4 .sx PUBLICITY .sx 165 .sx Publicity in connection with oversea settlement may be said to have begun so far as the United Kingdom Government is concerned , with the establishment in 1886 of the Emigrants' Information Office , which was managed by a small unofficial Committee under the Chairmanship of an official of the Colonial Office .sx It made available to the general public accurate and up-to-date in-formation regarding conditions in other parts of the Empire , as well as in foreign countries .sx The functions of the Emigrants' Information Office were absorbed by the Oversea Settlement Department on its formation in 1919 .sx In 1925 , a Sub-Committee of the Oversea Settlement Committee was appointed to deal with the question of publicity and in 1927 , on the recommendation of this Sub-Committee , a Publicity Branch of the Oversea Settlement Department was formed in order to unify and develop the publicity work of the Oversea Settlement Department and the Society for the Oversea Settlement of British Women , and to co-operate with the Oversea Employment Branch of the Ministry of Labour .sx 166 .sx The publicity work in connection with migration which was subsequently undertaken by the Oversea Settlement Department came under three broad divisions :sx The supply of accurate and up-to-date information to prospective settlers , both " assisted " and " unassisted , " on matters likely to affect them during their migration and settlement overseas .sx The development , through the schools , through social and other organisations and through the press , of general know-ledge of , and interest in , the various countries of the Empire .sx Propaganda with the object of the direct recruitment of settlers .sx 167 .sx With regard to ( i ) , we are of the opinion that the publication by the Oversea Settlement Department of handbooks and leaflets containing accurate information in regard to passage and other arrangements and general conditions in the Dominions and Colonies , as well as in foreign countries , should be continued in the future .sx Such information should be available to every migrant , whether assisted or unassisted , who desires to obtain it .sx 168 .sx With regard to ( ii ) , we regard it as important that children in the schools should become familiar with general conditions in the countries of the Empire .sx We recommend that there should be effective co-operation in this respect between the Oversea Settlement Department , the offices in this country of the representatives of Dominion Governments and the educational authorities .sx From .sx the point of view of the general public , we recommend that close contact should be maintained between the Department and the Press , and that when conditions again become favourable for migration , the arrangements formerly made by the Department for lectures , discussions , wireless talks , etc. , on Empire subjects should be resumed and extended .sx With regard to ( iii ) , the whole tendency of our report is to emphasise the fact that migration should properly be considered as a process of pulling , not pushing .sx Propaganda may easily become definitely a process of pushing , and we are of the opinion that such propaganda is generally undesirable .sx Where propaganda can be justified , it must obviously be carried out with the greatest discretion .sx Even when it is not definitely misleading , it can be responsible for much disappointment and even suffering .sx There have undoubtedly been instances in the past of propaganda which exaggerated the prospects overseas , and some of the results of such propaganda have recently received a good deal of attention .sx For these reasons we feel that publicity should aim at the dissemination of full and reliable information as to opportunities overseas so that potential migrants may be in a position to form their own opinion as to their chances of settling successfully in the country concerned .sx It is clear that all propaganda from whatever source relating to settlement overseas will in the future require to be carefully watched by the Central Committee on Oversea Settlement to which we refer in paragraph 178 .sx We recommend that for this purpose , this body should keep closely in touch with the responsible Dominion Authorities so that effective supervision may be maintained over any efforts in the United Kingdom to attract migrants .sx In the preceding paragraphs of this Report , we have ex-pressed the general view that the most powerful stimulus to migration is a state of prosperity in the Dominions overseas , bringing with it a demand for new population .sx The existence of favourable economic conditions overseas will in fact provide the greatest attraction for new migrants and form the best kind of publicity for oversea settlement .sx VII .sx - MACHINERY FOR THE FORMULATION AND .sx ADMINISTRATION OF POLICY .sx GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS .sx It seems to us that there are special considerations affecting the formulation and administration of migration policy which render it desirable that the Minister and Department primarily concerned should be assisted by external advice .sx The fact that , if our recommendations are accepted , such a policy will to a large degree be carried out by non-governmental organisations would in itself , in our opinion , render it desirable that those organisations should be associated with the Government in its administration .sx Moreover , in relation to a subject in which the public displays so close an interest , with regard to which new proposals are constantly being put forward , and which is concerned , in a very direct manner , with the future lives and happiness of many thousands of human beings , there is much to be said for the appointment , as advisers to the responsible Minister , of a body or bodies who can afford assurance to Parliament and to the public both that expert opinion from other than official sources is available to the Government in considering new proposals , and that administration by the Government and the responsible unofficial bodies is being properly co-ordinated .sx In fact from the beginning of direct intervention by government in migration in 1919 , a committee composed partly of Ministers , partly of officials drawn from various Departments and partly of other persons has been associated more or less directly both with the formulation and administration of policy .sx The Committee was appointed " in view of the need for creating machinery to enable His Majesty's Government to deal effectively with the problems which are likely to arise during the period of reconstruction after the " , and it appears never to have had any other terms of reference .sx A study of its records will show that it has at various times exercised the functions of an executive Committee or of an advisory Committee , or of both .sx We are of opinion that any body which is appointed in accordance with the suggestion in paragraph 171 should be purely advisory and that no executive functions should be assigned to it either by statute ( as has from time to time been proposed ) or otherwise .sx It is unlikely that Parliament or the public would ever be prepared effectively to relieve the Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs of his responsibility for the day to day administration of the Oversea Settlement Department , and a Minister should not be placed in a position in which he is held responsible for the executive actions of a Committee which he cannot effectively control .sx On the other hand , a purely advisory body , if properly constituted , can be of great assistance in acting as a liaison between the Government and the public , and between the Government and the Voluntary Organisations , in keeping a watch upon the execution and progress of approved schemes , and in bringing new ideas to notice and examining and reporting upon the schemes which are from time to time submitted to the Secretary of State or brought to the notice of Parliament or the public .sx The existing Oversea Settlement Committee has advised on both the formulation and the administration of migration policy .sx We are not convinced , however , that , in its present constitution , it is the best possible body for performing either function .sx We .sx have endeavoured in this Report to give expression to the view that migration policy cannot be dealt with as a separate subject but is intimately associated with economic policy as a whole .sx It seems to us to follow that the Secretary of State , whilst continuing to be responsible for all matters relating to oversea settlement , should , on matters of policy as distinct from administration , be advised by a Committee some of whose members are selected with a view to their special experience of economics and finance .sx As regards the administration of policy , on the other hand , we think , for the reasons already stated , that the voluntary organisations should be represented on any Committee which may be appointed to assist the Secretary of State .sx Neither economics , finance , nor the voluntary organisations , as such , are represented on the Oversea Settlement Committee as at present constituted .sx Furthermore , in our opinion , a Committee whose function it is to advise on the economic and financial implications and possibilities of new schemes submitted to the Government is hardly appropriate for the consideration of detailed questions arising out of the day to day administration of such schemes when approved , nor on the other hand is a body whose duty it is to advise upon the administration of schemes necessarily well fitted to consider whether those schemes are well founded from the economic point of view .sx Need for two advisory bodies .sx In these circumstances we recommend that two advisory bodies should be set up , one to be known as the Oversea Settlement Board , the other as the Central Committee on Oversea Settlement .sx In order to secure a proper liaison between the two , they should have the same Chairman , and at least one other member in common , and the Secretary of the Oversea Settlement Department should be Secretary to both bodies .sx The Oversea Settlement Board .sx The function of the Board should be to consider and advise the Secretary of State upon specific proposals for schemes of migration within the Empire and upon any matter relating to Oversea Settlement which may be referred to it by him , and it should meet as often as may be required for this purpose .sx We recommend that the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs should be Chairman of the Board and that the members should be one of the Assistant Under-Secretaries of State in the Dominions Office , a representative of the Treasury and three persons nominated by the Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs .sx The term of office of the three members nominated by the Secretary of State should be three years , but on the first appointment one such member should be appointed for one year , one for two and one for three .sx The nominated members should be eligible for re-appointment .sx The Central Committee on Oversea Settlement .sx The function of the Committee should be primarily to pro-mote co-operation , through the voluntary organisations represented on it and through the local Committees referred to in paragraphs 179 to 181 , between the Government and the voluntary organisations and between the voluntary organisations themselves .sx It should , in our opinion , meet at regular intervals , and should have before it a progress report from the Oversea Settlement Department .sx In addition it should be open to any member of the Committee to place on the Agenda any matter relating to the administration of migration policy .sx We recommend that the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs should be Chairman of the Committee and that the members should be one of the Assistant Under-Secretaries of State in the Dominions Office as Vice-Chairman , a representative of the Treasury , a representative of the Ministry of Labour , one representative of each of the main political parties , one representative of each approved voluntary organisation , two representatives of shipping , one representative of organised labour , and three other persons nominated by the Secretary of State , of whom at least one should be a woman .sx The three members nominated by the Secretary of State should be appointed on the same conditions as to term of office as the three nominated members of the Board .sx Local Organisation .sx Shortly before the rapid decrease in migration which set in about 1930 , a number of local Committees had been formed , with the encouragement of the Oversea Settlement Committee , in cities or counties , for the purpose of stimulating and assisting migration within their respective areas .sx Some of these Committees confined their operations to the provision of publicity and information ; others undertook actual recruiting ; others , and these were the most active and successful , in addition to the activities mentioned above , established , financed , and maintained , with the assistance of grants from the Oversea Settlement Vote , local training centres for boys or women .sx