The Bay of Plenty Beacon Published Mondays Wednesdays and Fridays. FRIDAY, MAY 16, 1941. THIS FREEDOM

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 4, Issue 306, 16 May 1941, Page 4

The Bay of Plenty Beacon Published Mondays Wednesdays and Fridays. FRIDAY, MAY 16, 1941. THIS FREEDOM

WITH Hitler a.nd Mussolini trying to persuade the world that the people of Great Britain, own a quarter of the earth and sit at ease while the enslaved races of Empire sweat and work for their sole profit, the following facts will be of interest: — (1) No part of the British Empire pays taxes or tribute to Britain in any form. (2) Instead of drawing taxes from the Colonies the taxpayers of Britain help to sustain them. In the middle of the greatest war in history an Act was passed providing that over eleven millions which had been lent to the Colonies should be converted into free gifts. (3) The same Act enabled a further fifty millions to be given to the Colonies to develop their natural resources (4) No part of the Empire is obliged to buy what it needs from Britain or to sell its own products to Britain. (5) For example, British Colonies buy only 25 per cent, of their imports from Britain. More than half their trade is with foreign countries. (6) There is almost twice as much capital from Britain invested in the Argentine than in all the British Colonies put together. (7) British India which Hitler states is owned' by us buys less than one-third of her imports from Britain. (8) In the whole of British India (which has a population of 275 millions) there are only 715 European civil servants and 450 officers of the police service. All the rest numbering many thousands are Indians. (9) Internal order and the defence of the Northwest frontier against raiding tribes are maintained (in peace time) by a voluntary army of 210,000 officers and men and reservists. Of these only 60,000 are British troops. (10) Under the constitution all the provinces of British India manage their own affairs with elected Parliaments and Cabinets of Indian Ministers. (11) The whole British Empire employs fewer British officials than the total number of persons employed in Cadbury's, Rowntrees' and Wills' factories. (12) The self governing Dominions of Canada, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and Eire, are free and equal partners with Great Britain. She has no control over their actions at home or abroad. They can maintain, if they so wish their own diplomatic representatives at the foreign courts and make treaties with foreign powers. (13) When the Dominions (except Eire which remained neutral) declared war on Germany in September 1939, they did so of their own free will. (14) Freedom of expression, trial by jury and the right of appeal to the highest in the land is the" traditional citizenship of even the humblest o.f subjects living under the Union Jack.