Chapter 543 – Attracting Capital

Industrial development programs cause controversy is very normal, Britain has never taken the initiative to transfer any industry, at least not at the government level, although the development of the United States in the late nineteenth century, there is a large degree of British capital, but that is not the London government’s initiative.

Even when British India had been so important to the former British Empire, London didn’t shift much industry.

Of course India’s industry was second only to Japan’s outside of the white European countries, and that was also because India had to have some industry to meet its own needs, and the British-Indian Viceroyalty undertook some capital construction to meet that need.

But leading the transfer of industry so that the colony becomes a strong complement to the British mainland? For the present Cabinet it is a novel affair.

The report on the industrial development of Malaya was hotly debated at the Cabinet meeting. Opponents argued, “Is it really time that Britain must share the pressure on the mainland through other forces.”

The voices that think we can give it a try also have their own reasons, “The facts are plain enough, the native citizens can’t work in worthless jobs forever, as the report says, we can’t sell clothes to compete with the US and the USSR. Some jobs are bound to become obsolete with the progress of time, do we expect the medieval waterman to still be active in the streets of London today?”

It was in this context that Mountbatten arrived in the Cabinet, and he didn’t think there was anything wrong with that; he had a trump card in the name of George VI, and although he wouldn’t normally use it, he was ready to move the King out of the way to achieve his own ends in anything.

The king usually does not interfere in political affairs, does not mean that the king is a poseur, in the military influence also exists, even for the army, although Britain does not have the name of the Royal Army, but the army within the army there are countless units with the prefix of Royal.

The Army also owed allegiance to the King just like the Navy and Air Force, rather than to whichever government they were loyal to.

“Louis, I didn’t expect you to be here as well, how is your work at the Admiralty, I heard that you, the newly appointed Minister of the Sea, has manifested an excessive amount of energy.” Seeing Mountbatten come to his door, Prime Minister Airdrie showed great tolerance.

Like Churchill, Airdrie had known Mountbatten from a very early age and certainly understood Mountbatten’s important position within the royal family. At the same time, he also knew that Mountbatten’s dream was to be the first sea minister, which he was equally happy to see.

On the matter of supporting Mountbatten to sit as the First Sea Lord, there is no essential difference between Adderley and Churchill.

“Oh, Honorable Prime Minister, it is very pleasing to see you. I certainly have my purpose this time!” General Mountbatten skillfully expressed his intention to come in the tone of a civil servant that White had heard, “I heard that the Cabinet is discussing fiercely about the program of overseas construction, of course I as a military man and do not know the situation, but I think that the Privy Councillor’s opinion has a lot of sense, and some of the industries belong to the sunset industry according to a new expression, and the value of retaining them is not very big anymore. ”

“Louis, you think so too?” Prime Minister Airdrie was taken aback at hearing this, and seemed to have underestimated the last Viceroy of India, even he, the Prime Minister, had only recently clarified the definition of a sunset industry, and it was crucial that the term always appeared on the telegrams from British Malaya.

“Textiles are, of course, the basic industry that any country can develop and which is the easiest to break into.” Mountbatten said with a hesitant air, following the content of his longtime telegram with Alan Wilson.

After indicating that he understood the economy, Mountbatten turned his words around and said, “Of course the thing I am most concerned about is the building of the Royal Navy.”

General Mountbatten’s dream is to be the first Secretary of State for the Sea, not to be the Commissioner of British Malaya, with the sunset industry such words to pretend to love the high and mighty on the line. The key is also to optimize the use of the Royal Navy.

Logistics and expenditures are among his responsibilities as the fourth Secretary of State for the Sea, General Mountbatten was persuaded by an argument in Alan Wilson’s telegram that once the British Empire’s overseas territories could not be preserved, the role of the Royal Navy would naturally become smaller and smaller.

Especially like the British Malaya which can supervise the Malacca Straits, once such an important colony is independent, the status of the Royal Navy will become more and more insignificant.

This would have been the historical trend, with the disintegration of the empire and the growth of the Commonwealth navies, while the traditional overseas rivals Japan, the United States and Italy, even the Soviet Union, either became allies, or the threat declined, and so overseas defense was no longer necessary.

Maintaining a large global empire was the most critical motivation for the expansion of the size of the Royal Navy in the nineteenth century, and that motivation no longer exists today. The large number of warships that maintained commuter and trade routes naturally lost their usefulness, and sooner or later they retired from history altogether.

In turn, the need to protect the British Isles has shrunk dramatically: even reduced to the size of today’s navy, which is still similar in size to the French navy, France, traditionally the first threat to the British Isles, has ceased to be a threat in the twentieth century. And other traditional European threats have become allies against the Soviet Union.

Britain would have viewed an already shrinking Royal Navy as even more insignificant if Argentina hadn’t suddenly wanted to match Britain, and it was the war on the Isle of Man that put the brakes on Britain’s ever-shrinking Royal Navy.

Admiral Mountbatten naturally did not know about the war decades later, but he wanted to be Secretary of State for the Sea, and at the same time did not want to see his lifelong quest for a Royal Navy become irrelevant when he was Secretary of State for the Sea.

So he had to use his special position in Britain to make British Malaya very important so that the Royal Navy would have the need to continue. As for Alan Wilson’s statement that he could use the Malayan colony to cover some of the logistical expenses, that was merely incidental.

Today, General Mountbatten came to the Prime Minister’s office to accomplish the goal that happened to coincide with his son-in-law’s interests. Even if he could not hammer home the point, he would try to get Prime Minister Adderley to consider the matter solemnly.

While Mountbatten was doing his persuasive work, Norman Brooke was giving his blessing to it, and Whitehall was taking a supportive attitude to this development plan, entirely for the sake of the British Empire’s influence, with no self-interest at all, and even if there was some, it was still considered to be a public-private matter.

“Actually, given the cost reasons, and the current European Common Market, I’m not so much against it.” Adderley mused for a moment, frowning slightly, “It’s just that the Foreign Minister might have some misgivings.”

The current Foreign Secretary was not Ernest Bevan, but Herbert Morrison, the deputy leader of the Labor Party. It was Prime Minister Airdrie’s opponent within the party.

Because the Labor Party doesn’t have much experience in governing and doesn’t have a lot of talent available compared to the Conservative Party, there are multiple super-ministers in the Labor government, both holding more than two ministerial portfolios at the same time. Ernest Bevin, no longer physically fit for the heavy diplomatic work, has been replaced by Herbert Morrison.

If he had not lost his parliamentary seat at the 1931 general election, it would not have been Clement Richard Airdrie, but him, who would have become leader of the Labor Party and later Prime Minister, a blow which he never got over.

“Perhaps I think it was not some plan that Herbert opposed; it may have been someone.” General Mountbatten, on hearing this, wore a look of realization, but at once withdrew his words in a retrospective direction, “Of course I have no knowledge of party affairs, nor of the particulars, but it is as many in Whitehall say, in the service of the Empire, the most important thing is to be reliable!”

Reliable! Prime Minister Airdrie mused for a moment and nodded, a trait that politicians equally considered important.

Alan Wilson’s report as usual was very informative, very much occupying space to elaborate on the importance of British Malaya. Even before sending it out, it was time for him to revise it once, taking out all the vocabulary of industrial transfer and replacing it with the more innocuous industrial support.

Said in the current European countries began to recover the background, once these originally based on the recovery of the country, the first to bear the brunt of the impact is the lowest threshold of the textile industry. Supporting the textile industry in British Malaya, within the framework of the Imperial Preference System, is equivalent to having a reliable external force to compete with European countries within the European Common Market at a much lower cost advantage.

It was also able to rally the Commonwealth, considering the location of Malaya and the centripetal force of Australia. Wouldn’t it be great to have the Commonwealth in one hand and the European Common Market in the other?

Adderley saw this telegram of support greater than the transfer, and recognized the content of this paragraph.

After General Mountbatten left the Prime Minister’s office, Prime Minister Aidley already had a hidden decision in his mind.

In British Malaya, Alan Wilson was leading Boris, the guest of Newfoundland, on a tour of the rubber plantations and tin mines. Its main purpose is to convince Newfoundland to invest.

Although he previously patted his chest to ensure that no matter London to ask for a pound, but Newfoundland is not London, should open the mouth or to open the mouth.

Returning to the High Commissioner’s Office of Administration, Alan Wilson said as he walked, “I’m not saying that it’s wrong to keep the funds, but since Newfoundland has sufficient funds, it should have a relevant investment concept. While the current life has certainly been very satisfying for the citizens of Newfoundland, who would mind having more money than they have?”

“Commissioner Allen, this one has been an eye-opener for us as well. From the few industries we observed, we fishermen are still too small for our eyes.” Boris had clearly been convinced, and the few Newfoundlanders accompanying him nodded.

“Commissioner, London calling back.” It didn’t take long for Alisa to come writhing in style, holding a telegram from London, “It’s an endorsement of the industrial support program.”

“Change support to transfer, translate and publicize it to the community. Don’t do the do-good-and-leave-no-name routine, we do one point of work and blow it up to ten points. This is the work experience left behind in British India.” Alan Wilson had a happy face and still didn’t forget to remind his subordinates to pay attention to the details.