EMPIRE CONFERENCE

Otago Witness, Issue 3523, 20 September 1921, Page 18

EMPIRE CONFERENCE

MR HUGHES SATISFIED. COLOMBO, September 12. Mr Hughes arrived aboard the Ormonde. Interviewed, he said that he was more than ever convinced that meetings at the heart of the Empire were of tremendous advantage to all concerned. Undoubtedly the advice and opinions oi dominion Ministers now carried great weight in Downing Street. He was generally satisfied with the work of the conference. He said that he anticipated much improved facilities for communication between the dominions and Great Britain by air and cable services. He would eont’nue to advocate the cheapest possible press rates from overseas. The proposal to duplicate the Pacific cable was being pushed on, and the matter would he gone into as soon as possible. The present intention was to hold the next meeting of the conference in 1923. A REMARKABLE INTERVIEW. CAPETOWN, September 14. The newspape! Volkstein, the Government organ, published a remarkable inter view by its London correspondent with General Smut 3, who declared that lie was only half ■-itisfied with the result of the Imperial C< nfcrence, but lie has hopes for the future because he eons id era that oi such occasions one is lucky if he gets only 5 per cent, of his views adopted. Genera Smuts strongly emphasised the necessity for a settlement of the trouble in Silesia as well as the abstinence of British states men from interference in such inter national affairs as did not deeply concerr them. An <-i i v. ould have to be out t< Stirring in tia - it '.''.- e.oddion of f'em

tral Europe. The dominions enjoyed a much sovereignty as they cared to get. General Smuts referred to the Foreig Office attending to the dominions’ affai; as an anomaly, which Mr Hughes, M Meighen, and himself had decided to 1< alone for the time being, because if tl idea of the sovereign independence o the dominions sank into the minds of tl people, the rest would follow automatical! in the course of time.