CONSTITUTIONAL ISSUE

Evening Post, Volume CXXIII, Issue 123, 26 May 1937, Page 11

CONSTITUTIONAL ISSUE

NOW VIRTUALLY CERTAIN IMPERIAL TALKS United Press' Association—By Electric TeleEraph—Copyright: (Received May 26, 11.40 a.m.) LONDON, May 25. As a result of today's inaugural meeting of the constitutional committee set up by the Imperial Conference, comprising heads of delegations and legal advisers, it is virtually certain that, contrary to earlier expectations, no Empire constitutional crisis will emerge from the Conference. It is understood that the Australian Treasurer, Mr.'R. G. Casey, was emphatic that, Australia has not the slightest intention of agreeing to any alteration in the rights of Australians to be British subjects. The Attorney-General, Sir Donald Somervell, on: behalf of Britain, took a similar line to the Prime Minister, Mr. Baldwin, whose speech at • the Empire Day banquet last night was really directed at those Dominions, mainly Canada and South Africa,, which are seeking to tinker with the1 Constitution, when he declared, "Don't let us put our Constitution in a strait waistcoat." , A technical sub-committee appointed by the heads of delegations today will be confronted with the issue which General Hertzog (South Africa) raised dealing with the nationalisation of aliens in the Dominions and whether they have attained full status, and alsothe thorny problem of how British subjects are affected in Dominions such as Canada and South Africa, who have passed their own nationality, laws.