OVERSEA SETTLEMENT COMMITTEE. This im portant body was appointed in 1919 to assist and advise the Brit ish Government in their policy of undertaking closer responsibility than they had exercised in the past in connection with the move ment of British subjects wishing to settle in other parts of the empire or to emigrate to foreign countries. The functions of the Emigrants' Information Office, which was established in 1886, were absorbed by the Oversea Settlement Committee. The presi dent of the committee is the secretary of state for dominion affairs. It is a representative and non-political body, composed partly of official members representing various Government de partments and partly of unofficial members. The staff of the committee forms a department (the oversea settlement depart ment) of the Dominions Office.
The committee is entrusted with the administration of the Empire Settlement Act, 1922, which now forms the basis of the policy of State-aided empire settlement. The act was passed as
the result of a conference with representatives of the self-govern ing dominions in 1921 and empowers the secretary of state "in association with the Government of any part of His Majesty's Dominions, or with public authorities or public or private organ isations either in the United Kingdom or in any part of such Dominions, to formulate and co-operate in carrying out agreed schemes for affording joint assistance to suitable persons in the United Kingdom who intend to settle in any part of His Majesty's Oversea Dominions." Such schemes may take the form of de velopment or land settlement schemes, or of schemes for facilitat ing settlement overseas by assistance with passages, training or in other ways. The contribution of the secretary of state may not exceed half the cost of any approved scheme and the maximum expenditure allowed under the act in any one year is £3,000,000.