Capetown, Mar. 15.
'The House' of Assembly to-day Fesumed the debate on the motion to ratify the report of the Imperial Conference, General Smuts. de-eloped his. views opposing the opinion held by the Premier, Gen-feral Hertzog, of the right of a British Dominion to remain neutral ju the event of Great Britain being Snvolved in war. will be remembered that recently General Hertzog made a speech in the Assembly in which he declared that each State of the British Empire fs now master of its own destiny and sole judge of the extent of its ce-operation within the Empire: consequently, both by Jaw and equity, the Dominions' right of neutrality could not be rejected nor was there any higher central authority, General Smuts intimated that the opposition would vote in favour of the Imperial Conference report. He said that the Empire meant security for all its members but, if they all asserted their right to neutrality, What would remain of that security? They would all have to build armies ind navies for future troubles. "We fare not free individual States but! free members of an associated Empire," asserted General Smuts, and, if'it were a matter of major concern for the Empire, he antieipated that the Dominions would al-Ways do as they did in 1914. Would be practically impossible for any Dominion to declare ity neutrality In & war in which "Groat Britain was involved,, in the same Way as it would be practically impossible for Great Britain to declare hey nouteality if any of the D minions were involved in a wai "The British Empire was not built on neutrality and would not endure pu it, but on common loyalty."
General Smuts urged that the question should be lett for con sideration and judgment at the next "Iniperial Conference,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.