Reform of the Cotton Industry It will necessarily be several
months before the "proposals for legislation on the reorganisation of the cotton industry" which the Government has now issued can take effect. The proposals are in the form of a White Paper, which contains the text of the Draft Bill and an explanatory memorandum, and although the Bill embodies in the main the proposals of the Joint Committee of Cotton Trade Organisations, which the large majority of producers in the industry have already approved, a Government ballot of the industry on the White Paper is now being organised. Presumably the proposals in their official form will again be approved. They illuminate various points which have been the subject of discussion. The three independent persons "having special knowledge of the industry" who are to be included on the new Cotton Industry Board will have an important part to Play. The claims of the rayon industry are to be adjusted and the Board of Trade is to have power to contribute pound for pound for five years to the Cotton Industry Board's expen- diture on research and trade extension, subject to a maximum of £40,000 in any one year. Lancashire can expect no sudden prosperity from the reorganisation of its chief industry, but the proposed Bill is a step forward.
Previous page
