BRITISH EMPIRE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22498, 16 February 1935, Page 14

BRITISH EMPIRE

DISINTEGRATING FACTORS A CALL TO STAND FIRM STEADYING FORCE IN WORLD CHAOS (Special to Daily Times.) WELLINGTON. February 15. “We should be proud that we are British, and that.we belong to the British Empire. Even though we hear the Empire creaking at its joints, ,under the stress of influences tending towards its disintegration, Great Britain to-day is regarded by the nations as a steadying force in a world of chaos,” said Sir Hugh Denison, chairman of Associated Newspapers, Ltd., of Sydney, who, with Lady Denison, was the guest of honour at a luncheon given bv the Royal Empire Society in Wellington to-day. Sir Hugh, who is vice-president of the society, has had a distinguished career in business and politics in Australia, and for some time was Commonwealth representative in the United States of America, Sir Hugh said the Dominion was looked upon as one of the brightest sections of the Empire for its extreme loyalty. It was held in high esteem at the centre of the Empire for this reason, and for the commercial relationships which were a further bond with Great Britain. Sir Hugh said he had had the honour of sitting at the councils of the society in Loudon since May. In the ranks of the society and among many people in high places with whom he had talked there was a strong feeling that all was not well with the Empire to-day. In saying that, he was not sounding a note of depression or tragedy. None the Jess, he continued, there was au impression that the Empire was beginning to creak a little at the joints. There was a feeling abroad that the Statute of Westminster had not been,altogether for the good of the Empire as an empire. In Ireland there were portents that could not be disregarded. Another disintegrating influence was South Africa’s decision to take no part in the defence of the Empire, and her disregard for the Ottawa agreements by her conclusion of trade treaties with foreigners. Thirdly, the future of India was a question of grave concern. Nevertheless, it was felt in England that if the question were made the subject of a referendum in Great Britain there would be a heavy “No” on the issue of self-government for India. “There is a definite conclusion among members of the Royal Empire Society, in Great Britain,” said Sir Hugh, “ that there must be a big move undertaken during the next two or three years to stir public patriotism to an appreciation of what the Empire means and stands for. I make this appeal to you to see that New Zealand stands firm with the Old Country. If the dominions and the, lesser parts of the Empire are solid in their devotion to the Empire it means a great deal at the centre of the Empire.” Coming more specifically to the political and economic situation of the world as ho saw it. Sir Hugh Denison said there was an undercurrent of feeling among some of the big financial men that all was certainly not well in the world of finance. There was a strong belief that unless great Britain stood firm and held the position that it did to-day something serious might happen in the financial structure of the world. In September he was visiting the Scandinavian countries and Finland. Although all these countne ß were regarded during the war as enemy countries of Great Britain, he found a pronounced impression among business men there to look to Great Britain for stability amid the chaos of European conditions. They considered that if anything happened to Great Britain financially a general collapse must follow. These countries formed portion of what was known as the sterling bloc. If circumstances called for it, there would be strong support forthcoming from such countries in defence of the pound and of Britain’s position in world finance. Sir Hugh went on to observe that a change had come about in the United States in the attitude of the business men there towards Great Britain.- During his term as representative of the Commonwealth in the United States business leaders there had continually inquired why it was that Great Britain held to a conservative practice in finance and commerce. Since the advent of the slump, numbers of those same business men were in changed circumstances. These men now said that, so far from Great Britain being a decrepit old country, her conservatism in finance and politics had stood her in good stead. Mr H. G. Wells’s sane mind had registered the fact that while everything might not be right in the Old Country, still England stood to-day as the first country of the world. We should be proud that we belonged to the British race.