MUTUAL AID.

Auckland Star, Volume LVII, Issue 276, 20 November 1926, Page 9

MUTUAL AID.

SOLVING EMPIRE PROBLEMS. IMPERIAL CONFERENCE WORK ARRIVING AT DECISIONS. (By Cable. —Press Association.—Copyright.) (Received 10.30 a.m.) LONDON, November 19. The Imperial Conference adopted the reports dealing with forestry, taxation of State enterprises, the proposed survey of Empire trade, and the taxation of non-resident traders. The conference passed a resolution appreciating the valuable work of the Imperial Shipping and Economic Committees, and decided that the latter should continue, ad hoc, as the basis of a complete series of investigations of marketing the Empire's foodstuffs, inquiries for various Governments dealing in raw material, and preliminary surveys of Empire trade. COMMITTEE DELIBERATIONS. The report of the Forestry Sub-Com-mittee welcomed the Australasian Governments' invitation to hold a third Forestry Conference in Australia in 1928. It recommends active preparation for the conference and participation in it by the Governments of the Empire. The sub-committee has referred the constitution of the Empire Forestry Bureau to the conference. The Economic Sub-Committee, dealing with the uniform taxation of enterprises of foreign governments, quoted the announcement of the Australian and New Zealand delegates that their governments have accepted the principle of taxation of Government trading enterprises, the existing law providing sufficient authority for the necessary assessments. The sub-committee considered that in some measure an inter-Imperial agreement warranted negotiating with foreign governments with a view to concluding reciprocal agreements for the mutual taxation of their trading enterprises. The Dominion Prime Ministers finally wrestled with the two major questions of inter-Imperial relations and treaty obligations. After a three-hours' sitting they agreed upon their report, which may be presented to the conference to-morrow. They will also submit a resolution which will contain a broad general declaration which all the Dominions can feel will give them a little more elbowroom and conduce to a better understanding. MIGRATION. The Migration Committee will submit a voluminous report, largely a review of the achievements and disappointments of the last three years. The committee's resolution will be couched in general terms and will recognise the impossibility of any mass movement from Britain. It will urge adherence to the existing policy and an immediate investigation as to the possibilities of its elaboration. The delegates also discussed the international aspects of migration. It was agreed that there should be a strong Empire attitude to ensure that each Dominion should keep her own immigration in her own hands, no matter what attempts may be made at Geneva or elsewhere to create an international organisation.