responsibility.
I believe that the solution of this problem can be found by creating a
'diamond apprentices protection fund'. This can be done by setting
aside a percentage from our sales. At present our customers get a
concession of 11 per cent when they should actually only get 10 per
cent. The 1 per cent is the amount London or American customers pay to
their agents. Now we could say to our customers: we shall give you
13-1/2 per cent concession (that is 2-1/2 per cent more) on condition
that you pay 3-1/2 per cent to an 'apprentice protection fund'. In
practice this would mean that our customers contribute 1 per cent and
we 2-1/2 per cent. A survey would have to be made as to how big such a
fund should be, and even if £100,000 were required it would not take long to accumulate this sum.
Our special contribution and the contribution of the employers would cease once the requisite sum was available.
He then went on to deal with the interview with the Minister of Mines.
He
said that if we definitely refused to fall in with his suggestions he
would ask the Government to undertake the responsibility itself. I
replied that if that was his final decision I had nothing more to say,
but on the other hand I felt it right to point out the difficulties.
... I pointed out that if it was dangerous for us to become involved in
the brilliant trade it was doubly dangerous for the Government because
they knew still less than we did about brilliants. I also told him that
his production did not lend itself to the training of apprentices and
that he would simply spoil valuable stones. . . .
He
told me that his chief preoccupation was the fate of the apprentices in
case of a slump in diamonds and that [others] shared this fear, and he
asked whether I could make any suggestions at all which might solve
this problem, and I gave him my idea of an 'apprentice protection
fund', making it, however, clear that I had consulted no one and was
speaking for myself alone. In addition I explained that if the Diamond
Trading Co. gave these concessions it would reduce the amount of
profit and therefore the tax payable (both excess profits tax and
ordinary).
