EXTRA EDITION.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume XLII, Issue XLII, 7 June 1923, Page 7

EXTRA EDITION.

L... THE DOMINIONS.

NO EMPIRE POLICY

BETTER UNDERSTANDING URGED

BY CABLE—PRESS ASSOCIATION—COPYEIGHT BRISBANE, June 6. ' Mr. S. M. Bruce (Federal Prim< Minister), in a speech dealing with 1m perial relationship, said that thougl iihe Dominions had gained separate membership of the League of Nations they still thought that whilst consults tion with the Dominions was attempt •ed, there was still no Empire policy They certainly had not re-ached th< position where Australia had a tru< yoice in the formulation of British for eign policy. So long as that positioi existed he declined to accept re spoil sibility on behalf of Australia for an 3 policy they had not had a voice in. Last year, he said, there was nearl] a. tragedy ov;r Mr. Lloyd George. ■cable appealing to the Dominions tc ally themselves with Britain in a quarrel with Turkey The position wouk" .be intolerable if such an incident coulc occur' in the future. It was wrong ir. ■every way, and they must find a bettei to deal with such matters. Reviewing suggestions for giving the 55om.inio.ns a move effective voice in British foreign policy, Mr. Bruce ad"yocated relying upon the intangible tie "binding Britain to the Dominions, and "^trusting that- the Imperial Conference 'Tvoukl come, to some arrangement which ■jvould be without any written or de'Jfined basis. He stated he had received seventeen offers fiGm nations throughout the world d:\si rim/, to make reciprocal tariffs with .Australia. Every one hud been effectively rejected, but Australia could not co on indefinitely doing this. Unless they could 'come to some mutually beneficial arrangement wiiu Uritain they would have to come to it -with r.omcbody else.