WHAT OTHER WRITERS ARE SAYING.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 17865, 5 June 1926, Page 8

WHAT OTHER WRITERS ARE SAYING.

Dominion Status. Sir James Parr has got in early on his job. Although officially he does not assume his duties as High Commissioner until the end of this month, his arrival in London has been signalised by an early expression of opinion concerning the relationships of the Dominions to Britain and the Empire generally. The London “Times" has taken the first opportunity of ascertaining his views upon a question of paramount interest and importance to those who desire to see the unity of the Empire maintained and strengthened. Of late months there have been evidences that both in Canada and South Africa—two of our sister Dominions—there is a more or less strongly developed feeling in favour of the Dominions taking a more independent stand in their Imperial relationships. That has been shown in even more advanced form in South Africa than in Canada, the Union Parliament having practically decided to adopt a flag of their own in which the Union Jack will not be represented. It may be accepted as a just and wise provision that, unless ratified by its Parliament, no Dominion shall become party to, or be bound by, any treaty entered into by the Mother Country with foreign Powers. But, white they remain part of the British Empire, none of the Dominions cap stand;on one side should Britain become involved in any war in which her existence is vitally aft'ecte d* ‘Manaw atu Stan dard." Legal Door Still Open. Though the Supreme Court has declined to interpret, as requested, the Act under which absolute control of all dairy produce is promised, the legal door is not shut close on the opponents of compulsion. In its judgment, the Court comforts the plaintiffs with the notification that they can obtain the decision of the court in an action to prove infringement of the rights of either party. Probably such action will be taken. More than one company has already declared its intention of defying the board to commandeer its output for sale. Thus, by one means or another, the powers of the D.C.8., as conferred by the statute, will sooner or later be defined. The judgment states inter alia the opposition to absolute control. Let us quote:— The policy of the board in taking this absolute control has naturally been the subject of considerable con trovers}-. Many (if not all) of the owners of proprietary factories, and the brokers and merchants exporters of dairy produce, are opposed to control. The co-operative companies (which are either directly or indirectly the largest exporters of produce), although in the main favourable to the control, are not unanimous. That is an interesting finding. It reveals, as we have pointed out, persistently enough, that the reasonable unanimity insisted upon by the Prime Minister is not present. Mr Coates, replying to a deputation on the subject, said plainly that he must be satisfied that the producers were at least reasonably united in support of absolute control. They are far from that happy condition has been clear for months past. The Court’s summary of that aspect of the position emphasises the sharp division in the producers’ camp.—“ New Zealand Times,” Wellington. Census Returns. The census returns of population for the Dominion are not yet compelte, but they are sufficiently so for some deductions to be made from them. The returns to hand show an increase of 11.5 per cent, for the areas (appreciably less than the whole) which are included in them. The increase for the entire Dominion as shown by the census of 1921 over that of 1916 was at the rate of 10.87 per cent., but that increase was substantially swollen by the return of many thousands of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force who were abroad in the earlier year. When that artificial inflation of numbers was allowed for, the rate of increase in the five years was the lowest ever recorded, a result which was due to the losses of war vears, the virtual suspension of immigration during that period, and the reduction in the rate of natural increase (excess of births over deaths) consequent upon the absence of so many thousands of men. Immigration has been more than usually active since 1921, and the increase of population for the last quinquennium would hax*e been substantially greater than it is but for the tendency of the birth rate to decrease, which seems most unnatural in a new' country. The North Island is still gaining in population much faster than the South. There was some evidence a few years ago, when the North was feeling depression after the wild spell of overimportation much more severely than its companion island, which appeared to show that that trend had begun to turn in the opposite direction. The census plainly shows, however, that that change was but temporary, if it was not delusive.—" Dunedin Star.”