Heart for the World

Tariffs are a political issue. The Royal Family is supposed to stand aloof from politics. Last week Edward of Wales broke precedent, spoke out against Great Britain's new tariff system, profoundly stirred the Empire.

It mattered not that H. R. H. was in fact too hoarse with a cold to speak or even attend the Dominion Day dinner. He handed his speech to one of the very few friends he entirely trusts, his brother Prince George. Reading for the Prince of Wales to 500 astonished guests who included Secretary for the Dominions James Henry ("Jim") Thomas, Prince George roundly declared:

"It never before has been so clear that no country or group of countries in the world can isolate themselves from the fortunes of the rest. . . . Whatever may be the position at a later period, at the present time we in the British Empire, inevitably depend on world prices and can afford to do nothing which might react adversely on world confidence and so check the recovery of world prices.

"Indeed, it is of the utmost importance in our own interests that, so far from taking any steps that might discourage foreign countries, we should make every effort at Ottawa to put heart into the world and to concert measures in which other countries may later co-operate."

This royal bombshell, exploded on the eve of the Imperial Economic Conference scheduled to meet at Ottawa July 21, placed the Royal Family in a most peculiar position. The British public has been led to hope and expect that at Ottawa a tariff wall would be thrown up around the Empire with free trade among the dominions and with the mother country. Nothing short of a royal retraction could wipe out the fact that the Empire's heir apparent had placed himself squarely in opposition to this policy and had taken a political stand.

In Ottawa last week Canadian Prime Minister Richard Bedford Bennett behaved in a manner which correspondents called "rough and almost dictatorial" with respect to the coming Conference. Members of the Cabinet complained privately that Mr. Bennett was excluding them from his confidence. Preparations seemed to be under way to exclude the Press as much as possible from Conference doings. Why?

In Quebec and Montreal, opponents of Premier Bennett call him a social climber who has made his way into high British Conservative circles on frequent visits to the mother country. The Conservative group will attempt to steamroller through at Ottawa a tariff policy of Empire isolation--the policy against which Edward of Wales came out last week.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.