EMPIRE DEVELOPMENT.

Hawera Star, Volume XLV, 28 July 1925, Page 9

EMPIRE DEVELOPMENT.

YTEWS OF LABOUR

DELEGATES CONFER

PREFERENCE TO DOMINIONS

BY CABLE--PRESS ASSOCIATION-COPYRIGHT,

Received July 28, 1.50 p.m. LONDON, July 27

A conference ol lepresentativcs of tiie Labour Parties in Britain and the Dominions was opened in the Empire Parliamentary rooms in the House of Commons, Mr Ramsay MacDonald presiding. He described as fudge and humbug the assumption thaj» the Tory was the only party caring for the Empire. He claimed that the Labourites was the first party to recognise that Empire development was so important as to require a study on the* spot. He described the Dominion preference policy as building a high wal| against the foreigner and a lower one against Britain, but the latter would never be so low as to prevent the Dominions from establishing complete industry. Britain did not object to that, but must regard preference as an indication of the I>ominions’ goodwill. He suggested the scheme of a committee, under Government control, to make wholesale purchases of goods produced under fine labour conditions to enable the countries fo benefit as communities, not as capitalists’ sections. Referring to foreign affairs, Mi-Mac-Donald declared that the Dominions were consulted at every stage of the negotiations re the protocol, which the Government rejected, apparently for no other reason than because it was advocated by the Labourites. The Dominions came to the conclusion that the protocol was the best that could be done. It was a co-operative affair throughout, and at the fast meeting the Dominions decided to sign. .Mr MacDonald considered that the idea that Britain should be the policeman of the world was a profound mistake, and the sooner they returned to limited responsibility and trusted to sell-de-velopment. of the people the better. He hoped the conference would sit penodicallv, like the Imperial Conference. The conference resolved on a private session.—Reuter.