TO PAY FOR THE WAR.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXIX, Issue 1727, 19 June 1917, Page 1

TO PAY FOR THE WAR.

BRITISH SOCIALISTIC ENTERPRISES. DEVELOPMENT THROUGHOUT EMPIRE. A hint that it iff the British Government’s intention to pay the expenses of the war by gigantic Socialistic enterprises extending to Australia and other parts of the Empire, is given in a memorandum issued by the Acting-Premier of Now South Wales to the Chambers of Commerce and Manufactures, The memorandum, which is a compilation of facts, sets out: — “There is a connecting link of interest to the State between the recent speech of Mr Lloyd George on the development of Empire resources and various articles and semiofficial statements which have appeared in the London Times, the Contemporary Review, the New Statesman, and other journals, “In his recent speech, Mr Lloyd George said that one of the first duties of statesmanship of the future would be to take necessary measures to aid the development of the stupendous resources we possess. And,” he added, “it is necessary that exceptional encouragement should be given to the products of each part of the Empire.” “The Prime Minister evidently had in mind the proposals of the Empire Resources Development Committee, of which Sir Starr Jameson is president. The dominant feature of (he scheme of the committee is the ultimate appointment of a board to develop (he Empire’s resources. The main object which the Imperial Government has in view is to raise money for the payment of the gigantic national debt which shall have accumulated at the end of I lit* war. The committee recommends that the Stales shall derive a revenue by assisting in the provision of certain public facilities and in the distribution of certan articles of food —‘with (he double object of cheapening the cost to consumers and deriving a revenue therefrom.’ The Montreal Empire Resources Committee is evidently an offshoot of the movement, and a scheme has been devised to form a 200,000,000-acre State farm in the West of Canada. The Canadian-Pacific Railway Company has taken up (he idea independently, and proposes, with the sanction of the Dominion Governments (federal and Provincial) to settle veteran soldiers and sailors on the land in colonies, fall particulars of this scheme have been forwarded to the Departments of Lands and Agriculture l and the State War Council. “Sir Starr Jameson's committee aims at promoting enterprises in every part of the British, Empire, so that the question of promoting the development of New South Wales’ resources on a large scale is bound to come up sooner or later. In view of this, the Agent-General has been directed to keep the Government closely in touch with the doings of the commit tee. “This movement in England has sprung from the proposals of the Economic Conference of the Allies, which was held in Paris last year. Briefly the proposals were that the benefit of (he most-favoured nation treatment should be denied to (he enemy Powers for a term of years; the resources of the Allies to be conserved for the benefit of the Allied countries; a period of time to be lixed during which the enemy commerce should be subjected to special treatment; exchange of Allies’ products to be facilitated by cheap and rapid land and sea transport ; the new economic policy to he adopted forthwith. “The New Statesman, in its issue of February 3rd, states; ‘Very considerable changes are under discussion with more or less definite commitment of Government support. There will be all sorts of partnerships between the Elate and the capitalist, in foreign trade and banking, probably in shipping and shipbuilding, certainly in the exploitation of undeveloped parts of the Empire for raw materials. Another development of capitalism to which the Government is extending no little encouragement is the systematic association of all the manufacturers of an industry into a single body for the collective management of the whole industry within the United Kingdom. The journal admits that these developments are inevitable, and calls upon the Imperial Government to devise means for ensuring that the wage-earning producers, as well as consumers of the product, shall not only he protected from oppression, but should also enjoy their share in the advantages of the ‘New Model.’»