EMPIRE PREFERENCE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 19204, 21 June 1924, Page 9

EMPIRE PREFERENCE

AFTERMATH OF DEBATE. AN INTERESTING PROPOSAL. A J VISITS TO DOMINIONS SUGGESTED. Prow Association —By Telegraph.—Copyright. LONDON, June 19. After the defeat of the first four Pre- ~ fcrence resolutions Mr Baldwin announced r that he did not intend to move the remaining six. An analvsis of the divisions shows many Labour abstentions. Five Labourites voted against the Government (Messrs Had Ml u Guest, Church, Rose, Sexton, and Wellhead). Fifteen Liberals voted for the resolutions, including. G eneral Seely, Sir -■; Edward Grigg, and Sir William Suther-. , land. ■ } Mr Lloyd George’s support of the four Preference resolutions is causing much. /, comment. It is regarded as heralding changes in the political atmosphere. Some of the Labour members are press-/'; ing Parliament to vote money to enable , Ministers and others to visit the dominions i and colonies during the recess. It is felt that the untravelled members, particularly ■ Labour members, lack the first-hand knowledge which is necessary to deal with , Imperial questions.—Sydney Sun and Ken-' ■’ ter Cables. INTEREST IN THE EMPIRE. ,■1 A FEATURE OF THE DEBATE. LONDON, June 19. Mr Baldwin was the principal guest at the Australian and iNew Zealand Club’s luncheon. Ho begged the overseas people not to take last night’s parliamentary vote on the Preference proposals to mean that the people in Britain did not care. . Be said he believed that the country had - never been more eager to learn things about the Empire. He Lad been most’ . forcibly struck during the debate by the " testimony to that interest which they/- 1 ' might vainly have looked for some years /• ago in Britain. The Opposition would.’.,, cordially co-operates with thh Government! in the latter’s expressed desire to carry-0 out one of the most essential thingsnamely, to spread the Einpire’s population :t more evenly over the various parts.—Reuter. SOUTH AFRICA DISAPPOINTED. CAPETOWN, June 19. The defeat of the Preference resolu- 1 . tions in the British Parliament has caused ' '■ great disappointment. It is almost cer- /‘ tain to be seized unon by the new Gov-;.y eminent as a pretext for abolishing ■Bri-; tish Preference in the South African, a Union. Such Preference has always been ' opposed by the Hertzog Party.—Renter.’/j