EMPIRE’S FAMILY

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 1011, 30 June 1930, Page 9

EMPIRE’S FAMILY

BRITAIN TAKES SHARE OF DEVELOPMENT MINISTER’S DEFENCE British Official Wireless RUGBY, Saturday. The Secretary of State for the Dominions, Mr. J. H. Thomas, addressed a plenary session of the Colonial Office Conference. He referred to remarks he had made in the House of Commons about the mistaken view that Britain was receiving benefits from the oversea Dominions and Colonies but was conferring nothing in return. Mr. Thomas emphasised the great contribution which, in very difficult circumstances, Britain was making toward Empire development, an important instance of which was the colonial development fund. In the expenditure of that fund the British Government looked to the colonial Governments for advice and the formulation of proposals, but he urged them to take a long view. GOVERNMENTS’ NEEDS

As far as the British Government was concerned it intended to put the widest possible interpretation on the term “colonial development.” He felt sure the colonial development fund would tend to relieve the economic position in Britain and - develop the prosperity of the colonial Empire. Referring to the Colonial Development Advisory Committee, Mr. Thomas, on behalf of the Government, thanked Sir Basil Blackett, chairman of the committee, Tor the tremendous amount of work he had done and was doing in that connection.

Sir Basil, on behalf of the committee and himself, expressed gratification at Mr. Thomas’s observations and his pleasure at having that opportunity of meeting the representative of colonial administration at the conference, as the committee wished to learn thereby the needs of the colonial Governments.