THE DOMINIONS.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 1604, 29 August 1916, Page 4

THE DOMINIONS.

Professor La by, of the University of Melbourne, formerly of Victoria College, recently lectured in the Guild Hall on “The Dominions.’’ In the course of a reference to British foreign policy the Professor said: “T venture to say that the present position cannot continue very much longer. There are 45 million's of people in Great Britain, and 14 millions of white people in the Dominions. The latter are rapidly increasing, and, before many years, will equal in numbers the people of Great Britain. I think we can be sure that, once the white population of the Dominions exceeds that of England, the control by Great Britain alone of the issues of peace and war will be impossible. Before that stage of the British Empire —or, as I prefer to call it, the British Commonwealth —is reached, either the responsibilities of foreign relations and defence will be jointly shared, or each of the Dominions will have to be separately responsible for their foreign relations; that is, or they will have to declare their independence of Great Britain. There are, obviously, only the three alternatives —to remain as we are, with no Voice in determining peace or war; to obtain a share in the control of foreign relations and defence; or to separate from the British Empire.”