THE UNWRITTEN CONSTITUTION.

Press, Volume LX, Issue 18266, 27 December 1924, Page 15

THE UNWRITTEN CONSTITUTION.

CONSULTATION WITH HIGH COMMISSIONERS. (r*ou oc» owk coixsiroKDESi-) LONDON, November SI. A new step has been taken which will undoubtedly be a roost important development in what one may call the unwritten constitution of \the Lmpirc. The Prime Minister invited the High Commissioners to a conference this week, at which the Colonial Secretary and thi,' Foreign Secretary were present. and it is understood that meetings of this kind will become a regular feature of the new Administration. These meetings are designed to be of an informal character, but the representatives of the Dominions will be kept informed of all matters of policy in which tliey are interested, and they will thus be able to pass on the information to their respective Governments. At the present time there are many important questions which will come up for discussion as the result o! the change of Government—in particular tho wide range of topics on which decisions were come to at the last Imperial Conference, and the defence of tho Pacific. Most of tho ."Dominions, too, are concerned, more or less, with the enquiry into food prices; while an immediately pressing subject is the arrangements for next year's lixhibiliou at \Vemblev,

Another matter for satisfaction, and one that may have an important bearing on the question of food prices, is the proposal of the Government to proceed with the establishment, of an Imperial Economic Committee as recommended by the Imperial Kconomic Conference last year. It was then agreed, Canada dissenting, that it was desirable to establish such a committee of persona, representing all the Governments represented in the Imperial Conference, and responsible to those Governments, to consider and advise upon any matter of an economic or commercial character referred to it by any of the constituent Governments. It was afterwards announced that the Labour Government did not sec its way to accept the proposal; but later it was stated that the Government was prepared, if the Dominions agreed, to consider the possibility of an ad hoc committee cm the

lines of the Imperial Shipping Committee. During the debate on the Preference resolutions, Mr Baldwin suggested that it might be possible to arrango with the Dominions that the enormous amount of foodstuffs that we required should bo brought into this country at cost price and distributed with the least possible margin. Siuee then there has been correspondence -with the Dominions as to the possibility of setting up a committee to consider this point, and it is expected that this problem of marketing Dominion goods will be tho first question to be brought before the Economic Committee when it is set up. An Evolutionary Step. Sir James Allen expresses the opinion that the meetings now arranged with the High Commissioners by tho Prime Minister are the next step in the evolution of inter-Imperial relationship. "The idea is," said Sir James, "that between tho various Imperial Conferences of Prime Ministers the British Prime Minister should call the representatives ot' the Dominions together and talk over what is going on, so that ive may come away with the atmosphere of I lie place upon us, and thus be able to keep our own Trime Ministers familiar with the exact position on this side. I think the meetings are likely to continue. I hope they will. "in my judgment, no one is better qualified to go to these meetings than the High Commissioners, but the Dominions will have to see to it that the men they select as High Commissioners are the very best possible. The suggestion that there should be a Trade Commissioner as* well as a High Commissioner is altogether wrong, as SO or 00 per cent, of the subjects discussed would necessarily deal with trade and tho prosperity of the Dominion. Any representative who attends these meetings must not only have a thorough knowledge of the trade questions, but he must be, in control of snv Trade Department the Government has in London. "The present arrangement cannot be improved upon—with an expert as Secretary of tho High Commissioner's Department to take over the bulk of the trade work. But the High Commissioner must control this and keep in close touch with all that, is going on. 'Without this knowledge he is not in the position to meet the authorities of the British Government, and discuss matters properly from Ihc point of view of his own Dominion. The primary producers, of course, have their own organisations, but we are able lo help them, and certainly they arc able to help us." The calling together of these meetings Sir James Allen considers a very wise step on the part of Mr Baldwin, and it has made a very good impression.