COLONIAL POLICY

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVI, Issue 23276, 20 February 1939, Page 10

COLONIAL POLICY

THE DURHAM REPORT

CENTENARY OBSERVED

IMPORTANCE OF PRINCIPLES

APPLICATION TO PRESENT

By Telegraph—Press Association —Copyright (Received February 19, 7.40 p.m.) British Wireless LONDON. Feb. 18 Interest attaches to the centenary of the famous Durham Report on Canada —which is now being commemorated —on account of the fact that it marked the birth of a new conception of responsibility in colonial affairs, the contrast of which, with other conceptions, still endures as an important factor underlying the international aspects of the colonial question. The first point is commented on in a leading article which the Times devotes to the centenary, while the second is brought out in a statement addressed to the Prime Minister, Mr. Chamberlain, by a large number of distinguished signatories. - The Times says the Durham Report marked the end of the old policy of acquiring colonies simply as a source of profit and it regards the report and the new policies to which it gave rise as "the channel through which the benefits of English liberty and English constitutional freedom have flowed to the Dominions and colonies." Question of Colonial Claims In the view of the signatories of the statement sent to the Prime Minister, what is fundamental to the whole question of colonial claims, is the purpose for which colonial territories are desired. They say it is undeniable that in" the past some colonial territories, although by no means all, have been acquired by the right of conquest or for economic purposes.

Future policy must be a form of trusteeship, which makes service to the inhabitants of the territory the only justifiable moral ground for securing and holding colonial territory. This conception of colonial policy has been built up during more than a century of effort by statesmen and others drawn from all parties in the State. It has received increasing recognition during the past 50 years. , International Safeguards Starting from that view, they reach the conclusion that the stipidations for the safeguarding of native interests in the Berlin and Brussels pacts, together with the principles of the League of Nations mandate system constitute the essential elements of an international character for native races in colonial territories. In the light of these considerations, and in relation to the question of the transfer of colonial territories, they lay down four principles, in accordance with which any transfer should be made, while expressing no opinion in advance, favourable or unfavourable, on proposals for the transfer of such territories to different administrations. The Principles ol Administration The principles are: 1. Respect for the wishes of the inhabitants, to be ascertained as far as possible by -an impartial inquiry. 2. Observance of obligations in treaties with native rulers. 3. Acceptance of the system of mandatory trusteeship, the primary object of which should be that of seeking to advance the moral and material conditions of the inhabitants. 4. The prohibition of slavery in all its forms, of economic exploitation of the territory in the interests of a single power, and of the creation of native armies for purposes outside the territories concerned. MANDATES QUESTION INHABITANTS' WISHES RIGHT TO CONSIDERATION POSSIBLE GERMAN DEMANDS (Received February 19, 5.5 p.m.) LONDON, Feb. 18 Under the auspices of the AntiSlavery and Aborigines Protection Society nineteen peers, six prelates, including the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Cosmo Gordon Lang, and the Archbishop of Westminster, Dr. Arthur Hinsley, many members of the Free Church and of the House of Commons have asked the Prime Minister, Mr. Chamberlain, to regard as vital the wishes and welfare of inhabitants, which can be ascertained by a Commission, in considering a transfer of colonial territories in connection with possible German demands. The memorialists urge trusteeship as the basis of policy and add that the will of a population should be the governing principle, because forcible transfer might lead to widespread victimisation and bloodshed. They say existing treaties must be observed though modification of mandates might be advisable.