Dear Mr. Bruce,

I have already written you a special letter about one point
connected with Migration. [1] There have not been any happenings
of especial significance this week.

IMPERIAL ECONOMIC COMMITTEE

I learnt this morning that the Chairman [2] proposes to hold the
first meeting of the Dairy Produce Enquiry on May 11th. I also
learnt that it is probable that the personnel of Mr. Amery's [3]
Advisory Spending Committee will not be announced until after this
first meeting.

If this is true, I regret the delay because if any first fruits of
the policy of Voluntary Preference are to become available before
the Imperial Conference, Amery will have to set to work at the
earliest possible date. I understand that my name has been
suggested to Mr. Amery as one member of his Advisory Body.

FRUIT REPORT

The date of publication of the Fruit Report will not be until May
7th. This is largely due to the pressure on the Stationery Office
but, with a little energy, we could have published some time ago.

I am going to do all I can to get effective newspaper comment for
the Report.

THE DRIED FRUIT ECONOMIC ADVERTISEMENT

I enclose a reproduction of the 'Times Trade Supplement'
advertisement. [4] In this form the advertisement is being sent to
all Wholesale and Retail Grocers and to many other people. I
enclose a copy of letters which I received this morning from Lord
Stamfordham [5] and from certain ministers to whom I had sent a
copy.

MIGRATION

On Tuesday I invited Miss Margaret Bondfield [6] to lunch in order
to introduce Major Greene [7] to her.

As you know Miss Bondfield is a member of the Overseas Settlement
Committee and takes the keenest interest in migration. We had an
interesting talk. Miss Bondfield was much concerned about alleged
excessive charges against migrants in Western Australia which I
understood from her the Overseas Settlement Committee are
investigating.

Major Greene asked her whether she thought a useful purpose would
be served if the Commonwealth Government invited the British
Labour Movement to send a delegation to Australia to (a) enquire
into conditions of migration on the spot (b) confer with the Labor
Party in Australia on migration.

Miss Bondfield was strongly of opinion that any such arrangement
would be most useful. She expressed the strongest conviction that
all assisted migrants for land settlement should receive a
preliminary training in Great Britain. She did not mean a training
to take the place of training in Australia but she explained that
only 6% of the British people lived in agricultural areas and that
the second generation of urban dwellers lost all sense of the
land.

Under these circumstances she felt that many failures, damaging to
the idea of migration, would be obviated if applicants had to
undergo from four to six months land training here. They would
learn to milk, to handle farm horses and would begin to realise
whether they were fitted for land settlement. I believe she
convinced Major Greene.

So far as I am concerned, I have long held the view that something
of this sort is necessary. In the best interests of the Empire as
a whole I do not believe that it is advisable for us to seek to
encourage the migration of the British skilled agricultural
worker, and I believe the proper stamp of urban dweller will make
a good land settler but his aptitude for the land should receive
some preliminary test here.

TOM JOHNSTON [8] M. P.

Today Tom Johnston had lunch with me. I have on several occasions
told you how high an opinion I am taking of this Labour Member. He
has recently spent several months in India and I find that he has
broadened very considerably as a result.

I regard Johnston as being the most useful medium for spreading
Empire ideals in the Labour Party. My reasons are that he wisely
insists on maintaining a predominantly labour point of view on
Empire questions, unlike J. H. Thomas [9] and Haden Guest [10] who
have both tended to depart rather far from the Labour standpoint.

He is also a definitely Left wing man.

Johnston says that Moscow continually invites Labour members to
visit Russia and carries on a ceaseless propaganda. He wants to
see plenty of opportunities made for Labour members to investigate
Empire problems on the spot. He hopes that a couple of real Left
Wingers, such as Kirkwood [11] and Purcell [12], will be included
in the Empire Parliamentary Delegation to Australia. He wants to
see the next twelve to eighteen months well used on the education
of Labour as to what the Empire can be made to mean.

He and I discussed what Empire countries could be visited by
Labour members in the near future. We formed vague schemes about
Palestine, Iraq, British Guiana and West Africa. I put the idea of
a Labour Delegation on Migration to Australia and he very strongly
supported the idea.

I will write to you further about Johnston and his views next
mail. I now want to draw your attention to this idea of a Labour
Delegation to Australia.

Would it not be possible for your Government to invite the British
Trade Union Conference to send a delegation of, say, five, three
men and two women, (to include I hope Miss Bondfield) to visit
Australia. The purpose of the visit to be definitely laid down to
be
(a) to investigate migration conditions upon the spot.

(b) to confer with organized Labour in Australia on the subject of
migration and particularly on the welcome which can be expected by
British migrants from Australian labour.

If your Government made such a suggestion offering to pay the
expenses of such a visit, I think most useful purposes would be
served. To begin with the mere invitation, whether accepted or
not, would be of value. It would show that you were prepared to
put all the cards upon the table and it would cause discussion in
Labour circles. If accepted, it might have a valuable effect upon
Australian labour opinion and would certainly contribute
substantially to the education of British labour.

You might even state that you had noticed the number of parties of
British labour representatives who were visiting Russia and
desired to give British labour an opportunity of learning more
about conditions in a British Dominion.

I propose discussing the possibilities of arranging for visits of
Labour members to the Crown Colonies and Protectorates with Amery
and with Ormsby-Gore [13] when the latter returns from West
Africa.

IMPERIAL CONFERENCE

I desire to thank you for informing me by cable of your
Government's decision to agree to Economic subjects being dealt
with at the Imperial Conference and not at a separate Imperial
Economic Conference.

I am delighted to know that, in your message to H.M. Government,
you made it clear that in 1926 you attach more importance to
economic subjects than even in 1923.

SPECIAL ARTICLES

I enclose the sixth article from the 'Times Trade Supplement' upon
the Economic Problems of the Empire. [14]

I also enclose an interesting report of an address by Sir William
Larke, of the National Federation of Iron & Steel Manufacturers.

I further enclose a private letter. [15]

Yours sincerely,
F. L. MCDOUGALL