Evening star., 1926-10-31
The Story the Week Has Told

conservative wing, which has taken
it's doctrine from Lord Asquith, is
suspicious of Lloyd Georges leftward
tendencies and is dead set against
his agrarian program. On the other
hand, a good many members of the
left wing do not consider Lloyd
George sufficiently radical, and tend
toward secession to the Labor party.
Every way considered, the Liberal
party is in the doleful dumps.
Here's it's latest cause of woe.
Comdr. J. M. Kenworthy, who had
been one Of the most redoubtable
champions of the left wing Liberals,
has gone over to the Laborites. He
declares that there is no future for
the Liberal party, now that the Labor
party as a whole has abandoned di-
rect action and the general strike for
constitutional political action.
The representation of the Liberal
party in the Commons is now reduced
to 80.
Though the more delicate debates of
the imperial conference are held be-
hind closed doors, it is unlikely that
much Of prime Importance is withheld
from the public. Apparently the con-
ferees are sideStepping the grand is
sue of the constitutional relations of
the empire; convinced that it We're
best to allow the evolution to proceed
further while, Silently, invisibly,"
without attempt at definite formula.
ton. That Is a comprehensive one, for
it seems inevitable that the Canadian
governments desire that the scope of
the powers of the Canadian Ambas
Sador to Washington be defined by the
conference should be realized; and. of
course, such definition would establish
a constitutional precedent of first i'm
portance. Vincent Massey is in Lon
don awaiting such action before TAX
ing up his duties in Washington as
the first Canadian Ambassador to the
United States.
The imperial conferees seem to be
soft pedaling, also, on the question of
imperial preference; no doubt waiting,
as l have hitherto hinted, upon the
issue of the extremely important Eu
ropean developments now in process.
Ii is said that the Dominion premiers
showed a most generous attitude to-
ward the embarrassment of the Bald
win government in that connection
1t was revealed that in the past lus-
trum or so Gn contrast with the years
Immediately following the Armistice)
the proportion of Great Britain's
trade with. the outlying parts of the
empire to Britain's total external
trade has not increased. To increase
intra-imperial trade. the present stress
is on better marketing arrangements,
including faster and more commodious
shipping service. In an inspiring sur
vey of imperial prospects, Col. Amery.
the colonial secretary, looking past
the present discomfort, made this
statement to the conference: I'VE of
the British Empire have before us a
greater opportunity for economic de-
velopment than has ever before exist
ed. We have a far greater territory
and more diversified resources than
the United States" True, as to the
last sentence, colonel. but not so COM
pact; there's the rub. No doubt you
have been studying that extraordinary
contribution to the problem of i'm
perial transportation; the little book
entitled Pegasus" by Col. j. F. c.
Fuller, and no doubt your exposition
of imperial economic possibilities, duly
Impressed Gen. HertZog and other dis
sidents with the advantages of par.
ticipation therein.
Just distribution over the empire
according to capacity to pay" of the
burden of the costs of imperial de-
fense, seems out of the question.
Canada, for we'll known and suff1.
cient reasons, cannot imagine the ne
cessity Of assistance from the British
fleet or army. and therefore she does
not wish to contribute to their up.
keep; South Africa, for insufficient
reasons, refuses to recognize the pos
sibility of such necessity for her, and
so would shut her purse. On the other
hand, Australia and New Zealand
faced with the Asian peril, are quite
willing to contribute their proper
share. It seems likely, then, that an
arrangement will be- arrived at with
Australia and New ZEALAND. by which
they wiz contribute Rhe shares that