London, June 8.
Parliament, and more particularly its younger members, are no longer inclined to allow matters of State to be settled in advance without reference to them, or at the best, reference after an understanding ha been arrived at which needs ratification. The following document, therefore, is a novelty m British political life. It has been issued by the signatories to all Members of Parliament.
Dean Sm,—We the undersigned, consider it desirable that an opportunity should be given for debate in the House of Commons on the subjects mentioned in the agenda for the forthcoming Imperial Conference before that conference takes place.
The Dominion Parliaments have been given ample facilities for discussion of these matters and we think that a free debate in the House of Commons would be beneficial.
The Government, in reply to a question, has stated that they would be prepared to give such an opportunity provided that it wore the general de-site of Members of the House.
The Agenda for the Conference comprises We are not raising these points ~or the desirability of debate on party lines or in any spirit of hostility to the Government, but purely because we feel that subjects of such supreme importance should be freely discussed by the House before the Conference takes place, and that only good can result therefrom.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.