THE H.B. TRIBUNE FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 1933 CONFERENCE IMPRESSIONS

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XXIII, Issue 275, 3 November 1933, Page 4

THE H.B. TRIBUNE FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 1933 CONFERENCE IMPRESSIONS

As was pointed out at the times of their sitting, the two conferences recently held in Canada, the one, at Banff, to discuss international relations in the Pacific and the other, at Toronto, to consider intra-Imperial relations generally, were of an entirely unofficial character and devoid of any governmental backing. They were merely the results of spontaneous movements on the part of private organisations, in each case inspired with the purpose and hope of bettering the relations under consideration, though with nothing but a moral influence to bring to bear upon them. This, of course, made for a good deal more freedom in the revelation of points of view and aspirations than was to be expected at conferences where responsible statesjnen were engaged and were under the restraint of weighing carefully every word uttered. There is thus a good deal, of value of an exceptional kind attached to the impressions gained by the two New Zealand delegates, Mr. Downie Stewart and Mr. .Walter Nash, both incidentally members of our House of Representatives, who attended the conferences. Some of these were disclosed in short addresses given at a meeting of the Auckland branch of the Institute of Pacific Relations. Mr. Nash concerned himself chiefly with some exposition of his ideas regarding Japan. What he had to say indicated pretty clearly that he felt a good deal of sympathy with the people of that country and their rulers. He seems to recognise at once that some acceptance must be given to the contentions not only that she has to find outlets for her surplus population, but also that she must find outside markets for her wares. Unless these two essen tials to her development secure international recognition, then

there can scarcely but be fear of an eventual violent explosion as the result of severe repression. As to her trading Mr. Nash very cogently pointed out that, while we were complaining of the low wages and consequent low standard of living among her workers giving her manufacturers a great advantage in the world’s markets, her exclusion from them must necessarily serve to perpetuate those conditions. The alternative is to find some basis upon which the exchange of commodities with her—raw material and food supplies for manufactured goods—can be carried on without endangering also the standard of living of the older and more advanced countries. That is the problem that has to be solved, and it is admittedly no easy one. On the other hand Mr. Downie Stewart dealt more particularly with the relations of the Dominions towards the Mother Country. Here he disclosed a phase of them which deserves a great deal more recognition than it gets. He in effect pointed out that the Dominions, while calling upon Great Britain to continue all her old responsibilities towards them, were bent mainly on seeing what in the meantime they could get out of her in the way of preferential trading rights. The outstanding instance he gave of this was Canada’s attitude towards the maintenance of the Empire’s naval defences. Canada, we are told, concerns herself very little with this question. As Mr. Stewart aptly put it, having the North Pole on ofie side and a friendly and powerful nation on the other, Canada feels the necessity for defence, especially naval defence, and co-operation in it, to be remote and unreal. He said there was even a disposition to regard it as the Old Country’s own job, and hers alone, to safeguard the trade routes through which she draws supplies of food for her people. Ten on the other hand, Australia and New Zealand, especially the latter, recognise how much their existence depends upon strong naval defences, but at the same time are very much inclined to keep at a minimum their contributions towards providing them. From this we may gather that Mr. Stewart sees that there is still a very great deal to be done before a full spirit of mutual helpfulness among the constituent nations of the Empire is established. More particularly does it seem necessary that the daughter Dominions should revise their conception of the Old Country as something of whose motherly care and regard every possible advantage is to be taken, while giving in return only such things as serve best our own individual interests. The oversea dominions are all very proud, and also very jealous, of their now fully recognised status as politically independent nations. In her undemonstrative way the Motherland, on her part, is equally proud of their continued adherence to her. It can, however, scarcely but be that she and her heavily taxed people feel that it is about time they gave their independent spirit some practical expression in the way of fending a little more for themselves.