Grey River Argus TUESDAY, June 11, 1935. EMPIRE RELATIONS.

Grey River Argus, 11 June 1935, Page 4

Grey River Argus TUESDAY, June 11, 1935. EMPIRE RELATIONS.

While foreign relations have bulked largest in the first declaration of policy by Britain’s new Prime Minister, who states these no"' require the attention of two Ministers. Sir A. Hoare and Hr A. Eden, there has just

been a very important ano. most definite development in the relations of the British Commonwealth of. Nations. This is the Privv Council verdiet that the

Colonial Laws Validity Act can no longer restrict Dominion legislative powers. As it happens, the decision is in favour of the Irish Free State, which has been making a stand tending in the same diree.ion as the judgment points. The result is that the old order, under which there was an imperial veto on certain dominion enaetmenls. has gone altogether. This is the true meaning of the Stati te of Westminster. which in in Ac: of Parliament, acknowledged that there is equality of status for each and every selfgoverning country in the British Commonwealth. The occasion of the judgment was perhaps in itself a matter of merely local significance, a fishery right in Irish waters, but this Statute had required only to be tested in order to reveal the full, significance of equality of status. The decision may, indeed, be calculated to facilitate a settlement of matters in dispute between Britain and Ireland and it has certainly come at rather an opportune time. The new British Prime Minister is credited with the intention of resuming negotiations with Air De Valera, who has definitely laid it down that the Free State Government desire to maintain a free, friendly relationship with Britain. It had been assumed, evidently, that the Colonial Laws Validity Act still maintained the Royal veto, and that the legislation of the Free State regarding these fishery rights, lacking the Royal assent, was ultra vires. The Free State, indeed, had come already, as far as it was concerned, to abolish the practice of appealing to the Privy Council, whereas that tribunal would now appear to have given a decision going to justify such a stand. In the past. New Zealand Parliamentary enactments have been vetoed because they were held to be in conflict with the Colonial Laws Validity Act. hi future such legislation cannot be disallowed, and the question is what conceivable restriction

could remain upon Dominion Parliaments in legislating on what and how they please. The full force of the decision is not going to b e realised all of a sudden, but it is difficult to see any possibility of minimising its effects in practice. It may be that some Dominions, such as this, may prefer to maintain, as a formality, the reserving of Bills for the Royal Assent in certain in-

stances. Possibly the Governors-j General might exercise a disere-' lion of their own. but if an Administration found this to be inconsistent with the principles of Ihe Statute of Westminster, as now defined, it would be only i mailer of course to remove such an obstacle to the popular will. Tim Privy Council interprets the Westminster Statute as empowering the Irish Free State to amend its own constitution and to abrogate the Treaty of 19'21. Canada and South Africa have been represented as having played :t more active part than Xew Zealand and Australia in securing the adoption and enactment of Hie Statute of Westm u ter. ami as far as Xew Zealand was concerned her representative was said to have displayed at th 192 G Imperial Conference a repugnance to a definition of equality so unequivocal as the Statute in question. Since the enactment has been given effect in the Free State case qui.e mcoiit< stably, the presumption by this country that it is a detriment rather than an advantage is no longer likely to be maintained. It would be only humbug. Th e decision goes a. further step in making good th? more reasonable presumption that llie British Commonwealth of Xations is. and should be. a legallv free and voluntary asso via t ion.