Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1999/12/24

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Subject: [Leica] Thrones, Dominions, and Powers
From: Marc James Small <msmall@roanoke.infi.net>
Date: Fri, 24 Dec 1999 12:31:44 -0500

At 11:32 AM 12/24/1999 -0500, Dan Cardish wrote:
>Even then, it was just a formality.  Canada could act independently of
>Britain since the 30s.  For instance, Canada waited a few days after Great
>Britain before declaring war on Germany at the start of WW2.  It wasn't
>automatic.

The Statute of Westminister (1931) established the right of the independent
Dominions (Canada, New Zealand, Saorstadt na h-Eireann, Australia, and the
Union of South Africa) to great freedom from the control of the UK.  The
only remaining link to the UK was through the common throne and the right
of aggreived subjects to appeal from the local government to the Judicial
Council of the UK's Privy Council.  Only New Zealand retains the last, I
believe, though:  Eire left the Commonwealth completely in '49 (the final
victory of Dev and the long-dead Big Fellow), South Africa in 1960, while
Australia eliminated the Privy Council appeal around 1974 and Canada around
1982.  (The Republic of South Africa did rejoin the Commonwealth within the
past decade, after Apartheid was ended.)

So, effectively, the Empire became a Commonwealth in 1931.

(Of course, in 1931, Newfoundland, Bermuda, Jamaica, the BVI, Trinidad &
Tobago, British Guinea, on to Pitcairn Island, Hong Kong, Malaya,
Singapore, Brunei, Borneo, Burma, Ceylon, and half of Africa, were all
colonies under the direct rule of the British Colonial Office, while the
Indian Sub-Continent was a separate and independent nation which just
happened to be ruled by the British government, a fascinating
constitutional quirk.)

Marc

msmall@roanoke.infi.net  FAX:  +540/343-7315
Cha robh bas fir gun ghras fir!