IMPERIAL CONFERENCE.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume L, Issue 16496, 31 July 1924, Page 5

IMPERIAL CONFERENCE.

THE BRITISH PROPOSALS. (Australian and N.Z. Cable Association.) LONDON, July 29. In the House of Commons, Mr Thomas’ announcement of an Imperial Conference in October followed a speech wherein Colonel Amei'y accused the Government departments of' I .England of falling back to the old traditional attitude, not realising that a new chapter of British constitutionalism had opened during the war.

Mr. Thomas said : "We promised the Dominions that their representation at thp present. Allied Conference was not a precedent, being desirous to make it plain to foreign Powers that such a system of representation of the Dominions wa.s unsatisfactory and must bp altered. That is why w© are inviting the Dominions to a. conference in October. 1 cannot. lay the papers on the t-al.lle at the moment, as replies have not been received. hut there is every indication the conference will h e welcomed, and the Government want it to take place in order to explore the whole situation. We want to avoid the difficulties w© have had to deal with so far. It is imperative that the interests of the Dominions should be recognised and looked after. We also want outsiders to understand that any domestic differences ar© not going to weaken us, because we are going to remedy them.”

Earlier in th© debate Colonel Amer.v said, that at the Pans Conference the status of the Dominions was recognised not only among ourselves, but. by the outside world, as equal to that of other independent nations. The real solution could best be found 1 in making the principle of the British Empire delegation continuous, and by giving the Dominions a, continuous say in our foreign policy. After all, w© could not have different degrees of citizenship within the Empire. Mr. Lloyd George, continuing the debate, said he, was glad this subject had been raised, because it was of vital importance to the unity, strength, and continued existence of the Empire. The war had made a great difference. The sacrifices the Dominions made from 1914 to 1918 were more than any made by Britain in any war since the Napoleonic war. When the Dominions put one million, men in the field, and* these men were probably the derisive factor in what happened, it was impossible not to comply with the Dominions’ demand that, henceforward they should he consulted in Britain’s foreign policy, which commits tliein to such enormous sacrifice. It had been difficult to get the departments to understand the full meaning of that change. Th© matter was most • important. When one considers the difficulties our well-wishers in the Dominions have in always carrying the whole of their public, opinion along wth them on Empire issues, we should he careful not to give the slightest, offence. The difficulty is distance, and until that is scientifically shortened that, difficulty, would remain.

The Colonial vote was, carried. Tile’- Daily Chronicle approves the October conference, though it is a. belated decision. Tile conference should have been summoned before the London conference, instead bf after. 1 here was plenty of time if Mr. MacDonald had thought of it, The Dominions’-de* maud was entirely just and must be met. The Morning Post, discussing the new Imperial Conference, says: “As Britain' has just committed the folly of rejecting the unanimous advice ot representatives of th© Dominions given in eontereire, we shall be surprised if the Dominions are so foregiving os to enter another conference. whose decisions may be treated m exactly the same way.”