Dominions, India, and the British Empire in transition

The 1930 delegation list differs from earlier imperial diplomacy, when Britain would have spoken for much more of the empire. Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, the Irish Free State, and India all had named representatives, while the discussion treats Dominion representation as evidence of equal constitutional standing. Canada and Australia already had navies, New Zealand maintained a naval division, and India's air force began in 1932 with Indian pilots. Colonial rule continued and remained harmful while locally controlled institutions began to replace some direct administration. Naval treaty diplomacy thus reflected the British Empire's uneven constitutional transition.