THE PACIFIC.

Auckland Star, Volume LVI, Issue 133, 8 June 1925, Page 5

THE PACIFIC.

COMING CONFERENCE.

PROBLEMS OF THE PEOPLE.

V.M.C.A. REPRESENTED.

Twenty-five representative members of the various Y.M.C.A.'s throughout lite Dominion, will leave b.v the H.M.s. Niagara to-morrow, en route lo Honolulu, where they will attend the PanParific Convention, which opens oarly next month. At the convention, Australia, the Islands, South America and the U.S.A. will also be re),resented. The Australian representatives arrived iv Auckland to-day. and arc at present at the institution' here. Mr. A. Yarnoy, Xational Secretary for tho Dominion. will be one of the New Zealand party. At the conference the problems of the Pacific peoples will be discussed. The conference is the result of a discussion extending over three years, and will be attended by leaders of thought from all the Pacific countries. If the hope* of its convenors arc realised it should do ill..re to stir men's minds to develop friendship based upon common understanding, in short, to lay the foundation of peace in the Pacific than any event since the Washington Disarmament Conference in 1021. The conference will look out upon a network of sea-roads linking up the greater part of the human race. Steamship, cable and wireless have made the peoples of the Pacific crowd iv upon one another as if they were merely dwellers upon the cast of sonic small 'sea. This shrinkage of the Pacific enormously increases the complexity and difficulty of problems arising out of migration, and the contact of different religions, cultures, and economic systems and standards. From these contacts spring conflicts, suspicions, armaments. Japan is rapidly building cruisers; Australia has just let a cruiser contract for £.1,000,000; the American Fleet is steaming across the Pacific; a naval base is being built at Singapore hy Greot Britain. What arises out of this situation will depend upon the way the people of the Pacific handle it. At present they are not handling it. There is no general supervision of the complex and varied international life developing so rapidly in this new centre of world affairs. Merely national remedies, such as tariffs, emigration Acts, and so forth are no final remedy for what are international diseases." H is the aim of the Pan-Pacilic Conference to meet all needs affecting the Government, and general welfare In so far as it does so. Jt is claimed that it will lay the only sure foundation for any pact of governments or any Pacilic League of Nations. Origin and Scope. The idea of a Pan-Pacific Conference found birth iv discussion among Y.M. C.A. leaders in Hawaii some three years ago. It was curried a step further iv discussions between Chinese. Japanese and Americans at the V.M.C.A. world conference at Portschack (Austria) iv 1023. In 1024 a general committee representing all the Pacilic peoples was established in America to organise the conference. First conceived as a conference of the V.M.C.As. of the Pacific, it rapidly grew into a much bigger project. It is convened under the auspices of the V.M.C.A., but V.M.C.A. representatives will fbrm only a small part of the conference. The national councils of the I.M.C.A. in each country have appointed groups, as widely representative as possible, to nominate the delegation for that country and to explore tlie {.round which ia to be covered by the delegation at the conference. The character of the delegations was carefully considered. The idea of a conference of delegates representing ollieial bodies was rejected in favour of one composed of a small select group of people of inlluoiice in forming public opinion. The delegates will not necessarily be Christians, but must be at least interested in the Christian approach toward the solution of Pacilic problems. The American delegation will contain, among others, four or live leading American professors (experts on migration, race relations, international law, etc.). and presidents of several of the chief American universities and leading representatives of commerce and of the Press. Strong rlele'gations arc going from ciiinn and Japan. • Korea, the Philippine*. Australia, and Canada will also be represented. Problems Before Conference. It is hoped that the discussions will proceed with the utmost frankness, and partly for thi* reason a hard and fast programme has been avoided. The conference will have charge of its own I programme. lint the national groups have been devoting study for some I months to such questions as the followi "'" : — I 1. Problems of migration and racial | conflict. 2. Problems arising out of economic 'and commercial relationships (including | such matters as the compel ition due to | different standards of living, the ques|tion of the conservation and utilisation lof natural resources, etc. I. Ti. Political relations (this includes .the discussion of the effect on interi national relations, of types of government, and of legislation on such matters las land ownership, citizenship, immigraI tion. economic discrimination. It in- ] eludes also the discussion of political i methods of promoting peace and eoj operation I. j 4. Problems relating to ethical codes. • religions, philosophies. aims of educational systems, etc.

The Australian Delegation. j The opening statement of the Australian delegation, which xvill be delivered by Mr. S. If. Roberts, will set j out the general relationship of Australia to the Pacific. A careful statement on the White Australia policy has been prepared by the Australian group for presentation to the conference. The delegation will also be prepared to discuss such questions as Australian economic and commercial policy in relation to the Pacific, the development of international labour legislation in the Pacific, mandates, etc. Special attention will also be devoted to the possibility of developing a pact of the Pacific peoples to secure peace and afford a basis for further reduction of armaments. The work of the delegations will not end when the conference concludes. They will be required to spread amongst their own peoples the knowledge, understanding, and fellowship gained from the conference, i The conference itself will be a pre- ! liminary to a permanent Pacific Institute, to be called every two years, and to bo attended by publicists from tlie Pacific countries. If this work of Christian internationalism prospers, it may i well be tbe starting point of a new era in tlie X'acific.