The Imperial Conferences held every three or four years between the wars emphasized, despite the isolationist Skelton's best efforts, that Canada remained firmly a part of the British Empire. That empire had once been compared to a gouty giant, overextended in all directions, screaming in agony whenever pressure was placed on any vulnerable point. But in the 1920s the Empire still seemed outwardly strong and impressive, and the Imperial Conferences were occasions for demonstrating the renewed unity of British nations. This cartoon from the English magazine Punch indicates the importance that many Englishmen continued to attach to their relations with their former colonies. By conciliating the "dominions" (as the self governing parts of the Empire were known), the British government hoped to secure their goodwill and their help in any major international crisis. In 1926 the British government conceded that Great Britain and the dominions were "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."
Courtesy: Punch or the London Charivari, December 1,1926
