Forty Years a Liberal

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 642, 19 April 1929, Page 2

Forty Years a Liberal

LIFE STORY OF SIR JOSEPH WARD From Telegraph Messenger to Prime Minister By It. A. LOUGHNAN (Copyright—Sun Feature Service) ENTERING Parliament ill ISS7, Sir Joseph Ward is a veteran among contemporary statesmen and iiis career is traced and described in this series of articles by R. A. Loughnan for readers of The Sun. No. XXIII.

When the Imperial Conferences i began to set about the work o£ lm-i perial building, it was recognised uni- j versallv that the Empire, powerless, I and by many considered chaotic, possessed one tremendous asset. That was the sentimental bond which united it. That bond subsequently j stood the test of the greatest war in, history. When the conference got; into harness before the war, the "v iew prevailed that there is a safe middle way between the alternatives of coil-, stitutional perfection and dissolution; the way of co-operation guaranteed i by the strength of the sentimental bond. It was resolved therefore to J follow the middle way of co-operation. The resolve was justified by wonderful events in the Great War of the, nations. | Nevertheless many people, in their! quite natural impatience, wondered if ■ after all the shouting over the senti- j mental bond the Imperial Conferences; were doing or had done anything for the organisation of the Empire. FULL KNOWLEDGE OF AFFAIRS After the conference of 1911 Mr. Andrew Fisher stated publicly in an interview —stated “with rapture that the British Government had agreed permanently to admit the oversea premiers to full knowledge of all the affairs of the Empire. One critic railed. “See,” he said, “with how little wisdom the government of the world is carried on.” He meant that thefee people had once thought that governing persons could cooperate without knowing all round •what they were about. But the decision “rapturously” announced by Mr. Andrew Fisher showed the end of the stupidity railed at —the jibe of this critic fell flat. The Governrfient’s decision to admit the Empire rulers in full confidence had not only killed the jibe of this critic, it had answered the question about organisation. This resolved frankness was the first serious important step in th* organisation of the Empire. It guaranteed the safety of the middle course. The critic was amazed that the Government he had always derided as a “Little England Government” had grown suddenly big. But that was his, not the Empire’s funeral.

This critic, it will be well to say here, was wrong in his jibe about the stupidity of working in the dark. At the conference of 1907 great frankness was extended to the conference in connection with foreign affairs of the Empire. And in the subsidiary conference of 1909, on defence of the Empire, the very fullest confidence was extended. In the conference of 1911, however, this complete frankness was made a settled policy and custom, not a thing for any special occasion or particular debate. Hence Mr. Andrew Fisher’s “rapture.” He recognised the stability of the first step in the organisation of the Empire. CONTINUITY OF CONSULTATION

Mr. Alfred Deakin. of the Australian Commonwealth, had tried a first step in 1907. In the Imperial Conference of that year he had proposed to change the name of the Imperial Conference into Imperial Council. This he explained was to emphasise j the continuity of the Imperial Conference and as the conference (council; in his scheme of things) could only meet at intervals, he proposed to attach a “consultative secretariat” sitting continually in London, naming the officers, defining the questions for consultation with the British Government and between the oversea Governments. Sir Joseph Ward had opposed “what one might term a sep. arate office, carried on in the Old Country as an intermediary between the respective Premiers during the recess.” He preferred such a channel through the High Commissioners. But he found himself obliged to mention “the fear of his Government that it might be drawn into purelv European controversies without being consulted.” At the same time he admitted that a permanent conference would be valuable in preventing mis‘understanding on such points. But he “refused to consider a body with any but consultative powers.” The discussion had dropped at last through the confusion of ideas into which it had got. Throughout Sir Joseph 1\ ard had been very active and vigilant.

In the conference of 1911 he took up the subject with his proposal for an Imperial Council. After the failure then he followed it up two weeks later with a great address—by invitation—at the Imperial Colonial Institute. Here he recognised. of l course, that in the trend of great affairs principles are the basic guides of thought. But one cannot dwell for ever on principles. That is the character of merely academic discussion In the world of affairs there must be a beginning of application. A complete system is impossible in the hrst stages of constitutional poliev One must proceed by experimental degrees, with readiness to profit by experience, which is better than any theory. VALUE OF CONFERENCES *? Z e a see ' nhat Sir Joseph meant xvith his suggestion for an Imperial Council. He withdrew it—escatdng in a u “ animous rejection. But in making the withdrawal he declared his belief in its inevitable eventual acceptance by the shaping of the rough-hewn block of his off!ring. He had referred to this as an instance of the educational value of Imperial Conferences. In most new conslsts lle in alUe H t educatiou them consists in guiding the steps bv jp“hTl°e greSSion t 0 the if recognised in the future, that the ~ i indeed recognised now. work donl ° f a g ° od deal o£ th ® work done at Imperial Conferences by

Sir Joseph \\ arc! ot New Zealajj was educational. imparted by p rar . tical suggestions in advance of hi, time. Thus he is seen to posse*, essentially the leading faculty. In this ease the suggested Imperial Council, for instance, the discussion which went against the suggestion was certainly of educational value. The lines of the suggestion did not fit the lines of a sound federal constitutional policy. And they were not intended to do so. He showed where and how the lines proposed did not fit, the way was cleared toward showing how and where the fit may be effected. And dynamic force w a » given to the educational process by Sir Joseph's absolutely correct declaration that the only alternative to the fitting is disintegration. t A vague impression is held by sections of the Dominion's public that in the conference of 1911 Sir Joseph realised the favourite metaphor ot the critical world with his Imperial Co uo . cil, that is that he sent up a verv futile rocket, of which the stick fell back cold after discharging an ineffective brilliance. Only that, and nothing more. in that matter the good service he did by his trial proposal to the Imperial cause was shown in the last chapter. The other services he did at that conference have now to be noted. It is worth while, for they were many. The conference of 1911 went through a very large agenda paper. In lj days it discussed 36 important questions of the Imperial relation o! which it resolved acceptance (with, in some cases, modification) of ’s proposals, and rejected (or caused the withdrawal) of eight. A STRONG ADVOCATE Of these questions 17 were spon. sored by the New Zealand Prime Minister, nearly half of the 36. And in each he proved himself a stronr advocate, well informed at all points of experience and well versed in thought, readily amenable to reason, courteous to all, and quite well understanding the wants and interests of all. In addition to the subjects of his own (and his Dominion's) initiative, he took part with ability, understanding and sympathy in many, almost all, in fact, of the other matters of the agenda, discussing as an equal with equals. It is indeed strikingly characteristic of this conference that all the statesmen rose to that level of equal discussion- —a thing to be expected in the British statesmen, but in the oversea men agreeably surprising. The subjects in which initiative resolutions were proposed by the New Zealand Prime Minister dealt with the publicity of the proceedings of (he conference, the reorganisation of the Colonial Secretariat, an Imperial Council, the interchange of civil servants, extension of the Dominica power over the shipping laws, uniformity of law on copyright, trade marks, patents and companies, with reciprocity in the law dealing wiu destitute persons with naturalisation, and an Imperial. Court of Appeal; with the injustice of the double income tax, and with the coinage and currency. Also there was the question of a State-owned Atlantic cable, a State-owned telegraph line across Canada, the development of telegraph! communications throughout the Em pire, the great subject of universal penny' postage, an all-red mail route, and the abolition of stamp duty on colonial bonds issued in London. DECLARATION OF LONDON In addition to this large budget o! agenda, he-moved the resolution tor adopting the Declaration ot London which the conference carried, the Australian representatives abstainia; from voting. On the question S;r Joseph said at the conference that “after grave consideration he hah come to the conclusion that under the declaration foodstuffs would to: be exposed to so much risk a* present, and from that point ® view the declaration should be supported. The proposal to establish an International Court, to which appeals could be made, which must always have a majority of neutrals upon it, was a great improvement o» the present system of a Court composed chiefly of officers of the op posing belligerent countries. The suggestion of a new method W which cases could be tried, u= against the existing unsatisfactor method, was a great step in * vance. The crux of the whole poy' tion from the point of view of Great Britain and the oversea tv

millions was the maintenance yond any doubt of the supreawfJ of the British Navy. Keep Navy so powerful that the Bnus* routes could be thoroughly P ' teeted, and there was not the sng est chance of the Declaration London being put to the te*He thought it of material i®p® ance that the different should be consulted in these ters and given an opportunit. , express their opinions before decisions were arrived at, a ll much regretted that it had not done in this instance. On the * . though all that he would l»*te not provided for, he was n° l * pared to support rejection. In the discussion that resolution was passed affirming point raised by Sir Joseph. taa Dominions must in future consulted in such matters, a® war( j president announced that Sir aC . Grey, the Foreign Secretary, » ter dertaken to see it carried out- * that. Sir Joseph, declaring tJJ 1 0 f theless he saw “much good hy - re(l advance in the declaration, csr . its ratification. The motion . 30 t ried. the Australian represents voting. (To be continued daily*> _ 0 f Copies of previous c ?: itio * rl . of I SUX containing “The Life ® if Joseph Ward” ?W/ he obtat*gflj t 1 plication to the Publisher, * i P.O. Box 630, Auckland.