THE New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. SATURDAY, JANUARY 9, 1926. THE EMPIRE AND THE PACT.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19221, 9 January 1926, Page 8

THE New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. SATURDAY, JANUARY 9, 1926. THE EMPIRE AND THE PACT.

The view that the Dominions, although they were not consulted concerning the Locarno Pact, cannot escape some of the results of

Britain's new obligations, has been put with some force by Lord Parmoor. Broadly stated thus, the

view is unassailable. Whether they ratify the treaties or not, the

Dominions cannot be unaffected by them. Article 9of the Pact itself reads—"The present treaty shall im-

pose no obligation upon any of the

British Dominions, or upon India, unless the Government of such Dominion, or of India, signifies its

acceptance thereof." The purport

of that article cannot be fully appreciated without recognition of the facts that made its. inclusion unavoidable. That the Dominions were not consulted arose, not from any set purpose to exclude them from negotiations, but from the necessities of the case. There was no time to consult them. It was

impossible to gather a fully representative delegation prior to the conference, in order to discuss the part Britain should play in it. Further, the oonference itself had to be small, every member of it being charged with responsibilities at once authoritative and delicate. The addition of members from Britain's oversea territories would have meant swelling the number without any gain in efficiency.,, At the best they would have been supernumeraries ; if not, they might have proved an embarrassment. Besides being small, the conference had to be largely informal and certainly speedy. Sir Austen Chamberlain did the best in the circumstances. He went ahead with his great task, leaving the Dominions to ratify or ignore the outcome as they pleased. Article 9 simply sets out that fact, inevitable in the circumstances, in

precise terms. Yet the fact that .the Dominions were not consulted, and are definitely excluded from the Pact's operation unless they contract themselves into it, has made a breach in the doctrine of the Empire's diplomatic unity. That doctrine was strengthened by the Imperial conaultation that took place concerning, Britain's ratification of the Lausanne treaty and by the

method of negotiating the London agreement on reparations. 1 It had come to be an accepted principle that the Foreign Office could not enter into any critical engagement, particularly one involving a risk of war, without consulting the'oversea Governments. That principle was not honoured in this instance, however the happening may be minimised by the circumstances. The Pact and its attendant arbitration treaties, with two of which Britain is intimately concerned, have to do with the possibility of war, although their aim is to obviate it. Britain, by their terms, cannot remain in insular aloofness in the event of Germany or France or Belgium becoming a belligerent by reason of any breach of frontier. How stand the Dominions in such an event 1 They cannot be unconcerned. As Lord Parmoor points out, they cannot escape being tho enemies of Britain's enemy. Much 1 as she might wish, Britain cannot keep them out of the range of hostilities. Ifher foreign policy so inevitably commits them, they have a moral right to ask for her, assistance, as well as a moral obligation to go to her aid if she should embark upon a cause that they regard as vital to her honour and wellbeing. Whatever the wording of the Pact, Britain's definite identification with European frontier questions does not lessen one whit the implications of the fact that she is the centre of a world-wide Empire. Her express renunciation of the doctrine of* non-co-operation in Europe cannot very well be made the ground of any Dominion's non-co-operation with her. The same shrinkage of the world that makes her aloofness from Europe impracticable tends to draw them within the zone of international affairs. Either the Empire's diplomatic unity must be foregone—a proceeding that would imply the abandonment of Imperial unity in any effective form —or means must be found to make that unity effective.

The Dominions' non-consultation in the negotiation of the Locarno treaties has certainly raised the question of that diplomatic unity in an acute form. The matter cannot be left where it is. The Dominions may decide not to contract themselves into these treaties, but it is unthinkable that they should contract themselves out of the League of Nations, and the League is irrevocably involved in the operation of the treaties. It would seem, therefore, that the Dominions are inescapably involved in the new situation that the Pact has created, for they cannot take part in the affairs of the League as units wholly unassociated with

Britain. The logic of the facts drives home the' necessity for putting Imperial consultation on foreign policy on a thoroughly workable footing. It must be done speedily. There should be an attempt by the six Governments of the Empire ■ to reach together a practical solution of this pressing problem. Various ways of ensuring effective consultation have been mooted. It is admitted that Mr, Baldwin's calling of the High Commissioners together, for round-table talk with himself and the Foreign Secretary, has been but a tentative expedient. It cannot accomplish what is necessary. The summoning of an Imperial Conference on every critical ocoasion is quite impossible. But this matter might itself be made the subject of an Imperial Conference, in the hope of finding a way acceptable all round, and the calling of such a conference should be treated as a step of first urgency.