FOREIGN POLICY

Northern Advocate, 6 August 1924, Page 5

FOREIGN POLICY

CONTINUOUS CONSULTATION.

PRINCIPLE RECOGNISED,

PRELIMINARY EXAMINATION

; (Special to "Northern Advocate.") j | WELLINGTON, This Day. J ; Mr Massey made a statement yester- j | day regarding the Imperial Conference J ' proposals. He said: During the last i week in June I received a telegram j from Mr Ramsay Mac Donald. The mes- j ' sage was confidential and consequently L cannot iti the absence of authority I quote the exact terms. Mr Mac Donald ! stated that lie and his Cabinet were ! concerned as to the 'adequacy of the ! present system of consulation with the | other self-governing parts of the Emi pire on matters of foreign policy and ■ general Imperial interest. His Govern- • meat fully accepts the principle of the ! necessity for effective arrangements for continuous consultation in all-important j matters of common Imperial concern j j and for such necessary concerted action j J as the several Governments may deter- j mine. The British Government also i realises that any action to be taken as ] a result of consultation must be sub- ! ject to the constitutional requirements of each country. Finally Mr MacDonald adds that the feeling" of himself | and his colleagues is that the time has | I hardly come either to revive the idea ' of a constitutional conference or to call . a meeting of the Imperial Conference , to consider the problems connected with i the subject, but he says that his Gov- j ! eminent would like these problems j ! given a preliminary examination in the j j near future and it has occurred to his j | Government that a possible method j would be to have a meeting of repre- j sentatives of each country concerned j who have had experience of eonstitu- j tional working to consider these pro- j blems and present a report as a basis i of further discussion. Mr Mac Donald j asks how I view this idea. The point ! of real importance is. to ensure that j nothing will be done in the direction j of weakening the unity of the Empire. J I mentioned that it would not be pos- j sible for me or any of my colleagues in J i the Cabinet to leave New Zealand for j some time, but that I saw no objection i to the appointment of a small committee to carry out a preliminary examin- j ntion of this difficult subject. It mirjlit | ' be undertaken by men not necessarily j 1 in political life from different parts of the Empire who are well versed in con , stitutional law and procedure, whose ; report could be considered by the vari ous Governments before the meeting of j the next Imperial, Conference. I have j since heard nothing of the proposal and ■no conference so far as I know has I actually been called to consider the t { .subject.'' j