EMPIRE AFFAIRS.

Star (Christchurch), Volume LXVI, Issue 20503, 3 January 1935, Page 8

EMPIRE AFFAIRS.

Subjects for Imperial Conference. ECONOMICS AND DEFENCE. (Special to the ” Star.”) LONDON, November 26. England is preparing to celebrate the twenty-fifth anniversary of King George’s accession to the throne. It will be the King’s silver jubilee as head of the British Empire. For two weeks, beginning May 6, 1935, and lasting until May 18. Britain will have a public holiday. British warships will come up the Thames and fire, a Royal salute, all public buildings will be illuminated at night and there will be triumphant processions, dances, fireworks displays, and other forms of amusement. The King has enjoined that the celebrations must keep a regional character and not run into too much expense. In connection with this celebration Government authorities have also found it opportune to hold another Imperial Conference of all the British Dominions, which will probably last from May to July. The last two conferences were held in 1926 and 1930, and were of historical importance from the fact that they placed the Dominions on an equal basis with the Mother Country. They no longer are subordinate in either their foreign or domestic affairs to tha Government. in London. As the new statute put it, they are now “free associate members of the British Commonwealth 'of Nations.” The London Government recently consulted each Dominion about the pioposal to hold the conference next year. The Governments at Ottawa, Canberra, Wellington, and Pretoria accepted the suggestion, but Dublin objected and said that under present circumstances, when a constitutional conflict was going on between Ireland and England, it would not be possible to participate. Virtual Equal Status. It has been noted that General Hertzog and Smuts, the two principal South African political leaders, in recent party congresses have insisted that the absolute independence of the South African Union, in strict accordance with the Westminster statute, is an established fact. General Smuts, in fact, holds that in practice the Union of South Africa has been independent since 1919, since, as he said, he himself was a free and independent delegate of the Union at the Versailles Peace Conference. In substance various declarations and Acts have established the virtual equal status of each member of the British Commonwealth before the actual ratification of the Westminster statute in 1931. This latter Act only made legal what had already been in existence. Since the proclamation of the Westminster statute various Dominions have named their own Ministers to foreign countries, nnd in many respects then international relationships have, changed, but the British Commonwealth as a whole still functions pretty well a cohesive unit. The next Imperial Conference, accordingly, will probably deal with other problems than those of constitu tional theory. Two Important Problems. Two other groups of questions now are of importance. First, economic defence and, second, military defence of the Empire. The great crisis of 1931 shook up the Dominions pretty hard. Thev saw their currency fall along with the British currency. This common depreciation of all Imperial moneys appeared as one tangible proof of the economic interdependence of the Empire. Then during the summer of 1032, on the invitation of the Canadian Government, an economic conference was held in Ottawa which resulted in various bilateral Customs arrangements which for a moment, at least, appear to have been more beneficial to the Dominions than to England. And following new political developments in Europe, England was led to take new decisions regarding armaments which caused some concern to other members of the Commonwealth. But even if the European situation were calm, the withdrawal of Japan and Germany from the League of Nations, the breakdown of the disarmament conference, and the fact that the third naval conference will be held in 1935, appeared to have been the motives of Downing Street in deciding to consult the other members of the Empire next year. Various speculations have been put forth in this connection about the trip which Sir Maurice Hankey, secretary of the Imperial Defence Committee, is making just now to all the Dominions. When he left England Sir Maurice said he would “converse with the responsible Governments of the various Dominions on questions of common interest.” By this it was understood that he would talk about the economic difficulties arising from the Ottawa agreements, about the Imperial monetary solidarity affirmed in the declaration of July, 1933, about the general policy of England toward the European Continent, and finally about the general defence measures for the whole Empire. The Knotty Point of Cost. One of the chief elements of this latter problem is how to divide the cost and charges of Imperial defence. This lias been a knotty problem since 1914, the British feeling being that the Dominions were getting benefits of the protection afforded by the British fleet and other rrms without paying adequately for this protection. Since the Westminster statute has given them a greater measure of independence, there now appears, it is caid hero, to be a greater willingness on the part of the Dominions to pool the costs of Imperial defence. Australia and New Zealand have consulted with British naval authorities and already have plans for a fleet of their own. Australia is also developing powerful air services, and both countries are contributing to the finances of the new naval base at Singapore. South Africa, although farther removed from any apparent exterior danger, also eeems to be disposed to collaborate on Imperial defence. Canada has just celebrated its 100 years of peace with the United States and no one thinks that there will ever be any need to defend the 2000-mile frontier between the two countries, nevertheless, the Canadians are developing their air force and there is a plan envisaged now to establish a better liaison between London and Montreal or London and Winnipeg with a new airline via Greenland and Labrador. In all these problems there is already material for much discussion for the Imperial conference in 1935.