AFFAIRS OF EMPIRE

New Zealand Times, Volume LI, Issue 12021, 26 December 1924, Page 7

AFFAIRS OF EMPIRE

THE PROPOSED CONFERENCE DOMINIONS MAY DECLINE, BUT QUESTION IS IMPORTANT. iAi MATTER OF PRECEDENT. Br Teleirmph.— Press Assn.—Cowrisfhfr Australian and N.Z. CaM» Association. LONDON, December 23. The Colonial Office explains that while the Government is eagerly desirous of a conference, it does not desire unduly to influence the dominions, who will remain- perfectly free to exorcise the preference of consultation by cablegram, instead of coming to London. » The Colonial Office view is that this is one of those cases whore personal consultation is supremely impoitant, and, furthermore, that it marks a long stride in progress towards more intimate Imperial relations concerning the Empire’s foreign policy, this being the first time in British history an ad hoc conference has been proposed by Britain upon a specific subject. If held it will establish a precedent which succeeding Governments could not ignore. ’ Tho reason for March being suggested for the conference is that i/h© Council of the Leogue of Nations meets during the middle of March to receive the international decisions on the acceptance or rejection of the Protocol. CANADIAN OPINION TIME NOT CONVENIENT. PARLIAMENT IN SESSION. Reuter’s Telegram (Received December 25, 11.10 p.m.) OTTAWA, December 24. While no official comment is forthcoming, the fact that the Dominion Parliament will be in full session during March makes the suggested time for the proposed Imperial Conference in London an inconvenient one for Canada. MERE SPECULATION ALLOCATION OF £1,000,000. OFFICIAL STATEMENT. Australian and N.Z. Cable Association, LONDON, December 23. The Colonial Office emphatically repudiates all the anticipations of its intentions (or tho allocation of the £1,000,000 trade grant. The Government is not committed to any soheme, theoretically or practically, and the allocation will be solely dependent upon tho investigation and report of the Imperial Elconomio Committee, not a single member of which has yet been appointed, or even considered. The responsibility for all appointments, apart from the British nominees, devolves upon the dominions. In the meantime, all the statements concerning subsidies, subventions, preferential licenses relating to meat, fruit, dairy produce, and other products, are declared to be merely the wildest guess-work. The present idea is to devote the million principally to the improvement of marketing conditions. MEAT LICENSE SCHEME ANOTHER SPECULATION. Reuter's Telegram. LONDON, December 23. Regarding the report from Sydney that this British Government has endorsed the scheme for licensing the export of meat from the dominions to Britain in quantity sufficient to make up the deficiency of home-grown supplies, it is learned authoritatively that while the Government is sympathetic towards the soheme, a definite decision is unlikely until the matter has been considered by the Food Commission. “A MARE'S NEST.” Australian and N.Z. Cable Arsoeiarian. 1 LONDON, December 23. Mr A. R. Haesan, London represen■tative of the Australian Meat Council, explaining the meat scheme “mare’s nest,” into which some London newspapers tumbled, says that ho cabled privately about the matter. He regarded Mr Baldwin’s speech as an endorsement of tho council’s scheme. The council apparently concluded that the scheme had been adopted, and its views were then cabled to London.