Manawatu Daily Times The Prime Minister’s Mission

Manawatu Times, Volume XLIX, Issue 3445, 6 September 1926, Page 6

Manawatu Daily Times The Prime Minister’s Mission

The policy laid down by the Prime Minister in the House last week regarding his attitude towards the major questions to he submitted to (he Imperial Conference, may briefly be summed up as follows; —“Whilst New Zealand values exceedingly her freedom and right to be consulted on Imperial affairs, she recognises that in matters of foreign policy it was not always possible to give effect to the separate views of all the Dominions, and, she is, therefore, content. to leave, where necessary, the ultimate decision of the Imperial Government.” Such a policy may be said to be founded on the conviction that the integrity and preservation of the Empire as a whole is of more vital importance than any divergent interests of its component parts—an opinion held bv a vast majority of people in this Dominion. The acceptance of such a policy also illustrates the difficulty of devising a formula that will allow free play to the aspirations of all parts of the Empire without impairing the unity of the whole. There has been of late years in some parts of the Empire a movement towards a demand for a greater degree of autonomy. While such demands are unknown in New Zealand, they come with overincreasing persistency from other Dominions and will no doubt play an important part in the discussions at the coming Conference. Happenings in Canada, Australia and South Africa could be quoted in support of such an opinion. The question as to the status and the right of consultation of the Dominions has received special—one might say undue—prominence since Britain entered the Locarno Pact. The provisions of this pact are certainly of intense concern to the people of the whole of the Empire. As members pointed out in the House last week, it was a treaty whereby Britain undertook to go to war under certain circumstances with France against Germany or with Germany against France. Of such importance did the Australian Prime Minister regard the provisions of this Pact that ho declined to accept the obligations imposed by the treaty until the people of Australia were given an opportunity of expressing an opinion . Another matter of perhaps not quite such immediate importance is the question of naval defence and the Dominion's contribution, towards the general upkeep of the Imperial Navy. As far as New Zealand is concerned, however—and the same applies to Australia—it is not so much a question as to the actual amount contributed, as it is the direction in which any additional contribution would be expended. Although it, can hardly be denied that the Dominions are not bearing a full share of the burden of naval defence, it is equally true that any scheme which does not embrace a strong defensive base in the Pacific provides no adequate protection of Britain's antipodean possessions. That Mr. Coates holds a similar opinion is shown by his reference to the Singapore base. There are, of course, many other subjects that will come up for discussion, of which immigration and inter-imperial trade relations are perhaps the most important. The Government’s migration policy lias at various times met with keen criticism—criticism from directly opposing quarters. While some complain that too little progress is being made in bringing settlers from overseas, others blame the whole of our unemployment trouble on to what they call a mistaken immigration policy. We can hardly agree with the Prime Minister when he says that the re-distribution of the population of Europe is of first importance. We believe that charity begins at home and that as far as New Zealand is concerned, at any rate, the welfare of the Dominion is paramount to a re-distribution of overcrowded populations. Any policy which ignores this fact is economically unsound and must inevitably defeat itself. In discussing the position of the Dominion in relation to the Mother Country, (he, remarks made by the Hon, Downic Stewart deserve special mention as showing a grasp of Imperial affairs only equalled perhaps by Sir Joseph Ward. “No nation,” he said, “has more authority than it has power, and for a small democracy like New Zealand to claim the right to make peace or war would be suicidal. A loose alliance of each Dominion with the Mother Country could only create an illusory situation. Ollier Powers would pay no regard to what a Dominion might regard as its international ’ status but would regard the whole Empire as at war if the Imperial Government was at war.” "■ ——— —— —*——