CO885-(25-26) — Page 703

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PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE

Reference :-

TILLICO 885/26

سيك

PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON

ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC-

COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO

(iv) Publications by agancies in the United Kingdom representing Colonial interests. Such agencies are not numerous and vary in their nature and in the degree of their relationship to the local Government. The principal publications of this kind are those of the Malay States Information Agency, the West India Committee and the Uganda Railway.

4. In addition to the above publications which are already in existence, it is important to notice those which it is contemplated will be issued by the Trade Commissioners, whose appointment in the Colonies has been sanctioned since this Committee was appointed. The instructions to the Commissioners will, we under- stand, require them to submit reports of the following classes, viz. :—

(a) An annual report, which will be in the nature of a general economic review, containing a survey of the agricultural, industrial and com- mercial conditions prevalent in the district, the movement of external trade and shipping, conditions of the money market, prospective commercial developments, &c., &c. These annual reports will probably be published as Parliamentary Papers and sold to the public for a few pence each.

(b) Occasional special reports and monographs dealing as exhaustively as possible with particular branches of trade and industry, with foreign competition in special classes of goods, &c. In preparing reports of this character the Trade Commissioner will often be guided by lists of questions drawn up at home with the assistance of persons or associations in touch with the particular branches of industry and commerce concerned. According to their content, these reports will either be published as separate papers, or reproduced in the "Board of Trade Journal and Commercial Gazette," or circulated confiden- tially to Chambers of Commerce, Trade Associations and firms interested.

(c) Short reports, sent as occasion may arise, notifying changes in customs tariffs or regulations and other legislation affecting trade, developments in means of transport, proposals for the execution of public works, contracts open to tender, openings for British goods, enquiries from local firms desirous of buying United Kingdom goods, &c., &c. These reports will form the basis of notices in the " Board of Trade Journal and Commercial Gazette," or be sent to Chambers of Commerce, Trade Associations and firms interested.

As regards the spheres of work of the new Trade Commissioners, we understand that, at first at any rate, two Trade Commissioners will be appointed for the Colonies not possessing responsible Governments.

One will have his headquarters at Singapore and will probably have as his sphere the Straits Settlements and the Malay States, the other will be stationed at Trinidad as Commissioner for the West Indies. Ceylon will, we gather, be served by one of the two Trade Commissioners for India, and it is hoped that similar provision will be made for other Colonies not possessing responsible Government.

5. In order to determine the adequacy of the various publications under review, we have been at pains to determine what are the different classes of readers, actual or potential, to whom suitable reports should be of value. Broadly speaking, they may for the present purpose be divided into two main categories, those whose objects are primarily commercial, and those who are concerned with the adminis- tration and welfare of the Colony, either officially or from the standpoint of general interest.

The first category consists of two distinct groups, according as the principal concern of those affected lies in acquiring, extending or preserving markets for the British manufacturer, or in the production, export or utilisation of colonial produce.

In the first group the predominant interest is that of the manufacturer in this country, though of course that of the merchant is also great. In the second group, the local producer, the colonial exporter, the British importer and the British user are all included. Lastly, the possible investor in land or other openings for capital in the Colony must not be forgotten.

The second category consists of (a) officials of the Colonial Office and the Board of Trade, and (b) those of Colonial Governments; to whom the reports are necessary

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either for present information or future reference, (c) Parliament, as being ulti- mately responsible for the whole system of government, (d) readers who take a general interest in the Colony, and (e) those who may have a special interest as possible settlers or as tourists.

It is a defect in many reports and in some of those under consideration that their nature is determined rather by the resources available to the compiler than by the needs of their possible readers. It is to avoid this defect that we have endeavoured to distinguish the different classes of readers and to bear in mind their respective needs with as much precision as possible.

6. The object of the manufacturer is, of course, to find a market for his goods. It may be that he is looking for a new market, or to extend his business in one in which he already has a footing, or to retain his hold on a market in which his trade is threatened by foreign competition. But in any case the nature of the information which can be of use to him is the same.

(i) General statements and general figures alone are of little use. Percentages showing the comparative amount of imports from the United Kingdom and specified foreign countries and totals of the main classes of imports, e.g., woollen goods, cotton goods, machinery and the like, are of interest, but, if expressed only in general terms, are of little utility except as a broad indication of the trend of trade. They should be supplemented by information of a more specific character and corresponding more closely to the actual classes of goods which an individual in a given industry produces or can produce.

(ii) Another essential is that such information should be up to date. For this reason annual reports need to be published promptly and supplemented by special reports or direct correspondence and communication.

(iii) Combined with the foregoing is the desirability that there should be some means of communicating information confidentially. It is impossible in a published report to secure that the right persons should receive the data desirable, and that the same data should not find their way into the hands of just those foreign firms with whom competition is or may be keen.

(iv) Manufacturers are scattered throughout the country. It is clearly therefore a desideratum that any useful information should be in an accessible form, and easily brought to their notice. In other words the facility should be provided them of knowing that a possible opening exists without the need of enquiring in London or it may be in Liverpool in the first instance, however necessary such enquiries may, be subsequently.

(y) Accessibility also postulates that items of information on the same or kindred subjects should be gathered together and not scattered through a number of reports for different colonies from which a busy man has not the time to disinter them.

7. It is quite clear that information in the form and of the character indicated in paragraph 6 is not adequately supplied by any of the existing official publica- tions. Here and there an item in them may be of service, but they are neither comprehensive, nor up-to-date, nor easily accessible, nor can they be confidential. Further, it is quite evident that from their nature these publications, being primarily produced for official use, cannot meet the need. On the other hand, it is equally clear that, so far as information about particular classes of goods, trade openings and trade fluctuations is concerned, what is wanted can be fully supplied by the proposed reports from Trade Commissioners and Trade Correspondents, supple- mented where necessary by confidential memoranda and personal communications from the Department of Overseas Trade (Development and Intelligence)—which Department is hereafter referred to as the Department of Overseas Trade.

8. It has, however, been represented to us that it would be of great advantage if there were some publications of a more permanent character than the proposed Board of Trade publications from which a manufacturer could gather the general nature of the conditions under which business in various localities is carried on. It is true that it is to some extent the business of the merchant, through whom the great bulk of manufactured goods are sold, to keep the manufacturer informed on these points, the study of which is his peculiar province, but it has been repre sented to us that it would be useful to manufacturers to have some easily obtainable publications from which he could obtain a general view of the trade conditions of the Empire, and an indication where detailed information on individual points

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