THE PREMIERS.

Taranaki Daily News, 13 July 1921, Page 5

THE PREMIERS.

SECRECY OF THEIR WORK. NO MARKED PROGRESS MADE. MR. MASSEY HOME IN OCTOBER, By Telegraph.—Press Assn.—Copyright Received July 12, 8.15 p.m. London, July 11. The delegates to the Premiers’ Conference are occupied fully, except at the week-ends, and a long daily sitting has prevented any serious attention to speeches and public functions, which sometimes it is impossible to attend. The proceedings of the conference are kept a close secret in London', so the Prime Ministers are not getting their usual publicity. Mr. W. F. Massey has stopped making speeches at dinners on account of stress of work, while Mr. W. M. Hughes is improvising and adapting old matter, and consequently his addresses are colorless and are not arresting. The conference will probably go on record as .the most continuous and longest session. The tension will last till July 21, when Mr. A. Meighen departs. The conference will then continue to discuss minor matters, delegates having more time to do themselves justice in public. It is wrong to say interest is lacking, as the newspapers display the crumbs of information leaking out. Mr. Massey and Mr. Hughes both intend being home by October 7. In spite of the continuity of the conference only preliminaries have yet been discussed. Mr. Massey says it is worth considering whether the conference ought not to sit in the evening. “I don’t want,” he says, “to go back to New Zealand and tell them we have done practically nothing; I want to be able to tell them we have done something >9T the benefit of the whole Empire." Mr. Hugaes is also fretting and «s impatient at the time wasted, but the Australasian representatives are not responsible. —Aus.-N.Z. Cable Assn.

A PLEASANT WEEK-END. GUESTS OF BRITISH PREMIER. Received July 12, 11.35 p.m. Ixindon, July 11. The Indian delegates and the Ere-: pliers, except General Smuts, spent the week-end at The Chequers (Mr. Lloyd George’s country home). All complain of the heat, which is lunetj -two in the shade, the highest for forty yeara. Several of the ladies were affected, lhe tarty visited historical places, including .Penn’s birthplace, Milton’s cottage and Hampden’s house, and inspected the documentary pretest against ship money. -Aus.-N.Z. Cable Assn. foreign policy debate. RELATIONS WITHIN EMPIRE. MR. HUGHES ATTACKS CANADA. Received July Ifl, 1.5 a.m. London, July 11. President Harding’s invitation and Mr. Lloyd George’s reply have overshadowed the proceedings at the Premiers Cor,ference, yet the discussion on foreign relations "was continued, Mr. A. Meighen and Mr. W. M. Hughes taking opposite sides. .. , Mr. Hughes took exception to Mr. Meighen’s veiled suggestion that Canada would judge the rights of a quarrel before rallying to help the Motherland. Mr. Hughes replied that Mr. Meighen s attitude was exactly correct and academic; Australia expected nothing from Canada or South Africa, nor. did they expect anything from Australia. That was quite right, but they owed all to England and the Empire. The Dominions had the same rights as a son coming of ago, and similarly, the father could legally turn the son adrift at eighteen, but what a poor world it would be if every son and every father exercised his rights to the letter <rf the law The world would not be satisfied with that kind of thing; it would never do in the family of life or in the family of Empire. —Aus.-N.Z. Cable Assn.