The Dominion. MONDAY, JANUARY 7, 1935. A NEW ANGLE FOR THE EMPIRE

Dominion, Volume 28, Issue 87, 7 January 1935, Page 6

The Dominion. MONDAY, JANUARY 7, 1935. A NEW ANGLE FOR THE EMPIRE

To-day’s news from Australia on the subject of the meat quote, emphasises the need for a new angle of approach to Impel lai questions, and doubly stresses the importance of having a full-dress Imperial Conference when the political heads of the Dominions are in London for the Royal Jubilee celebrations. When the Ottawa Conference assembled' it was remarked that the Empire was at the cross-roads. The agreements reached then could in no sense be regarded as a permanent settlement of the questions which bore so heavily and critically upon Imperial policy. It was admittedly a conference of compromise and short-term contracts entered upon in a period or great economic stress and difficulty. There has been a change for the better m conditions and prospects, but it can hardly be said that the genera atmosphere of Imperial politics is satisfactory. Another conference is badly needed. . , , . It cannot be doubted that the importance of having a stocktaking is as deeply felt in the heart of the Empire as it is in the Dominions. Nor can it be gainsaid that the solution of the questions at present at issue in inter-imperial trade lies in the ability of all concerned to take’the long view. Economic stress has imparted to the difficulties of the moment a degree of urgency, but viewed in their right perspective they are part of a process of readjustment in which a, concerned should be prepared to pull their height. It would be a mistake for any single Dominion to attempt to force the pace, or to apply pressure to the British Government to adopt a line, of policy which in its ultimate results might seriously, affect Britain s. trace position generally. It should be a first principle of the Dominions policy that they can best succeed by going with her, not without her or against her. Britain on the other hand is becoming increasingly dependent on the goodwill of the Dominions. In no other field of her overseas relationships is the factor of mutual interest so strongly marked an incentive to the promotion of mutual goodwill. With these considerations in mind, interest is at once aroused by the forecast of election policy upon which, states the Daily Heiald $ lobbyist, the British National Government proposes to go to the country after the dissolution of Parliament. the Daily Herald is usually well informed on political developm«nts, and the statements of its Parliamentary correspondent in this particular connection have at least the virtue of being in tune with the general opinion in Britain that a new angle in Impeiial development should be found. He refers to the intention of Ministers to consult with the Dominions’ and colonial statesmen in London for the Royal Jubilee with a view to an agreement on a programme of “work at Home and development in the Dominions and the colonics.’ Included in the items of this programme are “Empire expansion loans for the extension of Imperial trade,” “the conversion of Dominion and colonial loans at, lower interest,” “Empire migration,” and “the revision of the Ottawa agreements.” These and other matters mentioned by the Daily Herald’s correspondent have been prominently in the minds of serious thinkers. As a result of various causes and influences the Imperial machinery has become clogged. The time has come for the Empire to get a move on,” as the saying is, and large-scale planning is clearlv necessary m order that both men, in migration, and goods, in trade, will move more freely. There is a close connection between two, for what, is manifestly required is such a redistribution of the Empire s population as will spread the consumption of goods instead of concentrating supplies in congested markets, these considerations prompt the feeling that the election forecast referred to may not be far wide of the mail.. From this point of view his Majesty’s Jubilee year should indeed be a landmark in British history if it should provide a new angle for the future of Imperial relationships.