Though nothing was said on the point in the debate,
we suspect that the Foreign Office, the Admiralty, and the War Office have felt a certain difficulty in the matter, not in the least because they distrust the discretion of the Dominion Prime Ministers, but because it is exceedingly difficult to make statements in regard to the details of foreign policy and defence which may not prove misleading after a very short space of time. This fact is, of course, due to the changes in international relations likely to be caused by new groupings in Europe and elsewhere. But though this is a difficulty, it is one which can be got over. Indeed. we are convinced that one great advantage of a discussion on Foreign Affairs at the Imperial Conference would be to make our own statesmen think more clearly and specifically than they do at present on the greater international problems. It is often a very good thing in business and in politics for men to be forced to look ahead by the need of having to explain their policy or business intentions.
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