§ Mr. Hamilton Kerrasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies in view of the German system of trading with East Africa, under which raw materials are bought in exchange for German manufactures, what steps are being taken to watch the effect of such trading methods both on the well-being of the colonies concerned and on the British export trade, particularly in textiles?
Mr. M. MacDonaldI have recently suggested to the Governors that they should examine the position regarding432W this form of trade, particularly from the point of view of the effect of this type of trading on customs revenue. As regards the trade in textiles, treaty obligations preclude the introduction of Imperial Preference or the quota system in the East African dependencies and the bulk of the textile trade is now in the hands of Japan. Only very small quantities are imported from Germany.