General Smuts on the British Empire General Smuts made a
momentous speech at Ottawa on Monday, which should help to clarify the loose thinking about the British Commonwealth that has followed upon the declaration of " equality of status " at the 1926 Imperial Conference. He sees possible danger from three quarters. There is the legalist who goes wrong either through adhering to the notion that sovereignty is one and indivisible, or (taking his stand on the equality of status of the various members of the family of British nations) through failing to see that this does not neces- sarily connote equality of function. The idealist is apt to lose sight of the special character of the Empire, and overlooks its unique contribution to political thought. The ultra-nationalist, as is his wont, sees no middle way -between what he calls sovereignty and independence, and thinks in terms of black and white.
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