WELLINGTON TOPICS.

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLI, Issue 10527, 4 December 1916, Page 3

WELLINGTON TOPICS.

IMPERIAL FEDERATION. THE NEW POSITION. (Special Correspondeut). WELLINGTON, Dec. I. The cabled summary of Sir Joseph Ward’s address to the members of the Insurance Institute in London is too fragmentary to convoy any very clear idea of what ho actually said; hm it has served the useful purpose of reviving in some measure local interest in alterwar problems which, lately have, been obscured by the military and economic needs of the hour. Some. fault-finders are deprecating Sir Joseph’s allusion to Mr Asquith’s speech at the Imperial Conference in 1911 wh-u the British Prime Minister, it will be remembered, scouted the idea of the over-sea dominions having a voice in determining questions affecting the foreign policy ol the Empire; hut there is nothing in the outline of his remarks to justify the assumption that he. was guilty of the (laming indiscretion their deprecation implies. Five years ago Mr Asquith did not finally dismiss the dream of Imperial federation. He, merely counselled delay and probably Sir .Joseph’.-, remarks were intended rather to .save him from the charge of inconsistency in now advocating this stop than to suggest that lie had been lacking either in sympathy or lore,sight. The Minister of Finance seems, however, to have spoken quite plainly on the question of an Imperial Navy, and if this question ever should come before the National Cabinet it will he interesting to see how lie and Mr Allen set about reconciling their conflicting views. IMMIGRATION. The paragraph in the report of Sir Joseph Ward’s speech that has attracted most attention here is the one referring to immigration. This is a subject on which the labour unions are extremely sensitive and very prone to jump to hasty conclusions. There is not a word in the, cable message published yesterday to .show that the Minister did anything more than emphasise the importance, of retaining British people under their own flag and yet some of his critics are talking as if he had proposed to flood New Zealand with cheap labour from, the crowded cities of iby Mother Country. This, of course, is sheer nonsense. In the first place it is doubtful if the Mother Country will he able to spare for some years to come any considerable amount of labour that could he considered (heap, in the second place it is certain that this country with the new conditions forced upon it by the need for imreasrd production will be aide to absorb all (lie capable labour that is likely in invade its shores during the next decade. While the politicians are denied ihe discussion of the land question by the terms of the party truce the public sentiment in favour of close settlement is growing apace and when it finds >ano expression in some equitable ivstem of sub-division the more'perplexng of the labour problems will ho well m the wav to permanent solution. THE MINERS. The news of the settlement of the 1 miners’ strike in Australia has been re•eived wit.li very genuine .satisfaction in labour circles hero. It was feared that if (he Goal Tribunal failed in Us interventions the trouble would speedily ■pread to New Zealand and develop into a serious imlusi rial upheaval. The little demonstration at Blackball, i hough promptly repudiated by Hie Miners’ Federal ion, would have taken I on a much graver aspect than it now hoars if it had received any encourage- ) meat from “the other side.” The in- | (reduction of the conscription issue was i doubtless the work ol mischief-makers. 1 more anxious to stir up strife on goner- ; al grounds than to obtain any tangible benefit for the miners. To talk of talc- j lug a referendum at this stage on the j question of compulsory service is main- ! festly absurd. Even il Parliament wore j disposed to sanction such a course— j which il certainly is not —it would lake j five or six months to sot up the ueeo.s--ary machinery for the ballot ami alter j that a further couple of months would I be required for the voting. 'The net re- S suit of the whole business would ho to j magnify the importance of a few disgruntled busy-bodies and to give New Zealand very bad advertisement. | This, it i.s safe to sav, the view of nine- I tenths of the genuine workers in the Dominion, ami no one lias a better j right than they have to he consulted, j