General Smuts' declaration that the new British Government,. whatever party
it may represent, ought to ratify the Preferential Tariffs agreed upon at the Imperial Conference has come in for some criticism in South Africa. It has been pointed out that it is unreason- able to regard any scheme of the Imperial Conference as binding, since everything is well known to require ratification not only by the Imperial Government, but by the Govern- ments of the Dominions. That, of course, is perfectly true, and everybody knows it. The question which we have already raised and which we desire to repeat is whether it would be wise of any British Government to throw overboard provisional agreements which were the result of very serious and long discussion. We fear that if this should be done the Dominion Prime Ministers would begin to take a different view of the Imperial Conference, and would think it hardly worth while to put themselves and their Dominions to all the incon- venience which is involved in periodic representation in London. To sum up, the Dominions have no legal right whatever to insist. Our own opinion, nevertheless, is that it is advisable to let the comparatively small Preferences which were arranged become operative. We have no belief in these Preferences, but even on the assumption that they would cost our trade something we should regard their moral effects as worth paying for gracefully in the circumstances.
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