Bigwin and the Changing Commonwealth
| Author | Reginald G. Trotter |
| Published date | 01 March 1950 |
| Date | 01 March 1950 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/002070205000500103 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
Bigwin
and
the
Changing
Commonwealth
Reginald
G.
Trotter
T
he
Bigwin
Conference,
September
8-18,
1949,
was, all
agree,
the
most
successful
in
the
series
of
unofficial
British
Com-
monwealth
Relations Conferences,
which began
at
Toronto
in
1933
and
continued
at
Lapstone,
Australia
in
1938
and
at
London
in
1945.1
Like
the earlier
conferences
it
met
at
a
critical
juncture
in
world
affairs.
American-British-Canadian
financial
talks
began
in
Washington
the
day
before
it
convened,
resulting
in
an
announcement
on
September
12
of
a
ten-point
programme
in-
tended
to
cope
with the
sterling-dollar
crisis in
trade
and
finance,
and
followed
by
an
announcement
from London
of
the
devalua-
tion
of
sterling
on
the
eve
of
the
delegates'
departure
from
Bigwin.
The
first
meeting
of
the
Council
of
Foreign
Ministers
of
the
North
Atlantic
Pact
countries
had
by
then
begun.
Such
timing
of
the
conference
gave
special
point
to
its terms
of
reference,
which
were:
"To
survey
the
positions
of
the
Member
Nations
in
the
post-war
world, including
the
relations
between
them,
and
to
examine
what
changes
may
be
required
in
their
policies
in
the
interest
of
world order and
progress."
It
was
not
surprising
that
nine
days
of
sessions
proved
none
too
long,
even
under
the
fortunate
conditions
of
a
big
house-party
so
ideally
isolated from
outside
distractions
as
was
this
conference
at
the
Inn
on Bigwin Island
in
the
Lake
of
Bays. Delegations
from
nine
countries
looked
at
the
Commonwealth
from many points
of
view,
probed
its
problems,
and
with
varying
degrees
of
hope-
fulness
envisaged
for
it
continuing
and
enlarged
usefulness.
'The
proceedings
of
earlier
conferences
were
reported
in British
Commonwealth
Relations,
ed.
by
Arnold
Toynbee
(1933);
The
British
Common-
wealth
and
the
Future,
ed.
by
H.
V.
Hodson
(1939);
The
British
Commonwealth
and
World
Society,
ed. by
Richard
Frost
(1947);
all
published
by
the
Oxford
University
Press.
Briefer
accounts
of
the
third
conference
are
The
British
Commonwealth
and
the
World,
by
Richard
Frost
(Royal
Insti-
tute
of
International
Affairs,
1945,
74pp.)
and "'The
Commonwealth
and
the
World"
in
Peace
with
Progress
(Canadian
Institute
of
International
Affairs,
23-41).
22
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