COMMONWEALTH RELATIONS

Evening Star, Issue 25426, 6 March 1945, Page 6

COMMONWEALTH RELATIONS

CONFERENCE ISSUES STATEMENT PROPOSALS FOR THE FUTURE -t- ■ . (Rec. noon.) LONDON, March 5. Sir Walter Lavton, in a statement on the conclusion o"f the British Common- ' wealth Relations Conference, said the general tr<md of opinion among delegates indicated, first, that the British . Commonwealth, as a .result of this war, ■was never so closely knitted for discussion, advice, and joint action; secondly, the British Commonwealth was entering a new phase in relation to defence, in relation to trade resulting from the progressive industrialisation of the dominions, and in relation to a need for a revised attitude towards racial questions following the manner in which the Commonwealth, regardless of race or colour, challenged the " masterrace"; thirdly, it may be necessary to make subsidiary regional arrangements in the world organisation presenting the , problem of what united part can.be played by widely-scattered units of the Commonwealth. . .. ,' The experience of the global war has shown the security, of the Commonwealth to be closely linked with military and naval dispositions • of the "United States. • The security of Australia, New Zealand, and Canada to a large extent depended on collaboration with the United States. Conference suggested the*setting up of a Commonwealth council or. the attaching of staffs of the Commonwealth on appropriate levels .to the planning organisation of the Imperial general staff. Conference agreed with the Indian delegation that India was unable to carry out her responsibilities as : an t-ssential link in the' Commonwealth until she acquired full dominion status. There was general agreement that the /dominions could not commit themselves in advance to whatever Britain might do in Europe, but urged that she could play a leading part on the Continent. Conference was of the opinion that ■the charter from the forthcoming San Francisco conference should be only an interim, one until the war ended, providing a simple procedure for the development and evolution of a world securitv organisation. On the subject of migration conference concluded it was impracticable for Great Britain after the war to supply a sufficient number of the types of immigrants desired, by the dominions. That problem remained unsolved.