Manawatu Evening Standard. WEDNESDAY, DEC. 23, 1925. THE NEXT IMPERIAL CONFERENCE.

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLVI, Issue 21, 23 December 1925, Page 8

Manawatu Evening Standard. WEDNESDAY, DEC. 23, 1925. THE NEXT IMPERIAL CONFERENCE.

Although official information appears to be stiff lacking on tlie subject, it seems certain that a further Imperial Conference will be held in London next year. From Australia we learn that the Federal Government is laying its plans so as to enable the Prime Minister, the Right Hon. S. M. Bruce, to leave for London early in September, so as to arrive in time for the conference, which will presumably be held some time in October. Many things have happened since the fast conference was held in 1923. The decisions arrived at on that occasion were held up, pending the British Prime Minister’s appeal to the Home constituencies on the question of Imperial preference. Mr Baldwin, whose hands were tied to a certain extent owing to the pledges given by himself and his predecessor in office, the late Mr Bonar Law, not to introduce even a modicum of protection except with the approval of the electorate, felt himself obliged to appeal to the country for an endorsement of the preference policy. The advocates of free trade, taking every possible advantage of the situation, raised a formidable opposition to the Government proposals and where, in 1922, Mr Bonar Law had an absolute majority of 79 in the House of Commons, Mr Baldwin found himself in a minority of 99 after his appeal to the country. In a House of' 615 members, Mr Baldwin headed a party of 258; Labour was represented by 191 members, and the Liberals held 157 seats, the remaining . nine members being made up of two Nationalists, one Sinn Feiner and six Independents. Working with the Labourites, the Liberals made it impossible for the ConservativeTJnionists to remain in office, and Mr Ramsay MacDonald was permitteed to form a' Government. It was hoped that, so far as the relationships existing between the Mother Country and the Dominions were concerned, the Labour Gpvernment would give effect to the decisions of the 1923 Imperial Conference, which merely gave preference to certain Dominion products by abolishing the duties levied upon them, while retaining .'.he similar duties on foreign grown products of the same kind. In their wisdom, or lack of it, the Labour Government declined to recognise these decisions as binding, but permitted (lie House to vote upon them, knowing full well that, by their

attitude, they were inviting tlie House to reject them. Fortunately for the Dominions, the Labour Government found itself obliged to appeal to the country eleven months after its entry upon office; and, at the general election of October 29, 1924, Mr Baldwin and his supporters largely swept the polls, gaining 420 out of the 615 seats, the Labour and Socialist membership being reduced from 191 to 150, while the Liberals met with unparalleled disaster, securing only 40 out of the 157 seats they held in the previous Parliament. Mr Baldwin consequently resumed office and the leadership of the House, and, as is now generally known, the preference decisions of the 1920 Imperial Conference have been since endorsed by the House, and are now effective. But, apart from those decisions, there are other matters of Imperial concern, which call for consideration and adjustment, the settlement of which cannot, with safety, be much longer deferred. The question of Imperial Defence is, for instance, of foremost importance to the Dominions. It is futile to talk of peace when there is no peace, and to blind our eyes to the menacing attitude of Communistic Russia and the Ear Eastern nations that are coming under her tutelage. Nor can we afford to ignore the threatening state of affairs in what is termed the Near East, with the Arabs in revolt against the Erench in Syria, and Turkish interference in Mosul, while both France and Spain appear to be in dire trouble in Morocco in their war with the Riffs. The signs are ominous, and we should be foolish indeed did we fail to prepare for eventualities.