NEW ZEALAND AND THE EMPIRE.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1077, 16 March 1911, Page 5

NEW ZEALAND AND THE EMPIRE.

REPRESENTATION OF DOMINIONS. MEMBERS SUPPORT PROPOSAL SIR JOSEPH WARD'S SPEECH. (By Telegraph—Press Association Copyright) (Roc. March 16, 0.30 a.m.) London, March 15. Upwards of a hundred members of tho House of Commons have signed the petition to Mr. Asquith supporting the New Zealand proposal that one of the subjects for discussion at the Imperial Conference should be that of the Imperial representation of the Overseas Dominions, and that practical steps should be taken to achieve this end. NEWSPAPER COMMENTS. NEW ZEALAND'S SACRIFICES. (Rcc. March 15, 11.10 p.m.) London, March 15. A number of provincial newspapers publish favourable comment on Sir Joseph Ward's speech in Sydney advocating an Imperial Defence Parliament. . The "Leeds Mercury," a Liberal organ, declares that New Zealand is always in the forefront with freshening ideas. The time, it says, is approaching when it will be necessary to establish an Imperial body to administer the • armed forces of i the Crown. The "Yorkshire Observer," in a critical article, states that Sir Joseph Ward's, proposal for an Imperial War Parliament to make a circuit of ■ the capitals of the Empire suggests Macauley's ' New Zealander on the ruins of London Bridge. Nevertheless Britain's population ensures her dominant authority for many years. The • "Manchester Courier" says _ New Zealand, with a population the eize .of that of Lancashire, has mndo sacrifices for the Empire unmatched throughout the Dominions. The spirit of the Labour party controlling the politics of tho Antipodes is very different from that of the Labourites in the Ilouse of Commons, who regard the defence of the country as a form of militarism and lunacy. ■ COMMENTS OF "THE TIMES," TIME NOT TET RIPE. (Eec. March 16, 0.55 a.m.) London, March 15. "Tho Times," in an article to-day, touches incidentally on the New Zealand proposals. It says it is not surprised at Sir Wilfrid 'Laurier's agitation for Canada's liberation from the Motherland's most favoured nation treaties in order to seek facilities to enter into arrangements with tho other Dominions or with foreign countries offering satisfactory reciprocal terms. This suggests the recognition of the im- , perative need for adequate machinery to deal with Imperial questions. Unless 6uch machinery is provided the different portions of the Empire will be in danger of adopting partial, solutions, which possibly may be difficult mutually to reconcile. The time,. though, .is perhaps not ripe for such a comprehensive scheme as Sir Joseph Ward's, but the matter is engaging growing attention in tho Motherland.' ' ■: : ■-■•[■ <-i(,