The Hawera Star. THURSDAY, JANUARY 22, 1925. IMPERIAL CONSULTATION.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 22 January 1925, Page 4

The Hawera Star.

THURSDAY, JANUARY 22, 1925. IMPERIAL CONSULTATION.

Delivered every Evening by 5 o’clock In Hawera Manaia, Normanby, Okaiawa, F.ltham. Mangatoki, Kaponga, Awatunk, Opunake, Otakeho, Manutahi, Alton, Hurley ville, Patea, Waverley, M okoia. Whakainara, Ohangai, Mereinere, Fraser Road, and Ararata.

The ispeeial Imperial Conference which was proposed to consider the Geneva Protocol having been abandoned, the British. Government, according to today’s cables, will attempt consultation by correspondence, and, should that prove unsatisfactory, will probably defer the matter until the next Imperial Conference. He would be .something of an optimist who' hoped for any agreement among the Dominions on this question, by correspondency —and, of course, “correspondence” means communication by cable —and what in all jjrobability will happen is that the Protocol will be quietly forgotten ; for when the time comes for the convening of another Imperial Conference proper there will be much more vital, questions demanding attention. That will be a pity, for the statesmen at Geneva, made an honest attempt to further the cause of international arbitration, and any effort in so lofty a cause is deserving of eveiy encouragement. This failure of negotiations for the March conference brings again into prominence the problem of Imperial communication, concerning which the British Labour Government had hoped to arrange an informal discussion in October last. At that time Mr .Bruce, Prime Minister of Australia, pointed out that - machinery ensuring , a common Empire policy already existed in the shape of the Imperial Conference, and lie added his own- opinion that a change from the present system was neither necessary nor desirable. If by that Mr. Bruce means that the piesent arrangement—it can Hardly be called a “system”—bears the hall-mark of perfection, he is laying himself open to challenge. Imperial Conferences have done good work in the past —though not always to the extent that enthusiasts would have us believe--and the rea.sona.ble expectation is that they will be a. valuable factor in shaping the future policy of the Empire. But a meeting of Prime Ministers every three or four years is not. sufficient; something further is needed. The Geneva. Protocol is not the only matter of secondary importance from an Imperial point.,of view on which it is nevertheless desirable to have an expression of opinion from the Dominions, and at once. Obviously the ma-

cliinery of the Imperial Conference cannot meet that need; nor, we are afraid, can any method of consultation by correspondence which does not pass through some Dominion intermediary at Home. It is one thing to get representatives of New Zealand, Australia, Canada, South Africa, Newfoundland and India round a common council table; but quite another matter to endeavour to. peach an understanding by means of cablegrams despatched in four different directions; the personal touoh is invaluable. In this connection a further suggestion made by Mr. Bruce merits consideration. He favours the appointment of a special officer, who would be attacked to the High Commissioner's office to deal with Urgent foreign affairs —a. kind of Minister Abroad, as it were. This might be an advance on the present position, were the officer to aett for the most part under direct instructionis from his Government at home, for the personal link would then be secured without the danger of colonial feeling being misinterpreted—a danger ever present- when the conduct of business is given solely into the hands of a gentleman who has been absent from his Dominion for any length of time. But the question now arises whether the Minister who would iso represent a colonial Government in London should not be the High Commissioner himself, more particularly in view of the decision, announced last week, to give High Commissioners ambassadorial status. And here the whole question resolves itself down to the man. The services required. of a High Commissioner are so multifarious that he cannot possibly be expected to reveal expert qualifications for all. He represents us at Court; he watches our butter and cheese in, Tooley Street; he must take an intelligent interest in the All Blacks; he selects our immigrants; we look for a, shake of his hand when we call at his office; and now we may ask him to. keep an eye on our foreign policy. It is in the nature of things that one High Commissioner will be a first-class commercial agent, another a born diplomatist, and- so on. Until the day when the Dominion Prime Ministers, each in his own office, can tune in for a wireless telephone conversation on Imperial topics, the suggestion made by Mr. Bruce offers possibly the best way out of the difficulty of consultation; but, before it can be made -a success, any scheme which is designed along those lines must he given some measure of elasticity. If our High Commissioner be a diplomatist, let him be our representative on the London “Committee of Empire,” if not, then let us appoint another officer who will fill the bill. The mo-st wonderful system in the world may quite easily be ruined by appointing! the wrong man.