Oct, 2.
Messages regarding the Imperial Conference clearly show that, as has already been indicated, the economic aspect of Imperial union is likely to receive eager attention from the delegates. Perhaps, however, the cryptic remark made by Prince Arthur of Connaught at the Guildhall banquet has also an important bearing on the problems under discussion. It has been increasingly ed that, admirable though the Imperial Conferences have been, their weakness has essentially Lain in the sense of spasmodic effort which they present. They are, in effect, periodical gatherings ad hoe, and the eminence of the delegates and the circumstances of their reunion inevitably evoke certain disadvantages which militate against serious work. Recognizing how valuable the free and frank discussion of Imperial problems is to the Mother Country as well as to the Dominions, it has been suggested that some effort should be made to create in London permanent machiner for providing that continuity which is at present lacking. Since the last Imperial Conference sat the Conference or Expert Committee on Dominion Legislation was brought into existence as a special body to provide material for linking up the discussion of delicate constitutional issues at one conference with that at another.
Here may he said to have been a definite expression of the need for permanent machinery in London. It is true that from ¥:|time to time the various departments in Whitehall, and also in the Dominion capitals, hold departmental conf@ences which Imperial matters are discussed. It is recognized, how: ever, thut this is not altogether a satisfactory substitute for a central co-ordinating entity. In fact, it often causes more dislocation and delay in the conduct of official business than is justified by the results achiev-
The proposal has been made that the High Commissioners in London would be fitting members of a permanent central committee.
The effectiveness of the committee would largely on the extent to which it could be a vehicle for free interchange of opinions and the contemplation of solutions and not merely the puppet representative of different governments. Whether a scheme for accommodating such a Committee. is the,.monu-
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.