DEFENCE OF THE EMPIRE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LX, Issue 18461, 26 July 1923, Page 7

DEFENCE OF THE EMPIRE.

AUSTRALIA'S ATTITUDE. ' COMMON- POLICY ESSENTIAL. ii- ..■'■ ■' .; _ _ ' ■= • ■ CENTRAL FORCE OPPOSED. vn . —. —- : «. T!v Telosrnrm—Press AmnrinfiVm—Convrieht. A. and N.Z. MELBOURNE. July 25. '. In the Federal House, of Representatives the Prime Minister, Mr. S. M. Bruce, oufined Australia's agenda for the Imperial Conference. He 1 explained, the Ministry's attitude toward Empire questions, especially emphasising the necessity for civinc the Dominions a voice in foreign affairs. Mr." Bruce . mentioned . that, the notion of Mr. Lloyd George in brinein e the Empire to the brink of war with Turkey was most unfortunate. ~ Opposition . members taunted Mr. Bruce "with being a member of, the Hughes Ministry, which supported Mr. Lloyd George s action. ; , Mr. ■ Bruce replied that he made no apology, for, as Great Britain decided to take action, there was no alternative but to assist. Bv its prompt action the Commonwealth probablv prevented war. Mr. Bruce declared that two outstand ing questions at' the Imperial Conference would be foreign policy and defence. The Imperial Government had forwarded th«fullest, information on , foreign affairs, butsuch information was always received concurrently with the public announcement it always came when too late to influence decisions. If Australia was to take part in Britain's wars she should have a stronger voice: in Empire policy.. She was not now being consulted as she' should be on many questions of peat importance. If a basis regarding Empire policy were not reached it would mean the disintegration of the Empire,, and the'result of that would be disastrous. Urging the need for closer consultation*, Mr. Bruce said that he believed some good would result from the • appointment of a Minister in Britain for a short period, provided he retained Ministerial status. He also favoured the creation of a' small Australian Secretariat within the British' Foreign Office to assist in informing public opinion in Australia. Another aspect was whether the separate Domin ions were to be entitled to conclude separate treaties on their own account. -,'f Naval Union lor the Pacific.

Dealing with defence, Mr. Bruce said that neither the League of Nations nor the Washington Conference solved the defence problems for Australia. Australia was opposed to a central Empire force with monetary contributions. She -would accept • her share in a naval union of the Dominions for defence in the Pacific. There was room for a conference of the Pacific nations, to discuss the armament question. Defence -was an impossible task for Australia by herself; , only by the different parts of the Empire acting together could a ■ proper scheme of " Empire defence be secured. He would tell the conference that Australia was prepared to So her part in such a scheme. The establishment of a Singapore base was a condition precedent to the establishment of any large ■ fleet there.. Therefore the proposal must commend itself to the people of Australia. ' It showed that Britain . recognised the heart of,the Empire was not now in the North Sea, bus had shifted to the Pacific. , The proposal was the carrying out of what had for. long been the Australian ideal. ; He believed that the Ministry was doing its best in the interests of the. Commonwealth. It held that Australia should defend herself, and that within 'the. Em-, pire should be a common , policy for, the whole Empire. The wholo question should be approached from a high Australian standpoint.

" Trade Reciprocity to be Urged. . Mr. Bruce next dealt "with the importance of the development of airship and wireless services. In &1 these matters he reiterated that he would not commit Australia to ono penny of expense till Parliament had full opportunity of discussing the decisions ; of the conference. Turning to the : Economic Conference. Mr. Bruce declared that, the most important subjects for discussion were oyer-' seas settlement and trade ■, development; Bound up with . the land settlement question was the problem of finding markets for Empire products. : Unless Australia could find markets for her surplus products it was useless to go on with ; the migration scheme. There was no reason why Australia . should not .; enter ■ - into arrangements for trade within the Empire, "which, while not ;. shutting ' the door to other nations, would help Britain and. the Empire over a period when the markets of the whole world were unstable. The only way to . meet the situation was reciprocity within the Empire, and he proposed to urge this with all his power. Upon Australia was thrown the obligations of showing the need for preference. If. Australia could not find markets in Britain she must inevitably find them somewhere else. That meant some other nation's goods would be substituted for those of Britain. That was the last thing the Ministry desired, because it would be most serious to Britain. In regard to preference, he declared that trade within the "Empire would increase the purchasing power 01 the Dominions from Britain. The debate was adjourned. COORDINATION OF FORCES. INQUIRY NEARLY ENDED. s ' • . ——— . :: ' .AN EARLY STATEMENT.: Australian and N.Z. Cable Association. (Reed. . 10.60 p.m.) LONDON. July 24. . The Committee of Imperial Defence has nearly concluded its inquiry into the coordination of the Empire's fighting forces; It is expected that its conclusions will reach the ; overseas Governments in ample time for consideration by the Imperial Conference. Possibly a statement will be made in the House of Commons this week.