§ 79. Sir R. Rankinasked the Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs whether he is aware that since 1931 the number of persons returning to the United Kingdom from Australia, Canada, and New Zealand has exceeded the number of persons migrating to those Dominions by nearly 100,000; and whether he is satisfied that adequate steps are being taken to reverse this flow and produce conditions which at an early date will lead to 2080 a balance of emigration from this country to the Dominions instead of from the Dominions to the United Kingdom?
Marquess of HartingtonI am aware that the position is as stated in the first part of my hon. Friend's question. I would point out, however, that the inward flow does not, generally speaking, vary greatly from year to year. The inward balance is due to the relatively small numbers of people leaving this country for the Dominions in question during recent years. As regards the second part of the question, the Empire Settlement Acts, 1922 and 1937, provide the Government with ample powers for facilitating the movement of assisted migrants from the United Kingdom to the Dominions, as soon as the latter are in a position to co-operate and to receive them.