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Sir John Latham, a Political Biography, 1902 to 1934

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Sir John Latham, a Political Biography, 1902 to 1934 Antipodean Imperialist: Sir John Latham, a Political Biography, 1902 to 1934 Michael Kilmister BA(Hons)(Newcastle) A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History August 2018 This thesis was supported by an Australian Government Research Training Program (RTP) Scholarship Abstract This dissertation examines Sir John Latham’s imperial ideology from the turn of the twentieth century, and traces how it shaped his political outlook and actions in the course of his parliamentary career, 1922-1934. Latham emerged as a very important political figure at a pivotal period for Australia and the British Empire. In response to emergent national sentiment in Australia and other settler societies before the First World War and after, British policymakers and intellectuals developed an overarching ideology that recast the British Empire as an interdependent yet loosely organised Commonwealth. Latham worked to translate and cement this liberal imperial worldview for Australian politics and diplomacy, lending it a conservative inflection in the process. Drawing on overlooked archival material, this thesis demonstrates that he developed and tested his antipodean pro-British imperialism in the exclusive meeting places of like-minded conservatives and applied its core tenets consistently in the making of national and imperial policy. Even though the British Empire rarely demonstrated the cohesion Latham desired, he remained committed to its causes. This dissertation retrieves Latham from a nationalist narrative, revealing that he pursued national interests within a British imperial framework. By re-establishing the all- encompassing importance of the British Empire to his political behaviour, I argue pro-British imperialism permeated the positions Latham took on domestic politics and international issues, notably the Australian Eastern Mission (1934). This thesis also contextualises and examines in detail, for the first time, Latham’s contribution to the canon of interwar imperial thought, using his book, Australia and the British Commonwealth (1929). Overshadowed by the prime ministers under whom he served, this thesis demonstrates that Latham was in many important respects the driving force behind Australia’s interwar imperial orientation. STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY I hereby certify that the work embodied in the thesis is my own work, conducted under normal supervision. The thesis contains no material which has been accepted, or is being examined, for the award of any other degree or diploma in any university or other tertiary institution and, to the best of my knowledge and belief, contains no material previously published or written by another person, except where due reference has been made. I give consent to the final version of my thesis being made available worldwide when deposited in the University’s Digital Repository, subject to the provisions of the Copyright Act 1968 and any approved embargo. Michael Kilmister Table of Contents ABBREVIATIONS ......................................................................................................................... I ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................................... II INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................................... 1 CHAPTER I THE MAKING OF A BOOBOOKS’ MAN: LATHAM’S SOCIAL AND INTELLECTUAL MILIEU, 1902-1917 ................................................... 22 CHAPTER II THE BRITISH EMPIRE ‘IS THE GREATEST FORCE IN THE WORLD FOR PEACE:’ VERSAILLES TO GENEVA, 1918-1926 ...................................................................................... 52 CHAPTER III ‘STILL AN EMPIRE, THOUGH ALSO A COMMONWEALTH:’ THE BALFOUR DECLARATION AND THE STATUTE OF WESTMINSTER, 1926-1931 .................... 81 CHAPTER IV PRESERVING ‘THE TIES WHICH BIND:’ THE CAMPAIGN AGAINST AN AUSTRALIAN-BORN GOVERNOR-GENERAL, 1930-31 .............. 123 CHAPTER V ‘HEAVEN SAVE US FROM RUSSIA!’ COMBATING LANG, COMMUNISM, AND DISLOYALTY, 1931-1932 .......................................... 149 CHAPTER VI FOLLOWING A ‘REASONABLE COURSE’: THE IMPERIAL ECONOMIC CONFERENCE AND THE WORLD ECONOMIC CONFERENCE, 1932-1933 ............................................................................................................................. 180 CHAPTER VII IN THE IMPERIAL INTEREST: THE AUSTRALIAN EASTERN MISSION, 1934 .......................................................................... 220 CONCLUSION AND POSTSCRIPT ............................................................................................ 263 BIBLIOGRAPHY ...................................................................................................................... 274 i Abbreviations ADB Australian Dictionary of Biography AEM Australian Eastern Mission BL Bodleian Library BED British Empire Delegation CIB Commonwealth Investigation Branch CJ Chief Justice CPA Communist Party of Australia HOR House of Representatives IWC Imperial War Cabinet LON League of Nations LNU League of Nations Union NAA National Archives of Australia NLA National Library of Australia UMA University of Melbourne Archives UAP United Australia Party USL Universal Service League WAP White Australia Policy ii Acknowledgements Writers of doctorates accrue many debts over the course of their candidature, and I am no exception. My greatest debt is to my supervisors, Prof. Roger Markwick and Dr James Bennett. Without their continuous support of my PhD study, as well as encouraging my related research and professionalisation activities, this thesis would not have come to fruition. They righted my direction and provided clarity at many key moments. For their patience, motivation, sage advice, and selflessness in affording me their time, I am immeasurably grateful. Roger, my principal supervisor, is deserving of special thanks. His insights into historical praxis have helped me grow as a scholar. I am thankful for the insights and support of more colleagues than there is room to include here. Firstly, thank you to the historians in the School of Humanities and Social Science, University of Newcastle (UON) for their warm encouragement over the years. In particular, Dr Jennifer Debenham and Dr Wendy Michaels have helped me talk through many research and writing problems. I am thankful to Dr James Bennett, Assoc. Prof. Nancy Cushing, and Assoc. Prof. Lisa Featherstone (UQ) for helping me find my feet early in my doctoral candidature in the form of research assistance and teaching opportunities. I also want to thank the postgraduate community at the Central Coast Campus, and the history postgraduates at the Callaghan Campus, UON. I have been fortunate to share many chats over coffees with people who are also navigating the travails of postgraduate research. I thank my colleagues in the Centre for Teaching and Learning and at the Central Coast Campus for their boundless support of my study. Throughout the last three years, they have selflessly lightened my workload so I could finish my study. I am thankful to Dr Emma Joel, Dr Lil Hayes, and Alison Hillier, who helped proofread the grammar, spelling, and punctuation of this thesis. Fiona Neville and Dr Julie Mundy-Taylor in UON Library assisted iii greatly in the compilation of the bibliography. I am indebted to Keith Foggett, Prof. Carol Miles, and Dr Clare Lloyd for kindly providing vital study leave. This thesis is the product of substantial institutional and benefactor support. Without the Australian Government Research Training Program, this project would not have happened. Moreover, I thank Heather and John Seymour for their generous Seymour Scholarship in partnership with the National Library of Australia, Canberra, of which I was a fortunate beneficiary in 2015. The six weeks I spent immersed in manuscript collections, especially the voluminous Latham Papers, laid the groundwork for the bulk of this thesis. I will be forever grateful for the Seymours giving me priceless time to research without distraction. Additionally, the special collections staff at the National Library have been invaluable in guiding me through the nooks and crannies of the vast manuscript holdings there. The research base for Chapter VII would not have been nearly as complete without the assistance of the National Archives of Australia and Australian Historical Association Postgraduate Scholarship, which I received in 2015. The funding and mentorship offered by this valuable program allowed me to take great leaps in understanding Latham’s Australian Eastern Mission. The Australian and New Zealand Law and History Society awarded me a Kercher Scholarship, giving me the opportunity to present at their 35th annual conference at Curtin University, Perth. The kind feedback I received on my paper informed Chapter IV. I will never be able to repay the unwavering support and reassurance my family has shown me during my candidature. My parents, Tom and Leonie, and my sister, Rebecca, have been a tireless buttress throughout this entire process. Without their emotional and practical support, from reassuring hugs to cooked dinners, I could not have completed this PhD while remaining a functional human being in all other walks of life. My second family, iv Vince, Maria, and Wendy have likewise been there for me during the numerous working weekends needed to complete this thesis. There is not enough room here to sufficiently thank my two
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