EMPIRE AFFAIRS

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 31 July 1924, Page 5

EMPIRE AFFAIRS

POWERS OF DOMINIONS. CONFERENCE IN OCTOBER. STATEMENT BY MR THOMAS. BY CABLE—PBESS ASSOCIATION—COPY BIGHT LONDON, July 29. The announcement of an Imperial Conference in October was made in the House of by the Secretary for the Colonies (Mr .T. H. Thomas). _ The announcement followed a speech in yrhich Mr L. Amerv (Conservative) accused the Government departments °f England of falling back on the old traditional attitude of not realising that a new chapter in British constitutionalism had been opened during the war. Mr Thomas said: “We promised the Dominions their representation at the present Allied Conference, but this was not a precedent, and we are desirous of making it plain to foreign Powers that such a system for the representation of the Dominiong is unsatisfactory and must be altered. That is why we are inviting the Dominions to a conference in October. I cannot lay the papers on the table at the moment as the replies have not been received, but there is every indication that the conference will be welcomed, and the ' (government want if to take place in order to explore the whole situation. '■ “We want to avoid the difficulties we have had to deal with so far,” added Mr Thomas. “It is imperative that, the interests of the Dominions should be recognised and looked after. We also want outsiders to understand that any domestic differences are not going to weaken us, because we are going to remedy them.” Earlier in the debate Mr Amery said that at the Paris conference the status of the Dominions was recognised, notonly among ourselves, but. by the outside world, as equal to that of other independent nntions. The real solution could best be found in making the principle of the British Empire delegation continuous by giving the Dominions a continuous say in the foreign policy. After all, they could not have different degrees of citizenship within the Empire.

Mr Lloyd George (Liberal) said he was glad this subject had been raised because it was of vital importance to the unity, strength and continued existence of the Empire. The war had made.a great difference, and the sacrifices the Dominions made from 1914 to 1918 were greater than any made by Britain in any war since the‘Napoleonic war. When tho Dominions put a million men in the field (and these men were probably the decisive factor in what happened), it was impossible not to comply with the Dominions ’ demand. Henceforward they must be consulted iii foreign policy which commits them to such an enormous sacrifice. “It has been difficult to get- the departments to understand the full meaning of that change,” added Mr Lloyd George, “but the matter wag important. When one considers the difficulties of our wellwisliers, the Dominions, have in always carrying the whole of their public opinion along with them on Imperial issues, we should be careful not to give the slightest offence. The difficulty is distance, and until this is scientifically shortened the difficulty will remain. ” The Daily Chronicle approves of the October conference, though it is a belated decision. The conference should have been summoned before the present London conference instead of after but there is still plenty of time. The’ Dominions’ demands are entirely just and should be met.

The Morning Post, discussing the new Imperial Conference, snvs: “As Britain has just committed a folly in rejecting the unanimous advice of the representatives of the Dominions given in conference, we shall be surprised if the Dominions are so forgiving as to enter another conference, whose decisions may -be treated in exactly the same way. ’ ’ '