126 THE FUTURE 



is probably more easy of attainment than one which 

 would benefit the agricultural industry of the 

 Empire, and yet in my mind there is a far clearer 

 case for the creation of a Development and Con- 

 servation Board than there is for a Ministry of 

 Commerce. This Conservation Board would deal 

 with Land Settlement from the Imperial point of 

 view, and decide which portions of the Empire 

 stood in most need of development ; and sufficiently 

 attractive offers in the way of grants for passage 

 money and other purposes should be given to 

 induce people to settle first of all in those areas. 



***** 



Another great duty of this Board would be to use 

 its utmost endeavour to prevent any British citizen 

 from setthng outside the British Empire. It would 

 further co-ordinate the work of all existing emigra- 

 tion societies and probably finally supersede them. 

 The present irresponsible action of certain societies 

 would be checked, and the luring away of 

 adult agriculturaUsts whom we cannot spare would 

 cease. 



The issues at stake are so serious — being nothing 

 less than the consoHdation and maintenance of 

 the Empire itself — that everyone who realises this 

 should use every effort to help in developing a 

 strong public opinion and so to force the Imperial 

 Government to take up the matter. Unfortunately, 

 it has ever been one of the chief characteristics 

 of EngHsh Governments to drift, and even here it 

 seems they would much rather drift than give 

 serious thought to such a vital problem as this. 



The disinclination of Governments to call into 

 existence a new Department is, as I explained just 



