IMPERIAL CONFERENCE.

Otago Witness, Issue 3782, 7 September 1926, Page 9

IMPERIAL CONFERENCE.

NEW ZEALAND’S ATTITUDE. STATEMENT BY PRIME MINISTER. WELLINGTON, September 1. In the House this afternoon the Prime Minister moved—‘’That the statement made by him in the {louse of Representatives on August 17 last regarding the agenda paper of the Imperial Conference do lie on the table and be printed.” He then placed the' following statement of his views upon the matter* to be discussed at the impending conference before the House. ‘‘Before entering upon any discussion in detail of the subjects to be considered at the Imperial Conference, I desire to call the attention of the House to the fact that many questions of grave difficulty and of vital importance to the Empire which will doubtless arise for consideration are. by their nature, unsuitable for public discussion. It will be understood that where subjects are dealt with at the conference which materially affect New Zealand interests. the decisions arrived at will be submitted to this Parliament for its consult ration, and, if necessary, ratification, but I think it proper, however, to ensure honourable members, and indeed the country generally, that it will be my earnest aim to continue unaltered in degree or in character New Zealand’s traditional attitude towards the Mother Country. It will, I think, be sufficient to announce ibis intention and to lay down here a general principle by which I shall be guided at the conference—that while New Zealand values exceedingly her freedom and her present right to he consulted on Imperial affairs, and is glad to avail herself of this right, she recognises that in matters of foreign policy it is not always possible to give effect to the separate view's of all the dominions, and that New Zealand, wliei-e necessary, leaves the ultimate decision to the Imperial Government. New Zealand will bring to the conference no spirit of carping criticism, no disposition to split points of privilege or of status, no desire to obtain an advantage for herself or to embarrass further an Imperial Government already sorely harassed by vast and almost insuperable difficulties.

“Opinion in this country, as I interpret it, is entirely satisfied that within her present limits New’ Zealand has ample scope for freedom and for the attainment of a full degree of nationhood within the Empire. It will be my endeavour so to conduct the representation of New Zealand that what influence this small country may bo able to wield in the Council of the Empire shall be on the side of Imperial Unity. I hold the view—and it needs no demonstration to support it that the .well-being of the Great Empire, to which it is our privilege to belong, is a matter of most urgent and vital moment, not only to its constituent peoples, but to the very world itself. The preservation intact of this mighty instrument for good is a weighty trust, and I desire to assure the House and the country that I am fully alive to the responsibility attaching to my mission, and fully determined to do my best adequately to represent New Zealand. “I do not wish to imply that all is entirely well at present with the Empire. It is perhaps inevitable in this time of great economic disturbance that ■ the 'interests of one portion of the British Commonwealth may appear to diverge from those of other portions, and I do not desire to criticise in any wav movements and policies in other parts of the Empire which must be imperfectly understood here both as to detail and as to motive. I do not for a moment underrate the great difficulty of devising a formula (if a formula is necessary) that will allow of free play to the aspirations of all narts of the Empire without impairing the unity of the whole. The task is one that calls for all the toleration, all the wisdom, all the statesmanship, that we can bring to bear, but difficulties apparently beyond the wit of men to surpass have in the past been overcome in Great Britain by that curious system of growth and adaptation which is based more on commonsense than on any logical formula. The intercourse that is the normal result of our inter-Im perial trade relations has shown the necessity for a spirit of ‘give and take/ and I am confident that at the present stage there i% nothing that cannot be solved by goodwill be mutual toleration, and by earnest effort that goodwill* that toleration, that effort, will not be lacking on the part of New Zealand. EMPIRE DEFENCE. ,; On the subject of defence I shall confine myself to a few remarks only. I am satisfied that this country is not yet bearing itg full share of the burden of naval defence, and I intend to be guided in the decision of this question and in the direction in which any possible increase should be expended by the advice of the Imperial authorities, and subject, of course, to the concurrence of this Parliament. I wish, however, definitely to put upon record my entire agreement with the recent remarks of the Prime Minister of Australia on the subject of the Singapore base, which I regard as an indisputable necessity for the adequate defence of British possessions. I recognise, however, the difficulty of urging upon the Imperial authorities the expenditure of a very large sum of money on a base many thousands of miles removed from the British taxpayers, who must, in the nature of things, pay the greater part of the cost, and New Zealand must in the near future consider whether, as an earnest of her bona fides in the matter, she is prepared to contribute either directly or indirectly a proportion of the cost. I cannot too strongly reaffirm what has already been asserted on many occasions previously, that the provision of this base is a matter of defence purely and simply, and should not in any way bo construed as a threat or a menace to any other Power. REDISTRIBUTION OF POPULATION. “Turning now to the subjects specifically referred to in my previoug statement to the House, I wish to make the following remarks. The problem of redistributing to the best advantage the population of the Empire is one of the first importance. On the one hand the United Kingdom, at present in the throes of a depression

which we all hope will shortly disappear, is unable profitably to employ large numberg of her people On the other hand, in many of the dominions there is a need for men for development, for manufactures. and for defence. How best to redistribute the population of the Empire is a problem that may appear simple, but the very real difficulty of a practical readjustment is shown by the comparatively slow progress of overseas settlement up to the present. New Zealand, lam glad to say, lias done well in this respect, to her own advantage no less than to the advantage of the people who have come here, and of the United Kingdom itself. During the last five years nearly 60,000 people, assisted and otherwise, have left the United Kingdom to settle in New Zealand, and when it is remembered that New Zealand has a small population with limited areas suitable for settlement and practically no export of manufactured goods, this must be regarded as a good record. These people have been absorbed into our community, and thq results have been satisfactory. “In considering the subject of immigration, it is, of course, clear that the greatest care must be takc-n to prevent any excess of migrants over the proportion that the country can economically absorb. While, therefore, it is the bounden duty of New Zealand, in common witli other parts of the Empire, to relieve the United Kingdom of its surplus people to the utmost extent possible, and while we regard it as a privilege to assist Great Britain in her difficulty, we must recognise the paramount necessity of ensuring that this effort is not overdone, and to exceed the limit of our capacity to absorb these people would be a grave disservice to this country, and no less to the migrants themselves. Bearing this in mind, however, I wish to announce my intention to explore every possibility of safely increasing New Zealand’s effort without disorganising the economic life of the country. It will be remembered that owing to the inability to fill completely the country’s quota of immigrants in the past, it was recently decided to raise the annual number of assisted migrants, temporarily at least. I do not think it is feasible safely to increase our quota in the meantime, but if suitable financial assistance can be obtained under the British Empire Settlement Act it may be found possible to take some steps in the direction of a settlement scheme, either on the land generally or in connection with forestry. This \vill depend largely on the arrangements that it may be possible to make with the British Government, but in any case honourable members may rely upon it that the greatest care will be observed in working out any proposals that -ftiay be considered. INTER-IMPERIAL TRADE. “It is, of course, unnecessary to stress the desirability of increasing in every way possible the volume of inter-imperial trade, and any course safely promising such an increase will receive my hearty support. The large extent of our trade with the Empire, and especially with the United Kingdom, is well known. New Zealand is already a very good customer of Great Britain and of the Empire. In fact, I believe that New Zealand is proportionately Great Britain’s best customer at the present time. In the year ended December, 1925, 72.9 per cent, of Now Zealand’s imports came from the Empire, including 48.7 per cent, from the United Kingdom itself. In the same year 86.1 per cent, of the Dominion’s exports went to the Empire, including 79.8 per cent, to the United Kingdom. Though this record is a good one, it must be noted that, in the year : mentioned, New Zealand imported goods to the value of over £14,000,000 from foreign countries, and* though many of these were, of course, commodities that are , not produced at present within the Empire, any project to reduce this amount without injury to the Dominion will receive my support. The problem of trade is primarily one of economics, but there is also room for sentiment, and a long view of the ultimate possibility of establishing the economic independence of the Empire. To a great extent any improvement in interimperial trade depends on the efforts of the manufacturers themselves, and I am convinced that, if British manufacturers will produce goods suitable for Dominion requirements at a reasonable price, there is still a wide field for further progress in inter-imperial trade. “On the othA side of the question—that of New Zealand’s exports, the Imperial Economic Committee and the Empire Marketing Board are doing good work, especially in facilitating the disposal of Empire foodstuffs in Great Britain, and every encouragement should be given to the contination of this work. The annual grant of £1,000,000 made by the British Government should materially assist in the disposal of Empire products. STANDARDISATION. “The subsidiary questions of ‘valuation for Customs duties purposes/ ‘area of taxation in the case of non-resident traders/ and the ‘general economic conference of the League of Nations’ do not cail for special cemment, but the subject of standardisation is one of primary importance. The advantages of standardisation to the seller, the buyer, and the public generally, cnnnet bo overestimated, and I hope that thr* now Department of Scientific Research will be able to facilitate the more general use of British standards to the benefit Ivth of ourselves and of the people of the United Kingdom. COMMUNICATIONS.

“The subject of communications is of great interest to New Zealand. It is obvious that to this country, whose produce must seek its market many thousands of miles away, the question of shipping is one really of life and death, especially when very serious competitors are much more favourably placed geographically. Good service has been rendered in this respect bv the Imperial Shipping Committee. and New Zealand has on more than one occasion benefited by its investigations. The wise and economical use of shipping is vital to the Empire, whoso very existence depends on sea transport, and the continuation of the work of the committee is eminently desirable. A reduction in the time required for the transport of our produce to the United Kingdom would be of the greatest value, and T hope that some improvement in this direction will be found possible in the near future. “The subject of wireless communications is exceedingly important, and I hope it will be possible at the conference to attain some final decision on this vexed question. Quite apart from the aspeot of defence, it is most desirable that a cheap and dependable system of wiroless com-

munication should be established at the earliest possible date. RESEARCH DEVELOPMENT.

“In considering the subject of research and development I have great hopes of the department of scientific research recently instituted under the direction of Dr Marsden. This department is an earnest of New Zealand’s intention to take 4 live and growing interest in the *ubject, and I shall take ever? opportunity of assisting the work of the department which. I am convinced, will prove of enormous benefit to the country. New Zealand is a small country, and the limitation of finance that is necessarily imposed on any scientific work here will. I hope bo largely counterbalanced by a policy of enthusiastic co-operation with scientific institutions in Great Britain, and especially with the British Department of Scientific Research. EMPIRE FILMS. “The subject of Empire films is one which, while apparently of minor importance, has nevertheless a very deep significance. An impartial observer cannot fail to be impressed by the preponderance of foreign films shown in this country in common with other parts of the Empire, and the undesirability of presenting to the growing generation of New Zealand ideals and viewpoints that are not British, cannot be over-emphasised. It is, I think, recognised on all sides that a considerable increase in the proportion of British films is exceedingly desirable, and the Government 19 fully alive to the position. The difficulty, however, would appear to be in obtaining the requisite quantity of British films of a quality sufficiently high to attract the public, and the remedy of this difficulty lies in the hands of the British producers themselves. In the meantime I will support at the conference any plan that promises to increase the proportion of British films.” NATIONALITY. “The question of nationality has been considered by previous Imperial conferences, and in any case it is one upon which we will be well advised to consider carefully the views of the Imperial Government, which is naturally most intimately affected by the undoubted difficulties of the subject. Perhaps the most contentious aspect of the matter concerns the nationality of British women who have married aliens. The last Imperial Conference gave this matter consideration and arrived at the conclusion that the existing principle that the nationality of a married woman depends on that of her husband should be maintained, but that power should be taken to readmit a woman to British nationality in cases where the marriage state, though substituting in law, had to all practical purposes come to an end. Since then, however, the British House of Commons has passed a resolution laying down the principle that a Brifish woman should not he deemed to lose her nationality by the mere act of marriage with an alien, but that it should be open to her to make a declaration of alienage. A similar resolution has been adopted by Australia, while it is uifderstood that Canada is also disposed to favour this principle. The matter will no doubt be carefully considered at the forthcoming conference and, I think, that any decision in this country at the present time, would in the circumstances, be premature. LEAGUE OF NATIONS. “Before concluding, I feel it necessary to refer briefly to two subjects of the I first importance. In the first place, the attitude of- this country to the League of Nations might have to be reiterated. As an - instrument for promoting understanding amongst the nations, the League has already played a worthy part, and its potentialities in the future are most promising. This country stands ready to take every step and to afford every encouragement that may forward the interests of the League and the attainment of the ultimate goal, insofar as these do not impair the interests of the British Empire. LOCARNO TREATY. “Honourable members will notice that I have made no reference to the Locarno Treaty. This, of course, does not implv any failure on my part or on the part of the Government to recognise the grave importance of this treaty, but, as I have already explained in answer to a question on the subject, the delay in the admission of Germany to the League of Nations has to some extent altered the position, and it has now been decided to take no action during the present session in the direction of accepting the obligations of this treaty. No doubt the subject will receive consideration at the conference, but as no direct obligation can be incurred by New Zealand until the matter has been considered by Parliament, 1 can see nothing to be gained by discussing the question at present when the whole position is uncertain. There need be no doubt about the ultimate attitude of the Government, nor, I think, is there any doubt as to the opinion of the people of this country, and at the conference it is my intention to express as strongly as possible the view that New Zealand wi in the future, take up the position she has been proud to occupy in the past by the side of Great Britain.” Concluding, the Prime Minister said this statement embodied his views, and lie could also say they were endorsed by his colleagues in the Jabinet. OUTSTANDING QUESTIONS. WELLINGTON, September 1. Mr H. E. Holland (Leader of the Opposition) said, this was the Prime Minister’s first Imperial Conference, and he congratulated him on the fact. It would give him the opportunity of affording a signal service to the people of this country and to the people of the world. He would, however, warn him of some of the pitfalls that he might oxpect in connection with the Imperial Conference, Particularly he would advise him to beware of duchesses—(Laughter). Mr Holland cited the remarks of Sir Wilfred Laurier in this connection on his return from such a conference years ago. He had also made a reference to Joseph Chamberlain and his enthusiasm after the .Boer War as the head and front of the winning and dining and duchesses planned in connection with the Imperial Conference. There was still, added Mr Holland, a Chamberlain in the political arena in England—certainly without the outstanding ability of his father, but with ability for pushing plans and schemes. Speaking in more serious vein, Mr Holland referred .to the very groat importance of the Imperial conferences, and expressed regret that the discussion on matters connected therewith should be loft until the

end of the session, thus preventing members from having an opportunity of dealing fully with matters that were to come before the conference. He further expressed the opinion that the day had arrived when the representatives at the conference should not be the representatives of any political party. Under the present system only one party was represented. The Prime Minister went only as the ftnme Minister, and so could speak only froon the point of * iew of his own party. If the Labour Party were on the Government benches the same argument would still hold good. There should be representatives from bjth the Government and the Opposition in Par lament. That question had been raised in the House of Commons, but had not receive..! support from the Governments of the dominions. It woulfl.be interesting to know what the Prime Minister’s view was in regard id that. Mr Holland also thought that we were entitled to a far greater measure ot publicity in connection with the conferences than we had had in the past. If the people knew from week to week what they were being committed to, he said, thev would have a far greater degree of confidence with reference to the Prime Minister’s complete liberty of action as circumstances arose. There were some outstanding questions which we knew were going to be dealt with, and he thought that whoever went to the conference should carry a definite instruction as to his general attitude in respect to those big questions. He pointed out that the Prime Minister had said nothing about the Locarno Pact, yet the people were entitled to have their point of view stated in regard to that. The question of dominion status was another important matter. Every dominion was striving towards a higher standard of nationhood and wider powers of self-determination. That must t>e an important question at the conference. Then there were minor questions such as whether the dominions and the Mother Country should pay their own delegates’ expenses. There was .also the question of the dominions appointing their own Governor-General. South Africa, Canada, and the Irish Free State had raised the question of appointing their own Gover-nors-General. That question was going to become a very live one in the future. Years ago Sir Robert Stout had moved in favour of New Zealand electing its own Governor. ‘Mr Holland further advocated a dearer definition of ifia! international independence which die South African Prime Mi i ister had referred to. He proceeded tc give a brief historical retrospect regarding the question of status as it affected the dominions. Sir Joseph Wrd he said, hid presented a scheme based upon the creation of an Imperial Parliament with legislative powers in Imperial affairs, but he (Mr Holland) would not commit himself to a definite support of that. Foreign relations would, said Mr Holland, constitute one of the biggest items on the agenda paper, and that would open up the matter of the Locarno Pact, the successor of the Geneva Protocol. That involved Great Britain in the international politics of Europe, and such matters as France or Germany moving troops across the Rhineland could therefore involve Great Britain in war. That was a matter of great interest to New Zealand as it was to the other dominions, because action would come first and reference to the League afterwards. Resuming his speech after the dinner adjournment Mr Holland iaid emphasis on the fact that England woind be automatically at war with France pr with Germany as either of those nations took action against the other. The Prime Minister’s attitude at the conference should be the same a s that of the Prime Minister of Australia, who. on August o. said he would give the House an assurance that he would take no action at the Imperial Conference in regard to the ratification of the treaty until such action was approved by the House. Mr Bruce, therefore, evidently meant to give the House an opportunity of discussing the pact, but New Zealand was to have no such opportunity. If Australia would not involve itself in European affairs without consulting the people’s representatives, then New Zealand should not be a party to being dragged into a 'European war by such an arrangement as Britain had made, which might find New .Zealand on the side of Germany against France, or on the side of France against Germany. Mr Watt, who had been Premier, had stated that he was pleased to hear the statement of the Prime Minister of the Commonwealth, and Mr Hughes had said something very similar. Another aspect of the pact was that there was no provision for its alteration or its, ending. It- was in force indefinitely. It should be brought into line with the Washington Mr Holland drew attention to some of the dangerous aspects that belonged to the conditions of the pact, and added that dangerous elements were already at work in England for, according to the Manchester Guardian, Lord Birkenhead and Mr Winston Churchill were now taking the platform against their own Government. This demonstrated that there must be a split in the Home Government calculated to bring Great Britain into war if it were possible to bring her into war. Every question of French policy would be a matter that would affect New Zealand interests, yet the Prime Minister had said that he would leave the immediate decision in regard to such affairs to the Imperial Government. He (Mr Holland) dissented wholly from that view. The dominions were entitled to claim a share in deciding such questions. The Hon. W. Downie Stewart corrected the impression held by Mr Holland that the Prime Minister was prepared to leave the decisions on Imperial policy to the Imperial authorities. That statement had been carefully qualified, and the same condition applied to his remarks on Imperial defence. If the Opposition were represented at the Imnenal Conference it must remember that its future freedom of criticism would be destroyed. On the question of the status of the Dominion, Mr Stewart pointed out that at Versailles the British dominions were treated not only as part of the British delegation, but as separate nations, but at the Washington Conference America refused to recognise them as independent nations. In that connection ho quoted from Sir John Salmond’s report on the Washington Conference, which, ho said, was now accepted in Great Britain as a classic document. His personal view was that we did not have an independent status, but occupied* a position of inferiority to Great Jritaiu. For the do-

minions to claim to do things that Great Britain do would be absurd. Professor Morgan held that the dominions were not “nations,” as they were called at \ ersailles, a'id that was the view now generally adopted by other nations towards vievrf expressed by Sir John Salmond was, he believed, the view accepted by New Zealand. It was true we ran the risk of being drawn into a war, but the best that could be done was to keep in as close communication as possible with the Imperial authorities so that they would be fully advised of our views. In any case if Great Britain went to war it was not .ikely the enemy would consider the dominions were out of the war, no matter what the views of the dominions might be. Mr G. W. Forbes said it might be diffi-' cult to devise some other means for settling Imperial affairs, but there was no doubt the present one was a very clumsy method of doing it. and was very detrimental to the domestic legislation of the Dominion. The conference was, however, an important one, and we must be prepared to make sacrifices to help to keep the Empire together. Our position in that Empire did not depend on the question of our legal status, but upon the hand of kinship and sentiment which were infinitely stronger than any legal question, and we wanted the Prime Minister to go to the conference and represent that spirit. He should also go with a cut-and-dried policy with regard to immigration, the co-operative marketing of our primary products and scientific research as applied to our primary industries; He believed the Prime Minister would go to the conference fully determined to be helpful, and he was confident the country would not be too critical of what he did so long as it was done to help the Empire. Sir Joseph Ward said he was totally opposed to the Prime Minister going to the Imperial Conference “instructed” as to what he was to do. The Prime Minister must be trusted, and if he could not be trusted then turn him out and get another. What would the position be if Great Britain could not go to war until New Zealand gave her consent? If Great Britain went to war and New Zealand did not the enemy would simply say “We # shall taken New Zealand.” The only thing that kept us out of the maws and paws of the enemy was the fact that we had the strongest section of the British Empire behind us, and we always would have it. He was behind the Prime Minister in everything he was going to the conference for. He was prepared to trust him. He wished him well, and when he returned he vas prepared to give him credit for what he had done and for what, he had tried to < : o.

The speaker then proceeded o describe what he had advocated at the conference of 1911. all of which except two proposals, he claimed, had been since carried into effect. The British Empire was the most difficult combination of peoples in the world to govern because of the varied interests and characteristics, and for that reason the Government, in time of war, must be from the same centre, ami that centre must be London, not from Wellington or some other Dominion capital. There must also be unitv of spirit and ourposo if the Empire were to hold together. After the supper adjournment the debate was carried on bv Messrs G. R. Svkes. E. J. Howard. D. Jones (Ellesmere), the Hon. D. Buddo, W. D. J.vsnar, 11. T. Armstrong, and H. Atmore. The last speaker was Mr J. Mason (Napier) and at 0.50 a.m. Mr Coates rose to replv, during the course of which he expressed the opinion that the New Zealand Parliament should devote more time to the discussion of foreign affairs as affecting the Empire. The Prime Minister’s motion was then agreed to on the voices.