UNITY OF EMPIRE.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LI, Issue 199, 24 July 1931, Page 7

UNITY OF EMPIRE.

PRIME MINISTER’S ATTITUDE. WELLINGTON, July 23. In the course of his reply in the House of Representative’s this evening to the debate on the Imperial Conference tlie Prime Minister said that several members had asked wliat was his attitude to the questions raised at the conference! Before liis departure for England lie had. gone to considerable trouble in a speech he* had made in the House to inform •members what he stood for. He had explained that he stood for the unity of the Empire, and had made quite clear the attitude he intended to take up. He fully recognised that it was not for him to dictate to the people of Great Britain in respect to their fiscal policy, but at the same time he recognised that one of the main questions to he discussed was the stimulation of Empire trade and the best means of achieving that end. When at Home he had pointed out the measure of preference that New Zealand gave to Britain, the extent of its trade with the Motherland, and liow steps were being taken to increase it wherever possible. Wliile he had not asked for anything in return, he felt that if the question of Empire trade were to be discussed it was better to discuss it frankly, and to point out that if Britain adopted a system of preference similar to that adopted by New Zealand it would stimulate trade between the two countries. Mr Forbes said there had never been any definite suggestion made in respect to bulk purchase. “All the talk of bulk purchase,” lie said, “was just as airy as the talk we have had from the Labour benches during this debate. I wanted to hear some practical scheme.”

The Leader of the Labour Party, Mr H. E. Holland: What practical ideas did you put before the Conference ? Tlie Prime Minister said lie wanted some practical details before lie was prepared to commit the Dominion to any scheme. Something more than mere wprds was wanted, and all the time lie was in the Old Country he had never heard a suggestion as to how a scheme of bulk purchase and import boards could be brought into effect. All the Prime Minister of England, Mr Ramsay MacDonald, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, . Mr Phillip Snowden, and Sir William Graham had said was that they had an open mind on the matter. He found that the scheme bail never got beyond the election pledge stage, and that no practical details had been arranged. That was the position, yet members blamed him because lie had not been able to bring from those airy nothings a scheme that was going to benefit the farmers of the country. A committee set up to deal with the question was disappointed because it was asked to sit so long investigating bulk purchase find import boards only to find that the wljole thing was a futility. Referring to the Statute of Westminster, Mr Forbes said he had taken up the attitude that the people of New Zealand were quite content with the present position. The Dominion reserved the right that the Parliament of this country. should he able to say whether it wished to take advantage of the statute or not. That would be for some future Parliament to decide. While in England he was in an atmosphere with the Labour Party bound down to free trade. Even while the conference was on Mr Snowden had spoken in his own electorate in a fnanlier which was not by liny means favourable to Empire preference. Mr Thomas had spoken in similar strain, and it was felt in many quarters that it was hardly proper to talk in that strain in view of the fact that Empire preference was one of the subjects under discussion by the conference. It had been said that the Dominions had gone Homo to benefit at the expense of the Motherland, but he had made it quite clear that so far as New Zealand was concerned no concession was wanted at the expense of Britain. Stagnation in trade at Home was of just as much concern to people in the Dominion as those in England, for New Zealand realised that it meant that thousands of English people were not able to buy its products. He had stated that whatever might be done in Great Britain by way of giving a preference to the Dominion would be reciprocated to the full.