IMPERIAL CONFERENCE

Hokitika Guardian, 29 September 1930, Page 6

IMPERIAL CONFERENCE

OPENING THIS WEEK.

MR. SCULLIN’S STATEMENT,

(British Official Wireless.)

RUGBY, Sept. 27.

The Imperial Conference opens on Wednesday. It ts expected to last for six weeks.

Many 'banquets will be given in honour of the delegates. Among many others they include the Government dinner and reception at which Mr Ramsay MacDonald will preside at Lancaster House, on September 30. On the following night the Royal Empire Society, the British Empire League, Victoria League, Overseas League and British Empire Club are giving a dinner for delegates at Mansion House, at which Prince Arthur of Connaught will be in the chair. On October 3 the Prime Ministers and Ministers and their wives will be the guestjs of the King and Queen at Buckingham Palace. The Prince of Wales will be present. The Prince of Wales will also attend a dinner and reception given by the Empire Marketing Board on October 8. . As on the occasion of the last conference, naval, military and Air Force displays. are being organisedto take" place during the next few weeks; /at; which overseas delegates to the Imperial Conference will attend. The War Office display will be held at Aldershot, tlie Air Force display at Croydon, and the delegates will- travel to Portland to view the naval .ex-, ercises, which are being, arranged by the ‘ Admiralty! The Australian Prime Minister, Hon. H. Scullin, referring to the • work’ of the Conference, anticipated that the most important work would lie in economic and constitutional spheres. Full equality of status between the Dominions and Great Britain wins to-day explicitly and definitely recognised. The people of Australia desired to maintain the strength of the ties of friendship that bind the great Commonwealth 'family together, and at the same time to ensure their elasticity. ' They-hoped-, that the discussions regarding the economic situation would go beyond' the erection of consultative .machinery and would lead/to direct stimulation of joint Imperial resources and. trade.Mi- Scullin referred to the benefit of personal contact between members of the family of the British- Commonwealth, and recalled that Australia, in common with other countries, had felt the effects of the world-wide degression. He proceeded: “Not only have we been faced with the necessity of redressing the trade balance, but also of finding sufficient moneys in Loudon to meet our regularly recufring interest and other charges, amounting to more than £30,000,000 annually; There has been no question of our ability to pay this money* -although payment under the new. cofiditons of lowered ...world prices ~ will impose a heavy burden upon ns for the time being, but. i-sincerely hope* that no more will be heard of the suggestions that- we are not prepared to meet our obligations. There never was. any doubt about this matter. The holders of . the Commonwealth, Bonds .may rest assured that we are a solvent nation,' and they need! have.no fear about our honouring our" commitments. They should take no serious notice of irresponsible talk about, repudiation, .They ...the /view 'of 'so small a majority of Australians as to be nearly negligible. They carry no weight whatever. Tlie overwhelming majority of Australans regard, the National Debt as their personal debt, and they are as jealous of their national honour as of -their own.”

MR CHURCHILL AND TARIFFS

• ' LONDON, Sept.. 26. Mr Winston Churchill denies':, the rumour that lie intends to retire from politics and to devote himself to literature .and' 'business owing to the Conservative Party’s policy on the matter of tariffs. On the contrary, he says, lie agrees with Mr Stanley Baldwin’s present policy. LABOUR PAPER’S FORECAST. ’ . LONDON, Sept. 27. The Daily Herald’s Imperial Conference correspondent, who, possibly, is foreshadowing the attitude of the Labour Government, isays: The Imperial Conference is likely t 0 give the quietus to Empire Free Trade. There is room for an improvement in trading methods within 1 the Empire, for an enormous increase in marketing efficiency, for the closer association of business interests, and for tlie more flexible and efficient financing of in-ter-imperial trade. RIGHT TO SECEDE. ; MR FORBES’S RECOGNITION. LONDON, Sept. 27. “I trust that the demand for a declaration of the right to the secession, or whatever it is to be, will not ■be pressed or made too prominent an issue at the Imperial Conference,” said Hon. G. W. Forbes (Prime Minister of New Zealand). “It may he said that the very fact that we are partners in the Empire implies our right to leave that partnership under certain conditions. But why - talk about it? No Dominion wants to seeed, or is likely to want to do so. If a business firm goes discussing the dissolution of its partnership, instead of getting, on with its hum ness, such

talk hardly helps it, or commands public confidence, We are here on the most important business of bringing the Empire into closer trade relations and of improving the feeling between the different parts. Let us get on with that business, instead of talking about secession.” MR GARVIN’S SUGGESTION. LONDON, Sept. 28. The newspapers ,are unanimous that this Imperial Conference is the most important one yet held in the Empire’s history. Mr J. L. Garvin,, the noted critic, writing in the ‘'Observer,” suggests the laying down of a programme covering a: policy for the Empire for a period of five years. He points out that the time- has gone by for hand-to-mouth Empire economics. He wants to see a Standing Empire Committee for trade development, carrying out a plan covering,at least a period of five years. :• - •

NEW ZEALAND PREMIER

ON EMPIRE STATESMEN

LONDON, Sept. 26,

Mr Forbes told the British Press representatives that lie had chatted for ten minutes' with Mr MacDonald in the forenoon. He had heard Mr MacDonald in New Zealand in 1006, and formed the opinion that lie was one of the the most, eloquent pro'tagonists of Empire unity. .{' ;He paid, a .tribute .to Mr Snowden* "who was. the. only member of the Government whom he-had met' personally in New Zealand. '•* " u

New ; Zealand was i nterested in the . constitutional problems involved in the,. 1926 Conference decisions, hut was not prepared to formulate anything inconsistent with' the - most fervent devotion : to Imperial unity. He proposed to co-o'pefate with Dr Marsden n the development of scientific research, which had already had most profitable results in New Zealand. He paid an enthusiastic tribute to Lord Bledisloe. as a most understanding Governor on farming problems. Questioned with regard to secession, Mr Forbes emphatically declared that the word was absolutely unknown in New Zealand which was indissolubly attached to the Empire

Mr .Forbes visited Mr Thomas, then in .the afternoon held, an intimate discussion' with Si'i* . T., M. AVilford on New Zealand affairs.'