§ 14. Mr. DAYasked the Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs the amount of money that was spent on Press, poster advertising, and cinema activities, 1496 separately, by the Empire Marketing Board for the 12 months ended to the 31st March, 1928?
§ Mr. AMERYThe accounts for the 12 months ended the 31st March, 1928, have not yet been closed, but subject to adjustment the expenditure in the financial year 1927-28 for the activities in question is as follows:
| £ | s. | d | ||
| Press advertising | … | 79,900 | 4 | 10 |
| Poster advertising | … | 103,528 | 9 | 4 |
| Cinema activities | … | 5,747 | 0 | 10 |
§ Mr. DAYDo we understand that the balance of 2206,000 has not been spent on any of these three items?
§ Mr. HANNONIs not all this expenditure on the advice of the Board, which takes careful consideration of Colonial and home produce?
Sir F. HALLIs it not a fact that these figures are being gone into very carefully by the Estimates Committee at the present time?
16. Sir NICHOLAS GRATTANDOYLEasked the Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs whether the Empire Marketing Board will consider the possibility of compiling an inventory of the actual and potential resources of the Empire and of the present and future requirements of each part of the Empire, with a view to making available in concise and handy form the information necessary for framing a common economic and trade policy for the Empire?
§ Mr. AMERYThe Imperial Economic Committee has already examined and reported upon certain of the Empire's food resources, and is now, in pursuance of the conclusions reached at the Imperial Conference, 1926, continuing its activities in a somewhat wider field. The Empire Marketing Board is steadily accumulating information in supplement to that contained in the Committee's Reports; but the preparation of a comprehensive inventory, such as my hon. 1497 Friend suggests, would not be within the scope of the Empire Marketing Board. A good deal of the information indicated by my hon. Friend is also contained in the "Statistical Abstract for the several British Oversea Dominions and Protectorates" published periodically by the Board of Trade.
§ 17. Sir N. GRATTAN-DOYLEasked the Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs whether the Empire Marketing Board contemplates making use of films for propaganda and publicity; and, if so, in what way and where it is intended to display them?
§ Mr. AMERYThe Empire Marketing Board is examining carefully the possible employment of films for the purposes of its work, and has experimented in various directions, but I am not yet in a position to outline its definite plans in this field. A grant from the Empire Marketing Fund has enabled a gallery at the Imperial Institute to be converted for use as a cinema theatre for the purpose, in particular, of the display to school-children of films illustrating the resources of the Empire.