TOPICS OF THE TIMES

Southland Times, Issue 21097, 31 May 1930, Page 6

TOPICS OF THE TIMES

Whatever its political effects, Mr Forbes s choice of action in the situation he defines 'is the right one, and the only right one (says the Christchurch Press). If we may accept his figures he is facing a deficit ot about three million pounds: a million less in Customs revenue, a railway shortage of a million and a quarter —we defer comment on his references to this a fall in land and income tax revenue of about a quarter of a million, and half a million in automatic increases of expenditure on pensions, etc. To attempt to make, this up by increased taxation would be a disastrous mistake. Over-taxation is so clearly one of the causes of the country’s depression that even a small increase would be a heavy misfortune. The Prime Minister in effect admits this, though he will not tie his hands with a pledge against any increase ; but he sets himself squarely to the alternative. While the Dominion redoubles its efforts to tap its potential wealth”—efforts which high costs, including high taxation, severely handicap or quite frustrate —the State must “eliminate or curtail" all possible expenditure; and the Government is therefore reviewing the services it supplies. “We have got to determine what is essential and what is not, the Prime Minister says, and says in those words exactly what The Press has said at least fifty times in five years and five times a year for fifty years. The difficulties may be acknowledged. In whatever direction the knife is applied, there will be protests, and it will be interesting to see how firmly Mr Forbes disregards them, as they can and must be disregarded, when the decision to retrench is just and necessary. Again, the clamour for new expenditure must be ignored, especially for that expenditure which offers only an immeasurable return in increasing the community’s wealth and earning capacity.

When prejudice has died down in later years, credit will be given to John S. Ewart, K.C., for having made a substantial contribution to the building of the Canadian nation (states The Citizen of Ottawa). For many years he carried on educational work almost alone to promote public interest in the constitutional reform which has gradually emerged through several, Imperial conferences since the war. Perhaps reform is hardly the right term to employ to describe the readjustment of relations between his Majesty’s Government in Great Britain and his Majesty’s Government in Canada, which is definitely affirmed in the declaration of the Imperial Conference of 1926. The effect of this declaration has been to make it clear that Canada is an Independent kingdom. The King of England is equally the King of Canada. He is Canada’s King by right, on the same terms as he is Great Britain’s King. Long before the war, Mr Ewart’s Kingdom Papers were, written for the purpose of conveying this larger understanding of the King’s constitutional position to the people of Canada. Because Mr Ewart moved in advance of popular opinion, he had to endure much misrepresentation. It should be gratifying to him to have lived to see the position of Canada as an independent kingdom quite firmly established even though it may still take some years before it is popularly acknowledged. /

The Canadian people are much like the British people in other lands in being averse to the making of constitutional changes overnight (The Citizen proceeds). They prefer the process of gradualness. Largely because of this inherent stability of character, Canada’s progress toward independent nationhood has been made without serious friction or straining of relations with the Motherland. Canada has indeed been the proving ground for the greatest experiment in democratic government so far recorded in history, defined in the declaration of the Imperial Conference of 1926 as autonomous Communities within the British Empire, equal in status, in no way subordinate one to another in any aspect of their domestic or external affairs, though united by a common allegiance to the Crown, and freely associated as members of the British Commonwealth of Nations. Opinions differ on the correctness of such terms as "British Empire” and “British Commonwealth of Nations.” It is Mr Ewart’s privilege to argue that they are inaccurate, as applied to the autonomous communities under the British flag. In the process of time, a more acceptable title will be found to describe this league of British nations. In the meanwhile, perhaps the term "kingdom,” so long advocated by Mr Ewart, would be bettey than the term "Dominion” as applied to Canada. It would possibly help to simplify Great Britain’s problem of the readjustment of constitutional relations with India, where the demand in recent years has been for something called "Dominion status.”