COST OF EMPIRE DEFENCE

Dominion, Volume 20, Issue 46, 18 November 1926, Page 11

COST OF EMPIRE DEFENCE

QUESTION OF MORE EQUITABLE DISTRIBUTION RAISED BY DOWNING STREET ATTITUDE OF THE DOMINIONS i .. The whole question of a more equitable distribution of the cost of. Empire defence has been raised by Downing Street and discussed by the Imperial Conference, and the Dominion. Prime Ministers on their return will discuss with ' their'Cabinets the nature of their response. • By Telegraph.—Press Association.—Copyright.

'London, November 16. :';.Uppn-. yesterday’s little flash of ■■ frank interchanges during Mr. Bruce’s '■ speech on Imperialdefence, coupled ’ with the' fact that a contract was let fo-dajf for'the building of Singapore’s floating dock, a section of the British Press has built a full-blown story that the Premiers > have been' asked how . much they are prepared to pay to- .. wards .the Singapore,BafeeT . The Australian Press Agency learns that a minor issue" has been mistaken for, the major one,* and that, as previously cabled, Downing Street .has . raised the whole question of a . more equitable -, distribution of the cost of Empire defence, in.which the cost of the Singapore Base of £11,000,000, spread over a period of t;en years, is a mere incident alongside a bulk total of the Navy. Estimates. It is true that a suggestion has been made to the Dominions for annual, contributions, to which South Africa and the Irish Free ...State "are displaying a certain amount 7 of aloofiiess, and even Canada shows ■. a degree of . hesitancy, while New Zealand and India are cordially sympathe- , tic, and Australia is. disposed to weigh . the possibilities in the light of her own direct naval expenditure., COMMONWEALTH’S DEFENCE ... enterprise. > . .Ed'regard to'this if is gathered that Mr. Bruce’s recital of the Commonwealth's, defence enterprise considerably impressed the Conference and rather emphasised with force Britain’s hint that the other units' of tlie'Empire might shoulder some of the general ■ burden. There is no thought, however, as has : beeii suggested, that within the ■ ■next week the-Premiers will sit around . .the table and s thrash out the scale of the, proposed ,-contributions. Actually the discussion on Imperial, defence has ■• ended;-ahd. ;haying/learned- the facts — and. seen for themselves,-the Premiers .-•■will go back /to their- cwn , Cabinets and discuss-whether their response, will- be •»;bywway-ofi gestureror gift- - From two high-placed officials, tonights came a similar -assurance that, the - thing .which mattered - .most - was •’the 'hope -pi a satisfactory result on-in-ter-Imperial relations which the Prime > Ministers discussed -this morning. It will probably’be early next week before any official disclosure is made, ’ but an optinilstic hint is: “We think we will make a very good show on it.” REPORT ON IMMIGRATION.

AU-Tliursdav’S plenary session it- is %xpected'tliat-the issue'will be the Mi-

Committee’s report, which will deal with group settlement and the training of settlers. The prevailing opinion is that the report contains a fair amount of generalisation, but it is a foregone conclusion that the specific unit of the proposals in the case of Australia will be remitted to Mr. Gepp’s Migration Department for the closest Scrutiny. It has' largely been a case of exploring the possibilities of saving the Anglo-Australian £34,000,000 scheme from being a fiasco. The Australian Press Agency understands that Mr. Bruce has completed his discussions with the Post Office on Australia controlling the beam station. The Post Office reply has not vet been received, but those well-informed predict a refusal. - • Mr. Bruce, before his departure t will consider whether it is advisaable to have a permanent League representative at Geneva, similar to the method adopted by Canada and Ireland. FLOATING- DOCK FOR SINGAPORE CONTRACT LET (Rec. November 17, 7.5 p.m.) London, November 16. The Admiralty has placed a contract with Swan, Hunter, and Wigham, Richardson Ltd., of Wallsend, for the construction of a floating dock for Singapore. The price is'. £1,200,000, and the work of construction will occupy two years. WORK OF CONFERENCE COMMITTEES (Rec. November 17,. 11.50 p.m.) London, November uIG. Live committees met to-day, including the Imperial Relations and treaty Procedure. The Economic Committee concluded its report concerning the taxation of Governments engaged in trade and the taxation of non-resident traders. The Overseas Settlement Committee finished its deliberations, covering the widest field, including settlement, training, and facilitation of migration