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EMPIRE UNITY

S.A. PREMIER’S SPEECH. (Per Press Association.) LONDON, April 5. Mr. Barwell, "Premier of South Australia, responding to the toast of his health, at the Lord Mayor of London’s banquet, said that South Australia was imperially-minded. Empire unity was necessary, both in defence and in trade. The future of England and the Empire depended on the future of the Dominions, because Britain and the Dominions were interdependent. “You could not, ’ he said, “maintain your position without us, and wo certainly could not maintain ours ■without you.” The Dominions were destined to become great nations. Any one of them might ultimately surpass Britain in wealth and greatness. Should Britain decline —which God forbid—the Empire’s greatness would yet bo assured by tho Dominions. The residents of Britain might boar occasionally of disloyal utterances from Australia, but there were merely the isolated utterances of irresponsible jieoplo, who often were given undue prominence by the press. Regarding defence, ho considered that, but for tho British navy, Australia would be an easy prey to tho first foreign, power which sought to extend its territories, and that he said, would probably be an Asiatic power! “There is,” he said, “a strong body of opinion is Australia that, rather than attempt to maintain any navy of her own, we should contribute on a fair reasonable basis to the maintenance of the British navy.” Regarding trade, ho said the Empire should bo self contained, and self-supporting. ’They must keep trade within the Empire. Britain would fall into second place, unless she maintained a commercial supremacy. Tho Dominions could help her to maintain that supremacy. WHERE DOMINION SCORES. LONDON, April 5. Mr. Robinson, former Agent-Genera] for Queensland, lectured before tho Society of Arts on New Zealand. He said that the numerous ports of distribution and the many centres of trade and commerce in New Zealand prevented the growth of congested and overgrown capitals like those of Australia, which cities, happily had no parallel in New Zealand. Consequently, New Zealand possessed a better distribution of population, and a happier combination of town and country settle ment than Australia OVERSEAS DEVELOPMENT. LONDON, April 5. Messrs Mitchell and McWhae had a long conference at the House of Commons to-night with tho Empire Development Committee, representing over 200 members of tho House of Commons. Thirty or forty were piesent. Mr Bigland presided. He said that, the problem was how to promote emigration overseas, land settlement, and inspire development generally, in such a way as to enlist British financial co-operation, while relieving British taxation. Mr Mitchell said: “This could be done by co-operating with us, by giving us men and money to settle our lands, enabling us to produce foodstuffs and raw materials essential to British consumers and manufacturers, who thereby would be enabled to outdistance competitors in quality and cost of production. Tho solution of the whole problem is in the hands of the Imperial authorities, who are in a position to direct the outflow of British men and money to the Dominions.”

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https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/GEST19220406.2.10

Bibliographic details

Greymouth Evening Star, 6 April 1922, Page 2

Word Count
501

EMPIRE UNITY Greymouth Evening Star, 6 April 1922, Page 2

EMPIRE UNITY Greymouth Evening Star, 6 April 1922, Page 2