IMPERIAL PROBLEMS

Evening Post, Volume XCIII, Issue 98, 25 April 1917, Page 3

IMPERIAL PROBLEMS

AN EMPIRE PARLIAMENT

REFORM & REORGANISATION WANTED

SPEECH BY MR. MASSEY.

(FROM OUH OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

LONDON, 13th February.

The Eight Hon. W. F. Massey was the principal speaker at a big demonstration held at the Royal Automobile Club on Friday night under the auspices of tho Imperial Mission. Mr. H. Page-Croft, M.E., presided, and on the platform were Admiral Lord Beresford and Mr. Irven W. Raymond.

Mr. Massey spoke for one hour, and delivered a notable oration. His speech was punctuated with rounds of applause, and the gathering must have been one of the most successful that ho has addressed on this side. The New 2lealan<l Premier started off by thanking the chairman for his complimentary references to New ZeaJand, and assured ; his audience that there was no question about their correctness. The chairman, however, had told them that it had not been necessary to bring conscription into ' operation in New Zealand. .he (Mr. , Massey) would like to explain that, i during the Last session of. Parliament, they felt they were likely to have a long recess, and no one could guess at the duration of ithe war. Moreover, they thought there might be in New Zealand some people -who were not prepared to ] do .their duty. Consequently, Parliament placed on the Statute-book what might be called a Compulsion Act. There was no opposition—(applause)—so far as Parliament was concerned, only five members voted against it, and they did so on principle. Though a Compulsion Act had been brought into operation it had been accepted without opposition. Tile yjnen who were drawn accepted the I position, went into camp without demur, and with.scarcely a grumble. Some little time after the war commenced, said Mr. Massey, his Government made an arrangement with the Imperial Government to send a certain number of men to represent the Do--1 minion in the struggle. They were to be j known as the Main Expeditionary Force, and after that, reinforcements were to .be sent periodically. New Zealand had done so, and at tho present time she'was not a single man behind, and no mattfir how long the'war lasted. as fur as he could judge, New Zealand would keep up her reinforcements. (Applause.) THE COMING CONFRRENCB. Mr, Mansey then addressed the meeting on tho problems of the Imperial Conference. He said: "So far as the Imperial Conference ia concerned, the proposal has been accepted in the Dominions with universal approval. We feel that a very great advance has been made. It will undoubt- ■ edly be a most important conference, ■ not only on account of .the war, and the ' discussion of matters arising out of it, ' but because for the first time the overseas statesmen meet as members of the governing body of the Empire on an equality the representatives of the Unit, ed Kingdom. It has been • approved by the people I represent, because it has been brought home to them during the i present war that it.was only justice to ■ them that they shoiild have a voice in the affairs of the Empire. It has now dawn ed upon the people of the United Kingdom that with the soldiers from overseas fighting aide by aids with theirs, it is only right and fair to the Empire that the Oversea • Governments" should take their place and have a say for all time in the councils of the Empire. 1^ believe it will be a good thing for \the Empire. Up to the present tht Dominions have had no say in Imps-rial affairs. All business has been done by the Imperial Parliament, but it is not an Imperial Parliament in the proper sense of the word. It is only, representative of the United Kingdom. I am sorry to say that the results of Imperial Conferences in the past have been practically nil. Tdo not express that opinion as any disparagement. I merely etate what I believe to be a fact. CLOSER UNION. 1 "Quite a number of men have given attention to various proposals of closer union. Of these proposals, two have met with approval. The first is an Empire Parliament dealing with purely Imperial affairs, and leaving local affairs to local Parliaments. ..The second is an Imperial Council, representative of the Oversea Dominions and the United Kingdom, which would consider all matters referring to the business of the Empire, such as peace and war, the advancement of trade, and so on. Whatever may be done now as a result of the coming Conference, I vpn quite certain that it is going to lead up to an Imperial. Parliament. In saying that Ido not underrate the difficulties in the way. It has been my business to look into the difficulties, and I see that anything in the way of an Imperial Parliament means a complete i-eform of your Parliamentary system here. Some reform is wanted. Some reorganisation is required. But j just because it means ■'■ reform and reorganisation, the proposal will meet;with strenuous opposition from certain quarters in the United Kingdom. I see it coming. "The proposal for an Empire Parliament will eventually be adopted, but until that day comes, I am prepared to . accept the idea of an Imperial Council. ; There are difficulties which will have to !be got over gradually, but I do not ! think there will be any difficulties from the Oversea Dominions. On this point I may say that the Dominions will never give up the right to govern themselves, or provide/for their own domestic legislation in -their own way. They will never give up the right to tax themselves. In the. union that is proposed, money will be required, and the Dominions will find their share of the money in their own way. Ido not propose a • federation of States. Rather is it' a unions of nations—which is a different thing—separated by the ocean, but united in sentiment. (Applause.) THE BLOOD COVENANT. "When war broke out, the men from overseas took their stand at once alongside the men from Home, and went to tho war just as willingly as the men from tho heart of the Empire \ did. (Applause.) By their blood a covenant has been seuled which I; believe will keep the Empire together for all time. I know perfectly well that caution is absolutely necessary. One false step may put this movement back for years. Consequently I suggest and ndvise that every step should be carefully thought out before it is taken. History is being made rapidly to-day, and I believe we shall not have to' wait very long for ! what we all desire—namely, closer ! union. Why should we wait? Our interests as citizens of the Empire are one and the same wherever wo may , come from. We are all interested in j the defence of the Empire, in its development, and in seeing that the Empire produces sufficient food for its own populn- ' tion. So fax as this crisis is concerned, wo have stood together, and our cour- i ago and endurance may be tested still further, but our cause is absolutely clear. In spite of any intimidation to which we may be subjected, "we have got to press on until the standard of Britain is placed in' an unassailable position, and until victory comes to our , own country and the Allies associated

with us in the great struggle in which we arc now engaged. WHAT OF THE FUTURE' : "One of the lessbns to be learned from the struggle is better preparedness and better organisation. I am of the opinion that, if. we had been properly prepared and'organised, we should not have been : at war to-day. (Applause.) From this 'I excopt thri Navy. Yes; I believe the Navy was properly prepared and irga r/ised. But, leaving the Navy out, I believe our organisation was just about as bad as it is possible to imagine. That we were not smashed up in the first three months seems to be almost.a mir acle, now that we can look back upon what happened in those days. "The time is still long from the era of peace. We have now got to do all we possibly can to conserve the interests of the Empire. We havo the lands and the people. We must bring them together, and allow the people to become interdependent. All the foodstuffs which the Empire needs can bo grown on Empire land." Mr. Massey then drew a picture of the future. He imagined the Mother Country with a population of fifty millions and the oversea dominions with a corresponding population. When that day would be he could not say, but undoubtedly it was coming—perhaps in thirty or forty years. They had to prepare for that day. All the wheat, sugar, cotton, maize, rice, and many other articles of everyday use which the Empire wanted could be grown in the Empire. It was therefore necessary to encourage food production and supplies of raw material in their own countries and by their own fellow-citizens. If the I 'British Empire was to prosper there must be reorganisation at once. They were faced with tremendous financial responsibilities. If they were to carry that load without inconvenience they must increase their production, and by so doing increase the inflow of capital to each country. (Applause.)