Milford chronicle., 1949-08-12
. What 1t Means
The British
Commonwealth
BY HERMAN r. ALLEN
AP Newsfeatures

AP NewsfeatuFes
WASHINGTON-Much is heard
these days of the British Common
wealth, especially of how Great
Britain has called on other MEM
bers of the Commonwealth to help
it out of it's financial difficulties.
Does British Commonwealth"
mean the same as British En-
pire?" Generally speaking, it does.
However, the Encyclopedia Brit
annica points out that many of the
colonies and protectorates, while
parts of the empire, participate in
the affairs of the commonwealth
only theoretically. The empire (or
commonwealth consists of:
1. The United Kingdom Eng
land, Wales, Scotland, Northern
Ireland, the Isle of Man and the
Channel Islands. The first three
alone are properly known as Great
Britain, or just Britain, but that
term is commonly used to mean the
entire United Kingdom, or "U. X"
2. The dominions-Canada, Aus
tralia, New Zealand, South Africa,
India, Pakistan and Ceylon.
3. Two self-governing colonies,
Malta and Southern Rhodesia.
There is a movement to make the
latter a dominion.
4. Colonies mot possessing re-
sponsible government" commonly
called crown colonies. Some of
fho,,, ora North TOnrv,oo Doc,,+oIo.>,z
in Africa, Bermuda, Hong Kong
! and Cyprus.
5. Protectorates. These are prac-
, tically the same as colonies, but
, they are not annexed" to the Brit
ish crown and their inhabitants
are not British subjects. They in
, clude mostly such African spots as
Uganda and Northern Rhodesia.
= 6. Protected states. These are
native states like Sarawak and
Zanzibar. They have been taken
i over but more or less allowed to
run themselves.
The U. X, holds joint rule with
Egypt over the Anglo-Egyptian
Sudan and with France over the
n New Hebrides Islands in the Pa.
cific. Britain, Australia and New
+. Zealand are protecting powers
under the United Nations Of Ger.
tain islands in the Pacific and areas
in Africa. These are all former
German and Japanese territories
e Neither the "condominiums" MOI
II the UN prOtectorates are consider
:; ed as parts of the British Empire.
,t The British began to stretcI
their lines of empire overseas il
1888, when Sir Humphrey Gilber
took possession of Newfoundland
In succeeding centuries, right b,
to 1909, when bits of India wer
taken in, the empire expanded b,
small and large pieces the worl,
= over.
l. Some of these pieces, develope
j apace and eventually began to max
e their own weight felt. One of ther
: (guess which?) got so chesty
h. broke away entirely in 1776. Sew
G. eral of the larger were self-suffl
cient enough to gain what is call
j. ed dominion status. The first @
< these was Canada in 1867. Nev
It Zealand became a dominion il
p 1900 and South Africa in 1909.
The United Kingdom and the dc
minions are defined in the 1913
Statute of Westminster as "autC
nOmOus communities within tn
British Empire, equal in status,
no way subordinate one to anothe
in any aspect of their domestic {
d u external affairs, though united b
~ a common allegiance to the Grow
u. and freely associated as member
Ge ;e of the British Commonwealth
III Nations"
The dOminions, in other word
al are not constitutionally obliged
~ come to the aid of Great Britai
l05 in it's financial crisis-but it is a
I,a o most unthinkable that they woul
not.
With all the other elements
49, the empire, the British InformatiC
. Service says, it would be as Ill
likely-but the underlying situi
gg ton is different If it should |
ce necessary, the colonies and pr
in tectorates could be compelled, a
II most without exception, to tai
in such economic steps as London d
rected.