A—s

436

Twelfth Day. 7 May 1907.

" every effort should be made to bring about co-operation in matters of " mutual interest." It carried it beyond what Dr. Jameson is afraid of—a mere barren affirmation of a thing we all agree to. Dr. JAMESON : I cannot see the use of this at the beginning of Sir Joseph Ward's resolution. I shall be delighted to pass the resolution on everything—co-operation, communication, and everything else, but why reiterate this truism which I am afraid various people will say after a week's discussion is a kind of slur on the discussions of the week past. Mr. ASQUITH: Not at all. Mr. LLOYD GEORGE : You will not deny liberty of action even to the Mother Country Sir JOSEPH WARD : Mr. Deakin in the course of the speech which he delivered before the suggested words that I have added were put into the proposition coming from Lord Elgin, stated that in giving any support to the resolution moved by Sir Wilfrid Laurier re-affirming the resolution of 1902 on behalf of his Government he required a qualification. He proposed to support this resolution with a qualification, and this is the qualification. CHAIRMAN : With the other words used. Sir JOSEPH WARD : So we have the resolution of 1902 re-affirmed, the British Government having put on record their desire to keep to their position. With regard to that, from the point of view put before the Conference, I see no harm in accepting that resolution. Mr. ASQUITH : The Imperial Government consider it essential that those words should stand in the resolution. Mr. DEAKIN : That each should have its liberty. Mr. ASQUITH : Yes. Mr. F. R. MOOR : Nobody has questioned that principle. Mr. ASQUITH : We wish to have it put on record. Mr. DEAKIN : Would this get rid of the difficulty : " That every effort " should be made to stimulate and facilitate co-operation in matters of mutual " interest between the several parts of the Empire, especially by the develop- " ment of all through means of inter-communication, subject to the liberty " of each self-governing Dominion to select the most suitable methods for " giving effect to it." That, I think, contains everything important—affirmamation, co-operation in matters of mutual interest, and further development of inter-communication, and the other qualification on which you lay stress— that it is subject to the liberty of each self-governing Dominion to select the most suitable methods. Mr. ASQUITH : No, I do not think there is any very substantial difference between them; .but, to my mind, there is an important difference m the mode of expression and the order. I believe that is the real difference between vs —the order in which the tw 7 o parts of the subject are dealt with—

Preferential Trade. (Mr. Lloyd George.)