Emigration Difficulties Mr. Malcolm MacDonald's announcement that the question of
emigration is to be discussed at the forth- coming Inwerial Conference is more satisfactory than anything the Dominions Secretary was able to say in the two days' debate on •the Empire Settlement Bill. The fact that the Government: is reducing the grant for assisted settlement from a maximum of £3,000,000 to a maximum of £1,500,000 is depressing, but Mr. Mac- Donald gave assurances that if . there should be good grounds for exceeding the lower figure he would not hesitate to introduce supplementary legislation, and it is a pertinent fact that in the years 1926-27-28, when the higher: limit was effective, the expenditure never reached more than £1,200,000. There is unfortunately little sign of any keen desire on the part of the Dominions for British immigrants, which is not surprising in. view of the fall in, the prices of primary products and the increase in labour-saving machinery, . but in. Australia and other.Dorninions there is clearly scope for the develop- ment of secondary industries, and, all things considered, it is worth both our while and Australia's to encourage immigrants qualified in that field even at the cost of some possible diminution of our own export trade. It is of capital importance that the Dominions should be peopled predominantly by citizens of Anglo-Saxon stock, and to achieve that on any adequate scale emigra- tion from this country is essential, _
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