The Dominion WEDNESDAY, MARCH 16, 1921. EMPIRE CONSOLIDATION

Dominion, Volume 14, Issue 146, 16 March 1921, Page 4

The Dominion WEDNESDAY, MARCH 16, 1921. EMPIRE CONSOLIDATION

There is no doubt that as matters stand inter-imperial relations are somewhat ill-defined, and it is impossible to ignore the practical considerations arising out of this fact which were touched upon in an open letter to Parliament from the Wellington Hound Table Group, which appeared in The Dominion yesterday. At the same time it has to be remembered that the conditions in which the Empire is developing are so far new that its strength or weakness cannot be measured with certainty by any existing standard. No purpose is served by setting up an abstract standard, or a standard based on the past experience of nations, and declaring that the Empire ds strong or weak as it meets or falls short of this standard. In doing what is possible to forward the development of the Empire on right lines we must be prepared .to think in new terms and act with originality. The possibilities of British Imperial co-operation are governed neither by the canons, of alliance nor by those of political federation as these arc commonly understood. The niuch ' discussed “invisible ties” of Empire are. far stronger than those of any ordinary international alliance, and yet political federation which would bring the whole Empire under the control of a single set of representative authorities is not for the present at least to be counted on as within the bounds of practical achievement. Many uncertainties and perhaps some dangers would be removed if it were possible to establish some such control over Imperial defence and other affairs of common concern, but to insist that comprehensive control on these lines is indispensable, and ignore the circumstances which make it unattainable, is really to beg the whole question of Empire consolidation. For the time being, consultation is the only method by which it is possible to approach the ideal of a common Imperial front in matters of foreign policy and defence. The possibility of united action is governed By the extent to which the States of the Empire, through their representatives at the Imperial Conference, are able to agree voluntarily upon a common policy. This very tact prevents the Parliament of an individual Dominion from meeting demands like those raised in the open letter to which we have alluded—demands for a clear and authoritative expression of views on inter-imperial constitutional relationships. The basis of Imperial policy and co-operation must be sought meantime in discussion and if need be in compromise, and, as we have previously suggested, progress and agreement will best be facilitated if the representatives of the Dominions are given a reasonably free hand.. It is quite obvious that in regard to specific questions like that of Imperial naval defence no Dominion Parliament is at present in a position to lay down in detail a hard and fast policy for the guidance of its representative at the Imperial Conference. It is both possible and desirable, however, for Parliament to define its attitude broadly where naval defence is concerned.

Only one answer is possible to the question whether A’c arc prepared any longer to allow the taxpayers of the United Kingdom to bear almost unaided the burden of providing for the naval defence of the Empire. Even while the details of naval policy remain unsettled and uncertain, Parliament might very well affirm tha-t New Zealand is ready and willing to bear it-s fair share on an equitable basis of the burden of maintaining an adequate Navy. An explicit pronouncement in these terms would undoubtedly reflect the. mass of opinion throughout the country. In regard to constitutional relationships, on the other hand, conditions are hardly ripe for even the most general declaration of policy. It is certainly open to Parliament to urge the desirability of improving the existing facilities for inter-imperial consultation, but this would be rather like emphasising the obvious. The. immediate difficulty is that although the best minds of the Empire have addressed themselves to the problem of improving its existing political organisation, no definite forward step in this direction Which is at all likely to command general approval has yet been, suggested. It is a somewhat strained view, however, which bases on this fact and on the new status attained by the Dominions an apprehension that the States of the Empire will presently find themselves hopelessly at variance and attempting' to carry out five different and conflicting foreign policies. Against the fact that it is open to the Dominions, if they were foolish enough to do so, to pursue a course inimical to the unity of the Empire, there is to be set the much greater fact that it is overwhelmingly in their intcre.’Ks to avoid doing anything of the kind. Although they cannot in the nature of things revert to a state of dependence and tutelage, the Dominions are- under no temptation to assert unduly the status they have attained as members of the League of Nations. Apart from the tremendous advantages of the Imperial connection from the standpoint of security and,in the unexampled opportunities it affords of individual and national development, it is sufficiently apparent that if the British Empire fell to pieces, no international league of wider scope could stand. It is equally clear, however, that more harm than good would be done by any hasty attempt to transform and tighten up the loose association in which the component countries of the Empire are at present united. The groundwork of a policy of Imperial defence must be sought in the fact tha-t all narts of the Empire have commop interests to guard, and that as time goes on inter-imperial migration and affairs of trade and development, if they are wisely guided, will steadily expand and enlarge the wide communitv of interest and aspiration which is the best guarantee of lasting Imperial unity.