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Aviation History
1923
1923 - 0694.PDF
NOVEMBER 15, 1923 countries of the Empire upon such lines as will make it possible, by means of the adoption, as far as prac- ticable, of a common system of organisation and training and the use of uniform manuals, patterns of arms, equipment, and stores (with the exception of the type of aircraft), for each part of the Empire as it may determine to co-operate with other parts with the least possible delay and the greatest effi- ciency." W7ith every respect for the Imperial Conference, to the lay mind it would appear that this decision and " guiding principle " could very well have been arrived at without going to the trouble of lengthy conferences, and the Empire units have, it seems to us, a right to expect something rather more defined than this. We fully realise that the ultimate details are matters for the respective Parliaments to work out and settle as seems best to them, but while gathered in the Capital of the Empire the^Premiers might have provi- sionally agreed on certain broad definite lines, subject to confirmation and a certain amount of revision by their respective Parliaments. Paragraph 4 (c) of the Defence Resolutions states that the Conference takes note of " the necessity for the maintenance by Great Britain of a Home Defence Air Force of sufficient strength to give adequate protection against air attack by the strongest air force within striking distance of her shores." This principle was laid down some time ago—before the opening of the Imperial Conference, in fact—and is being acted upon by the proposed increase in the strength of the active squadrons of the R.A.F. In any case, the defence of London and of Great Britain is, after all, mainly a " domestic " matter for the • ••-,:•'_/: Home Government to decide, and one in which the • Dominions have but little direct concern. So far as the official Summary is concerned, the two para- graphs with which we have dealt are the only, references to air matters. < From the foregoing it might be thought that we are not very optimistic as regards Imperial air matters. • As a matter of fact we are, but we are a little dis- appointed that apparently so little was actually done, although the opportunity would seem to have been very opportune for accomplishing much. Our maur hope of initial progress must, we think, lie in the development of civil air transport within the Empire. The importance of rapid and frequent communica- tions between the far-flung sections of the Empire cannot be exaggerated, and if the air, as seems highly pFobable, should prove the means of ensuring more frequent visits by leading representatives of the Dominions and India to the Mother Country, that fact alone, apart altogether from the obvious advan- tages to Imperial commerce of rapid air communica- tion, will do a very great deal towards a better understanding of our various common problems, and will strengthen immensely the bonds that bind us together. It is therefore with considerable satisfac- tion that we are assured by the Secretary of State for Air that he intends to press on steadily with the development of civil air transport within the Empire. So long as that determination remains unshaken and is acted upon to the best of our ability, even if it should fall somewhat short of what could be desrre , we feel sure the Empire is on the right road, ana may look forward to the future with considerably confidence. PREMIERS AT CROYDON : An interesting group of personalities photographed on the occasion of the visit o:Premiers and representatives of the Dominions and India to the London Terminal Aerodrome on Saturday November 10. Left to right : The Rt. Hon. Viscount PeeI,C.B.E., the Rt. Hon.. Peter C. Larkin, the Rt. Hon. W. LMackenzie King, C.M.G., M.A., LL.D., Lieut.-Col. the Rt. Hon. Sir Samuel Hoare, Bart., C.M.G., M.P., Genera the Right HOP. J. C. Smuts, P.C., Mrs. Bruce, the Rt. Hon. S. M. Bruce, M.C., Air Vice-Marshal Sir W. G. HSalmond, K.C.M.G., C.B., D.S.O., and the Duchess of Sutherland.
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