Inspiring Document Published: Enpire Founded on Positive Ideal Nov. 20.
The political results of the Inperial Conference are gathered together in a long report of the Inter-Imperial Relations Committee of Empire Prime Ministers which the Conference unanimously ap proved yesterday and is now publish fundamental constitutional changes are recommended, but the hope is expressed that the report lays a foundation on which sulsequent conferences may build.
Dealing with the status of Great Britain and the Dominions the Committee at the outset expressed the view that nothing would be gained by attempting to lay down constitution for the Empire, Its scattered parts have different characteristic and histories and are at different stages of evolution. Con-dered as a whole it bears no rea! resemblance to any political organization which now exists or has ever yet been, A strictly constitutional point of view as regards all vital matters has now reached its full development, namely, a group of self-Jgoverning committees composed of Great Britain and the Dominions. Their position and mutual relation may readily be defined. They are suteromous committees within the British Empire, equal in status and in no way subordinate in any respect, of their domestic or internal affairs, though united by common allegiance to the Crown and freely associated as members of the British Commonwealth of Nations.
Ideals Such a formula might tempt the foreigner to think it was devise rather to make mutual interference impossible than to make mutual cooperation easy, but this criticism ignored the history of the situation That a tendency towards equal status was both right and inevitable. Geographical -and other! attainment except through autonomy.
The British Empire, however, not founded upon relations. It a pends essentially. if not formally, on positive ideals. Free institutions are its life blood. Peace, security and progress are among its objects The aspects of all these great themes have been discussed at the present conference and excellent results have been thereby obtained. And though every Dominion is now and must always remain the sole judge of the nature and extent of its cooperation, no common cause will, our opinion, be thereby imperilled.
The existing administration it legislative and judicial forms, it i+ Pointed out, are admittedly rot wholly in accord with the position described above, "most of them being long antecedent to the present state of constitutional developments. 'The Committee, therefore, examined these forms, dealing first with the title of the King, which in the last 50 years has been altered twice to suit changed conditions, and it was unanimously agreed that a slight change, subject to the King's approval, was desirable, and that title should henesforth read: "George the Fifth, by the Grace of God; of Great Britain, Ireland and ' th British Dominions beyond the Seas King, Defende of the Faith, Em: peror of India,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.