The Taihape Daily Times AND WAIMARINO ADVOCATE. FRIDAY, APRIL 16, 1915. IMPERIAL CONFERENCE.

Taihape Daily Times, Volume 7, Issue 185, 16 April 1915, Page 4

The Taihape Daily Times AND WAIMARINO ADVOCATE.

FRIDAY, APRIL 16, 1915. IMPERIAL CONFERENCE.

(With which is incorporated The Taihape Pogt Miia Wnimarlnu News.)

Statements made in the,. i House' '■• of Commons by Mr Lewis, .Harcburt, cabled- to us yesterday, x>n- the,, subject of the Dominions ha-.ving,a yoice, in important questions of Empire, and more directly in the final "settlement of "the war, indicate clearly that 'considerable pressure is being brought to bear,'both from within and without the' British Legislature, to secure a niu'elr cTbso'i-' union of the peoples' of "which'"' the Eir,'- < pire is composed than Iras hitherto existed. At present the Dominions -have no voice in most vital questions';' the" British Government without Consulting' any of the Dominions can set up a state of war in which New . Zealand, - Aurf-~ tralia, Canada, South Africa, and all 'lesser -units" of. Empire are called ■upon to sacrifice the lives of-the flower of their'lands and to spend millions \& their money in an effort to stem 'f I <(•-'•■ Empire's overthrow. What..has been done in the war we are engaged in we' do-not think there is one man >;r'en.' ; ./ thousand that will not enthusiastic;?!?;;ejiofb'rse', but we have new before v dsfiuito.,evidence of the magnitude of the issues into which vvc may bo involved ai:r] it is q U itc natural that Ve-.~ Zealand and the of her Dc.mip.iYuis ' should lsisjjjc upon having some voie,-/ in deciding such issues. All the;Em-I pire : has been (Jailed upon to sr.crifi.'--.-largely and now that the end nf th* war is aear they v:»nt to be f-ure i"<-f tljoy are not proif.g to be treated ;•:■■ r.gre»m<?nt.=. It has £e:it>r»Hv been j.v.- I '! ' 1 J 1 I. -r ■ ■,' ' • ' ' lonfcro-ieo of any '' : ::< v. .>h": be hohb J :-:!' n;w the Pe:-:- ■■■:;:■ of,' Foreign .' :'- I o a eonferenfe of ::a o-dinarv rci-r.v! !

natfa, miKoell»»«ous ree&ru-t£g»n«, pretrtwsted aittiagß, Wad Bhertha''Bd resulting in the' iarae of iSihe Books' would form part, and heks definitely stated that be will ewsolt tfce Donriß-. ions tsily; personally, :>*M?a-t.be time te disaass -peae*, arrives; Wfrhent'&tfnbt, a properly constituted wod -amvensally yeeegnised Imperial Cou-ncil ' -i ar the purpose will be insisted upon by tbe Dejuxnione, so ttiat wo may be bett*v informed in tbe future an all makers re.spee*Hig tke Empire's foreign ftfferirs. For yen** past there has been a steady effort te develop tbe means of eoasuttatioa between the British Government aad the various Dominion Governments, and seme progress has been made, as yes-, 1 terday's cables indicate, bat our pressut constitutional .arrangements «5o not lend themselves easily to the object in viewjVand until they are radically best efforts of consultation will fall very far short of en-' abling the democracies oversea to exercise the same influence upon poHcy in proportion to their size as the democracy of the United Kingdom. The ' Prime Minister of Canada has recently called attention to this anomaly as the ene aspect in which the Dominions still lack responsible self-government, lie •said: "The citizens of the self-govern-ing Dominions do not directly participate through their ministers or through their parliaments in the Councils of the Empire which determine the issues of peace and war. In this we have not attained the full development of what I believe must eome. I may see the day, as you young men will certainly Bee it, when the men of all the Dominions will have just the same voice in these questions as those who live in the British Isles. Any man that doubts that that will come doubts that the Empire will" hold together."' We in New Zealand are moved by our ideals .as well as by our material interests, and we are not likely to continue to allow issues of life and death to us to be decided thousands of miles away unlese we are fully consulted, and are enabled, to exercise a potential will. If no special circumstances had arisen to sever America from Britain, it is unthinkable that the United States people would, at this late day, stand voicelessly by and allow their present and future existence to be determined" solely by those who reside in the British Isles.