SIR J. SALMOND ANSWERS SMUTS.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLVIII, Issue 15714, 4 January 1922, Page 8

SIR J. SALMOND ANSWERS SMUTS.

WASHINGTON, Nov. 12.—Sir John Salmond, ISTow Zealand's representative on the British delegation, has issued a statement to the press dealing With the status of the British Dominions. It must be regarded as a reply to the speech of General Smuts in Pretoria recently, arid in view of the proposal to „lpive direct representation at Washington, is of much interest to Canada. The statement is as follows:

"As representing the Dominion of New Zealand on the British* delegation at the Washington Conference," Sir John said: "I desire to make it cloar that New Zealand neither.'possesses nor claims any separate international status_ The power which has been invited to this conference is the. British Hmpire in its unity. Tho autonomous dependencies of that Empire have no individual recognition. ' 'Both in connection with this conference and in relation to other- matters there has been some .public discussion iis to a claim by the British self-governing dominions to an independent international status. Such a claim, however, has, I think, no legal or logical foundation. Internationally aml constitutionally the whole British Empire is a. single and indivisible body politic. So. long as 'the British dependencies beyond the seas continue bound together by the constitutional bond of n common allegiance to the Crown and Parliament of; the United Kingdom, no such, dependeuey can validly claim to lead a separate international life, or lo have international rights, responsibilities or activities of its own.

"This, however, in no way deprives the self-governing Dominions .or such voice aiid influence in international affairs as they may he justly entitled to, in view of their importance or of their distinct interests. The voice by which. Hie .British Empire speaks in such mutters need not -he exclusively the voice of the Imperial Government at Westminster. Whether, in such a conference as that of Washington or in the League of Nations, or in some future more comprehensive association of the Powers, the self-governing Dominions of the British Crown may properly possess and exercise a share in the joint representation of a single undivided Empire. But. this is a very different thing from an illogical and disruptive claim to separate international existence and recognition."