The Dominion MONDAY, DECEMBER 28, 1925. TOLERANCE AS AN IMPERIAL ASSET

Dominion, Volume 19, Issue 79, 28 December 1925, Page 6

The Dominion MONDAY, DECEMBER 28, 1925. TOLERANCE AS AN IMPERIAL ASSET

A thotv-hlLul contribution to the discussion of Imperial problems was made by Sir Halford Mackinder (well known as chairman of Imperial Shipping and Economic Committees) in a recent address to the Royal Colonial Institute. Coming as they did from one who has been in close touch for several years past with responsible representatives of all parts of the Empire, his observations were of exceptional interest and value. Sir Halford Mackinder’s address may be summed up as a plea for the application to inter-imperial affairs of a spirit of tolerant patience. His reading of recent history (he said) was that the nations of the Empire had been engaged during the last two generations in breaking down the wrong links of Empire in order to clear the ground for new methods which should be more in harmony both with our fundamental principles and with the needs of the twentieth century world. We had expressed the one tendency bysubstituting the idea of the Commonwealth of Nations for the older idea of Empire The vital need of to-day was to find new methods which would enable our several nations to act independently in their several local spheres that he was sure, was quite inevitable—yet should enable them to act so flexibly together with such a common front that they were never absorbed into those'local spheres and drawn apart from one another. The abandonment of obsolete links of Empire obviously is a necessary preliminary to the evolution of such an organisation as vvill enable the Empire to play a worthy part in the modern world. Undoubtedly also a mutual spirit of tolerance _ and a readiness to make reasonable allowances for the local point of view of each partner State of the Empire must be the keynote ol all successful effort to build up such an organisation. Some questions are raised or are about to be raised, notably that of the ratification of the Locarno Pact, on which it seems almost hopeless to anticipate perfect unity within the Empire. _ Failure to reach completely united agreement on such an issue evidently must weaken the Empire to some extent for the time being, but it would be going much further than the facts warrant to assume that Imperial unity in foreign policy is an unattainable ideal. Against the reluctance of some of the Dominions to enter into international commitments there is to be set the much greater fact that the partner States of the Empire are linked in a deep underIvin* unity. The difficulty of arriving at complete unity in such a matter as the ratification of the Locarno Pact arises out of local circumstances which cannot be disregarded in particular Dominions, but are in no way inconsistent with fundamental agreement on questions affecting the Empire as a whole. In the extent to which the Empire is handicapped and placed at a disadvantage by the refusal of. some of its States to accept international commitments, the situation is likely as time: goes on to produce its own remedy. The organisation of the League ot Nations and treaties like the Locarno Pact represent in common an attempt to safeguard peace by the establishment of mutual guarantees and by the promotion of understanding and encouragement oI cooperation between nations. If the Empire is prevented from. aiding progress on these lines by the refusal of some ol the Dominions to ratify particular treaties, the facts of the. case will provide these Dominions with weighty reasons for reconsidering their attitude. . It is clear in any case that the effective growth of Imperial organisation must depend vitally upon a readiness ,in each. Empire country to make all proper allowances for the point of view that obtains in others. This, of course, does not mean that any restrictions should be placed on the freedom of discussion. .On the contrary unhampered freedom of discussion and an enterprising improvement of the existing machinery of inter-imperial consultation must re relied upon as' the principal means of creating the spirit of understanding and toleration which will make it possible to build up an effective Imperial organisation.