UNITY OF EMPIRE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19455, 11 October 1926, Page 12

UNITY OF EMPIRE.

DISINTEGRATION DANGER. COMMENT ON FRENCH REPORT. SIR JAMES ALLEN'S VIEWS. [BY TELEGRAPH. OWN CORRESPONDENT. ] HAMILTON, Saturday. Spirited comment was made by Sir James Allen, lately High Commissioner for New Zealand in London, in an interview in Hamilton regarding a cable message from London, in which it was stated that the British colossus was tottering to its fall. • "The cablegram imputes," said Sir James, "that it is the general impression in Prance that the Imperial Conference will show that the British colossus is tottering to its fall. The New Zealand public will no doubt note that the quotation, though given as a general opinion in France, is pure fiction. On the contrary, French men and women who have knowledge enabling them to form a sound judgment about the Imperial Conference and - the relationship between the Motherland and the Dominions have no such idea, nor have they any desire that the Empire, which supported and saved France in its time of trial, should 'totter to its fall.' "It may be well for the New Zealand public to examine for the moment the reasons given for this so-called 'general impression.' There appear to be four reasons. First, Lord Byng's return from Canada is as a sign that that Dominion is fired of Imperial connections. No intelligent Frenchman has any such notion, for he knows that Lord Byng's return was due to the fact that his term of office had expired, and another Governor-General had been appointed to succeed him. Now for the second reason given in the cablegram. South Africa's desire for a new flag is regarded as proof that the Union wishes to cut the cable. It may safely be asserted that intelligent Frenchmen know that the Ministry of South Africa has more than once stated publicly that neither the Prime Minister, his Government, nor the people have any desire to cut the cable. Indeed, the movement for a national flag has quite a different object in view.

"As for the third reason. American penotration of Australia is cited as evidence that the Commonwealth also does not desire to remain in the, Empire. It is only necessary to • quote this reason to show how flimsy, nay, how false, it is. "Then there is the fourth reason published in the cablegram, that the English hold in India is weakening fast. Great developments are taking place in India, but the Indians and the French know that under the British constitution and with the well-known sympathy of Britain toward the great Indian race, the ultimate result will be safer along the present sound evolutionary methods than in any other conceivable way. It must be gratifying to the French, as it is to British people, to have noticed during the last year or two the great progress that has been made in friendly feeling and good understanding between the Indians and ourselves.".

A cablegram from London on Saturday stated that the Paris correspondent of the Morning Post says the details of the Imperial Conference are being followed with interest by the French press. The general impression is that the conference will show that the British colossus is tottering to its fall. Lord Byng's return from Canada is taken as a sign that that Dominion is tired of Imperial connections. South Africa's desire for a new flag is regarded as proof that the Union wishes to "cut the cable." Again, American penetration of Australia is cited as evidence that the Commonwealth also does not desire to remain in the Empire. It is also considered that the British hold on India *is weaksning fast. The dictum of Turgot (the •18th century statesman of France) that "colonies are like fruits which drop off. when they are ripe," is .continually quoted with' approval.