DOMINATED BY PAST

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26633, 2 December 1947, Page 5

DOMINATED BY PAST

BRITAIN AND UNITED STATES MARSHALLING OF POTENTIAL RESOURCES Rec. 10 p.m. LONDON, Dec. 1. “ One of the characteristics held in common by the two great centres of the English-speaking world —Washington and London—is the remarkable inability to mobilise all their potential political and economic resources,” says the Economist.

“The United States, far from seeing in the British Commonwealth a friendly and reliable security system ready to carry a share of the burden of world order, can still hardly bury memories of the tradition of George 111 and Lord North. Great Britain, flanked by great dominions which have grown to complete maturity in the past 40 years, is haunted by equal though opposite anachronism. “ So deeply ingrained in the British mind is it that the powerful ‘other Country ’ must do nothing to interfere with its ‘ dependencies ’ —must not, in fact, behave like Lord North —that to-day when the Mother Country is no longer so powerful and the dominions, no longer dependent, are anxious to aid their embarrassed parent, she holds back fearful of engaging their help for fear of contravening their sovereignty.” Continuing, the Economist says this can be the only possible explanation of the British Government's steady failure to draw the dominions into closer consultation as issue after issue arises in which the dominions have an equal interest. It is now six months since the Marshall Plan was announced, yet nothing has been done to ascertain the extent to which the dominions might become suppliers under the plan, and thus, by acquiring dollars, help to fend off their own crises. Moreover, nothing has been done to have all the dominions into consultation on Mr Bevin’s Empire Customs Union plan and decide how this can best fit into the Marshall Plan picture.

“It may be that all these issues have been discussed," concludes the Economist. “It may be that the Prime Ministers’ offices in London and in each dominion are in close and confident touch, but this does not appear to be the case. Only the occasion of the Royal wedding brought sufficient Empire statesmen to Downing Street to warrant the announcement this week of ‘ informal comnmnwealth discussions.’ In a crisis like this can the British afford such a disregard of their real resources? ”