1930 Imperial Conference

The 1930 Imperial Conference was the seventh Imperial Conference bringing together the Prime Ministers of the dominions of the British Empire. It was held in London.[1] The conference was notable for producing the Statute of Westminster, which established legislative equality for the self-governing Dominions of the British Empire with the United Kingdom, thereby marking the effective legislative independence of these countries, either immediately or upon ratification.[1] Economic relations within the British Empire was also a key topic with proposals for a system of Imperial preference - empire-wide trade barriers against foreign (i.e. non-empire) goods. These proposals were further discussed at the British Empire Economic Conference in 1932.

1930 Imperial Conference
Host country United Kingdom
Date1 October 1930–
14 November 1930
CitiesLondon
Heads of State or Government8
ChairRamsay MacDonald (Prime Minister)
Follows1926
Precedes1932
Key points
Imperial preference, Statute of Westminster 1931

Background

The 1926 Imperial Conference produced the Balfour Declaration that Dominions were autonomous and not subordinate to the United Kingdom. The 1929 Conference on Dominion Legislation and Merchant Shipping Laws was intended to move from the Balfour Declaration's broad statement of principle to a substantive legal framework, but the Irish Free State and the Union of South Africa demanded greater practical autonomy than the other attendees would allow.[2] The 1930 Conference would instead address the issue.[3]

The Conference

The conference was hosted by King-Emperor George V, with his Prime Ministers and members of their respective cabinets:

Nation Name Portfolio
United Kingdom Ramsay MacDonald Prime Minister (Chairman)
 Australia James Scullin Prime Minister
 Canada R. B. Bennett Prime Minister
India William Wedgwood Benn Secretary of State
 Irish Free State W. T. Cosgrave President
Newfoundland Richard Squires Prime Minister
 New Zealand George Forbes Prime Minister
South Africa J. B. M. Hertzog Prime Minister
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References

Citations
  1. Marshall, Sir Peter (September 2001). "The Balfour Formula and the Evolution of the Commonwealth". The Round Table. 90 (361): 541–53. doi:10.1080/00358530120082823.
  2. Keith, A. Berriedale (1930). "Notes on Imperial Constitutional Law". Journal of Comparative Legislation and International Law. Cambridge University Press on behalf of the British Institute of International and Comparative Law. 12 (4): 278–298 : 278. JSTOR 753800.
  3. Keith, A. Berriedale (1931). "The Imperial Conference of 1930". Journal of Comparative Legislation and International Law. Cambridge University Press on behalf of the British Institute of International and Comparative Law. 13 (1): 26–42. JSTOR 754081.

Sources


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