The Daily News. FRIDAY, JANUARY 21, 1921. THE BRITANNIC COMMONWEALTH.

Taranaki Daily News, 21 January 1921, Page 4

The Daily News. FRIDAY, JANUARY 21, 1921. THE BRITANNIC COMMONWEALTH.

It is not likely the Dominions will be greatly concerned over the appointihent of Mr. Winston Churchill as Colonial Secretary in place of Lord Milner. It will doubtless be remembered that he has already served as Under-Sec-retary for the Colonies for three years, during which he must have gained considerable insight into the work of the department over which he is now called upon to preside. Many changes, however, have taken place since 1905, especially in the evolution of the Dominions and their attainment of a status of equality as nations within the Empire, and they have entered upon a new era of Imperial relationship. In the words of the President of the Council of Canada (Hon. N. W. Powell), the Dominions are “All equal in status, though not of equal power, under a common sovereign, and bound together by ties of interest and sentiment, by history, and by all that united the different branches of the Anglo-Saxon peoples and the other nations within the various portions of the Empire, by ties which, though light as air, are as strong as iron in binding together this great League of Nations which we call the British Empire, or the Britannic Commonwealth.” It is manifest that a system which was designed in the first instance for supervising and assisting (though frequently impeding and irritating) what were designated as “Colonies of the Crown,” by means of the Colonial Office, is entirely inappropriate after the lapse of half a century, during which these colonies have become a Commonwealth of free partner nations, marching in harmony under the same King. No more notable phase of the evolution of the Empire is to be found than that the Dominions should have, signed the Treaty of Peace on an equal footing with the Great Powers of the world. Equally significant is the fact that the Dominions have been called upon to take part in consultation with British Ministers, in the discussion of momentous matters affecting the Empire, while the latest step in the evolution of the status of the Dominions was the appointment of a Canadian MiniMr at Washington, and the time may not be far distant when the Dominions will each have direct representation on a permanent Imperial Council in London. The main point .that concerns the-Do-minions is that they shall no longer be regarded as colonies, but shall be treated as national partners and not as dependents. So long as the British Government continues its adherence to old customs and methods, so long wilithe

position as regards the Dominions be unsatisfactory from a nationhood point of view. The evolution of British policy has lagged woefully behind that of the Dominions. There can be no doubt that the time has arrived when the Dominions should be removed from the ken of the Colonial Office. It is possible that the next Conference of Premiers in London will deal with this matter. Meanwhile it may be expected that the administration of the Colonial Office by Mr. Churchill will proceed along more modern lines than in the past. He is not only one of the most conspicuous figures in British public life, but has proved a man of initiative, progress, courage, and determination. It should be his chief endeavor to so reorganise his Department that the Dominions may have their new status fully recognised.