The Unofficial Commonwealth Relations Conferences, 1933–59: Precursors of the Tri-sector Commonwealth

One of the unique features of the Commonwealth as an international association is the width and depth of its non-political manifestations. At recent Commonwealth conferences political and official consultations have been held in parallel with large civil society, business and youth forums and, in some cases, inter-faith dialogues. Growing collaboration between the political, civil society and business elements gives rise to the notion of the ‘tri-sector Commonwealth’. The concept of an ‘association of peoples’ as well as one of nations, does, however, have a long pedigree. Between 1933 and 1959 a series of Unofficial Commonwealth Relations Conferences, organised by Chatham House and its overseas affiliates, were held at roughly five-yearly intervals to analyse the implications of the most recent Imperial Conferences. Politicians and civil servants joined with lawyers, academics, editors, military men, agriculturalists and trade unionists. In contrast to the political Commonwealth, women had a part in the unofficial conferences. And among more than 400 participants at Toronto 1933, Lapstone 1938, London 1945, Bigwin 1949, Lahore 1954 and Palmerston North 1959 were fifty-five academic historians and other writers of history, who included most of the leading authorities on the Commonwealth of the 1930s and 1940s.     

Matthew Clark and the Beginnings of Chart Publishing in the United States

ABSTRACT

At the end of the eighteenth century Boston, Massachusetts, emerged as a centre of chart publishing in the United States. With little cartographic experience among them, Bartholomew Burges, John Norman and, later, Matthew Clark undertook a publishing venture that resulted in the first atlas of sea charts made in the United States. The research presented here redefines the roles of the principals and examines the atlas's relationship to other Boston publications.     

Saxton Manuscript Maps and Surveys Not Described by Evans and Lawrence

ABSTRACT

Four surveys by Christopher Saxton and three by Robert Saxton neither listed nor described by Ifor Evans and Heather Lawrence in their book Christopher Saxton, Elizabethan Map-maker, published in 1979, are here presented. Reference is made to another six surveys by Christopher that were not listed by Evans and Lawrence but have been described elsewhere. In view of the rate of discovery, it is concluded that further surveys may yet come to light. Changes in the location of some Saxton materials since the publication of Evans and Lawrence's book are noted in the Appendix.     

An Eocene moncotyledon from Nelly Creek,Central Australia,with affinities to Hemerocallidaceae (Lilianae: Asparagales)

A monocotyledonous partial leaf macrofossil from Eocene beds at Nelly Creek near Lake Eyre in Central Australia is described. It is recognised as being close to several extant Australasian species of Dianella Lam. ex Juss. (Hemerocallidaceae), especially the D. odorata Blume / D. bambusifolia Hallier f. complex. However, because it has unique cuticular features relative to extant Hemerocallidaceae, the fossil is assigned to the new genus and species Dianellophyllum eocenicum Conran, Christophel & Cunningham.     

Paleocene flora from Seymour Island,Antarctica: revision of Dusén’s (1908) angiosperm taxa

The Paleocene flora from Seymour Island, Antarctica, is one of the most diverse floras of this age in the Southern Hemisphere. First collected on the Swedish South Polar Expedition (1901–1903), it was described by Dusén in 1908 as having 87 leaf taxa. Forty-seven angiosperm taxa were described and/or illustrated. Many species are based on single specimens, and the flora has not been re-examined in its entirety since it was first described. This study is the first reassessment of the flora updating the original research using current methodologies, and permitting evaluation of the flora in the context of modern ideas on plant evolution and palaeogeography. This paper continues the revision of the material first studied by Dusén; a previous paper described the ferns and gymnosperms; here we describe the angiosperms. The revision is based on the original collections held at the Swedish Museum of Natural History, together with the first major new collections held at the British Antarctic Survey. Among the taxa recognized by Dusén, we recognize only three entire-margined and 11 tooth-margined angiosperms. This revision to 14 species notably lacks the two tropical elements originally described from the flora, Mollinedia seymourensis and Miconiiphyllum austral. Hence, its status as a ‘Mixed Flora’ comes into question and influences climatic interpretations based on Gondwanan floras. Anne-Marie Tosolini^? [a.tosolini@unimelb.edu.au], Department of Earth Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK, and Environmental Geoscience, Latrobe University, Victoria, 3086, Australia; David Cantrill [david.cantrill@rbg.vic.gov.au], National Herbarium of Victoria, Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne, Private Bag 2000, Birdwood Ave, South Yarra, Victoria, 3141, Australia; Jane Francis [j.francis@earth.leeds.ac.uk], Department of Earth Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK. ?Present address: School of Earth Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Victoria 3010, Australia. Received 5.5.2012; revised 13.12.2012; accepted 7.1.2012.     

Patterns of Foreign Direct Investment in Mongolia, 1990-2003: A Research Note

This paper delineates the pattern and structure of foreign direct investment (FDI) in a land-locked transition economy, Mongolia, situated strategically between Russia and China. The assessment is based on publications of major international financial institutions, official statistical publications of the Mongolian Government, and a unique dataset of 1,035 FDI firms based on a database compiled by the Mongolian office of the World Bank. A structured analysis of the dataset and government statistical publications makes it possible to ascertain patterns with respect to FDI country origin, sectoral composition, mode of entry, firm capitalization, composition of foreign and local partners, entry date, and location of the investment (core versus periphery). Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: E60, F21, P33. 5 figures, 3 tables, 34 references.     

Migration and ethnic nationalism: Anglophone exit and the ‘decolonisation’ of Québec

This article explains the effects of ethnic nationalism on Anglophone and Francophone migration. The rise of Québec ethnic nationalism in the 1960s dismantled the cultural division of labour, which created new opportunities for Francophones but threatened Anglophones' traditional dominance over the Québec economy. This had negative consequences for Anglophones but positive outcomes for Francophones, which in turn accounts for differences in migration patterns. Drawing from the internal colony model as well as migration and exit‐voice theories, and using ecological census data, micro‐census data and election panel data, I find that the key variables that increase the likelihood of Anglophone out‐migration either do not explain Francophone out‐migration or have opposite effects. This is because ethnonationalist policies decreased the economic return particularly for well‐educated, higher‐earning, professional Anglophones in Québec, while increasing the economic position of Francophones and in particular well‐educated professionals.