New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1907-05-06
COLONIALNEWS BUREAU
Sr WHf7d Laurier's Confidence
IN Dosoning Street.

laft
| under the supervision of the perrnapa. a. 60
| OF the Colonial Office. The conference 4. =, -
| known hereafter as an imperial BODY ana a, -
assemble once in four years; the British D.
| Minister is to be the honorary cbair,,a -
| the Secretary for the Colonies as tba -, -
proxy; and 1t Is to be nomnaIIy a cons,,,t.,,~s
between governments These formal co,-
cessions to new and progressive ideas OF ar,n,-.f
| The colonial premers may be knighted or -
members Of the Privy Council, with the w.,
| lege of being addressed as Right HonorabI.,
and when they meet in London the tart.tr
| Prime Minister may refer to them as coIleag,as
| with the benevolent smile with which the .r,h
| bishop or Canterbury greetS his brethren thu
bishops. at a pan-Angican conference; bu.
business with them will continue TO be con-
| Quoted at the old stand In the Colonial O4soa
There Will be information bureau with a
permanent secretary and selected clerks: brt 81
will be nothing more than another wheel in the
| mechanism of the Colonial Office II the British
government makes an alliance like the trea+v
with Japan. which may involve the states OF tha
empire in of tremendous magnitude. Their.
Will be no representative council where IL can ba
discussed or sanctioned. Neither in international
affairs nor in matters of trade within tina
empire will the new bureau be anything more
than mirror for rejecting the traditions and
opinions of the Colonial Office. There will bs a
few more department spools for coiling and un-
coiling red tape. There will be no approach to-
real council of the empire
A writer in THE Quarterly Review" for April
made remarkable forecast of what has oc.
CURED at the conference. THE holder polIcy,-
he said. lis the creation of a department for
civil affairs In the direct service of the confer
ence; the cautious policy Is slight Developments
inside the Colonial Office. The cautious policy
meets the exact needs OF the precise moment:
the larger policy is in accordance with the trus
idea of the empire. Probably the conjunction
OF the circumspect Scottish mind dominant in
our present government with the wary French
mind now ruling IN Canada will make the slower
policy prevail in this conference" This pas
sage. written in advance of the arrival of ths
premiers. is an epitome Of the proceedings. Mr..
Dealtln the eloquent and progressive Prenaier
of the Australian Commonwealth. assumed the
leadership of the imperial movement e-npha-
sized the idea of equality of rights in a common
partnership and sought TO release the bureau
or secretariat. from dependence upon the Colo
NAL Office. The premiers Of New Zealand Capa
Colony and Natal supported him heartily; and
when the Prime Minister expressed willingness
to become the presiding officer of the imperial
conference there excellent opening for
the creation OF a COLONIAL staff responsible 10
him and independent OF the Colonial Office and
1t would have represented the seIf-governlng
colonies and have contained the promise Of the
potency of sovereign council of the empire.
Lord Egn evidently thought that the premiers
were getting out Of hand and raised objections
based the Offices of the colonial governors
Sir Wilfrd Laurier supported him. and General
Botha equally cautious. The Australian
proposals were narrowed and adapted 10 the
traditions OF the Colonial Office. The national-
ism OF groups of self-soverning states was not
recognized and enlarged Canada had reafHrmed
the old idea OF colonial dependence upon Down
ing Street. and with assistance from the Trans
vaal had left Lord Elgtn and the bureaucracv in
possession OF the field.
The practical operation Of the new mechanism
may be illustrated by the principal question
which interests the colonies. This is preferential
trade-a systematized effort 10 take I'D imperial
federation on the business side. The conference
is allowed 10 discuss the matter. but the futility
Of debate has been conceded in advance. Willis
the premiers are in accord in favoring a definite
policy of imperial reciprocity. by which partner
nations be admitted to favored relations IN
dealing with the mother country and with ons
another. Lord Elgin has not been able to sane
ton the movement. and the Chancellor OF the
Exehequer. who has reinforced him in the dis
cussion OF fiscal questions has interposed the
Free Trade governments veto. The margin al
LoWed oy the VINE duties is too narrow 10 pernie
any material extension of reciprocity TO Austria
la, New zealand and Cape Colony; and no re-
turn can be offered TO Canada for the preference
granted 10 British trade. The Liberal governs
ment has not been warranted in reversing tina
verdict of the general electorate against prer-
erential trade, nor has it been disposed 20 en-
courage compacts between colonial governments
The debates have been snOthered as far as pos
sibIe and the general question is left open for
future consideration. BY formal resolution IL
VIII be the duty OF the new secretariaI star 10
Keep the colonial governments Informed on this
subject of preferential trade during the next four
years If they were directly represented in tbs
staff there would be an assurance that they
would receive full and unprejudiced information.
The bureau will be under the direction OF Of
hcias of the Colonial Office and statistics will be-
compiled, news selected and public documents
edited and revised in accordance with the poit-
ical views of Lord EIgin and the Liberal gov
eminent. The point of view. from which the
operations of this bureau will be conducted will
be hostile TO the policy OF imperial reciprocity
which the colonies advocate.
Probably there no better expert IN the
on this subject of the prejudices OF
Bureaucracy than Sir Wilfrid Laurier himself.
IT was he who set the example of preferential re-
lations in colonial trade with the mother state.
and he must have been exasperated when the
Board OF Trade compiled statistics and at
tempted 10 prove that his concessions were OF
no Importance TO British manufacturers. Canada
had voluntarily reduced its tariff schedules 50
as to favor England. and this was the ungra-
cious return that made. even under q
Unionist government. when Mr.. Chamberlain
-