Evening star., 1926-10-26

The ninth session of the British
Imperial Conference is now sitting In
London. 1t is a conference of the
prime ministers of all British do
minions, together with the prime min
lister of Great Britain. The proceed
ngs are ultra secret, as they deal
with the major policies of the empire,
and. mayhap. with the supreme ques-
tions on which hang the continuance
or disintegration of the empire itself.
When the first conference after the
World War was held, in 1921. Prime
Minister Massey of New Zealand
characterized it as the empire cabi-
net" but the name met with little
favor and has been dropped. for the
empire cabinet" has no legal powers
to enforce its judgments upon the
administration or the King; 1t is ad-
visory-if not revolutionary.
X X X
Time was when the King Of Eng
land was not bound even by the adj
vice of his prime minister and cabi-
net, nor by Parliament. Now all gov
erning power lies in the cabinet and
Parliament-but tomorrow" there
may develop powers by which the
dominion representatives will dictate
policies even to the British Parlia-
ment and the cabinet of the King if
the Imperial Conference" of the
dominion prime ministers continues
to function and declare the will of the
now superior part of the empire-the
outlying dominions.
At the time of the first Imperial
Conference, in 1914 the United King
dom of England, Scotland and Wales.
with Ireland, exceeded the combined
population Of the dominions by 3i,-
nf 1o a
20 be a part of Great Britain and has
become q dominion. In the 1923 con-
ference the dominions exceeded the
mother country by 24,000. 900, and the
dOminions began to speak with the
authority of the majority. The name
British Empire is dropped and in
it's place is substituted the British
Commonwealth"
In the 1917 conference, with the
prime ministers of all the dominions
present, the following action was
recorded:
THAT any such readjustment the
reference was to the proposed con-
stitutional conference to adopt writ
ten constitution, while thoroughly
preserving all existing powers Of self
government and complete control of
domestic affairs, should be based upon
full recognition of the dominions as
anonymous nations Of an imperial
commonwealth and Of India Gt had
Just been decided that India should
be represented in future imperial con
ferences as an important portion Of
the same), and should recognize the
right Of the dominions and India to
an adequate voice in foreign relations,
and should provide effective arrange
ments for continuous consultation
in all matters of common imperial
concern and for such concerted ac-
ton as the several governments may
determine"
Surely that meant no more "taxa-
ton without representation" and
measured the stretch between Britain
under George III and George V. No
written constitution has been fOrmu-
lated yet. but 1t Is within the agenda
Of the imperial conferences.
X X
The famous English Quarterly. the
Round Table, sums up the evolution
OF empire as follows:
1.-The Great War, that great testing
time, gave the final proof Of the
superiority Of the commonwealth over
the cooperative mind. The one idea
is represented in one form by the
British commonwealth. and in another,
but no less effective form, by the
American commonwealth. The other
idea is symboliZed in the League OF
Nations"
While the editor Of the Round Table
infers that the two ideas need not con-
f1ict, he clearly assumes that they are
two opposite ideas. putting the Amer
lean and British commonWealths on
one side and the cooperative League
OF Nations on the other.
The British commonwealth alone
constitutes one-quarter of the world.
both In area of territory $4,000 900
miles) and in population (450 900 000).
Its dominions. as nations Independent
| in domestic affairs. yet allied in i'm