428

A—s

Twelfth Day. 7 May 1907.

CHAIRMAN : I am afraid I should not be able to accept it for the resolution I propose. Sir WILFRID LAURIER : There is a line of cleavage. Mr. DEAKIN : If we withdraw No. 4, and accept the resolution which Ministers propose, it would mean an absolute retreat from the position of 1902. Dr. JAMESON : Besides, Lord Elgin will not agree to No. 1 either. I hope the Governments will vote. Lord Elgin has told v? be cannot. Mr. LLOYD GEORGE : How can we ? It is for the Prime Ministers of the self-governing Colonies. Sir JOSEPH WARD : I agree with the latter portion of the resolution moved by Mr. Deakin, that it is desirable that preferential tariffs should be included. Mr. DEAKIN : We will do that separately. Sir JOSEPH WARD : When those are disposed of, does that mean the disposal of the other resolutions entirely, without submitting them to the Conference ? Dr. JAMESON: No. CHAIRMAN : No; I said at the beginning I should ask everyone. Sir JOSEPH WARD : Because I want to move my resolution with an omission from it, which I hope will give us unanimity upon it, irrespective of the others. CHAIRMAN : Very well. Had not we better dispose of the others first? Sir JOSEPH WARD : Certainly. I should like to support the resolution of Sir Wilfrid Laurier and also the proposal of Mr. Deakin when it comes up separately. Dr. JAMESON : On behalf of the Cape, the first resolution of the Cape is exactly as proposed by Sir Wilfrid Laurier at present, and we will not press that, With regard to the second resolution originally put by the Cape, Ido not want to press that at all. As I explained in the remarks I made, it was more or less a warning, and I will not press it, Mr. DEAKIN : It was a very proper thing to call attention to. Dr. JAMESON : That was the intention of it—to call attention. CHAIRMAN : With regard to our position, I spoke of the three first resolutions because I think Sir Wilfrid Laurier dealt with them in his speech at first. Sir WILFRID LAURIER • No; I said I moved the whole of those* resolutions of 1902, but then I stated that, with regard to three of them, there

Preferential Trade.