Evening Post. THURSDAY, DECEMBER 20, 1923. THE CONFERENCE WORK

Evening Post, Volume 148, Issue 148, 20 December 1923, Page 6

Evenin g Post. THURSDAY, DECEMBER 20, 1923. THE CONFERENCE WORK

Mr. Massey has left England on his homeward journey after an extraordinarily hearty and even flattering send-off. Upon everybody with whom he came into contact, from the Prime.Minister down to the page-boys at the Hotel Cecil, he. appears to have made an excellent impression, and the manner in which this general appreciation has been djsplayd proves that it is not only the stern realities of war or the frivolities of peace that can break down the reserve of those stolid islanders and induce them to give their feelings a free rein. In part the cordiality is due to the place which the gallantry of our soldiers has won for New Zealand in the hearts of the British people, but it is quite cjear that Mr. Massey's personality has considerably enlarged the tribute which must have fallen to any official representative' that this country might have sent to the Conference. New Zealand is grateful both to the British people for the kindness with which they welcomed Mr. Massey on his arrival and for the still greater kindness with which they sped their parting guest, and to Mr. Massey himself for the qualities which stimulated this, moving display.

'The high spirits in which Mr. IWassey brought his Imperial mission to a close were matrred by a serious misgiving. He fears that the work of the Conference, upon which he has been building high expectations, may be nullified by the result of .the General Election

It would be lamentable, said Mr 5* f Se<V n m-is ™ledictory interview with The Times," if anything were to cancel the promises made to the Dominions. It would be a slap in the face for British sentiment in the Empire an d would do harm that would last for many a Jong day. Surely the promises offered in the Conference were Piormses made by the Mother Country to the Dominions, and not promises made by one party or one Government.' If this principle, was not accepted it nrHtnH ST OUJ { a^ct the Dominion attitude to future Conferences. The policy of the new Government would surely be to honour, the pledges made bj its predecessor to the sister nations ol the British Commonwealth.

The position is indeed full of irony It Mr. Bruce and Mr.. Massey had been less successful in their pleading for preference, it is quite likely that there would, have been no ground for fearing the complete wreck of the programme that they helped the Conference to carry Th e mystery of Mr. Baldwin's precipitate appeal to the country on an issue which united the Liberals, divided his own forces,.and wrecked his Government, just as it wrecked a much stronger Government when it was last tried, has not been fully explained. But the influence of Mr. Brace's powerful argument and of the strong support that it received from his colleagues in the Conference is com-, monly regarded as one of the causes of that singular stampede. And it is certain that if there had been no appeal to the country Imperial preference would have received no set-back and the'rest of the work of the Conference would have been in no peril

It is comforting to find that "The Times" takes a less gloomy view of the chances of the Imperial Conference programme than Mr Massey, and that it credits him even in his disappointment with rejecting "the will to talk [displayed] in some quarters about the supposed consequences of the failure of the Mother Country to keep her promises." The implied censure on some of Mr. Massey's less discreet colleagues is well deserved. Mr. Bruce's advocacy of preference was marred by the kind of talk to which "The Times" refers. "At least one of the Premiers," said the "Yorkshire Observer," "thinks he can bully this country into Protection by a fatuous threat to carry his wares elsewhere." There was a suggestion of the same kind of nastiness in General Smuts's speech at Johannesburg a few days ago. Neither Mr. Massey's own sentiments nor those of the country he represents offer him the slightest temptation to talk in that way. John Bull is not a good man to threaten, even when he is down; and even if gratitude and kinship and affection could be ruled out of the account, self-interest alone would suffice to restrain us from so stupid and mdecent an experiment.

It may, indeed, be questioned whether even in talking about "the slap in the face for British sentiment" Mr. Massey has not overstated the position, so far as Sew Zealand is concerned. The people of this country are not at present feeling any prospective indignation at the possible wreck of ma W prk p | t j )? i mp «sriu,l Qwfoi* ence, because the hole-and-corner

manner in which it conducted its proceedings has kept them very much in the dark as to what has been done. Another reason why our people have not formed any high expectations is that in the past the futility of these Conferences has, except in war time, made a deeper impression than their achievements. Even if Mr Massey is able to imbue his countrymen with his own more sanguine hopes, they are not likely to be stirred to any heroics of disappointment by the miscarriage which may result from a change or Government. Preference, to which the Dominion Prime Ministers have devoted such a disproportionate amount of energy, has never stirred our people very deeply, nor will the failure of this or any other of the late Government s offers strike them as "a slap m the face." They will subnut to the inevitable in a calm businesslike, and truly patriotic tashion, and in g0 doing they will assuredly have a good lead from Mr. Massey. With the important constitutional question raised by Mr. Massey's plea for continuity we have left ourselves no space to deal.