The Daily News FRIDAY, APRIL 19. THE IMPERIAL CONFERENCE.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume L, Issue 59, 19 April 1907, Page 2

The Daily News FRIDAY, APRIL 19. THE IMPERIAL CONFERENCE.

It is only ut" remit years that British I Ministers have really recognised that , Ihitish extends a good (leal mi either side u) Downing street. Downing street's share in tiie administration of lite colonies ha-. been ell'ected in the past mainly on theoretical grounds. lor it is nol io i>e disputed thai Home Ministers as a elites have no real practieal knowledge ol ilie colonic*. their people, needs or aspirations. As Jar as the Premiers of the I'lmpires colonies can voice the sen* timeiiis of llie peoples they represent, Britain is perhaps to he allowed to see. through them, that the colonies do count in Ihe imperial scheme. It is lor the purpose of placing before the Home < •'overnmcut ihe position of the colonies that the best statesmen Ihe colonies can 'send are now in London amending ihe i Imperial Conference. 'I he lonu - cabled report of the opening ol (he Conference consisted, as usual, of the merest platitudes. Tne usual "bond of Imperial L'nity." and "the silver thread id' kinship,' and all the age-woni slabs, of sen--1 intents were used by all the speakers. Prime Minister Nir Camphell-Bannennau said that the will of the people would lie paramount, lie promiicd that Iris colleagues would join in the discussion. In fact. Sir CampbelM»aiinenuan was good enough iu say that some work might be effected.

Ihd, passing the bald platitude* over, possibly the most important matters to be discussed at the Conference are Imperial preference and imperial defence. The great daily papers on the .Liberal side of politics seem to foresee an attempt 011 the part of colonial Premiers to break down the free trade policy of the Old Country in their endeavors to establish what may be free trade between the various components of the Umpire. Surely the Liberal papers credit the colonial Premiers with a great deal ;)f power, imperial free trade can only be baulked by sellishness on the part of individual colonies, which may see a disadvantage in tarilf removals.' That freetrade or preference between the colonies and Britain would be likely to lead to protection in Britain, which is only able to exist bv giving free entrance to all foodstuffs, is absurd. Britain can never under any circumstance* produce all she requires, and, this being so, she will remain free trade, unless her statesmen go , mad.

The importance of a complete scheme, of Imperial defence is tremendous, because it is useless to have Imperial trade preference unless it has something to protect the free-trading ships. Everybody knows the colonies an; not adequately protected, that the colonies are made the dumping grounds for a lot of useless naval ironmongery, and that Britain is playing too large a game in the scheme of great nations to greatly care what happens to a few small colonies she scarcely over hears of, and which represent merely a part of the map to her. If the colonial Premiers arc wise—and Ihey unquestionably are so—they will all insist that the very scheme to guard against aggression, to increase defence effectiveness ami the possibility of having an Australasian navy .manned by Australasians, supported by Australasian capital, and connected, if you will, with the Mothers navy, is to encourage immigration. Australia wants thirty millions of people where she has now only Jive. New Zealand would be better off with five millions than with nine hundred thousands. The importance of the colonies is probably proved to British statesmen by the fewness of the colonies' inhabitants. The comparative largeness of Australasia's trade is a splendid indication of the energy and commercial genius of the people, but the bulk of trade does not seem to have given any British statesman occasion to remark that such valuable cargoes needed better protection oil Britain's account as well as 011 the colonies' account.

Olio of Sir .lospiO) Ward's uxHlout motions set out Ikm'uj'o the Conference is lu have the proceedings open to the j're.ss. I >riLisli representatives do not ajiree. \Ae wonder il tiiis is "(hi' paramount will <>! the people" Sir Henry plalitiuliniscs abouth we consider for a moment one realises thai ;ill the members oj tin.' Imperial ( 'oiifcrewe nr* k 1 lit* peoples' servants, including "(.'.15." himself. Tlk» |>eople pay tln» salaries of ibe colonial Premiers. The people send Lhem

tin 1 (Y>]]k it I j;tv (lu'il' fiUOS. 110 ]>l>o|>k'. ils ;l matter 111' I'iict, IlllVO ill;' ■fry hfst tloycrs ;iiv We siuwrely lmpe Jm I Sir Jiispp)) Wiirtl anil Mr. Ui'ukin «ill yet inlhienee the Conference in this liiiittcr uf publicity.

As may be .-*een, Premiers of Die colonics arc able to get leave of absence lu attend litis Conference, and the colonies they leave temporarily get 011 exactly a> before, while they are away. This preparatory to saying that those Hritish .Ministers whose special Junctions are U< deal with colonial matters could just as well he spared during the silling of the Knglish Parliament .. One does not heal' of a .British Secretary of State for the Colonics being so deeply impressed with the necessity J'or knowledge uf his work that Ue visits tlie colonies. There is, of course, the historical visit of .Mr. Chamberlain to South Africa and Egypt, but the Australasian colonies are <juite ignored. it is our opinion that exchanges of statesmen between Hritaiu and all colonies arc absolutely necessary, that Home .MiniMers are lto! in touch with the colonies, and are nut therefore in complete sympathy with their aspirations or their peoples.

Fortunately travel is su easy nowadays dm I. politicians <lu get around more freely tliau heretofore. but the udministrativi! heads of dreat British Departliicnls of Slate are very "stay-at-home." liritisli Ministers oil holiday gtinerally visit foreign countries: colonial statesmen nearly always visit England. No doubt the colonial Premiers ill England will emphasise (lie necessity of exchanges of visits. If Mr. Deiikili can afford to leave a continent lor several months, surely Mr. Ualdane call alford to leave his office in Oowniug street for a few months, ami the Secretary of State for the Colonies can ll'aord to have a look at the places ho has such a llieorctical interest, in. Wo anticipate that the Imperial Conference will result in good, but (here is die barrier of iiritisli conservatism to break down, and future Conferences u'ill not doubt be productive of greater good than the one just com-