MOTION FOR AN ADDRESS. (Hansard, 2 April 1886)

§ THE EARL OF HARROWBY
, in rising to move for— All Papers addressed to the Colonial Office during the last twelve months in favour of State-directed colonization, as well as for any papers addressed to the Colonial Office requesting that official information for those who desired to become colonists should be supplied to the post offices and local authorities throughout the country; and to ask the Secretary of State for the Colonies, How far Her Majesty's Government would be able to meet the wishes of the important deputations which had brought those subjects before the Colonial Office? said, he was quite sure that any means of relieving the present distressed condition of the labour market would be welcomed by their Lordships. In 1883 his noble Friend (the Earl of Carnarvon) brought the subject before the House in great detail, and 588 the noble Earl who was then at the Colonial Office made a very interesting reply. The Colonial Secretary then said that there was nothing wrong in principle in the State's promoting colonization. He did not wish to bind himself or anyone else, but simply desired their Lordships to face the dangerous state of things which now existed. In reading the Reports of the Royal Commission on the Depression of Trade, he could not but be struck with the terrific increase of population in these Islands. In the course of 10 years, from 1871 to 1881, about 3,250,000, or nearly the population of London, had been added to England and Wales alone, and since the last Census nearly 1,500,000 more must have come into existence. London itself increased at the rate of 45,000 annually. This was surely a very serious matter, and it explained, to a great extent, some of the difficulties under which we now laboured, and that fact alone ought to lead us to seek a remedy for the evils which threatened us in the future. Then they had to consider the change which was being effected in agriculture. There was every reason to fear that agriculture must provide less and less occupation every year. Between 1871 and 1881 1,000,000 acres had been converted from arable to pasture, and in 1881 the number of proprietors and attendants on agricultural machines had increased to 4,200 from 2,100 in 1871, which explained, to a great extent, the displacement of manual labour that was going on in the country. As proving still further the falling movement in the country districts, they had only to look to the dwellers in the towns. In 1861 there were 172 dwellers in towns to every 100 in the country; but in 1871 the proportion had risen to 192, and in 1881 to 212. These figures told the tale of the failure of employment in the agricultural districts, and he feared this must go on more and more. There was no reason to hope that the extension of small holdings and allotments, desirable as this was, could furnish anything like an effective counteraction to this tendency. All his life he had been conversant with the system of small holdings and allotments; but he had always found that while it did good work as a supplement to wages, it could never succeed where wages fell. Nor was there any reasonable expectation that manu- 589 facturing industry would absorb our present surplus population, for it was proved that the number of hands required was constantly diminishing, although there was an increased output of manufactured goods of from 10 to 25 per cent as compared with a few years ago. The fact that there was not yet apparent much suffering among the highest class of our operatives was only evidence of the reluctance of this class to make its privations known. Every official Report which had lately been presented to the public alluded to this fact. If their Lordships studied the evidence which the Royal Commissioners laid before them, he feared that there again they would see that the prospects of our manufactures were very gloomy. Indeed, it was impossible to read the answers which were sent to the Commissioners by the Chambers of Commerce without being very anxious as to the future of our manufactures. Then there was a keen competition with foreign immigrants, who worked longer hours, were content with worse fare and poorer accommodation, and who were competing more and more with our own artizans. The prospect of our manufactures being able to supply means for this growing population was anything but promising. Then he looked to see how far emigration was affording the relief required at the present time. The figures were very curious and surprising. The English-emigrants numbered 63,000 persons in 1877, 183,000 persons in 1883, 147,000 persons in 1884, and 126,000 persons in 1885. The figures relating to Scotch and Irish emigration told exactly the same tale. The number of Scotch emigrants was 8,000 in 1877, 32,000 in 1883, and 21,000 in 1885; while the number of Irish, emigrants was 22,000 in 1877, 105,000 in 1883, and 60,000 in 1885. The diminished number of emigrants last year might be accounted for partly by the state of the labour market abroad and in the Colonies; but, however that might be, he contended that emigration had not afforded that relief which the state of our labour market so much required. The Returns relating to net emigration were still worse than those to which he had just referred Taking British and Irish emigration only, after deducting immigrants from emigrants, the numbers were 31,000 persons in 1877, 246,000 persons in 1883 590 and 122,000 persons in 1885. These were the numbers of persons who had been actually deducted from the labour market of this country. He feared that instead of voluntary emigration being in our hour of need a great resource it was more and more ceasing to supply our need. So that we were left face to face with this very serious difficulty—that our agriculture and our manufactures were less and less able to supply our people with employment; while emigration was less and less supplying a safety valve for the population. The minds of all thinking men, whether amongst the operative classes or amongst those who sat in that House, must, in these circumstances, be turned to the Colonies. It was impossible that they should not feel that there were parts of those Colonies to which they ought to look more vigorously to utilize our surplus population. Some people spoke as if the advocates of emigration were urging the banishment of some of our best working men; but the truth was that we had got beyond the stage of thinking that settlement in the Colonies was equivalent to banishment. Probably there was hardly any noble Lord who had not some member of his family settled in one of our Colonies. He was not speaking of the "ne'er-do-well," but was referring to the change of the last 25 years, which had led to members of almost every family going to the Colonies, not as banishment, but as passing to a second home. He knew of nothing more touching than the emigrants' letters, in which they spoke of new hopes and feelings of enjoyment, and expressed their delight at the prospect of certain and regular work. This question had been brought forward on two occasions within the last 12 months. An important meeting was held at the Mansion House, and since then the noble Earl who presided over the Colonial Office received in February an important deputation headed by Lord Brabazon. That deputation represented 170,000 workmen at Manchester, Sheffield, and other places, and they made two requests. The first was for State-directed emigration—namely, State-planned new settlements, with special arrangements, and State loans to enable settlers to go out. He believed that Boards of Guardians were now empowered to use the rates for emigration. But this was a very grave 591 and serious matter, and he would like to know more about the details of it before he gave a decided opinion in favour of it. At all events, the subject was clearly worthy of careful consideration. The second great point pressed upon the Government was that information should be given to every part of the country as to the Colonial openings—that was to say, that the Colonial Office should get the best information together, and forward it to many centres throughout the country. He believed a great deal of good would be done if that suggestion were acted upon. The noble Earl the Colonial Secretary, in replying to the deputation, said that— Communications had taken place between Lord Derby and Sir F. Stanley, the Crown Agents, and the Treasury, with regard to appointing some Government Office, by which all the information bearing upon colonization and emigration should be more rapidly and universally spread in the country. The present Chancellor of the Exchequer had been for some time favourable to the establishment of such a Department. He trusted that some decision would shortly be arrived at with regard to the formation of this new Colonization Department. The two conditions to a loan which we should have to insist upon if we pressed this colonization further were—first, that there should be an agreement with the Colonies as to whatever we did; and, secondly, that we should be careful not to send out any worthless emigrants. With these conditions he thought we might consider this larger colonization scheme with a view to action. He hoped that no fear that we might get rid of cheap labour at home would induce anybody to hold their hands on the subject. For the future we must not think of placing our prosperity on cheap labour. For any civilized country to base its prosperity on cheap labour would be to base its future on a very uncertain and unsafe ground.

§ THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR THE COLONIES (Earl GRANVILLE)
The noble Earl has made an interesting 592 speech on a question of great importance, especially at the present time. He has given us some remarkable facts and figures; but I do not propose to follow him in all his statements, though I shall guard myself against being supposed to agree with all the inferences which he drew from those facts and figures. The principal point on which he dwelt was the importance of emigration and colonization. I have no doubt these two things, if properly conducted, can be made of great use both at home and in the Colonies. In regard to State-aided emigration and State-aided colonization, the matter is one of great difficulty and some complication. My noble Friend has alluded to Lord Carnarvon's speech a few years ago; but the late Government took no steps themselves in the matter, and the noble Earl himself most sensibly and judiciously refrained from giving any express opinion of his own as to any particular form of State-aided emigration. The noble Earl is quite right in stating that the matter was under the notice of the Colonial Office. Very lately I have had a great number of schemes submitted to me, especially the one alluded to by the noble Lord from the National Association for Promoting Colonial State-aided Emigration. The Government at once thought it their duty to give their careful consideration to the proposal made with such authority. We, therefore, communicated at once with the Local Government Board on the matter, and they are now carefully considering the subject. We were bound also to communicate with the Treasury on the subject, and with the aid of the Local Government Board we framed a set of questions which we have addressed to the Representatives of the Colonies in this country, in order that they may give us information that may be useful in our deliberations. With regard to what the noble Lord said as to the Papers, if he will be good enough to withdraw his present Motion I will take care at no distant period to obtain, by command of Her Majesty, Papers relating to the whole subject. With reference to one point on which the noble Lord laid great stress, and which he considered had a most practical bearing—namely, that we should give the country all the information he mentioned—I may say that we entirely adopt that view. That is the view favoured by our 593 Predecessors. When we first went into the question we thought it would be better for persons in this country that the machinery should be connected with the Local Government Board; but subsequently Mr. Chamberlain gave it as his opinion—in which view Iconcurred—that, looking to the advantages and disadvantages, it would be better to connect it with the Colonial Office. At this very moment there are Representatives of the Colonial Office and the Treasury meeting in order to settle the details of a pecuniary character which it is absolutely necessary should be settled before I can appoint anyone to take the situation. Practically, I am not taking too much upon myself to say that a very short time indeed will elapse before we shall be able to inform the noble Earl that the thing itself is done.

§ LORD NORTON
said, he begged to express his satisfaction at what had fallen from the Colonial Secretary. They ought to treat the Colonies as extensions of this country. People were talking of allotments—of three acres and a cow—when there were 3,000,000 acres at their disposal across the sea. He could not help thinking that what was wanted was a little more concert with the Governments of the Colonies in order to facilitate the use of the enterprize which was ready for colonization. The boarding out of young homeless children in Canada—acclimatizing them as Colonists—should meet the double demand of the country wanting labourers, and the labourers wanting country.

§ THE EARL OF IDDESLEIGH
I wish to express my own great gratification at the manner in which the noble Earl opposite has met the question which has been raised by my noble Friend. The course which he is about to adopt is, in my opinion, a sound and prudent course. I only interpose for a few moments to say a word as to what has been brought under notice in connection with the inquiries of the Royal Commission on Depression of Trade. I am satisfied that there is a great deal to be done for the benefit of the country, not only by propagating information to the public, and especially to working men, with regard to the condition of particular Colonies, but in the way of generally improving the technical education given to our people in this country. We are very much behind some 594 other nations in that respect. It is of the greatest importance that we should take measures not only to make known openings in the Colonies to working men, but also to make known to merchants and manufacturers the capabilities and the capacities of our Colonies and of foreign countries. Such information would enable our merchants and manufacturers to direct their energies in the best and most profitable way for the conduct of their business. I believe that a great deal is being done by Germany and other countries to give a better knowledge of what may be called commercial geography than is afforded in this country. The people should be taught where they should direct their efforts, what kind of efforts should be made, in what direction trade was capable of being improved, and what kind of industry was most likely to be successful. I hope that the inquiries we have heard of to be made by the Colonial Office in conjunction with other Departments will not be limited to the prospects of working men or emigrants going out of this country, but that they will lead to the furnishing of information likely to be useful, bringing before the manufacturers and people of this country the position and prospects of the Colonies themselves. I am sure a great deal is to be done in that way.

§ THE EARL OF HARROWBY
said, that after what had fallen from the noble Earl the Secretary of State for the Colonies he should be glad to withdraw his Motion. He trusted that the noble Earl would lay all the Papers possible on the subject before Parliament. His great object had been gained, the Government having virtually promised to establish a Colonization Department at the Colonial Office.

§ EARL GRANVILLE
I do not know that that will be the name for it.

§ THE EARL OF HARROWBY
NO; but it will be that virtually.