THE NEW HEBRIDES

New Zealand Times, Volume XXVIII, Issue 6052, 9 November 1906, Page 7

THE NEW HEBRIDES

THE CONVENTION ISSUED. COMMENTS BAT LEADING LONDON NEWSPAPERS. A GRAVE ERROR. (Received November 8, 11.37 p.m.) LONDON, November 8. Tho Now Hebrides Convention has been issued as a Parliamentary papei. Commenting on the terms of the Convention, “Tho Times” says: The Imperial authorities committed a grave error at the beginning of tho year in agreeing to hold a joint conference on tho New Hebrides question without Australia. If Australian representatives had attended, the natural mistake of agreeing to tho,municipal provisions of tho Convention might not have been committed. The conduct of negotiations without Australia was wrong in principle. “Tho Times" expresses the hope that at tho Imperial Conference in April Mr Deakin will not waste time in recrimination, but will devoto his energies to insisting on the creation of some permanent means of communication between tho Commonwealth and the Foreign Office, with a view to preventing a recurrence of a similar sacrifice of Australian interests and aspirations. , Tho “Morning Post” says Australian thinkers see the local inconveniences of joint control in tho New Hebrides, but find it difficult to appreciate tho much more important problem of Britain’s relations with the Great Powers, who are much nearer England than the New Hebrides are to Auetraiia.