§ 49. Sir S. HENNasked the Prime Minister whether his attention has been called to a grant made early in August by the Empire Marketing Board for geophysical survey; and whether, in view of the policy outlined by him in his speech to the House of Commons of 17th December, 1924, which allocated the expenditure of £1,000,000 per annum to improving the methods of marketing and preparing for market the food products of the Empire, there has been any change of policy since the date of that speech in regard to the expenditure of this money?
§ The PRIME MINISTERI am aware that a contribution has been approved from the Empire Marketing Fund towards the cost of a trial of an experimental kind to be made in conjunction with the Commonwealth Government of Australia, in geophysical methods of surveying, in order to try out certain new scientific methods. In the speech to which my hon. Friend refers I dealt with two separate matters. I gave the Terms of Reference of the Imperial Economic Committee, which were confined to the marketing of Empire food products, and I outlined in the most general terms the scope of a proposed grant which has since been voted by this House as the grant-in-aid of Empire marketing. The purpose of that grant was subsequently defined, in the Estimate which was laid before this House, as the furtherance of the marketing of Empire products in this country. I am entirely satisfied that the contribution to which my hon. Friend refers is both within the scope of the Empire Marketing Fund as thus defined and in accordance with the general indication which I gave to this House in December, 1924, of the proposed uses of the grant. No change of policy, therefore, is involved by the contribution in question, which was made upon the recommendation of a special Sub-Committee of the Cabinet Committee of Civil Research.
§ Sir S. HENNDoes the Prime Minister not think that an opportunity might be afforded to this House to discuss what is in fact a change of policy, and more particularly in connection with the Resolutions arrived at by the Imperial Conference of last year, which are very closely related to this subject?
§ The PRIME MINISTERI can only repeat that in my view there has been no change of policy, but it is perfectly obvious that the matter can be raised when the next Estimate for the Empire Marketing Board comes before the House.
§ Mr. E. BROWNIs the right hon. Gentleman aware that in the advertisements of this Board about the Royal plum pudding, the only part that Great Britain gets is the breadcrumbs and the old beer?