121

A.—s

Sir WILFRID LAURIER : I do not see what it is wanted for. Mr. HALDANE : I do not think myself, if I may say so, that it is necessary. One is very familiar with the composition of the Committee of Imperial Defence, which is a skeleton or nucleus body; I always attend it, but I am not a standing member of it. It has no fixed composition, but consists merely of the people who are summoned, and, of course, if any question arose affecting any particular Colony, its representative would attend. The Prime Minister is really the mainspring of the Committee, and he summons it as he wants it. Sir FREDERICK BORDEN : He summons whomsoever he likes '. Mr. HALDANE : Whoever he likes and whoever is suitable. Mr. DEAKIN : We did not feel entitled to suggest that we should be represented at our own pleasure—we did not feel justified in officially representing it. Accordingly this Resolution was submitted for the approval of the British Government and the members of the Conference to the proposition that in future any representative of a Colony which might wish for advice should be summoned upon its request to attend as a member of the Committee during any particular discussion. That gave us not merely an opportunity of being invited as guests but a right to be present on our own motion when matters in which we were concerned were under discussion. That seems to me a distinct advance. Sir FREDERICK BORDEN : You think that is not included in the memorandum ? Mr. DEAKIN : It is included now in March 1907. Sir JOSEPH WARD : I think that is a proper thing to do. Dr. SMARTT : I think it would do a great deal of good. I will give the Conference a concrete case : —Some time ago the Imperial Government appointed a Defence Commission to inquire into the defences of the Empire. They came to Cape Colony and no doubt they inquired into the defences of the Peninsula, but they did not go into the matter with the Government in that confidential manner which, I think, if a Resolution of this sort is carried and approved of by the Imperial Government, would be the case in the future. Sir FREDERICK BORDEN : I thought that was included already. CHAIRMAN : Then this Resolution may stand. We came to a final Resolution also on the question of the constitution of the Conference and that, of course, now will be published. Adjourned to Tuesday next at 11 o'clock.

Fourth Day. I'd April 1907.

Military Defence.

Resolution 11, p. v.

17—A. 5.