My dear Prime Minister,

BRITISH CIVIL SERVICE CHANGES

On May 24th a series of interesting changes in the heads of
Departments of the Civil Service was announced. Sir George Barstow
and Sir Otto Niemeyer leave the Treasury, the former for the Suez
Canal Board and the latter for a new post in the Bank of England.

[1] This change should be all to the good so far as Australia and
the Empire are concerned. Niemeyer was certainly not our friend.

He regarded Europe as infinitely more important to Great Britain
than the Empire and was an always available cold water douche on
any schemes of Empire development.

Sir Sydney Chapman leaves the Board of Trade to fill the more or
less decorative post of Chief Economic Adviser to H.M. Government,
the job held down without undue effort by Sir H. Llewellyn Smith.

The salaries of Chapman's present job and his new post are both
the same, namely 3,000 but in reality I should say it was 'left
hand' promotion. I think Chapman will be more suited to his new
job than as the Permanent Head of a most important Department. His
place is to be taken by Sir Horace Hamilton, now Chairman of the
Board of Customs and Excise. Hamilton is a really live wire and
should be a very good man. My relationship with Hamilton has been
very cordial and I hope it will continue to develop.

The other changes are not Imperially interesting, although I am
glad that I know Sir Francis Floud [2], who succeeds Hamilton at
Customs. I enclose the cutting from the 'Times' detailing the
changes.

MR. McCORMACK [3]

The Premier of Queensland has avoided much in the way of speaking
and has created a favourable impression. The Empire Marketing
Board gave him a small private lunch and tomorrow he is lunching
with me to meet Tom Johnston [4] M.P. I feel sure that this
meeting will be very useful, for Johnston, while remaining left
wingish, is becoming keener and keener on Empire Development.

EMPIRE ADVERTISEMENTS ADDRESSED TO LABOUR

I enclose a 'pull' of an advertisement issued by the Empire
Marketing Board and inserted as a full page in the 'Daily Herald'
and the Labour and Cooperative Weeklies. This advertisement was
drafted by Tom Johnston and will give you a fairly good idea of
his robust Imperial commonsense. [5] I feel fairly sure that
nothing I have been able to do has been more useful than the move
to get Labour on the Empire Marketing Board.

THF EMPIRE MARKETING BOARD

The work of the Board and of its Committees continues to occupy a
great deal of time and thought. I hope I have arranged for Dr.

Hill [6] F.R.S., the Director of Kew Gardens, and thus the head of
the Botany world, to visit Australia in November and December. I
have been discussing with Walter Elliot [7] the idea of the Empire
Marketing Board offering to send a highly qualified man to
Australia to discuss with the Commonwealth Council for Scientific
and Industrial Research the details of the Tropical Agricultural
Research Station. We are a little dubious whether Dr. Martin Leake
[8], the ex-dircctor of the Imperial College, would prove the best
man and are, therefore, casting about for some one else.

Today I had Prof. Watt [9], of Sydney University and of the
Commonwealth Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, to
lunch to meet Walter Elliot.

I am looking forward to the arrival of Mr. Julius [10] and hope to
arrange very useful meetings when he is here.

On the Research side generally I hope you will encourage the
C.C.S.I.R. to put forward plans for cooperation between themselves
and the Empire Marketing Board.

On the Publicity side I have a report almost completed which I
hope to be able to send to you by this mail. I am sending a copy
to Mr. Paterson [11] and giving one to Mr. Bell [12], as Chairman
of the joint Publicity Committee.

Tallents [13] sent me this week some cuttings from the 'Sydney
Daily Guardian' attacking the Empire Marketing Board. The dates of
issue were 30.3.27, 31.3.27 and 1.4.27. The only serious part of
the attack is a statement attributed to Capt. Dunn [14], Minister
of Agriculture for New South Wales, to the effect that he had been
informed by 'a high official at Australia House' that the Empire
Marketing Board was a useless body. I am writing in fuller detail
to Mr. Paterson in regard to these articles.

I am enclosing a brief pamphlet just printed by the Empire
Marketing Board as a popular explanation of its work and appeal.

[15]

THE IMPERIAL ECONOMIC COMMITTEE

The work of the Imperial Economic Committee jogs along but today
we approved an entirely new plan of procedure which Chadwick [16]
and I had elaborated. This will, I believe, help to teammate the
Committee. We shall, I think, be able to produce a good report on
Fish but after this session I hope for really substantial progress
and for the consideration of four or five subjects at once and for
the issue of four or five reports annually.

Under the new procedure the main session will be from early
February to the end of July, with a Standing Committee to consist
of half the Committee, i.e. two from Great Britain and one from
each Overseas Delegation to deal with all the preparatory work and
for such matters as are not completed in the Main Session. I feel
sure that it would be advisable for you to try to arrange for me
to have a colleague from February to July, and I would suggest the
appointment of a man for general reasons rather than as an expert
for, with several subjects under review, the situation will not
call for an expert. Arrangements are also being made for each
delegation to be allowed expert assessors. if, therefore, any
person who would be really useful on any subject under review is
visiting London, perhaps I might be advised as to whether I could,
if I considered it desirable, ask for his temporary services as an
assessor.

I hope shortly to send you a set of the new Standing Orders which
fully describe the new procedure.

BUSINESS DELEGATION

Sir Charles Davis [17], of the Dominions Office, told me the other
day that the progress of getting the Business Delegation together
had been delayed by a rather bad break by Mond. [18] As a result
of your cable, Mond was confidentially approached about a member
of the Board of the Imperial Chemical Industries serving. He
promptly sounded Sir Max Muspratt [19] rather to the disgust of
the Dominions Office. Davis gave me no further news as regards
developments.

Yours sincerely,
F. L. MCDOUGALL