PREFERENCE

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 13 June 1924, Page 5

PREFERENCE

FEELING OF DISAPPOINTMENT

SPEECH BY SIR JAMES ALLEN,

BY CABLE—PRES 3 ASSOCIATION—COPYRIGHT, LONDON, June 11. Speaking at a function in the New Zealand section at the Wembley Exhibition, Sir James Allen (New Zealand High Commissioner) said, the position in regard to the preference resolutions had caused general disappointment in the Dominions and colonies, while there was grave unrest in New' Zealand and Australia as a result of the abandonment of the Singapore naval base scheme.

Si l ' James urged the desirability of removing a defect in the constitution of the Imperial Conference by securing that the Prime Minister and other delegates represented their Parliament and the whole of their. people. There seemed to be no reason why, after discussion in Parliament or between the leaders of parties, the representatives at the Imperial Conference should not be placed in a position equally as strong as the representatives in the War Cabinet. He also advocated the provision of better liaison machinery by appointing the High Commissioner to receive and give information to the Prime Minister or Foreign Office, and thus ensune the rapid transmission of information and advice to his Government.

Sir James Allen agreed with the British Premier (Mr Ramsay MacDonald) that the time had arrived to create machinery for the conduct of a united Imperial policy, particularly in foreign affairs. The reason why the Imperial Conference did not achieve all that was expected was because the Premiers represented short-lived Governments.

. LONDON, June 12. The Morning Post, commenting on Sir James Allen’s “remarkable plainspoken speech,” says: “Between them Mr Philip Snowden (Chancellor of the Exchequer) and Mr Ramsay MacDonald (the Premier) have sickened the Dominions of conferring together, for where is the sense of coming from the world’s ends to investiagte and settle policy if the whole work is to be upset because there is a change of Government?”