IMPERIAL CONFERENCE

Hokitika Guardian, 3 September 1926, Page 4

IMPERIAL CONFERENCE

IMPORTANT SUBJECTS. AN OUTLINE BY MR COATES. WELLINGTON. Sept. 1. In the House this afternoon tho Prime Minister moved that- the statement made by him in the House of Representatives on August 17th. last regarding the agenda paper of the Imperial Conference do lie on the table and be printed. He then placed the following statement of his views upon matters to he discussed at the impending Conference before the House. “Before entering upon any discussion in detail of the subjects to bo considered at the Imperial Conference I • desire to call the attention of the House to the fact that many questions of grave difficulty and of vital importance to the Empire,' which will doubtless arise for eonisdoration, are by their nature unsuitable for public discussion. It will be understood that where subjects are dealt with at the conference which materially affect New Zealand’s interests the decisions arrived at will lie submitted to this Parliament for its consideration and, of necessary ratification, but I think it proper, however, to assure honourable members, and indeed the country generally, that it will be my earnest- aim to continue unaltered in degree or in character New Zealand’s traditional attitude towards tho Mother Country. It will. I think, be sufficient to announce this intention to lay down here a general principle by which I shall be guided at the conference, that while New Zealand values exceedingly her freedom and her present right to be consulted on Imperial affairs and is glad to avail herself of this right where practicable, she recognises that- in matters of foreign policy it is not always possible to give effect to the separate views of all tho dominions, and that New Zealand where necessary leaves the ultimate decision to the Imperial Government. New Zealand will bring to Hie conference no spirit of carping criticism. no disposition to split points of privilege or of status, no desire to obtain an advantage for herself or to embarrass further an Imperial Government already sorely harrassed by vast and almost insuperable difficulties. Opinion in this country, as I interpret- it, is entirely satisfied that within her present limits Now Zealand has ample scope for freedom and for the attainment of a full degree of nationhood with the Empire. IMPERIAL UNITY;

“It will be my endeavour so to conduct the representation of New Zealand that wliat influence this small country may be able to wield in the council of the Empire shall be on the side of Imperial unity. I hold this view—and it needs no demonstration to support it—that the well-being of tho great Empire to which it is our privilege to belong is a matter of most urgent and vital moment, not only to its constituent peoples but to the very world itself. The preservation intact of this mighty instrument for good is a weighty trust, and I desire to assure the House and tho country that I am fully alive to the responsibility attached to my mission, and fully determined to do my best adequately to represent- New Zealand. I would not be understood to imply that all is entirely well at present with the -Empire. It is. perhaps, inevitable in this time of great economic disturbance that the interests of one portion of the British Commonwealth may appear to diverge from those of other portions, and I do

not desire to criticise in any way movements and policies in other parts of the Empire, which must be imperfectly understood here both as to detail and as to motive. Ido not for a moment under-rate the great difficulty of devising a formula, (if a formula- is necessary), that will allow of free play to the aspirations of all parts of tiie Empire without impairing the unity of the whole. The task is one that calls •for all the toleration, all the wisdom all the statesmanship that we can bring to bear, but difficulties apparently beyond tho wit of men to surpass have, in the past, been overcome in Great Britain by that curious system of growb and adaptation which is based more on common sense than any logical formula. The intercourse that is the normal result of our inter-im-perial trade relations has shown the necessity for a .spirit of ‘give and take,’ and I ;nn confident, that at the present stage there is nothing that cannot be solved by good-will, by mutual toleration and earnest effort. That goodwill. that toleration, that effort will not be lacking on the part of New Zealand.

DEFENCE. "On the subject of defence T shall confine myself to a few remarks only. I am satisfied that this country is not yet bearing its full share in the burden of naval defence, and I intend to be guided in the decision of this question and ip the direction in which any possible increase should be expended by the advice of the Imperial authorities, and subject, of course, to the concurrence of this Parliament. I wish, however, definitely to put upon record my entire agreement with the recent remarks of the Prime Minister of Australia on the subject of the Singapore Paso, which I regard as an indisputable necessity for tiie adequate defence of British possessions. I recognise, however, the difficulty of urging upon the Imperial ■ authorities the expenditure of a very large sum of money on a base many thousands of miles removed from the British-taxpayers, who must, in the nature of things, pay the greater part of the cost, and New Zealand must, in the near future, consider whether as an earnest of her bona fides in the matter she is prepared to contribute either directly or indirectly a proportion of the cost. I cannot too strongly reaffirm what has already been aserted on many occasions previously, that the provision of this base is a matter of defence purely and simply, and shorn HI not in any way be construed as a threat or a menace to any other Power.

MIGRATION. ‘Turning now to the subjects specifically referred to in my previous statement to the House, I wish'to make the following remarks: “The problem of redistribuitng to the best advantage the population of the Empire is one of the first importance. On the one hand the United Kingdom,

at present in the throes of a depression which we all hope will shortly disappear, is unable profitably to employ large numbers of her people. On the other hand, in many of the dominions there is a need for men for development for manufactures and for defence. How best- to redistribute the population of the Empire is a problem that may appear simple, but the very real difficulty of a practical readjustment. is shown by the comparatively slow progress of overseas settlement. Up to the present New Zealand. I am glad to snv, has done well in this respect, to her own advantage no less than to the advantage of the people who have come here, and of the United Kingdom itself. During the last five years nearly 60.000 people, assisted and otherwise, have left the United Kingdom to settle in New Zealand, and when it is remembered that'New Zealand has a small population with

limited areas suitable for settlement, and practically no export of manufactured goods, this must be regarded as a good record. These people have been

absorbed into our community, and the results have been satisfactory. In considering the subject of immigration it is, -of course, clear that the greatest care'must be taken to prevent any excess of migrants over the proportion that the country can economically absorb.

“While, therefore, it is the boundeii duty of New Zealand, in common with other parts of the Empire, to relievo the United Kingdom of its surplus people to the utmost extent- possible, and while we regard it as a privilege to assist Great Britain in her difficulty, we must recognise the paramount necessity of ensuring that this effort is not overdone. To exceed the limit of our capacity to absorb these people would be a grave disservice to this country, and no less to the migrants themselves. Bearing this in mind, however, I wish to announce my intention to explore every possibility of safely increasing New Zealand’s effort without disorganising the economic life of the country. It will be remembered that, owing to the inability to fill completely the country’s quota of immigrants in the past, it was recently decided to raise the annual number of assisted migrants, temporarily at least. •I do not think it is feasible safely to increase our quota in tho meantime; but if suitable financial assistance can he obtained under the British Empire Settlement Act it may ho found possible to take some steps in the direction of a- settlement scheme, either on the land generally or in connection with forestry. This will depend largely on the arrangements that it may he possible 'to make with the British Government, hut in any ease honourable members may rely upon it that the greatest care will he observed in working out any proposals that may be considered. INTER-IMPERIAL TRADE. “It is, of course, unnecessary to stress the desirability of increasing in every why possible the volume of interimperial trade, and any course safely promising such an increase will receive mv hearty support. The large extent o’ our trade with the Empire, and especially with the United Kingdom, is well-known. New Zealand is already a very good customer of Groat Britain and of the Empire, in fact J believe that New Zealand is proportionately Great Britain’s best customer at the present time. In the year ended December, 1925, 72.9 per cent of Ney Zealand’s imports came from tho Empire, including -18.7 per cent from the United Kingdom itself. In the same year 86.1 per cent of the Dominion’s oxports went to the Empire, including (9.8 per cent to the United Kingdom. Though this record is a good one it must be noted tlwt in tbe year mentioned New Zealand imported goods to the value of over £14,000,000 from foreign countries, and though many of those were, of course commodities that are not produced at present within the Empire any project to reduce this amount without injury to the Dominion will receive my support. Tile problem of trade is primarily one of economics, but there is also room for sennluont and a, long view of the ultimate possibility of establishing the economic independence of the Empire. To n great extent- any improvement in in-Icr-lmperiul trade depends on the efforts of tbe manufacturers themselves, and 1 am convinced that if British manufacturers will produce goods suitable for Dominion requirements at a reasonable price there is still a wide field for further progress of interim pcriial trade.

“On tbe other band of the question, that of New Zealand’s exports, the Imperial Economic Committee and the Empire Marketing Board are doing good work, especially in facilitating the disposal of Empire fopdstuffs in Great Britain, and every encouragement should be given to the conliuuOtion of this work. The annual grant of £1,000,000 made by the -British Government should materially assist in the disposal of Empire products. “The subsidiary questions of ‘Valuation for Customs Duty Purposes. ’ ‘Area of Taxation in the Case of Nonresident Traders,’ and the ‘Gener.il Economic Conference of the League of Nations,’ do not call for special comment, but tbe subject of standardisation is 0116 of primary importance. The advantages of standardisation to the seller, the buyer and tbe public generally cannot be over-estimated, and I hope that the new Department of Scientific Research will bo able to facilitate tbe more general use of British standards to the benefit both of our- , selves and of the people of the United j Kingdom. I COMMUNICATIONS.

“The subject of Communications is of great interest to New Zoalhnd. It is obvious that to this country, whose

produce must seek its market many thousands of miles away, the question of shipping is one really of life and death, especially when very serious competitors are much more favourably placed geographiriilly. Good service has been rendered in this respect by the Imperial Shipping Committee, and New Zealand ha.s on more than one occasion benefited by its investigations. The wise and economical use of shipping is vital to the Empire, whose very existence depends on sea transport, and the continuation of the work of the committee is eminently desirable. A reduction in the'time required for the transport of our produce to the United Kingdom would he of the greatest value, and I hope that some improvement, in this direction will be found possible in the near future. “The subject of Wireless Communications is exceedingly important, and I hope it will be possible at tbe conference to attain some final decision on this vexed question. Quite apart- from the lisped of defence it is most desirable I bat a cheap and dependable system of wireless communication should he established at the earliest possible date. I

RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT. "In considering the subject of Research and Development I have great hopes of the Department of Scientific Research recently instituted under the direction of Dr Alhrsden. This department is an earnest of New Zealand’s intention to take a live and growing interest in the. subject, arid I shall take every opportunity of assisting the work of the department, which I am convinced will prove of enormous benefit to th- country. New Zealand is a smbll country and the limitation of finance that, is necessarily imposed on

any scientific work here will,-L hope, be largely counterbalanced by a policy of enthusiastic co-operation with scientific institutions in Great Britain, and especally with the British Department of Scientific Besearch. EMPIRE FILMS. ' The subject of Empire Films is one which, whilo ’apparently of minor importance, lias nevertheless a very deep significance. An 'impartial observer cannot fail to be impressed by the preponderance of foreign films shown in this country in common with other parts of the Empire, and the undesirability of presenting to the growing generation of New Zealand ideals land viewpoints that are not British cannot bo . over-estimated. It is, I think, recognised on all sides that a considerable increase in the proportion of British films is exceedingly desirable, and the Government is fully alive to the position. The difficulty, however, would hppear to be in obtaining the requisite quantity of British films cf a quality sufficiently high to attract tho public, and the remedy of this difficulty lies in the hands of the British producers themselves. In the meantime I will support at the Conference any plan that promises to increase the proportion of British films. NATIONALITY. “The question of Nationality hasbeen considered by previous Imperial Conferences, and in any case it is one upon which we will ho well advised to consider carefully the views of tho Imperial Government, which is naturally most intimately affected by the undoubted difficulties of the subject. Perhaps the' most contentious aspect of tho matter concerns the nationality oi British women who have married aliens. The last Imperial Conference gave this matter consideration and arrived at the conclusion that the existing principle that the nationality of a married woman depends on that of her husband should ho maintained, but that power should he taken to readmit a woman to British nationality in cases where the marriage stale, though subsisting in law, laid to all practical purposes come to .an end. * Since then, however, the British House of Commons has passed a resolution laying down the. principle that a British woman should not he deemed to lose her nationality hv the mere act of marriage with an 'alien, but that it should he open to her to make a declaration of alienage. A similar resolution 1 lias been adopted by Australia, while it is understood that Canada is also disposed to favour this principle. The matter will, no doubt, he carefully considered at the coming Conference, and T think that any decision in this country at the present time would in the circumstances ho premature. LEAGUE OF NATIONS.

“Before concluding I feel it, necessary to refer briefly to two subjects of the first importance. In the first place the attitude of this country to the League of Nations might have to he reiterated. As an .instrument- for promoting understanding ampngst the nations the League has. already played a worthy part, and its potentialities in the future are most promising. This country strands ready to take every step and to afford every encouragement that may forward the interests \of the League and the attainment of the ultimate goal, in so far as these do not impair the interests of the British Empire. “Honourable members will notice tint 1 have made no reference to the Locarno Treaty. This, f of course, does net imply any failure oil my part or on the part of the Government to recognise the .grave importance of this treaty, hut as 1 have already explained in answer to a question on the subject- (lie delay in the .-admission of Germany to the League of Nations lias to’ some extent altered the position, and it has now been decided to take no action during tho present session in the direct.mi of accepting the obligations of this treaty. No doubt the subject will receive consideration at the Conference, but a.s no direct obligation can be incurred by New Zealand until the matter has been considered by Parliament I can see nothing to he gained bv discussion or tho question at present, when the whole position is uncertain. There need be no doubt about the ultimate attitude of the Government nor, I think, is there any doubt as to the opinion of tho people of this country, and at the Conference it is my intention to express as strongly as possible the view t-liat New Zealand will in 'the future take up tho position she lias been proud to occupy in the'past, by the side of Great Britain.” In concluding the Prime Minister »;aid this statement embodied his views ami he could also say they mcic endorsed by liis colleagues in Cabinet.