THE New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. FRIDAY, JUNE St, 1901.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 11685, 21 June 1901, Page 4

THE New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. FRIDAY, JUNE St, 1901.

The rumour which is current in Wellington that a second Conference of Premiers will be held in London on the occasion of the King's Coronation may have no other basis than that it is highly probable. This great national ceremonial, which is likely to take place during the summer of next year, will certainly be upon a scale of great magnificence, and be attended by that profuse and lavish pageantry so dear to all human kind. It would be entirely in keeping with the spirit and tendency of modern times that the Parliamentary chiefs of the various self-governing States which are the backbone of the Empire should be invited with the hereditary chiefs of the great feudatories to take part in the grand function. Their invitation would be a compliment to the various dominions, commonwealths and colonies of Greater Britain ; their attendance would add to the prestige of our King, who alone of the monarchs of the earth can summons

from oversea the constitutional ' leaders of free and self-governing peoples to do honour to his crowning. Apart from, and in addition to. the obvious political expediency of demonstrating on such a momeutous occasion the unity and loyally of the British nation, there is the very practical reason that a Conference of Premiers has much of the value of a grand national council without committing us hastily or prematurely to the formal institution of that inevilaDie body. The questions discussed at the Jubilee Conference have all been advancing a stage in the pas': four years ; in another year we shall all agree that quinquennial consideration ot Imperial topics is not, too frequent. When the present Imperial movement; has ripened to full fruition. and left the British peoples with the fullest freedom combined with the closest unity, His tor. will doubtless place June 2-1, 180", among the epoch-marking dates. On that day was held the first gathering fully representative of the political activities of the British peoples, and though it was altogether informal, being unauthorised by any legislation and possessed of no power to bind or to loose, it had nevertheless, in a very real sense, a most impressive effect. Every self-go-verning colony, or group of colonies, in the Empire had sent its Premier to London to pay loving homage to their aged Sovereign on the Sixtieth Anniversary of her accession to the Throne. That most memorable celebration over, they were invited by the Colonial Secretary to meet him in an informal conference. Among the events which have been facilitated by the understandings there arrived at, we may enumerate the fiscal preference given by Canada to British goods, the establishment of the Australian Commonwealth, the prompt support given by the colonies to the Mother Country in South Africa and the initiation of the Imperial Penny Post. It is not necessary to do more than call attention to these goodly steps towards more fitting Imperial relations in order to justify such gatherings. The Little England critics of Mr. Chamberlain would understand better the appreciation that the colonies have for his policy if they would take the trouble to see that he was responsible for this conference and that his broad-minded patriotism towards Greater Britain has powerfully helped us to transform paper resolutions into facts and deeds.

The Premiers of New Zealand and Tasmania stood alone at the Conference of '07 in holding that the time was ripe to render more formal the political ties that bind together Britain and her colonies. The others were agreed that for the time being it wag better to waive the right to have a voice in Imperial concerns which affect us seeing that this necessarily involved contributing towards Imperial expenditure. Under the Georges the cry arose: "No taxation without representation/' Under Victoria the answer came: "No representation without taxation." Tims completely have we changed the once unhappy political relationship existing between the British at Home and the British Abroad. But in the past year or two the colonies have realised that it is their bounden duty to assume as far as they can their shave of the Imperial burden. It would be impossible for any individual to draft at the present time any definite scheme which would give general satisfaction, but it is hardly to be questioned that at the next Conference of Premiers there would be unanimous approval of the abstract principle, and that some safe and cautious movement in the direction of giving Greater Britain a formal voice in the Imperial Councils could be arranged. What if a preferential tariff in the colonies were taken by the United Kingdom as a temporary equivalent for their Imperial contribution, this to be gradually modified into a Zollverein as the development of the colonies made them capable both of supplying the Home markets and of paying more proportionate contribution to Imperial Defence 1 This is but one of many suggestions, some more and some less practical, for the matter has been occupying the thoughts of many earnest and able friends of the Empire, and in multitude of counsel the happy mean may often bo found. Yet until a feasible suggestion is put forward by a politically representative Conference it is only beating the wind to discuss this vital question. Meanwhile it is well to keep in mind that under proportionate representation our Pacific colonies would cast more votes than , either Scotland oi Ireland in any Imperial Chamber. Among more immediate if not more pressing ques- ! tions which need new or renewed consideration is that of Imperial Postal Reform and Imperial Cables; to secure these co-ordinate action of all our Government is necessary, and as we have seen from the remarkable results attained in the matters discussed in June, 1897, there is no more potential influence in securing this than that Conference of Premiers which is at present our nearest approach to an Imperial Council.