Evening star., 1937-05-23
BY CONSTANTINE BROWN.

TINE imperial conference is less
spectacular but more impor-
tant than the coronation.
That show is over. The new
King has been seen in all his splendor
by hundreds of thousands of foreign
ers. But what is of greater signifi-
canoe is that the greatest pageant
on earth has been witnessed by thou
sands of Americans, Australians,
New zealanders. South Africans,
Canadians and colonials who, if not
impressed by the personality of the
new British ruler, were aWed by the
show of strength and by maintenance
of centuries-old tradition which forms
the backbone of the British Empire.
Now the King has taken his place
in the background, and the prime
ministers Of the dominions are meet
ing with the British cabinet to dis
cuss the vital problems of the empire.
Never in the history Of the empire,
not even during the World War, has
the condition of the British Empire
required more careful handling The
London government can no longer
make decisions In the name of all
the component parts Of the empire.
The British Empire, today, is a fedora
ton Of states with individual prob
lens in addition to those which affect
the welfare of all.
There Is dangerous unrest in India
and Palestine. Japan, friendly
country until six years ago, has be-
come an active menace to the empire.
Australians and New Zealanders are
keenly aware Of this and are demand
ing political action to ward off the
impending dangers.
New Power in Mediterranean.
In the Mediterranean new power
.-Italy-haS arisen; power which
today is endangering the lines Of
communication between Britain's
Asiatic empire, the Australian domin-
Ions, and the mother country. Ger
many is problem child not because
Of the threatened advance against
Russia and Czechoslavakia-from the
imperial point of view this is COM
Of her demands for colonies. South
Africa has a vital interest in that.
Confronted with a tremendous re-
armament program and with the pos
sibility Of an early conflict in Europe
Premier Baldwin admitted this at
the outset Of the imperial conference
the London government must as
certain how the dominions feel about
certain engagements accepted by
Downing Street in regard to France
collective security in Europe, and the
share in the expenditure for national
defense the dominions are willing and
capable of assuming.
Finally, and this is probably the
naost important question on the
agenda, the terms of an American.
British trade agreement must be de.
termined before official negotiations
with Washington can be started.
Last week this column outlined tht
plan in which the hopes of the
European democracies to maintain
peace were centered in an economic
Washington -London-Pari axis; tn.
strength Of this combine was expected
to awe Hitler and Mussolini into &C
with the peace ideas prevailing il
Paris and London. Conversations re
garding this broad agreement will no
begin until Belgian Premier Paul val
iceland has visited Washington.
In the meantime, Secretary Hull an
his assistants in the State Department
are working on plans for British
American trade agreement. Right
or wrongly, the Secretary of State
convinced that the fate Of his recip
rocal trade agreements policy depend
on the success Of the British America
trade agreement, and so far he ha
received only scant encouragement
from the British. The dominions hav
been the chief obstacle to the progres
Of these conversations. The Britis
government indicated that it woul
be dificult to embark on activ
negotiations with the United State
without discussing the subject thor
oughly with the government chiefs {
Australia, New Zealand, Canada an
South Africa.
These consultations are now takin
place, and the definite trend at tn
moment this article Is written
that If any trade agreement is signe'
It must be between the United STATE
and the British Empire as Who'll
rather than with Great Britain an
the individual dominions.
But London seeks more than
greater and easier interchange
commodities. Economics cannot
separated from politics these day
and some of the dominions-Aus
tralia, for instance-want to utilize a
economic agreement with this countl