The Press Wednesday, February 6, 1924. The Colonial Office.

Press, Volume LX, Issue 17990, 6 February 1924, Page 8

The Press Wednesday, February 6, 1924. The Colonial Office.

The new Secretary of State for the Colonies has lost no time in asking for the co-operation of the Dominions. His communication to tho Governor-General, and the Prime Minister's reply, remove any risk that he will obstruct or be obstructed merely because he is the represntatives of a party to whom Empiro issues have always been of secondary importance. It is too soon yet to ask how far tho statement of his aims means what the same statement would have meant from his predecessor, but it is fair to give him credit in adsvance for an honest intention. It is no doubt a mistake also to attach significance to the fact that his first communication to New Zealand carefully excludes the word '"'Empire." If the exclusion means anything at all, it is probably just a.u illustration of the peculiarity discussed in yesterday's cables by Sir Sidney Low —that tho words "Imper- " ial" and "Empire" stick in Labour's throat. Labour will get used to words, as it will become accustomed in officeto the facts for which most of its forbidden words stand.- A word is a label, sometimes happy and sometimes not, and when Labour undestands this it will begin to be in touch with the realities of world politics. But in the meantime no one need bo alarmed because it does not like the label "Em- " pire." In plain fact, thousands do not like it, though their objection to it to-day can be formal only. Tho British Empire is an Empire only because it is moro than a single kingdom, and is not a republic or a collection of republics. It is as little like the Empires of old—Homo or Assyria, for example — as King George is like Caligula, and as littlo like tho modern Empires—Russia, Austria or Germany—as the average English administrator is like Pontius Pilate. If "Empire" ever did mean to Englishmen dominion on tho one hand and subjection on tho other, if ever they moved across tho waters to conquer and command and exploit, they have lost the habit as completely as they have forgotten how to bend a. bow or take a head off a politician on tho block. It is only because they are slaves of catch-words and phrases that Labour men to-day object to "Imper- '• ial" and "Empire," and think that they object to the things for which these stand. And 6o far as the outer Empire is concerned, and their peculiar distrust of that, they are uneasy only because they do not realise that the world is moving, that the Dominions are not possessions but partner-States, and that even the Colonies and Protectorates axe territories under, temporary watch and ward rather than estates to which tho Empire stands in the j same relation as a farmer to his farm. Mr Thomas himself, of course, and ail the Labour leaders, understand this quite well, though they would understand it better if they spent less time pondering on the millennium and mora thinking of that British Commonwealth which Mr Thomas now calls his first concern. Labour might do worse things in office than vote itself an Empire tour. It 'would be money well spent if Mr Mac Donald's followers saw more of India, Canada, South Africa, and Australia thi3year than of their own electorates—if indeed any price could be too high to pay for the drying up of that flood of rhetorical nonsense with which the soap-box Internationalist still poisons his friends and endangers tho country in which they live. It will be worth while hroving had a Labour Government if the Colonial Office proves a window through which Labour looks out on tho real British Empire.