A.—s

153

Mr. C. P. Lucas, C.8., Assistant Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies. Mr. H. Bertram Cox, C.8., Assistant Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies. Mr. J. Pedder, Home Office. Mr. H. Lambert, of the Colonial Office and Emigrants' Information Office.

EMIGRATION. CHAIRMAN : Gentlemen, we are to proceed to-day with the consideration of the subject of emigration, which is a subject which, I think, has already received considerable attention both in the Colonies and in this country. If I understand rightly, the Canadian Government have their own system of dealing with this question.' The Australian and New Zealand Governments have also, I think, had it under consideration. As regards ourselves in this we have had an inquiry by a very competent Committee, on which Colonial opinion, I think I may say, was represented, because the Chairman was Lord Tennyson, and the Report of that Committee and the evidence has been forwarded to the Governments of the Colonies for their consideration. I therefore think that we may, perhaps, come more directly to a specific point on this question than, perhaps, on some other subjects which have been before us, for in the despatch from this Office forwarding these papers to which I have referred, the third paragraph drew the attention of the other Governments to the question of whether or not they were willing to accept state-aided emigration. I explained that for my colleagues and myself we would wish to be assured on this point before considering the matter from the point of view of the Mother Country. I would suggest, therefore, that in the discussion which is now to open, that the particular point might be borne in mind specially. My Right Honourable friend, the President of the Local Government Board, after hearing the views to be expressed by the other members of the Conference, would be prepared to state his opinion upon that and other points connected with this subject. I, therefore, invite the other members of the Conference to proceed to discuss the question from that standpoint. Sir WILFRID LAURIER : I suppose, my Lord, it would be natural we should first hear the views of the Colony of Australia which has brought this matter to the attention of the Conference. CHAIRMAN : Yes. I omitted to say that one resolution submitted is by the Commonwealth. Mr. DEAKIN : My Lord and gentlemen, in touching upon this question my first duty is to remove an apparent misapprehension. The question of immigration to us is the question of emigration from you. The question of emigration is as distinctly a British question as that of immigration is ours. To what extent the Gewernment and Parliament of Great Britain desire to foster emigration is for them to discuss and decide. I shall therefore look at immigration from our point of view, and not from the point of view of the Mother Country, because upon that the representatives of the people of that country are necessarily themselves the judges. Any remarks, therefore, which I may make in regard to our*desire for immigration are subject, of course, to that necessary preliminary qualification. One aspect we necessarily must leave in your hands, as it pertains to you and to you alone. 21—A. 5.

21—A. 5.

Sixth Day. 25 April 1907,

Emigration.