PURELY INFORMAL

Evening Post, Volume CXXIII, Issue 117, 19 May 1937, Page 11

PURELY INFORMAL

WORK OF IMPERIAL CONFERENCE

COMMITTEES SET UP

(Received May 19, 10.35 a.m.)

LONDON, May 18. Imperial Conference activities today were purely informal.

A preliminary meeting. of representatives of heads of delegations was held this morning in connection with the procedure for constitutional questions in readiness for a meeting of heads of delegations on the subject tomorrow.

The following committees have been established:—

Civil Aviation and Communications: Sir Archdale .. Parkhill (Australia), as chairman, and Messrs. W. Nash and W. J. Jordan as New Zealand representatives, to consider civil air communications questions. , ' !

Constitutional Questions: Mr. E. Lapointe (Canada) as chairman and Mr. M. J. Savage representing .New Zealand, to consider tentative terms of reference of nationality treaty procedure, international status of members of the British Commonwealth, registration of intra-Imperial agreements with the League of Nations, and channels of, communications.

Economic Questions: Mr. N. C. Havenga (South Africa) as chairman and Messrs. Savage and Nash representing New Zealand, to consider the terms of reference, firstly of Imperial Economic Committee, . secondly Australia's proposal for an Empire Agricultural Council, and thirdly other economic questions.

New Hebrides Committee: Polar Committee, with Mr. Savage representing New Zealand.

Shipping Committee: Mr. Nash as chairman and Mr. Jordan as New Zealand representative, to , consider the terms of reference of Imperial shipping policy and the Imperial Shipping Committee's work.

was decided to set up a committee to deal with constitutional questions, particularly in regard to nationality legislation. . The . Governments of Canada, South Africa, and the Irish Free State have already passed legislation on this subject. l"!

The committee dealing with shipping questions held its first meeting later. A general discussion took place on shipping and its vital importance to the Commonwealth, and it will be resumed at the second meeting, the date of which has yet to be fixed. In the course of its deliberations the committee will consider all aspects of the Imperial shipping problem, including such questions as flag discrimination and subsidised competition. The report of the Imperial Shipping Committee will also be reviewed, and it has been decided to collect relevant statistics concerning shipping and to circulate various papers on the subject to the respective delegations. The Economic Committee considered today a progress report of the Imperial Economic Committee, approved it generally, and entrusted to a sub:committea the drafting of a resolution on the subject. The heads of the Dominion delegations attending the Conference will meet tomorrow to decide the procedure to be adopted for considering the broad aspects of foreign and defence policy, with which they, wish to be primarily concerned during their subsequent meetings.