DOMINION AND WAR

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXII, Issue 22209, 9 September 1935, Page 6

DOMINION AND WAR

SOVEREIGN STATUS

THEORY OF NEUTRALITY DOUBTFUL IN FACTVIEWS OF JOHN BUCHAN Itik his new book, "The King's Grace," John Buchan, now Lord Tweedsmuir, Governor-General of Canada, discusses in a chapter titled "The Changing Empire" the status of the Dominions as affected by the Statute of Westminster anu their relation to the Motherland in time of war. '

"In former days,"- he writes, "the handling of foreign policy had been in the hands of the British Cabinet, and its decisions had bound the Dominions. Under its auspices treaties had been signed, and by its will war had been declared and peace concluded. "But tho new conception of an alliance of sovereign States made this procedure impossible. A Dominion could not pledge itself to war, except with tho consent of its own Parliament; it must have the right to make treaties in "tho namo of tho King; it must, if it so desired, have diplomatic representation in foreign capitals. Tho problem was how to combine these necessary functions with some unify'ng principlo which would enable the Empire to have a continuous foreign policy, and, in a crisis, to speak to the world with a singlo voice.

Old Methods Gone "When Mustapha Kemal'j troops advanced to the Dardanelles im the autumn of 1922 and for a moment Britain seemed to be on the vergo of war, Mr. Lloyd George appealed to the Empire for aid. The response of the Dominions, half-hearted and resentful, was a warning that the old methods had gone for over. The ensuing Treaty of Lausanne wan formally accepted by Canada, but not any obligations arising from it, and at the Imperial Conference that year it uts resolved that 'no treaty should be negotiated by any Government of thes Empire without due consideration of the posnible effects in other parts of the Empire.'

"That year, too, Canada arranged a fishery treaty with the United States, the signature of which she insisted musl; be by the Canadian plenipotentiary under powers issued to him by the King. From 1924 onward various Dominions appointed their separate diplomatic representatives. Isj the Loontrno treaties the Dominions and India Were specially excluded from the British obligations arising thereunder, unless they specifically assumed them. The Balfour Definition "The Empire was drifting into a constitutional tangle, which it was the business of the Imperial Conference in 195!6 to unravel. A formula drafted by Lord Balfour attempted * a definition of the relations of Great Britain and the Dominions—' They are autonomous communities within the British Empire, equal in status, in no way subordinate one to another in any respect in their domestic or external affairs, though united by a common allegiance to the Crown, and freely associated as members of the British Commonwealth of Nations.'

"From this certain consequences followed, of which the chief wan that tha British Government, as Government, had no right of interference in Dominion affairs, and that a GovernorGeneral must represent the King and the King alone, and be appointed on Dominion advice. A committee of lawyers and officials sat in 1929 to work out certain conclusions, and the reuullt was the Statute of Westminster. which became law in 1931. This enactment removed, with a few small exceptions, every shackle from a Dominion's sovereign power. It left the Crown as the sole legal link holding the alliance together, and it provided, therefore, that any law affecting the Crown should require the assent of every Parliament in the Empire. Finding a Way Vj If the scriptual . ' Via, Veritas, .Vitia,' be taken as' a motto for any great human undertaking, the two last words have been for the Empire interpreted and fulfilled. From the days of the Elizabethans it has had the Life. It, lias now by slow stages reached the Truth, a doctrine which permits free growth within a generous framework. It remains to find the Way, the machinery of an executive alliance, the means of giving expression to its unity of spirit.,, - - 4,1 These means we are still in proceuii of discovering in the various departments of economics, foreign affairs and defence. The conference at Ottawa it) 11332 was such an attempt: so were the numerous trade agreements negotiated in the last few years. The pressure of economic problems is forcing the component parts of the Empire into a closer collaboration, and correcting the fissiparous tendency which was inevitable after the dissolution of the older bonds. " A Court of law, 1 think, would have some difficulty in interpreting the exact meaning of the Balfour Definition, or in pronouncing upon the full implications. of the Statute of Westminster. Can. a Dominion remain at peace if Britain is at war? In theory, perhaps, but scarcely in fact for no imperial statute would prevent Britain's opponent from bombarding the Dominion's ports if it so desired. A Dominion may have power to secede firom the Empire, but what then becomes of itsi relation to the Crown ? What is the righii of the constituent provinces of a Dominion against a Dominion Government, rights of which Britain in some cases remains the trustee. What indeed is the true meaning of a Dominion? Unity Through the Crown " We have left unexplored certain arcana imperii in the hope that the need for exploration never arise. That has always been the British way. When we start to write out a constitution »vo never make a complete job of it. We do not believe that the meaning of an Empire, which is in continuous growth, can be enshrined in any document. So instead of a definition wg have been content with spacious generalities.

" But one thing has emerged from the debate, the tremendous meaning of the Crown. It is the foundation of the new doctrine, the one principle which gives unity to a vast growth whose destiny is unpredictable. Without it no tie of sentiment or blood or tradition would bind for long. To the Empire it provides a centre for its long memories and a personality for its devotion. There can be 110 question but that it hasi acquired since the war a far deeper ancl more intimate meaning for the Bribains overseas."