British Commonwealth of Nations: Imperial Conference

COMMONWEALTH (BRITISH COMMONWEALTH OF NATIONS)

The major discussion at the past week’s session of the Imperial Conference (of the Dominions, at London) was that of Imperial Preference.

In 1907, when the first Imperial Conference took place, it was clearly recognized that, owing to the state of exhaustion of many great markets and the clearly defined international tendency toward economic self-containment, the British Empire would have to create within its own borders new markets and so develop Imperial commerce.

Britain today is potentially not less wealthy than she was before the War. She can grant enormous credits to her Dominions and Colonies in the shape of materials. Materials, such as machinery, rails, structural steel, cement, etc., would call for increased labor in the Dominions to put ‘them to practical use and thereby increase production or real worth. The Dominions would then be placed in a position to repay the credits granted to them by the Mother Country. The house of cards falls, however, unless the Dominions are assured of a market for their increased production. That is what the Imperial Conference is now discussing and why Imperial Preference is necessary to the economic welfare of the British Commonwealth of Nations.

Stanley M. Bruce, Australian Prime Minister, drew the attention of the Conference to the fact that Australia was faced with the problem of what to do with her already increased production.* He said that the Government had been obliged to come to the aid of the fruit growers, because they could find no market for their produce. He, therefore, invited the Imperial Government to place a tariff on raw materials and foodstuffs with an adequate preference to the Dominions.

In his speech he intimated that if the U. S. Government had seen fit to adopt the Fordney Tariff, there should be a similar tariff for the British Empire. Like General Smuts, Premier of the Union of South Africa, he called attention to the debt owed to the U. S. In 1922 imports from the U. S. were valued at £222,000,000; exports to the U. S. at £76,000,000. Premier Bruce thought it would be wise to make the British Isles less dependent on the U. S. and more dependent on the Dominions.

Premier Bruce also asserted that the British meat market was practically at the mercy of a great combine ” that is surely and inevitably driving Australia out of meat production.” His speech caused the greatest alarm in Argentina, whence 90% of Britain’s meat is imported.

The young Australian Premier, twice wounded in the War, is the political hero of the Antipodes. Although a Cambridge graduate, he owned a dry goods firm and belonged to the Labor Party. The War came. He founded the Nationalist Party, fought with the Royal Fusiliers, went to Geneva, startled the League of Nations by a brilliant plea for disarmament, returned to Australia, succeeded (when ex-Premier Hughes had failed) in effecting a coalition against the Labor Party, became Premier, remained young.

After Premier Bruce’s proposals came the offer of the British Government, through Sir Philip Lloyd-Graeme, President of the Board of Trade, to extend a preferential tariff to the Dominions on dried fruits, dried currants, preserved fruits, sugar, tobacco. The offer is liable to alteration and enlargement in subsequent discussion. The Dominion representatives received the Imperial Government’s offer with much gratification. India, however, complained that as most of her exports went to foreign lands, she would receive no advantages under the proposal.

Other matters discussed by the Conference: credit for smaller Colonies; consideration of Premier Bruce’s plan to form an Empire purchasing pool for food and raw materials; scheme for ensuring preference on public contracts; scheme for developing outlying parts of Empire; consideration of League of Nations and its conduct in the recent Italo-Greek dispute (all Dominion Premiers were solid in favor of the Commonwealth supporting the League to the utmost of its ability).

Lord Derby, Secretary of State for the Colonies, predicted that in time the Empire will be able to grow all the cotton it needs.

A subject of paramount interest, Empire defense, was shortly to come up before the Conference.

The Conference adopted the title of the British Commonwealth of Nations to replace that of the British Empire, the reason being that the Dominions now consider themselves as individual nations.

* An Australian project known as the Murray Valley Irrigation Scheme will enable about 1,000,000 to make homes on now arid land. The Government is thus faced with the problem of finding an outlet for their production.