PROBLEMS OF EMPIRE.

Press, Volume LXVI, Issue 20083, 12 November 1930, Page 3

PROBLEMS OF EMPIRE.

ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION.

MR FORBES'S SPEECH

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kO£iX)OIC, October 3. • organisations ba\ing at beart the welfare of the British Empire hit upon the happy idea ' of joining forces to entertain the overseas rime Ministers and. the representatives of India attending tlie'lmperial Conference. This function—a'very sue-' thn S ,?- easant one —took place at were i OD The hosts Pritiih it Empire Society, the F'eain* Lc *gue, the Victoria BdUsh'E^ ir tci S u r SIUS* the Su: Societies. a representative of each body received the guests, "who Pontic bo ' ]t 8 00, the . Dowager- .? 0 Jersey performing this T h o S «° n behalf of the Victoria League. H.R.H. Prince Arthur of Con-' naught presided.

splendid and historic' building •pi 1 'k es t> and all' details were 1 carried out without -a hitch, as- is the i "1 the City of London. The catering was perfect, and the table decorations were appropriately of flowers of red, white, and blue. Many people of note were present. The W entworth-Roffe orchestra gave a programme of attractive music-all very softly playeu. There were, many welldressed women, and special picturesqueness was imparted by eminent Indian I guests who wore togas of manv colours as well as Orders. ' " n, G lt StS - at , the hi S h table included: 1° the right of the Chairman—Miss Bennett (Canada), Lord Sankey (Lord Chancellor), Princess Arthur of *Conivaught Mrs Philip Snowden, the Rt. Hon. W. JBorbes, Lady Squires, Sir W«Jdgwood Benn, Mrs J. H. Thomas, Lofd Passfield, Lady Sidey. To the left— Mrs Scullin, Mr Snowden, Mrs Forbes, Rt. Hon. J. H. Scullin, Rt. Hon; J. H. Thomas, the Maharaja of Bikanir, General Hertzog, Mrs Clynes, the Maharaja of Kapurthla. Sir R. Squires and, Sir T. Sidey. Among the New Zealanders one noticed: Sir Thomas and Lady Wilford Sir James Mills, Captain J. H. F. Mills, Sir James Parr, Sir C. and Lady Holdsworth, Mr and the Hpn. Mrs Godfrey | Holdsworth, Mr F. D. Thomson, C.M.G., : Lady Saltnond, Col. and Mrs'N. Fitzj Herbert, Airs G. D. Greenwood, Dr. D. | Colquhoun, Mr S. G. Raymond, Mr and Mrs I). G. Davidson. Capt. Donald Simson, Col. Bernard . Myers, Commissoner I D. C. Lamb, Mr R. H. Studholme, Mr Robert Mill, Mr and Mrs C- J. Wray, Major J. R. Kirk, Mrs Matthew Holmes, Misses Beatrice and C. Holmes, Mrs Carey Hill, Mrs M. Wilson, Mr. J. 8. Ilyslop, Miss „E. Aiwess, and many more. Home of Ancestors; . The toast of ."His Majesty's Dominions Overseas and India" was proposed by Prince Arthur of Connauglit, who said he was charged to. ask the. Prime Ministers of . his Majesty's selfgoverning Dominions and the representatives of .India to carry home to their people of all parties, classes' and creeds an expression of the abiding, uualter-: a!»le affection, goodwill and sympathy felt towards them by the people ax Home. For many' of his Majesty's people overseas the problem ,of maintaining and giving expression' to. the. attachment which they, felt from their side tt-as, in some sense, easiet than for thf> people in the Old Cou»try. They rejmemheired'i the place of their birth, or.jfche traditional home. in Britain of their ancestors who migrated. For' th© people .in this country, however, there wprg difUcultioE for which sufficient - allowance was not always made, perhaps, oversea. Those difficulties arose out of the vastness of the Empire, the variety of its resources, and the varying aptitudes and characteristics of its constituent nations. Our people felt acutely the need of .closer, more .-inti-.j mate, and more'frequent; Qontact i the moulders of public opinion in the British, countries oversea; No less, they ! sought more intimate toiifch with ail j classes of workers, manual and intellee- i tual, in the Dominions, and a better ac : j quaintance with their daily life and i conditions of work. ~ '

"There is a growing thirst for accurate information, which is exmplified! in the. demand for authoritative addresses and broadcasting talks- on Empire subjects, in the quest for films which shall represent worthily the great resources of the Dominions and the energy and enterprise of their peoples; and in the search for opportunities, while : our people are young,' of firsthand acquaintance, with the Dominions.

"I .■confess that sometimes, 1 for my fart, i wish that a greater measure of; co-ordination in the work of these' Empire agencies were possible, and that their great and sincere vision of a mutual understanding and . helpfulness as between ail the peoples of the great , British., Commonwealth Of Nations could . secure "embodiment and expression in some worthy building 'arid all-embracing society here in the capital, of the King's Dominions.

I "It is indeed a. satisfaction to know I that a great STahiteftt - who - has e'x- | pressed British ideals in South Africa [ and India with notable'." success has I been in consultation with one : of our. societies, with a' view to the achievement of the first of these aims in, I hope, the near future. "We follow, so far as a perhaps inevitable . reticence will . permit, the course of deliberations in the Imperial Conference and its committees. Our interest is as keen whether those deliberations - relate to the subject ofstatus and functions, to the economics of the. Empire, or to its defence and its relationship with the world, in general. We,.pray that the, outcome, of this year 's discussion may be a greater unity of beneficent and well considered purpose that may assist, the peoples of. the; Empire to. battle through their present troubles and emerge finally the stronger and better equipped to accomplish the full measure of their high calling.". Replies from Premiers. The toast was responded to by the Prime Ministers of - Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the Union of South Africa, as well'as by the Secretary of State for India (the. Rt. Hon. Wedgwood Benn, D.5.0., -D.F.C.) The Prime Minister of Canada said that the task that lay before them was that of Empire ■ consolidation, and it was appropriate that , their first public function should be. in the heart of the Empire. Though'.much criticism had been levelled against their various countries their nations were not bankrupt in statecraft vet, and- the men and women scattered over the face of the globe were yet capable by guidance and leadership of achieving in the future aspirations and ideals as great, as had been achieved in the past. The economic solidarity of the' Eifipire was as- capable of achivemeiit as the development of constitutional liberties had beeu. (CJioers.) The Prime Minister of Australia-held that the greater the frcjdorp among .the. nations in the Commonwealth of ..Nations the;' closer vthe ties; ' A". silken bond could be strpn'gfer than iron "bonds; and he believed' that any; .attempt to* make the " bonds - .ban-di'4 of ' iron. • would " b®

a dangerous one, since they would only succeed in snapping them altogether. The gathering was a family one. The Empire, in common with other parts of the world ? was confronted with economic problems - of the greatest importance. It was their hope that iu this" "hour of adversity they would be able to unite their great Commonwealth ,of Nations not only in bonds of-sympathy, but in bonds of trade and ecouomic co-opera-tion. Within these great nations of theirs there were possibilities of great development in the exchange of the commodities they produced. .Let them resolve, without interfering with, the domestic -policy; of the respective nations, to start here in co-operation to build up prosperity for their people, which they were not enjoying to-day. • (Cheers.) Desire for Closer Trade. Mr Forbes said everyone in New Zealand looked upon Great Britain as their home; his own arrival had been a real home-coming. The Guildhall was only one of "our" ' treasured edificesothers he hoped to ,'see in due course. Referring to Sir Joseph Ward, ,Mr Forbes said that his late leader was a great Empire figure—a man who -contributed a fuli share in past years in assisting the development of the Empire, of ; which we are all so proud. His thought and conception were along tHe right lines. His death robbed the Empire of a very great Imperialist. Coming to the Conference, whose importance New Zealan# fully recognised, Mr Forbes said:— V

"We arft not without our worries there; both, financial- and political—and what country to-day is not but the universal wish was that the Dominion should be represented at the Conference, and by its Prime Minister, and I had a mandate to attend to which not only all' political parties but the whole country subscribed. As New Zealand's representative I come, as her former delegates have done, to contribute in every way possible to the greater consolidation of the Empire, and. the welfare and prosperity of the various parts. Thesfe undoubtedly are difficult times, difficult for all the countries of the Empire. None is without its flagging trade, unemployment and financial shortages, and this position is not peculiar to the Empire. Fortunately, within the Empire we have the elements for self-help if we can only apply them. (Applause.) ! And it is in the study of this great desideratum that I think the most important work of the Conference will lie. "There are many ways in which we can help each other in trade more than we do, though New Zealand's record so far as her purchase of Empire goods, is concerned, is one of the best. (Cheers.) Many remedies have been proposed and much data has been produced to show what can be done. Let us hope our united efforts will bring us at;least some distance along the road to a solution. The need ia urgent,, for not only is the present position causing "distress and privation where it should esist, but the progress and the development of fbe lands of our great Empire are in danger of being hindered. . .'

"In New -Zealand we have been rigorously applying scientific aids to

production with great success, and our output has increased 1 remarkably* but what is the use of it if we cannot sell at profitable prices the increased yields f. And. . that seems to be the general problem. The markets of the outside world are • closed to- us by barrierseven if we sought to enter them. We. must look more within our own family' than we have done for mutual help.. Personally, I feel confident we shall do good work. I do not make light of,the difficulties in the way, but'with a good family spirit of give and take most of them should be overcome. There are other matters which the',. Conference will have before it, but none of them, Zealand, appears at the present time so outstanding, as that to. which I have referred. Let us bring prosperity . to our Empire first, and ..get, rid of the present depression which sits like a pall upon us. We all. have' our problems, but the Mother Country's present burden is the greatest of them all. I need not speak here of New Zealand's affection for .Britain or of: our desire to help her trade in all practical ways possible.. These, things you know; but X.wish to renew once more our expressions of loyalty and close .kinship and to express the confidence of all my .fellow-countrymen that it will not be long before prosperity once more awaits upon this great land." (Loud applause.) South Africa's Position. General J. B. M. Hertzog, Prime Minister of the Union of South Africa, said if there was still heard in South Africa the voice of "dissent it only proved how human they were, and how closely akin "to you of the British Isles no less than to our good friends from other.. Dominions, and that, notonly in the tenacity of our suspicions, but equally 30 in the remedies that will sometimes suggest themselves in the tone of resentment." ■ He wondered whether there was, among their confreres from the Dominions, or, what was more, among the many loyal Scotsmen present, anyone bold enough to claim for his countrymen the virtue of never at any time having sought refuge in the consoling expedient of contemplating, if not aetuallv. threatening, "cutting the painter." The voice ■>{ dissent was not necessarily an evil, and therefore should not necessarily incur " ill-will. On the contrary, it served as a constant corrective to political self-satisfaction and self- 1 righteousness, and where it. quarrelled with the Commonwealth and CommonT I wealth co-operation, as it did in South I Africa, it should be to them a reminder I that if co-operation was to persist! Dominion independence and the sacred feeling of attachment, trust, and confidence which the people of "-the. Dominions entertained for their national freedom was something.not to.be compensated for in terms of economies or fven of Empire amenities and advantages. Where" that Was sought to-be done, they must expect to be reminded' that- in politics and political action nothing was absolute —not even the' loyalty of the most loyal of -Dominions —-and that Commonwealth 'co-operation, .£>oth ip nature-.and -extent," wbuld' ever be- in relative proportion to the consideration '

enjoyed byDominion freedom and to flw trust • and". confidence inspired'.by Commonwealth relations and'"experience. -' The Declaration -of 1926: had' nat 1 enly .made Commonwealth' co-operation possible; it had made -that co-operation a reality -by ..establishing- it tffe basis of independent Dominion freedom. So far therefore from disintegrating the Commonwealth, as some people imagined, n that. Declaration had .for the first time given to it Its true life and meaning. ; (Cheers.) ; Mr "Wedgwood Benn, JBecretary of State for India, said that the aspiration to equality of ' status as a member of the British Commonwealth, which lay in the hearts of Indian patriots was > shared by the .British, .-people. By. summoning the Round, Table Conference the British Governmenfchadprovided a means by whfeh pr.ogresa cqajd-be'made in the pursuit of aim, intractable problems treated -stubborn impediments overcome. It was fortunate that that conference was to meet' immediately Rafter the Imperial Conference, because it enabled personal contact .to be established between Indian statesmen .and .the statesmen of other nations in the Commonwealth, and assisted to a greater measure of' understanding of their mutual problems. The King's Thought for .his People. Mr Thomas proposed the health -of * "The Chairman," paying special tribute to the King. His Majesty, said' thfe Secretary, of State for,the -Dominions, appealed to the hearts of .all his people because of his kindly consideration, his love, ■ his sincerity, and abovJa_all, on account of his -generous anxiety " and kindly consideration-fqr all his subjects. ' Prince Arthur brought a message from the Duke of Connaught, and he referred to the presence at the dinner of they Maharaja of Bikanir, an old friend or many years' standing—indeed, the Prince and his family had known him since he was a small boy. The J?rince also made reference to the time lie himself had spent in South Africa.