SPEECH BY MR HALDANE.

Colonist, Volume LII, Issue 12765, 11 April 1910, Page 2

SPEECH BY MR HALDANE.

[Press Association— Copyright.] (Received April 10, 5 p.m.) London, April 9.

Mr Haldane, addressing the Royal Economic Society, drew sympathetic attention to Professor Joseph Shield Nicholson's contributions on. the question of -the defence of the Empire, wherein he sketched a system of defence by the medium of contributions collected by import duties levied on a common soale throughout the Empire. Mr Haldane added that it would be through the intelligence ahd will of the Empire as a whole that the perplexing question of defence contributions would be solved. It was not right that taxation for naval and military purposes should be enormously greater per head in Britain than in the colonies. Tlie reason was that Britain had to maintain . a force which went overseas wherever the Empire was assailed. The burden should in course of time be more evenly borne. When the Prime Ministers at the last two Imperial Conferences avoided abstract views and saw a real living purpose the difficulties which seemed almost insuperable vanished like magic. This might be the case with regard to larger questions which Professor Nicholson had discussed. Perhaps the Navy might have an Imperial General Staff before long.