The Dominion. WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 17, 1912. AN IMPERIAL CENTRE.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1339, 17 January 1912, Page 4

The Dominion. WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 17, 1912. AN IMPERIAL CENTRE.

One of tho disadvantages of Now Zealand's present state of suspended political vitality is that important . administrative matters must cither stand over, or be attended to by a moribund Government which has forfeited the confidence of the country. The former course is generally the proper one to follow under such circumstances, and wc believe that this fact is recognised by Sir Joseph Ward. Nevertheless, the consequent inaction and delay may in some instances result in dircct loss to the country, while throughout almost all our public affairs there is liable to be a certain slackness and loss of grip. In this way the representation of Now Zealand at the capital of the Empire is doubtless suffering at the present .time. The appointment of Sir William Hall-Jones as High Commissioner has been extended from time to time to suit the political exigencies of tho Ward Government, and according to the present arrangements it will expire on March 31. Under such circumstances it would be vain to expect from a High Commissioner, or from the Government he represents, any new development, however desirable, in the representation of the Dominion in London. Yet, while tho temporary Prime Minister is pulling political wires, or blamelessly fishing at Taupo,_ and while the High Commissioner is merely filling a gap, New Zealand may be losing valuable opportunities for advancing her interests. Such an opportunity seems, in fact, to be presented in the scheme undor which the Australian Commonwealth, 1 in co-operation with its constituent States, will probably be in possession, before very long, of a fine block of offices in a central situation in London. It has been repeatedly urged that tho High Commissioner for New Zealand, instead of being located in out-of-the-way and inconspicuous quarters in Victoria Street, Westminster, should occupy more commodious premises in a busier part of London. This would bo in itself a good form of advertis- : ing, and it would _ also facilitate other means of giving publicity to the Dominion. What New Zealand has to offer in the way of attractions for the immigrant and the tourist and product,s for the British consumer could thus be brought effectively before the public. The benefit to the country in population and trade should be considerable, and in these times when so much advertising is being done by other colonial Governments, New Zealand cannot afford to lag_ behind. The High Commissioner's office is at present little more than a somewhat inconvenient place of call for New Zcalanders in London. It ought to lie an institution that would actively advance all the interests of the Dominion. The force 'of such arguments as these has been recognised in Australia. The of the AgentGeneral for Victoria were formerly in the street, where the modest brass plato of the New Zealand High Commissioner is still to be seen, but as the result of the late Sin Thomas Bent's visit to London in IfJO", Victoria now has a fine block of buildings on what is called the "island site in the Strand. The buildings have been constructed so ns to form part of a larger block to be erected ij.v the Commonwealth Government., but owing to a disagreement with the London County Council, which owns the site, negotiations were broken off. The question was. however, reopened during the visit; of Australian Federal and State Ministers to London last year, and it is now understood that the County Council has waived its objection to disposing of the freehold, so that j there now appears to be no obstacle in .the way of carrying out the idea. | The other Australian States may

come in, and the total expenditure is estimated at £(500,000. The site is, however, larger than the Commonwealth and States require, and the suggestion has been made that all the overseas Dominions should remove their London offices thither from (heir present scattered and inconvcnient sites, and make one grand ltn- | perial centre in the heart of London. If the whole ''island" area, „ hounded by the Strand, Aldwych, and Melbourne Place, were acquired, it is slated that, there would he space enough, not, only for Australia's £000,000 palace, hut also for a magnificent Canadian building, and worthy headquarters for the official representatives of New Zealand and poufh Africa. Some of the possibilities of the scheme' were recently . - set. nut in very attractive terms by the Morning I'osl: The groat mils- of Imperial 'oßices plac- '• ed together and in so prominent a position would form a centre known to the whole world, aiul such a,s no other site or collection of sites in the whole world ; could oiler. There would besides be a - great reuniting economy of time both to the officials concerned and the general ' public, while to visitors from the Overteas Dominions the concentration on a central site would b?. of enormous advantage. These are some of the solid advans fciges of a scheme which would include all the self-governing Dominions, and per- '• naps, also, the Crown colonies, on a central site. It would form a fccus and centre for the whole Empire; it would greatly add to the efficiency and usefulness of the i, High Commissioners' offices; it would bring home to the British public something of the greatness, the activities, and ' the possibilities of the Dominions; it would form an Imperial monument of an imposing and practical kind. The scheme might possibly include a central hall whore lectures on the Empire and other such could be held; the Imperial Conference might well assemble in such a building, and it might l>e possible also to arrange that colonials in London should meet and discuss the affairs of their respective Domtyions in a way that would interest and enlighten the British public. We do not remember hearing that Sir Joseph Ward, while in London f last year, took any part in the cont snltations of the Australian reprei- sentatives upon the scheme which lr they then had before them, but the c desire which has recently been expressed by the Federal Premier for closer relations between the C'om- ° monwealth and New Zealand seems i that the form of co-oper-ation suggested would be welcomed I- by Australia. ■ We hope New Zealand will soon be in a position to go into the matter with a view to making substantial improvements in connection with its official representation in London.