§ 21. Mr. DAYasked the Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs whether any special sum has been set aside by the Empire Marketing Board for the purpose of advertising with a view to popularising the consumption of Empire-grown tobacco; and, if so, will he give particulars?
§ Mr. AMERYIt is not the normal practice of the Empire Marketing Board to assign fixed sums for the advertisement of particular commodities, and no such assignment has been made in respect of Empire-grown tobacco. As I explained to my hon. Friend the Member for Newcastle, North (Sir N. Grattan-Doyle) on the 11th June, the Empire Marketing Board are at present awaiting the forthcoming report of the Imperial Economic Committee on Tobacco before deciding what steps they can best take to popularise Empire-grown tobacco in
| — | Financial Year, 1926. | Financial Year, 1927. | Total. | |||||||
| £ | s. | d. | £ | s. | d. | £ | s. | d. | ||
| Exhibitions, Fairs and Shopping Weeks | … | 17,667 | 8 | 10 | 26,730 | 7 | 0 | 44,397 | 15 | 10 |
| Press Advertising | … | 46,911 | 2 | 0 | 77,200 | 4 | 10 | 124,111 | 6 | 10 |
| Poster Campaign | … | 23,597 | 6 | 4 | 89,677 | 2 | 0 | 113,274 | 8 | 4 |
| Lecture Campaign | … | — | 7,256 | 10 | 0 | 7,256 | 10 | 0 | ||
| Cinema | … | 1,216 | 17 | 6 | 4,633 | 19 | 6 | 5,850 | 17 | 0 |
| Miscellaneous | … | 449 | 19 | 3 | 848 | 19 | 3 | 1,298 | 18 | 6 |
| 89,842 | 13 | 11 | 206,347 | 2 | 7 | 296,189 | 16 | 6 |
§ With regard to the second part of the question, the Board has employed through the medium of His Majesty's Stationery Office the following agents
14§ the United Kingdom. In the meantime they have drawn attention to Empire tobacco both on their poster frames and in their Press advertisements, while exhibits of Empire-grown tobacco have been shown by various Dominions and Colonies in the stands provided for them by the Board at a number of exhibitions.
§ Mr. GEOFFREY PETODoes the right hon. Gentleman realise how much free advertising can be obtained by the asking of unnecessary questions in this House?
§ Mr. T. WILLIAMSDoes not the right hon. Gentleman think that the best means of advertising Empire tobacco is to send a fairly large sample to each Member of the House?
§ 22. Sir N. GRATTAN-DOYLEasked the Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs what sum has been spent by the Empire Marketing Board on Press advertising and publicity and with what advertising agencies; and to what amount has the expenditure been incurred?
§ Mr. AMERYAs the answer is of some length I will, with my hon. Friend's permission, circulate it in the OFFICIAL REPORT.
§ Following is the answer:
§ The expenditure incurred on Press and other forms of publicity from the commencement of the Board's work in June, 1926, up to the 31st March, 1928, is given below. The accounts for the financial year 1927 have not yet been closed, but the amounts shown are those actually brought to account on the 31st March, 1928, and may be subject to adjustment later.
§ for their Press publicity work from time to time:
§ Messrs. S. H. Benson, Ltd.
§ The London Press Exchange, Ltd.
15§ The Service Advertising Co., Ltd.
§ Messrs. Charles Barker and Sons, Ltd.
§ Messrs. C. Vernon and Sons, Ltd.
§ 24. Mr. HARRISasked the Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs whether his attention has been called to the posters now displayed on London hoardings by the Empire Marketing Board showing pictures of Aden, the Suez Canal, and Gibraltar; and will he explain on what grounds these places have been selected as subjects for advertisements by the Empire Marketing Board?
§ Mr. AMERYThe poster set in which pictures of Aden, the Suez Canal and Gibraltar appeared was designed to call attention to the importance of buying Empire produce by illustrating India's trade with this country. The method chosen to illustrate this idea in an attractive pictorial form was to depict the Empire's Highway to India and to show various stages in that trade route. Pictures of Aden, the Suez Canal and Gibraltar accordingly formed part of the set which also included Malta and Bombay.
§ Mr. HARRISIs not the purpose of the expenditure of the Empire Marketing Board to promote the sale of British goods? What goods are shipped from Aden and Gibraltar which would justify the expenditure of this money; and are we to understand that the Suez Canal is to be regarded as part of the British Empire?
§ Mr. AMERYIf the hon. Gentleman carefully reads my answer, he will find that it supplies a complete reply to his question.
§ Mr. HARRISIs not this money being found by Parliament for the purpose of promoting the sale of British goods, and if the right hon. Gentleman is not going to advertise British goods, is it not a waste of public money?
§ 25. Mr. HAMMERSLEYasked the Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs whether he is prepared to advise the Empire Marketing Board to make a grant from the funds at their disposal in order to assist the sales of Lancashire cotton goods; and, if not, will he state the reasons?
§ Mr. AMERYAs I explained to my hon. Friend the Member for Bolton (Mr. Hilton) on the 21st March, the Empire Marketing Fund, which represents the monetary equivalent of certain fiscal preferences promised at the Imperial Economic Conference of 1923, and not put into effect, is confined by the terms of the Parliamentary Vote to the furthering of marketing Empire produce in this country. It is not therefore possible to make a grant from this Fund for the encouragement of the sale of Lancashire cotton goods abroad.
§ Mr. HAMMERSLEYIs it not a fact that the sale of Lancashire cotton goods would be materially augmented by a better system of marketing; and does the right hon. Gentleman think that, as a basic industry like the cotton trade requires better methods of marketing, it should have some assistance from this fund?
§ Mr. AMERYI am all in favour of doing anything I can to help the marketing of Lancashire products, but this particular fund is the equivalent of a certain preference promised to the Dominions at the 1923 Imperial Conference, which is now being given in another form.
§ Mr. HARRISWould it not be better to advertise cotton goods rather than advertise Aden, from which nothing is produced?
§ Mr. HILTONIs the right hon. Gentleman aware that some of our Colonies and Dominions are taking more manufactured cotton from other countries than from Lancashire, and what is he prepared to do to remedy this condition of affairs?
§ Mr. MACQUISTENDoes the right hon. Gentleman not think that it would be much better, instead of circulating a picture of the Suez Canal, to circulate a picture of the Crinan Canal?
§ 26. Mr. HARDIEasked the Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs if he can state how much money has been set aside or has been spent by the Empire Marketing Board for advertising Colonial produce?
§ Mr. AMERYThe advertising of Colonial produce forms part of the Board's general publicity campaign for the furtherance of the sale of Empire produce in this country. No specific 17 allocation is made for the advertising of produce from any individual Empire country, or group of countries.
§ Mr. HARDIEIs the right hon. Gentleman aware of the fact that, despite the money spent in advertising Colonial goods, and the statement which has been made that, as a consequence, it is going to cheapen them, Colonial goods coming here are being kept up at the same high prices as goods from other countries?
§ Mr. HARDIEIf the right hon. Gentleman is not aware of that fact, will he make himself aware of it, and tell us what he is going to do?