The Timaru Herald WEDNESDAY, MAY 24, 1911. THE IMPERIAL CONFERENCE.

Timaru Herald, Volume XCIV, Issue 14450, 24 May 1911, Page 4

The Timaru Herald WEDNESDAY, MAY 24, 1911. THE IMPERIAL CONFERENCE.

Everything points to a prospect of no groat experiments, and the Imperial framework will remain uracil tke same ai'ter tlie Confer- i once as no,w." That is the prediction. of the London " Daily Telegraph " in regard to the Imperial Conference which opened yesterday, and it is supported by, tlie record of past conferences. The great value of these periodical gathering's of the. Empire's statesmen is not that they le :lt in any immediate and startling changes, but that they enable those who help to guide tlie destinies of its widely scattered parts to understand its common problems in the light of all their separate circumstances and requirements. They assist the statesmen of Great Britain and tlie Dominions to "think imperially/" not only in a large and geneva 1 sense, but in a definite and detailed sense, and tlie influence of the common knowledge and common understanding thus achieved is not less real because it does not take the form of sudden and violent innovations. Sir Joseph Ward's,suggestion of an Imperial Council is much too vague and shadowy to make it probable that any concrele action in the dirccion of such a Council will be agreed to by the present Conference. His suggestion that- the Dominions should participate in framing the defence policy of the Empire seems only to have been evolved by him after his departure from New Zealand. At all events the proposal was not included in the lengthy list of resolutions framed by him, for discussion by the Conference, and it has never been considered by the Parliament or people of New Zealand. Sir Joseph "Ward lias claimed that the dominions should be represented in an Imperial Council ol Defence because taxation should be accompanied by representation. Hut the Dominions are not taxed by (ireat Dritain for Imperial defence. Their contribution.-: for tliis purpose are made | voluntarily, and their contribu- " tions per eapita are but trifling as compared with the iaxaiioll I which is necessarily imposed on

taxpayers in (he British Ulcs for the ■same object. The defence question will ho considered by the Conference, not on a resolution from Now Zealand, hut 011 a remit, which was telegraphed at, the last moment from Australia) which deals with "Co-operation and mutual relations between the naval and military forces of the United Kingdom and tlio.se of the Dominions, and the status of dominion navies."

The ]irincii)lc laid down for the conduct of tlio last Imperial Conference was to give preference lo subjects proposed by the Dominions, and to rank such subjects according to the number of the Dominions proposing them. Exceptions were! mnde to this rule to the extent of giving priority to remits of outstanding importance, and those which were most likely to result in defiuite action. It is expected that those principles will be follower! by the present. Conference, and tho Secretary for the Colonies suggested, in a recent communication, that the principal subjects of the agenda paper should be taken in the following order. First will come the question of the publicly of [the proceedings of the Conference, and the resolutions of New Zealand on the subject of Imperial representation, the reconstruction of the Colonial Office, and the interchange of Civil servants, which *iave relation to the constitution of the Conference itself. Then will probably follow the subjects proposed by two Dominions, viz., merchant shipping and navigation laws ; the All-Red Route ; the Imperial Court of Appeal; the Stateowned Atlantic cable and line across Canada. ' Amongst the remaining subjects, proposed by one Dominion or by His Majesty's Government, a greater measure of importance appears to attach to the subjects of co-operation between the naval_ and military forces of the Empire and the status of Dominion navies, the position of British Indians, co-opera-tion in commercial matters, and t the Gupport of British trade and shipping, emigration, the Declaration of : Loudon, State-owned wireless telegraph rates, and the cheapening of cable rates. These subjects will probably have the next, place on the agenda, which' will be completed, should time iilloij', by the inclusion of tho subjects of universal penny postage, Coinage and currency, and double taxation and stamp duties on Colonial bonds. If it should bo found possible to admit tho Press to general discussions of the Conference, its value from the point of view of Imperial education will be much increased. /