IMPERIAL WAR CONFERENCE.

Press, Volume LIII, Issue 15939, 28 June 1917, Page 11

IMPERIAL WAR CONFERENCE.

MR MISSBY'S VIEATS.

(FROM OCR OWN CORRESPONDENT.) LONDON, May 4 It is not at all surprising that the members of the Imperial War Conference and the Imperial War Cabinet should show some reticenco about their doings, for there is much nowadays, apparently of the most innocent nature, that may give information to. the enemy. For this reason there were nemo subjects that Mr Massey would • not discuss at all, and on others he would not talk with as much freedom as one would have wished. Tho Empire at largo is undoubtedly more affected by the resolution on Imperial preference than by any other of the decisions. As it is now worded, it does not necessarily imply tariff protection, for there aro half-a-dozen other ways of giving' preference. }3ut it does imply a very great deal witnout going so far as to adopt tho congratulatory remarks of Professor Hewins that it is "the greatest thing that has happened for hundreds of vears," and that it "makes the British and ruins the German Empire." The resolution as passed is as follows:— "The time has arrived when all possible encouragement should be given to the development of Imperial resources, and especially to making the Empire independent of other countries in respect of food supplies, raw materials, and essential industries. With this object in viow this Conference expresses itself in favour of: 1. A system by which each part of the Empire, having duo regard to the interests of our Allies, will givo specially favourable treatment and facilities to the produco and manufactures ol : the other parts of tho Empire. 2. Arrangements by which intending emigrants from tho United Kingdom raav be induced to stay in countries tmtler .the British flag." The resolution was fullv threshed cut in both the Cabinet and the Conference, and it goes forth to the world as something well approved by the Councils to which the Empire has turned in its extremity. As to what it entails, Mr Massey was careful not to commit himself. I asked him specifically if it meant tariff protection, and. his reply was that that W»ts not\a matter for the Conference. Rich country in this matter, as in others, must work towards the commori end by its own methods, and it wag not wise to that tho only, or even the most important, form of (irotection was the Customs tariff. There wero bounties and subsidies and a host of other preferences which could all help powerfully in the consolidation o[ the Empire on tho lines suggested. "I think the subsidising of shipping between the centre of the Empire and the outlying Dominions must be a very important measure of preference. This lias never been attempted yet by Great , Britain. It resolves itself into this— that subsidies will he so arranged that our shipping will .be able to carry British products at sufficiently low rates to encourage tho production within our realms of everything essential to our maintenance." "Would the Dominions require to make any further advances beyond what they have done in the way of preference?" ... , "Yes," replied Mr Massey, "further legislation may be necessary in the Dominions. The Dominions have laid thp foundations of the policv already, and I think they will certainly have to' meet the Old Country in the niattoTi Part of tho subsidies will have to come from each of the countries interested." Asked if there was any suggestion of ritual State control of shipping, Mr f "Massey replied that subsidies entailed St(ite control to a considerable extent.. When shipping companies. received Government subsidies they arranged their finance, freights, etc., on that basis, and as the Government could withhold the snbsidv if it was not satisfied it -vreally exercised a very important measure of control. WHAT CAN THE DOMINIONS GET? The Dominions •, have, fortunately, been able to discuss this great Imperial question without anv strong necessity for seeing what they could got out of it. The oversea producer has been doing fairly well, and ho can look with some equanimity on tho steps recently taken to assist the producer of the Old Country. A little thought shows that there is really not muck that the oversea producer can expect in the way of extra profits. There may be a Customs duty on wheat to inako good the promises of a fixed price for a period of years. That may or may not help Australia. It cortainly does not affect New Zealand. Mr Massey was reluctant to discuss ■ Customs tariffs at all, inasmuch as it is not certain that this will be tfie method adopted by the Old Country to make Imperial preference a reality. If there were a light duty on foreign butter and cheese, the producers of New Zealand would reap some benefit; ] and it was that something ; should be done to revive and create new sugar industries in the Empire if we wished to avoid a repetition of what we were now experiencing. Mr Massey doubts whether there will bo any duty on wool, as it is tho raw material of one of tho most vital of British industries. The meat question is r.n increasingly important one for .Australasia. and there was no suggestion of dealing with it on a separate basis. Tho Conference did, however, investigate very carefully the matter of the centralisation of tho meat imports in the pert of London, and tendencies to trust manipulation. THE PACIFIC ISLANDS. Mr Massey did not care to divulge anything about the future of the Pacific Islands, for the all-important reason that several of these islands, though held by Australasia, as we believe, for all time, cannot with propriety be so regarded until after the peace conference. Tonga remains, as before, a nominally independent kingdom nhich had the recent prerogative of declaring its neutrality in the war against tiie Kaiser: but Tonga is a protectorate

within the orbit of New Zealand, destined to be administered from the Dominion before long, in accordance with the old dream of Sir George Grey. Samoa will, of course, come in the same orientation.

Looking farther afield, to India, Mr Massey does not think the recognition of that Empire as practically an equal partner in the British comity alters the matter to any great extent. Certainly it will make it easier rather than more difficult for tho Dominions to ncgotiato with India round tho Council table about such mat-tors as Indian emigration. The New Zealand Prime Minister docs not, however, anticipate any further difficulties in this connexion. The policy of making openings in the Indian Army for New Zealand officers is likely to be developed to our benefit.

It is scarcely possible for the War Cabinet to discuss large mattor < ! of naval policy, which will undoubtcdlv be one of the main questions for the conference which we all hope will meet next year to discuss the terms of peace. The naval experts are all too fully engaged to-dav in the real purposes for which the Navy exists to devot© any attention to after-war policies. THE SHIPPING PROBLEM. Asked what was tho outlook with regard to tonnage to bring New Zealand produce to London, Mr Massey said:— '"The whole shipping question is in a very difficult and awkward position at present. The plain and simple fact is that on account of so many ships being required for Great Britain and her Allies during the war, a number of ocean liners have had to be withdrawn from the Australasian run, where they could only make one voyage in the time they took to make two or mora from the Argentine or to North American ports. I think the best we can hope for is to have enough ships to take away from New Zealand the surplus produce of this season so as to carry us over, with the storage space wo have in New Zealand, until the next season. I havo the best reasons for hoping that we shall be ablo to do that unless something unforeseen occurs."

As for alternatives, Mr Massey said it was out of the question to ship produce to tho Pacific Slope of America and rail it across Canada and the United States. That would entail much handling, and there would bo a great deal of deterioration of refrigerated produce in the long land journey. Moreover, the real danger zone was £ho Atlantic, and that had to be faced whatever way the produce came. As things look at present, Mr Massey added, there is no need to entertain the possibility of having to convert a quantity of our frozen meat into manure in order to give it back to tho land and to help tho producers to work off their stocks. SOLDIER SUBJECTS. One or two minor matters discussed at "tho Conference very closely interest our soldiers on active service. The Conference passed a resolution recommending the British delegates at tho peace conference to endeavour strenuously to have Gallipoli placed under British control if only for the sake of the graves of our men there. The graves would then be under the caro of the Commission which is being established tinder the presidency of tho Prince of Wales to look after soldier cemeteries in every theatre of war. The French Government has handed over in perpetuity to the British the land in France containing tho graves of our soldiers there, and the same has been done by Belgium. . Another important matter which looks quite sentimental to people with tho minds of commission agents is the recommendation that Now Zealand soldiers who have never enjoyed anv leave in the Old Country shall bo given at I least a fortnight's furlough here before returning to their homes. This decision, which presumably would apply also to Australian soldiers, has been approved by the War Office.