The Dominion. THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 1944. GETTING DOWN TO FACTS

Dominion, Volume 37, Issue 127, 24 February 1944, Page 4

The Dominion. THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 1944. GETTING DOWN TO FACTS

There lias come from Sir Keith Murdoch, a leading Australian publicist, a douche of realism regarding the Canberra Pact that will serve a most useful purpose. His commentary has added force because he can state that “the resentments have begun and the snubs are arriving.” And- they were not hasty, unconsidered criticisms, for correspondents in the United States have remarked on th?‘fact that for some time after the terms of the pact were announced there was practically no comment from official quarters, or in the American newspapers. With the exception of some brief but pointed criticism from three members of Congress who had recently visited the South and South-west Pacific zones the flamboyantly-worded pact was received almost in silence there. When the terms of the pact were first announced we drew attention in these columns to the assumed finality, quite untimely and uncalled for in the circumstances, of an agreement between two States that not so very long before had been for aid in the defence of their own possessions. Yet, referring to the future, they have boldly informed the world that, with regard to enemy possessions anywhere in the Pacific “they will not consent to, or recognize, the disposal of these territories except with their agreement and as part of a general Pacific settlement.” These two countries gravely declare “that no change in sovereignty or system of control of any Pacific islands should be made except by agreement to which they are parties or in the terms of which they have both concurred.” The idea that their consent regarding the future of, say, Formosa or the Bonins, must first be obtained is fantastic, and to promote a “South Seas Regional Commission” op which “there might be” representatives of other nations is, as Sir Keith has bluntly stated, locking for trouble. It is not at all difficult to see why this pact was received in various quarters with chilling silence. *. ■ . ’ In approaching the post-war problems peculiar to the South Pacific, and in the settlement of which both Australia and New Zealand could reasonably claim to have*'a voice, there are two basic considerations that must always be kept .in mind. Both countries are self-governing units of the British Commonwealth yet Britain was not consulted by them about the pact. The other is the international aspect, and here again, as is pointed out by Sir Keith Murdoch, when conferred at Canberra there was nothing in the form of. “a thankful and comradely resolution” suitably expressing appreciation for “the aid which had saved life, home and land.” In the matter of her relations with the Mother Country the Dominion, under the pact, lias given Australia the right to prior knowledge of this country’s official decisions and views. This change was uncalled for and undesirable, and we can only emphasize the comment we made at the time that most New Zealanders would prefer that we should be unfettered in any way in submitting first hand to the United Kingdom or the British Commonwealth our own views and proposals, leaving them to be' judged on their merits, and “continue to enjoy the assured independence of a unit of the British Commonwealth of Nations.” There is another factor that must be kept in mind when the terms and implications of the pact are considered. There might have been lucre confidence in the decisions reached had the people of New Zealand felt assured that they were the result of discussions by wellinformed men, fully qualified to determine matters that would, obviously, 'have international repercussions. No doubt the visits which the Prime Minister has paid abroad since the outbreak of war,, and the access he has to confidential information regarding world politics, would enable him at least to comprehend all that was involved by joint declarations of two countries as to what they would, or would not, consent to. But what possible contribution could Messrs. Webb and Jones, the other New Zealand representatives, have made to the conference? A careful search of the records would not disclose either an intimate acquaintance or even a strong interest on their part . in these great issues. ' If Mr. Webb’s contributions were on a par with his reported references to the almost complete absence of labour troubles in the Dominion then clearly they cannot have added much to a careful, accurate or dispassionate study of the problems of the Pacific. The new Parliament will, it is understood, discuss the Canbeira pact sprung on the country without preliminary notice, drafted and agreed to by the representatives of the two Governments in such a short time, and finally ratified before being referred .to Parliament for consideration. The unnecessary haste shown in dealing with so vitally important a matter throws on the elected representatives of the. people an added responsibility. The trend of the agreement, making the route of this Dominion’s representations and proposals, on Imperial matters run via Canberra instead of direct to London, is not in harmony with the general sentiment of our people. There is, too, the very serious question of whether the two contracting countries together can command the strength to establish and maintain a regional zone of defence” in the South and South-west Pacific and this fact must be frankly faced. The Acting-Prime Minister, when the terms were first announced,' declared that they were “in harmony with the spmt of the Atlantic Charter,” but it has been argued on the contrary that the pact means “a further segregation of Australia and New Zealand as political influences in the Pacific Ocean,” and many will agree with the view of Sir Keith Murdoch that it has jolted our best friends and given anti-British and isolationist sections material for .embarrassing attacks. The contention that the pact has aroused “derision, ridicule and even bitter hostility” does not make pleasant reading and may be taken as the measure of its distance from the letter and the spmt of the Atlantic Charter.