THE EMPIRE TODAY
THE book surveys the British Empire on the eve of the Imperial Conference which will assemble immediately after the Coro-
nation. It is, therefore, the book of the moment ; and when read, as it ought to be, in conjunction with the forthcoming volume from Chatham House on the structure and problems of the Commonwealth, it will be the indispensable handbook and introduction to the Agenda of the Conference itself. The three authors who here collaborate, each of whom the reader will recognise as competent in his own field, present an account of recent developments which will give the public a useful key to the problems to be discussed in May. Sir Arthur Willert describes the international setting in which the Empire is placed today ; Mr. Long relates the recent history of the Empire's internal relations ; and Mr. Hodson discusses the economic policy of the United Kingdom and the Dominions before and after "Ottawa." These three aspects are inseparable ; and it is impossible to say that any one of them is more important than the others. But, having read the book with a lively interest from cover to cover, I have no doubt in my own mind that the reader will do best to open, it at page 63 and to begin at the point where Mr. Long, in two of the best chapters which the book contains, describes the contrast between 1914 and 1937. The public mind still entertains only a vague conception of the meaning of the Balfour formula of 1926 and an even hazier apprehension of the Statute of Westminster. And since this is probably due to an inadequate appreciation of the forces of Dominion nationalism which engendered the doctrine of "equality of status," it is necessary and appropriate that the public should learn from an expert and readable instructor like Mr. Long just what Dominion " self-determination " really means both in sentiment and in political fact.
Now, each Imperial Conference has its own special purpose. In 1926 it was the formulation of a doctrine which should enshrine the Imperial practice of the Commonwealth as it had grown during the War and the post-War years. In 1932 it was the specific negotiation of trade treaties. In 1937 it will be the examination of the position in which the Empire stands in a world which has greatly changed since Great Britain and the Dominions set their signatures to the Covenant of the League. This means that foreign policy and Imperial defence will take precedence of everything else in May ; and, in consequence, I think that my friend Mr. Hodson will absolve me of any intention to belittle his valuable section of The Empire in the World, if I turn the reader's attention to that part which deals with foreign affairs. But, before I do so, let me say that I am sure that Mr. Hodson's plea for a more liberal interpretation of the economic purpose of the whole Commonwealth in world affairs is one which is sure of a wide response, even if the ear of No. it Downing Street is not as attentive as he would like.
In foreign policy the British Empire today confronts its biggest problem. This is the region of Imperial relations in which it is most difficult to harmonise the now well-established autonomy of each self-governing part with that united front which it is desirable for the Empire to present to the outer world. The centre of the difficulty lies in Europe, and the proximity of the United Kingdom to the Continent places the British Government in the predicament of a critical and difficult choice between their inescapable European obligations and their reluctance to take decisions which would appear to engage the Dominions in policies not entirely of their own choosing. As long as the League of Nations could be described as the magnetic centre of international affairs the problem of a common foreign policy for the Empire remained, if not dormant, at least in a tractable condition;, but even in the hey-day of the Briand-Stresemann-Chamberlain triumvirate it raised its head over the probable, and .possible, Imperial implications of • the Treaty of Locarno. And now that the League threatens to lose its place as the central arena of foreign relations, the difficulty, then 'visible, becomes prominent and urgent. Sir Arthur Willert prescribes the revival of the League as the pre- requisite both of international order and of genuine active co-operation in foreign affairs between the partners of the Commonwealth. In principle, no doubt, he is right ; but his prescription requires a usually firm and deliberate policy for its fulfilment, and there is a long road to travel before it can be realised. It is, indeed, the nature of the first steps to be taken which is the immediate problem ; and the Imperial Conference will find that its members take considerably divergent views of what is possible or desirable. In this divergence lies one of the causes of Great Britain's uncertain attitude today ; but, lest apologists for the National Government accept this as a convenient alibi for the present authors of British policy, I will quote an apposite sentence from Mr. Long, who says that "there is now coming into sight a new risk to Empire concert in foreign affairs—that the Dominions may not get the lead from the United Kingdom which they expect and that the United Kingdom, on its side, may fail to live up to her function as head of the Commonwealth and Empire." That, indeed, is
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