Foreign News: Ships y Definitions

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COMMONWEALTH (British Commonwealth of Nations)

Ships & Definitions

The Empire Premiers in England for the Imperial Conference (TIME, Nov. 1 et seq.) journeyed to Cardington, Bedfordshire, last week and were shown the giant air liners R-100 and R-101 now building under a shroud of mystery for the London-Cairo-Bombay air service scheduled to open next year (TIME, Oct. 4).

The Premiers, pleasurably aghast, viewed the mighty steel framework of these sister ships, each 730 feet long and to be equipped each with five 600-horsepower heavy oil engines, capable of driving the ships 4,000 miles without refueling at 60 miles an hour. Air Minister Sir Samuel Hoare explained, pointing with a chubby handled cane, just where the 100 passengers to be carried by each ship will berth, asserted that they will be served six-course dinners, 50 at a time in the dining salon, will promenade upon two decks between which will ply electric elevators.

Doubting Thomases were told that the new ships represent a tremendous advance in safety over any lighter-than-air craft yet built. They will be 72 feet longer than the Los Angeles, 1,000-horsepower more potent, equally fast, but not able to match the Los Angeles' cruising range of 6,000 miles.

Momentous Formula. Though the Empire Premiers wandered far afield to Cardington, they took on their return a step momentous in the history .of the Commonwealth. After weeks of phrase juggling they agreed at last upon a formula defining exactly, for the first time, the status of the Dominions: "The position and mutual relations of the group of self-governing communities composed of Great Britain and the Dominions may be readily defined. They are autonomous communities within the British Empire, equal in status and in no way subordinate one to the other in any aspect of their domestic or external affairs, though united by a common allegiance to the Crown and freely associated as members of the British Commonwealth of Nations."

The adoption of this definition was hailed as a magnum opus of Premier Hertzog of South Africa who alone had insisted with die-hard tenacity that the vague phrase "Dominion Status" be clarified once and for all (TIME, Nov. 1).