£100,000,000 for the Colonies
The Colonial Secretary's announcement in the House -of Commons on Wednesday of the formation of a Colonial Development Corpora- tion with borrowing powers of lip to Lioo,000,000 marks a develop- ment of the first importance in the administration of the British Colonial Empire. The idea that the colonies exist to be exploited by Britain has by this time been effectively exploded, except in quarters where it is a fixed policy to decry anything British on
any ground ; the existence of the Colonial Development Fund, insti- tuted first and foremost for the benefit of the colonies themselves, is sufficient refutation of this kind of charge. The creation of the new Corporation, and the fact that it is to operate on a commercial basis, emphasises the identity of the interests of the colonies and of Great Britain. The production of the colonies, which we and other European countries urgently need, can only be developed by the investment of considerable capital and the application of the scientific methods with which the western world is familiar. Some expenditure, such as that on transport systems, irrigation and so on, cannot be immediately remunerative, and this properly falls to the charge of the Colonial Development Fund. But such a project as the important ground-nuts scheme, on which work is already in active progress, will at one and the same time raise the whole standard of life of the African natives concerned by providing them with regular work at good wages, and furnish the population of this country with the fats it so urgently needs. This is a sound commercial proposition which is only likely to be initiated on the basis of public funds. There is scope for many more such undertakings, in Africa in particular, and the new Corporation, with its power both to assist existing enterprises and to float new ones, will enable them to be developed efficiently. It may be assumed that care for the health and education of the natives will keep pace with commercial development, and that in due course Africans them- selves will assume positions of responsibility under the Corporation.
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