hear so much, and where there is in all a population of nearly 200,000,000. It shows that these two small Dominions are actually worth more to us at the present time than the whole of these groups of countries in Europe to which I have referred.

The increase in the purchases by the Dominions is really remarkable under present conditions. In 1923 their percentage of our exports was 39 per cent. of the total, and in 1925 it had increased to just over 43 per cent. I think it shows very plainly indeed that it is in the direction of the Empire that we must look for our future trade. Coming from the North of England, I generally use the textile trade as an example and an illustration. I would like to quote the exports which took place to New Zealand in 1925, in both woollen and cotton goods, and I would like to read the figures to the House. In 1925 New Zealand imported £728,434 of cotton goods, and out of that £675,061 came from this country. Of woollen goods she imported £232,311, and out of that total £218,376 were of British manufacture. That shows in those two trades alone how very important these two Dominions are to us in finding employment for our people. Not only is it in the interests of the Dominions to try to help us, but it is also in our interest to try to help the Dominions.

At present there are few ways in which this can be done. As the result of the last election we are debarred from increasing the Preferential taxes on goods and thus helping them in that way. I believe that under the terms of the Anglo-German Commercial Treaty it is not possible to go in for any system of licences and bulk importation from the Dominions, so that we only have left what, in the main, amounts to one method, and that is voluntary preference for British goods. It is very important indeed that we should try to make voluntary preference a real success. I am glad to say that what is called the "Buy British Goods" campaign has been producing very good results during the past few months, but I hope that during the next year or two, and during the next few months in particular, everyone will try to make voluntary preference something really valuable, not only to the Dominions, but to ourselves. I hope we shall be given a definite lead by members of the Government in favour of voluntary preference, and that we shall also get the enthusiastic support of the Members of the official Opposition—I was going to say, of the Liberal Opposition also, but I do not see any of them in their places, and evidently they do not take any interest whatever in this subject. If we make this a success we shall show the Dominions that we mean business and create markets for ourselves. This is the only available opportunity we have at present of building up markets to help the future trade and prosperity of this country.