EMPIRE PROBLEMS

Auckland Star, Volume LXI, Issue 227, 25 September 1930, Page 7

EMPIRE PROBLEMS

CONFERENCE AGENDA

TVide Variety of Questions of

Vital Importance.

WILL LAST SOME WEEKS.

(British. Official Wireless.)

(Received 11.30 a.m.)

RUGBY, September 24.

Tie agenda of the Imperial Conference, which, begins next Wednesday, will not take final form until the arrival of the Dominion Prime Ministers next week. Canada's Prime Minister, Mr. E. B. Bennett, is now crossing the Atlantic.

General Hertzog (South Africa) is on the way from Geneva. Tie Irish. Free State delegation will arrive on Monday, and the High. Commissioner for NewZealand, Sir Thomas Wilford, is" in London, as are also many subordinate members of the different delegations.

The questions before the conference will be divided into three main categories. Firstly, inter-Imperial relations; secondly, foreign policy and defence; thirdly, economic questions.

In the general outline of the agenda which the Prime Minister, Mr. Eamsay Mac Donald, gave the House of Commons two months ago, he explained that under the heading of inter-Imperial relations will be considered the recommendations of the Committee on Dominion Leoislation and "other matters of a constituttional character, cognate to and arising those discussed in the report of the inter-Imperial Relations Committee of the last Imperial Conference held four years ago."

Foreign policy and d fence will cover peace and arbitration, reduction and limitation of armaments, and questions of defence.

The economic discussions will include general questions of trads of the Empire, including capital investments and the establishment of branch industries, the effect of branch industries, the effect of successive tariff changes and the extent and effect of inter-Imperial tariff preferences, as well as other factors, such as cartels, etc., bulk purchase and price stabilisation, development of interImperial trade by trade commissioner services, exhibitions and * general publicity, oversea settlement, co-operation of research organisations, transport and communications.

The conference is likely to last some ■weeks. Among other engagements outside the conference ■which the delegates will attend is a dinner in their honour to be given by the League of Nations' Union at which the Prince of Wales will speak. Lord Grey will preside and other speakers wiH include the Dominions Secretary, Mr. J. H. Thomas, Sir Austen Chamberlain and some of the visiting Prime Ministers.