A—s

82

Third Day. 18 April 1907.

Mr. F. R. MOOR : May we have the last paragraph read again ? CHAIRMAN : I will read the whole of it from the beginning : " That " it will be to the advantage of the Empire if Conferences, to be called " Imperial Conferences, are held every four years, at which questions of " common interest may be discussed and considered as between His Majesty's " Government and the Governments of the self-governing Dominions. The " Prime Minister of the United Kingdom will be ex officio President, and " the Prime Ministers of the self-governing Colonies ex officio members of " the Conference. The Secretary of State for the Colonies will be an ex " officio member of the Conference, and will take the chair in the absence of " the President, and will arrange for such Imperial Conferences after com- " munication with the Prime Ministers of the respective Dominions. That "it is desirable to establish a system by which the several Governments " represented shall be kept informed during the periods between the Con- " ferences in regard to matters which have been or may be subjects for " discussion by means of a permanent secretarial staff, charged under the " direction of the Secretary of State for the Colonies with the duty of " obtaining information fof the use of the Conference, of attending to its " resolutions, and of conducting correspondence on matters relating to its "affairs. That upon matters of importance, either in this country or in " His Majesty's Dominions beyond the seas which require consultation in " common between two or more of the Governments, or which cannot be " conveniently postponed until the next Conference, or which involve sub- " jects of a minor character, or such as require detailed consideration, sub- " sidiary Conferences should be held between the representatives of such " Dominions and the Mother Country specially chosen for the purpose." Dr. SMARTT : Surely the word " Dominions " would not refer to the various Colonies in South Africa. It would not be a dominion unless it were federated like Canada or Australia; New Zealand might be called a Dominion, it being two islands under one Government, but you could not call Cape Colony a dominion. CHAIRMAN : Yes, —" self-governing Dominion "is what we call you here. Dr. SMARTT : Is not the word " Dominions " in the title of the King '. CHAIRMAN : In the King's title the words " Dominions beyond the seas " cover everything, and it was in order to restrict the term to selfgoverning parts of the Empire beyond the seas that we put in the words " self-governing." Mr. DEAKIN: I prefer the words "Dominions concerned" which point back directly to those engaged in the Conference. The words "such Dominions " leave it at large. CHAIRMAN : Personally, I agree with Sir Wilfrid Laurier, and should like to look through it when it is copied. Sir WILFRID LAURIER : I think we should consider it. It is too important a matter to pass over without having a moment of reflection about it. We know the importance of this document, and I think it is worth while to be a little careful about its wording.

Future Constitution of the Conference.