Evening star., 1932-07-19
Britannia in Conference.

To draw tighter "the silken bonds of
empire" as a British statesman of an
other era Sir Wilfred Laurier of Can
ada, once termed them, the Common
wealth of British Nations assemblies in
imperial conference at Ottawa this
week. The economic fortunes of realm
comprehending roundly quarter of the
globes surface and a corresponding
number of its inhabitants form the issue
around which Britain and her world
wide dominions will hold counsel.
1t is the first occasion since enact
ment of the statute of Westminster,
conferring virtual independence upon
the various self-governing units of the
empire, that they, along with the
crown colonies, have come together
The mother country meets the "daugh-
ter nations" as equals all. Because Of
that circumstance, the outgrowth OF
the spirit of virile nationalism and ma
tionhood among the Dominions, the
Ottawa conference is fraught with del
to its eventual outcome. Nationalist
ambitions, intrenched in a self-con-
sciousness unique in empire history,
will manifest themselves unmistakably
as soon as the Ottawa agenda passes
from the imperially sentimental phase
to the stage of concrete things, like
inter empire tariffs.
Buy British" is the slogan under
converging on the capital of Canada.
To evolve ways and means of enabling
or persuading them to purchase more
goods in empire markets and fewer
goods in non-empire countries Is the
alpha and omega Of Ottawa. Mere
preferential tariffs have hitherto not
signally promoted "all-British" trade.
They have, for example, not prevented
buying in the United States, nor kept
the Dominion on its part from looking
upon our rich market as the most fer
tile field for Canadian products.
the host of other conditions which en-
ter into modern commercial intercourse
including the natural impulse to buy
in the cheapest market-all complicate
the Buy British" ideal. Another vi
tai factor is the industrialization of
dominions like Canada. No longer de-
pendent on manufactures from the
British Isles, these overseas countries
have become competitors of British in
dustry and do not shrink from protect
ing themselves against it by high
tariffs.
John Bulls famed genius for compro-
mise faces supreme test at Ottawa.
In all directions the path to the goal
# the conference-to weld the common
wealth into a more closely-knit eco
nomic units beset with difficulties.
on which the sun never sets is bending
under depression. Perhaps the realiza-
tion that sacrifice, concessions and self
effacement are the urgent call of the
hour if empire distress is not to be
translated into empire disaster may
impel ottawa to settle apparently indis-
soluble differences and place inter-em-
pire business on a more solid basis than
has so far been attainable
The American people have direct
Interest in events about to occur
across the Northern Border Ordinarily
the United States sells around $2,000,-
600 900 worth of goods a year in Brit
ish Empire markets, trade accounting
for some forty per cent of our total ex-
port volume. In happier days Britain
ria and her daughters sell us some-
thing like billion dollars OF their
wares annually. AS DR.. Julius Klein
observed in The Sunday Star, Uncle
Sam will not be at Ottawa "in per-
SON" but in that spirit born of very
substantial concern in what happens
there he will be decidedly among those
present. America wishes her best Gus
TONERS we'll in their effort to achieve
results which can only be of world
wide benefit.