Evening Post. MONDAY, JANUARY 12, 1920. HIGH COMMISSIONER OR MINISTER?

Evening Post, Volume XCIX, Issue 10, 12 January 1920, Page 6

Evening Post. MONDAY, JANUARY 12, 1920. HIGH COMMISSIONER OR MINISTER?

The report that Sir' James Allen is Likely to go to London before long to represent the Government in some capacity or other raises several interestingquestions. The first and "most obvious is : -.What will the Government do without the man whose services as Mr. Massey's first lieutenant have hitherto proved indispensable, and whose broad shoulders have carried throughout the war a load of responsibility even heavier than that of the Prime Minister himself? Secondly, will Mr. Massey seek compensation for the heavy loss by broadening the basis of his reconstruction to the fullest possible extent? Thirdly, in what capacity will Sir James Allen represent this country in London? That he has fully earned the right to go Home as High Commissioner, if he so desires, is something l*hat the most bigoted of his political opponents would hardly venture to deny. But it is equally obvious that, unless for reasons which have not been disclosed the Government has entirely abandoned the idea of giving the Dominion's representative in London a higher status than he has hitherto enjoyed, the present is an admirable opportunity for making tho change. Time was when the Agent-General or the High Commissioner was considered adequate for all the purposes of New Zealand's personal representation in London. But even before ths war the system was seen to be unsatisfactory, and the war may be said to have put it completely out of date. Is. Mr. Massey prepared to take the forward step now for which so inviting an opportunity is provided?

At the Imperial War Conference of 1917 it was decided "that tho readjust-' ment of the constitutional relations of thu component parts of the Empire is too important and intricate a subject to. be dealt with during the war, and that it should form the subject of a special Imperial Conference to bo summoned as soon as possible after the cessation of hostilities." No reasonable objection could be taken to this attitude of caution while the war was in full swing, nor to ths general recommendation in the rider that the readjustment when it came "should recognise, the right of the Dominions and India' to an adequate voice in foreign policy and in foreign relations/ and should provide effective arrangements for continuous consultation in all important matters of common Imperial, concern." Pending the great work of Imperial reconstruction, tho Conference of 1917 was of opinion that meetings of an Imperial Cabinet should be held annually, and that it should consist of "the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom 1 and such of his colleagues as deal specially with Imperial affaire, of the Prime Minister of each of the Dominions or some specially accredited alternative possessed of equal authority, and of a representative of the Indian people to be appointed by the Government of India." This hope was realised in 1918 and 1919, when the work, first of the war and then of the peace, was discussed at meetings of an Imperial Cabinet composed, in the manner suggested. Whether meetings of the Prime Ministers can be held annually until the service which Sir Ross Smith has pioneered is fully established is, to say tho least, very doubtful; but even if it were possible, the Imperial War Cabinet of 1918 recognised that for tho purposes of continuous consultation these annual meetings would be insufficient. The remedying of this defect was one of the most important subjects with which that Cabinet dealt. The value of tho work accomplished at these meetings was fully admitted, but their limited duration, and the long intervals, were recognised as serious drawbacks. The original announcement of the remedy proposed waa ■as follows : It lias now been decided that the Dominions shall be represented each by a Minister permanently stationed in London, and that tho Imperial War Cabinet shall meet from time to time, with these Ministers as mombers of it. The- meetings . . . will take place often enough to ensure a real continuity in its work as the supreme executive authority for the Empire, and to provide a steady channel of communication and information as between the British War Cabinet and the Dominion Governments. The permanent preseuco of Dominion. Ministers in London will help, too, in the latter direction. In form this statement went beyond the mark, since it was not for the Imperial War Cabinet, or for the British Cabinet upon whoso initiative it is for the present entirely dependent, to decide that each of the Dominions should be represented by a Minister stationed in London. The most that either of the Cabinets could do was to make an offer, leaving it to each Dominion to take what action it thought fit, and this was in due course made clear. The position, then, is that New Zealand has tho opportunity of being represented by a Minister resident in London, who will have a permanent seat in the Imperial Cabinet, and will serve to maintain a'constant personal touch between his own Government and those of Britain and the other Dominions. What is going to be done about it? The practical objection to the proposal when it was first made was the difficulty of sparing for the purpose a Minister of sufficient standing to carry tho weight which such a position would demand. That difficulty hap entirely disappeared if the Minister whose weight and standing in Imperial affairs aro second to none is in any event retiring from local, politics in order to take office in London. If Sir James Allen is going to London at all, he may as well bo our Residential Minister there as High Commissioner; and it is clearly for tho Government to review tho whole position, and to let tho country know exactly what it proposes to do, and why. By his concurrence in the decision, of the War Cabinet of 1918, Mr. Massey was understood to approve of the scheme of Residential Ministers, but he has practically, ignored the matter since his return, and wo cannot recall any reference to it at all beyond the statement that it was

for the larger Dominions to take tho lead. Canada had already taken the lead, and after waiting for nearly eighteen months it is surely absurd to think of waiting for Australia any longer. The personal' difficulty having now, as we have pointed out, entirely disappeared, it is for the -Government to consider and explain whether there are any general objections to the course^roposed; and if not, to take action at once.