Balfour Declaration of 1926: Difference between revisions
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{{Short description|Declaration of the equality of the Commonwealth nations}} | {{Short description|Declaration of the equality of the Commonwealth nations}} | ||
{{For|the statement of support for a Jewish national home in Palestine|Balfour Declaration | {{For|the 1917 statement of support for a Jewish national home in Palestine|Balfour Declaration}} | ||
{{Use British English|date=November 2013}} | {{Use British English|date=November 2013}} | ||
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2022}} | {{Use dmy dates|date=May 2022}} | ||
[[Image:ImperialConference.jpg|thumb|right|300px|King [[ | [[Image:ImperialConference.jpg|thumb|right|300px|King [[George V]] (front, centre) with his prime ministers at the 1926 Imperial Conference.<br />Standing (left to right): [[Walter Stanley Monroe|Monroe]] (Newfoundland), [[Gordon Coates|Coates]] (New Zealand), [[Stanley Bruce|Bruce]] (Australia), [[J. B. M. Hertzog|Hertzog]] (South Africa), [[W. T. Cosgrave|Cosgrave]] (Irish Free State).<br />Seated: [[Stanley Baldwin|Baldwin]] (United Kingdom), King George V, [[William Lyon Mackenzie King|King]] (Canada).]] | ||
The '''Balfour Declaration of 1926''' was issued by the [[1926 Imperial Conference]] of [[British Empire]] leaders in London. It was named after [[Arthur Balfour]], who was [[Lord President of the Council]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Balfour Report {{!}} United Kingdom [1926]|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Balfour-Report|access-date=2021-09-01|website=Encyclopædia Britannica|language=en}}</ref> It declared | The '''Balfour Declaration of 1926''', also called the '''Balfour Definition''', was issued by the [[1926 Imperial Conference]] of [[British Empire]] leaders in London. It was named after [[Arthur Balfour]], who was [[Lord President of the Council]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Balfour Report {{!}} United Kingdom [1926]|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Balfour-Report|access-date=2021-09-01|website=Encyclopædia Britannica|language=en}}</ref> It declared Great Britain and the [[Dominion]]s to be: | ||
{{blockquote|... autonomous Communities within the British Empire, equal in status, in no way subordinate one to another 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]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.foundingdocs.gov.au/resources/transcripts/cth11_doc_1926.pdf|title=Clause II}}</ref>}} | {{blockquote|... autonomous Communities within the British Empire, equal in status, in no way subordinate one to another 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]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.foundingdocs.gov.au/resources/transcripts/cth11_doc_1926.pdf|title=Clause II}}</ref>}} | ||
==Background== | |||
The [[Imperial War Conference]] of 1917 passed a resolution drafted by Canadian prime minister [[Robert Borden]], which described the Dominions as "autonomous nations within an Imperial Commonwealth" possessed of a right to "an adequate voice in foreign policy and in foreign relations". The resolution also called for a "constitutional conference" to be convened following the end of the war to determine a "re-adjustment of the constitutional relations of the component parts of the Empire"{{sfn|Hall|1962|pp=171-172}} | |||
At the [[Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920)|Paris Peace Conference]] of 1919, the Dominions sent separate representatives that were deemed for negotiation purposes to form part of one British Empire delegation. They signed the [[Treaty of Versailles]] under that designation but were admitted as separate members of the [[League of Nations]]. The confusion over the status of Dominions within the international community prompted calls for a formal statement of their relationship with the United Kingdom.{{sfn|Hall|1962|pp=172-173}} | |||
==Preparation== | |||
The Inter-Imperial Relations Committee, chaired by Balfour, drew up the document preparatory to its unanimous approval by the imperial prime ministers on 15 November 1926.<ref name="The Balfour Formula">{{cite journal |last=Marshall |first=Sir Peter |date=September 2001 |title=The Balfour Formula and the Evolution of the Commonwealth |journal=[[The Round Table Journal|The Round Table]] |volume=90 |issue=361 |pages=541–53 |doi=10.1080/00358530120082823 |s2cid=143421201 }}<!--|access-date=20 December 2008 --></ref> It was first proposed by [[Union of South Africa|South African]] Prime Minister [[J. B. M. Hertzog]] and [[Canada|Canadian]] [[Prime Minister of Canada|Prime Minister]] [[William Lyon Mackenzie King]]. | The Inter-Imperial Relations Committee, chaired by Balfour, drew up the document preparatory to its unanimous approval by the imperial prime ministers on 15 November 1926.<ref name="The Balfour Formula">{{cite journal |last=Marshall |first=Sir Peter |date=September 2001 |title=The Balfour Formula and the Evolution of the Commonwealth |journal=[[The Round Table Journal|The Round Table]] |volume=90 |issue=361 |pages=541–53 |doi=10.1080/00358530120082823 |s2cid=143421201 }}<!--|access-date=20 December 2008 --></ref> It was first proposed by [[Union of South Africa|South African]] Prime Minister [[J. B. M. Hertzog]] and [[Canada|Canadian]] [[Prime Minister of Canada|Prime Minister]] [[William Lyon Mackenzie King]]. | ||
[[File:Gws balfour 01.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Arthur Balfour, Earl of Balfour]] | [[File:Gws balfour 01.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Arthur Balfour, Earl of Balfour]] | ||
The wording of the declaration was drafted by Balfour following two weeks of discussion with prime ministers and heads of delegations, with Hertzog, Colonial Secretary [[Leo Amery]], and Secretary of State for India [[F. E. Smith, 1st Earl of Birkenhead|Lord Birkenhead]] playing key roles.{{sfn|Hall|1962|p=169}} | |||
==Provisions== | |||
The declaration accepted the growing political and diplomatic independence of the Dominions in the years after World War I. It also recommended that the [[governors-general]], the representatives of the King in each dominion, should no longer also serve automatically as the representative of the British government in diplomatic relations between the countries. In following years, [[high commissioner]]s were gradually appointed, whose duties were soon recognised to be virtually identical to those of an ambassador. The first such British high commissioner was appointed to Canada in 1928. | The declaration accepted the growing political and diplomatic independence of the Dominions in the years after World War I. It also recommended that the [[governors-general]], the representatives of the King in each dominion, should no longer also serve automatically as the representative of the British government in diplomatic relations between the countries. In following years, [[high commissioner]]s were gradually appointed, whose duties were soon recognised to be virtually identical to those of an ambassador. The first such British high commissioner was appointed to Canada in 1928. | ||
==Subsequent developments== | |||
The conclusions of the Imperial Conference of 1926 were re-stated by the 1930 conference and incorporated in the [[Statute of Westminster 1931|Statute of Westminster]] of December 1931. In the statute, the [[British Parliament]] provided that it would not enact a law which applied to a Dominion as part of the law of that Dominion, unless the law expressly stated that the Dominion government had requested and consented to the enactment of that law.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1931/4/pdfs/ukpga_19310004_en.pdf|title=''Statute of Westminster, 1931'', 22 Geo. V, c. 4, s. 4.}}</ref> | The conclusions of the Imperial Conference of 1926 were re-stated by the 1930 conference and incorporated in the [[Statute of Westminster 1931|Statute of Westminster]] of December 1931. In the statute, the [[British Parliament]] provided that it would not enact a law which applied to a Dominion as part of the law of that Dominion, unless the law expressly stated that the Dominion government had requested and consented to the enactment of that law.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1931/4/pdfs/ukpga_19310004_en.pdf|title=''Statute of Westminster, 1931'', 22 Geo. V, c. 4, s. 4.}}</ref> | ||
== References == | == References == | ||
{{reflist}} | {{reflist}} | ||
==Sources== | |||
* {{cite journal |doi=10.1080/14662046208446970|title=The genesis of the Balfour declaration of 1926 |year=1962 |last1=Hall |first1=H. Duncan |journal=Journal of Commonwealth Political Studies |volume=1 |issue=3 |pages=169–193 }} | |||
==Further reading== | ==Further reading== | ||
* {{cite book |last=Holland |first=Robert F. |year=1981 |title=Britain and the Commonwealth Alliance, 1918–39 |publisher=Springer |isbn=0-333-27295-1 |doi=10.1007/978-1-349-04926-4 |oclc=1047631379}} | * {{cite book |last=Holland |first=Robert F. |year=1981 |title=Britain and the Commonwealth Alliance, 1918–39 |publisher=Springer |isbn=0-333-27295-1 |doi=10.1007/978-1-349-04926-4 |oclc=1047631379}} | ||
* {{cite journal |doi=10.1080/03086539908583064|title=The strange death of dominion status |year=1999 |last1=McIntyre |first1=W. David |journal=The Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History |volume=27 |issue=2 |pages=193–212 }} | * {{cite journal |doi=10.1080/03086539908583064|title=The strange death of dominion status |year=1999 |last1=McIntyre |first1=W. David |journal=The Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History |volume=27 |issue=2 |pages=193–212 }} | ||
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[[Category:1926 in the British Empire]] | [[Category:1926 in the British Empire]] | ||
[[Category:1926 documents]] | [[Category:1926 documents]] | ||
[[Category:November 1926]] | [[Category:November 1926 in Asia]] | ||
[[Category:November 1926 in the United Kingdom]] | |||
[[Category:Arthur Balfour]] | [[Category:Arthur Balfour]] | ||
[[Category:Second premiership of William Lyon Mackenzie King]] | [[Category:Second premiership of William Lyon Mackenzie King]] | ||
Latest revision as of 15:49, 8 May 2026
Standing (left to right): Monroe (Newfoundland), Coates (New Zealand), Bruce (Australia), Hertzog (South Africa), Cosgrave (Irish Free State).
Seated: Baldwin (United Kingdom), King George V, King (Canada).
The Balfour Declaration of 1926, also called the Balfour Definition, was issued by the 1926 Imperial Conference of British Empire leaders in London. It was named after Arthur Balfour, who was Lord President of the Council.[1] It declared Great Britain and the Dominions to be:
... autonomous Communities within the British Empire, equal in status, in no way subordinate one to another 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.[2]
Background
The Imperial War Conference of 1917 passed a resolution drafted by Canadian prime minister Robert Borden, which described the Dominions as "autonomous nations within an Imperial Commonwealth" possessed of a right to "an adequate voice in foreign policy and in foreign relations". The resolution also called for a "constitutional conference" to be convened following the end of the war to determine a "re-adjustment of the constitutional relations of the component parts of the Empire"[3]
At the Paris Peace Conference of 1919, the Dominions sent separate representatives that were deemed for negotiation purposes to form part of one British Empire delegation. They signed the Treaty of Versailles under that designation but were admitted as separate members of the League of Nations. The confusion over the status of Dominions within the international community prompted calls for a formal statement of their relationship with the United Kingdom.[4]
Preparation
The Inter-Imperial Relations Committee, chaired by Balfour, drew up the document preparatory to its unanimous approval by the imperial prime ministers on 15 November 1926.[5] It was first proposed by South African Prime Minister J. B. M. Hertzog and Canadian Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King.
The wording of the declaration was drafted by Balfour following two weeks of discussion with prime ministers and heads of delegations, with Hertzog, Colonial Secretary Leo Amery, and Secretary of State for India Lord Birkenhead playing key roles.[6]
Provisions
The declaration accepted the growing political and diplomatic independence of the Dominions in the years after World War I. It also recommended that the governors-general, the representatives of the King in each dominion, should no longer also serve automatically as the representative of the British government in diplomatic relations between the countries. In following years, high commissioners were gradually appointed, whose duties were soon recognised to be virtually identical to those of an ambassador. The first such British high commissioner was appointed to Canada in 1928.
Subsequent developments
The conclusions of the Imperial Conference of 1926 were re-stated by the 1930 conference and incorporated in the Statute of Westminster of December 1931. In the statute, the British Parliament provided that it would not enact a law which applied to a Dominion as part of the law of that Dominion, unless the law expressly stated that the Dominion government had requested and consented to the enactment of that law.[7]
References
- ↑ "Balfour Report | United Kingdom [1926]". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 1 September 2021.
- ↑ "Clause II" (PDF).
- ↑ Hall 1962, pp. 171–172.
- ↑ Hall 1962, pp. 172–173.
- ↑ 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. S2CID 143421201.
- ↑ Hall 1962, p. 169.
- ↑ "Statute of Westminster, 1931, 22 Geo. V, c. 4, s. 4" (PDF).
Sources
- Hall, H. Duncan (1962). "The genesis of the Balfour declaration of 1926". Journal of Commonwealth Political Studies. 1 (3): 169–193. doi:10.1080/14662046208446970.
Further reading
- Holland, Robert F. (1981). Britain and the Commonwealth Alliance, 1918–39. Springer. doi:10.1007/978-1-349-04926-4. ISBN 0-333-27295-1. OCLC 1047631379.
- McIntyre, W. David (1999). "The strange death of dominion status". The Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History. 27 (2): 193–212. doi:10.1080/03086539908583064.
External links
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