THE EMPIRE'S INTERESTS.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXVII, Issue 43, 16 September 1918, Page 2

THE EMPIRE'S INTERESTS.

CLOSER OVERSEAS UNION. MISAPPREHENSION CLEARED. Per Press Association. Wellington, September lb. The Governor-General has been requested to publish the telegram from tbe Secretary of Slate for the Colonies concerning a misapprehension in regard to tbe nature of the arrangement recently concluded whereby the Prime Ministers of tbe Dominion bad been given the right to direct communication witlr the Prime .Minister ( of the United Kingdom on certain matters. His Excellency reports as follows: "I I. therefore seems desirable to state the exact nature of this arrangement. Alter the preliminary discussion in tbe recent Imperial War Conference, the subject was considered by (be lm- j perial War Cabinet, where on July j 30 th the following resolutions were passed (1) The Prime Ministers of the Dominions, as members of the Imperial War Cabinet, have the right of direct communication with the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and vice versa ; (2) Such communications should he confined to questions of Cabinet importance. The Prime Ministers themselves are the judges of such questions. Telegraphic communications between the Prime .Ministers should as a rule be coturueted through the Colonial Office's machinery, but this will not exclude the adoption of more direct means ol communication in exceptional circumstances in order to secure continuity I in the work of the Imperial War Cabinet, and permanent means l , of Consultation during the war on more important, questions of common interest. The Prime Minister of each Dominion has the right to nominate 'a Cabinet Minister either as a resident in, or visitor to London to represent him at meetings of *thc Imperial War Cabinet to be held regularly between the plenary sessions.

It has boon recently stated in the Overseas press that dissatisfaction with the Colonial Office methods of administration was the chief reason why this question was raised. The discussion at the Imperial Cabinet Conference will shortly be published in a Blue Book, and it will then be seen that this statement is contrary to fiict, and that the assumption flint the attitude of the Dominions in this respect was inspired by distrust ol the Colonial Office was' expressly repudiated by the Dominion representatives."