COLONIES AND EMPIRE.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVI, Issue 18, 22 January 1904, Page 3

COLONIES AND EMPIRE.

AN IMPERIAL COUNCIL. I.ONIION, Jan. 20. The Right Hon. Alfivtl Lyltcllom, Secretary "of State for the Colonies, s!,A»k'i'ng at Hie Cuaiajila Club dinner, said the precedent of inviting- the Cauiadiiin War Minister to England to sit as a member of the lmivrial Council of lici'mice migiht udvuinUigeuusly l.e extondod to Hie lomign affairs of the culunies. Wlu'ii iiuch matters were under discussion or negotiation llki co]amies rimicernid nii'gl.t send leading statesmen to advise aiivl assist in Hi- discussion. This wotiftl lie the germ of a eoiaicil whiicih would ultimately become a jjei'inujunt iin'jierial instit-ii'lie'iv. OTTAWA, .huu. 211. Sir Wilfrid Laurier, Domiuiom I'iemier. speaik'ing at a l»a"vpiet at Ottawa, denied tihait the granting to the colonies of tivaty-in-aking powers would mean live seiicancc of the colcciial lie. Whatever powers of seifgMieining the colonies required to rmijlove them to conduct their own in~ wliunions accoreliing to their ow'n views aud iirti-ivsts, inwteai.l of loosei.ing would s'treivg'tlven the ties with the Motherluiid. The Hon. F. W. Boidvn. Leader of the O] ;icwition wa.s uimible to scm how Canada uwkl m-aike ti'eati»s mi.X'penUvuHy of the rest of 11 je Empi ic. SPEECH BY MR SEIIDON. GREYMOIH'II, .Inn. 81. In the course of a speech at a hanquot temdered to him here to-night the Pmnier. after dealing with the Chinese labour iiuestion ill the Hand mines and the importance of the Australian and New /'.'aland Naval AgTecmc.nl Act, ru'oi ivd to the iminortaut (itfestic/n of the establishment of an Imperial Council. Upon this tlt'ie should be repivrfentod the givat self-governvnig colonie.) of the Empire, and it should dial with large quest inns of national u'nlil colonial import. Some years ago, Mr SK'.Hon said, whmi he moved in the matter his suggestions were scorned, atiad generally regartkid as imjn-acti-eaible. Now the condition of things was nlteiid, and rcgaid'in'g this t'iitwi of Chinese labour in Soiut'h Africa, Cape Colony, Hie Australian Commonwealth, New Zealand, and oven British Columbia, we were agrecd, while otl.vr colonies were opppstd to us. This therefore would form an appropriate subject for consideration by an Imperial Council. The Pivmier went on to say that had the formailion of such aa Imperial Council become an established fact Uhe piesent urrs-utisfactory position O'f alVairs in the Traits'vaal would I.aive bjen avaidVd. 'Hie threatened trouble lx?tween Russia aKd Japan, inivolviii'g as it did iss'ue.s of large nu.tior.al and coloniial impoi'tance, wo'ulxl hu-w bevn a proper subject to lie with by such a council. The advance of Jiussia in th>-' East was a serious menace to Australia ajid New Zealaind. Mr Sudd on saitl he was not sure whe'ther the leading public men at Home were even yet adequately impressed as to how muK'li the peoiile in the colonies in the Pacific were com-erind and iniperilhd in this matter. The Premier's remarks on this question were rcccivc-d with applause.