COTTON INDUSTRY. (Hansard, 14 February 1933)

§ Sir GERALD HURST

I beg to move, That leave be given to bring in a Bill to amend and prolong the duration of the Cotton Industry Act, 1923. 3.46 p.m.

The object of this Bill is two-fold. In the first place, it is to prolong the duration of the existing Cotton Industry Act, which would otherwise expire on the 18th July. It seeks to extend it for a further period of five years. The second object is to alter the amount of the levy. When the Cotton Industry Act was first introduced in 1923, the levy was 6d., which amount was paid, on every sale of a 500-lb. bale of raw cotton, by the cotton spinner. That sum was reduced to a maximum of 3d. when the Act was prolonged in 1928; and this Bill proposes, during the period of further prolongation, to reduce that maximum of 3d. to a maximum of Id. The reduction in the amount is due, first, to the diminished wealth of the cotton spinning industry, and, secondly, to the fact that the Empire Cotton Growing Corporation has been very careful in its finance, and can carry on with a less amount.

The true justification for the Cotton Industry Act lies in the history of the last 10 years. The levy is paid to the Empire Cotton Growing Corporation, which does not itself either grow or sell cotton, but which trains scientists and fosters re- 821 search with a view to developing the productive capacity of cotton plantations in all parts of the Empire, tropical and subtropical, with the exception of India. The result of the imposition of this levy during the last 10 years has been to contribute very greatly to an immense increase in the productivity of our Empire. In the year 1922, only 112,000 bales of 400 lbs. each were grown within the British Empire. That figure had increased to 470,000 in 1932, although, of course, that was a year which was by no means favourable for the production of raw cotton, which commanded, in fact, very low prices indeed. Summing up that result, it has made for greater security in regard to the supply of raw cotton for English cotton spinners, and they have become less dependent on the fluctuations of the American supply on and the changing policy of the American Government. The second result has been the very great development of the cotton growing areas in Uganda, Nyasaland, Southern Rhodesia, Sudan and the West Indies. During 1933 it is expected that the Uganda crop will reach its record of 275,000 bales.

In those circumstances, I have every hope that the Bill will commend itself to the House, and that on Friday the House will give its consent to all stages of the Bill being taken at 4 o'clock. That has been done on previous occasions. I am fortified in that hope by two reassuring considerations. First of all, on the policy of the Bill, all parties are united. Among its backers this afternoon are, not only Conservative Members, but, I am also glad to say, the right hon. Gentleman the Member for Darwen (Sir H. Samuel) and my hon. Friend the Member for Westhoughton (Mr. Rhys Davies). Not only is there unanimity among all parties, but there is complete unanimity in Lancashire itself. Unlike other industries in which there is a division of opinion upon the question of research, in the cotton industry all classes, employers and employed, are absolutely of the same opinion. For that reason, in choosing the backers of the Bill—I am entitled to ask for 11 backers—I have chosen Lancashire Members. It is, therefore, a complete Lancashire eleven, and, playing on their own ground, I have no doubt that they will win. I believe that the Bill will be a real contribution to the welfare of the cotton spinning industry for many 822 years to come. It may be said that the work of the Empire Cotton Growing Corporation is still in its infancy. We are not yet, of course, independent of the American supply, but we may very well foresee a time when the Lancashire cotton spinner will be able to obtain the great bulk of his raw material within the Empire. He will certainly in those days see in the far-flung cotton plantations which this Bill is designed to foster a permanent memorial of the providence of our generation.