578

A—s

the word " possible " occurs later on. This part of the Resolution would therefore read : " That in the opinion of this Conference the interests " of the Empire demand that in so far as practicable its different portions " should he connected by the best possible means of mail communication, " travel, and transportation." To that we agree. We then propose to continue as follows : " That to this end the various Governments concerned "should initiate concerted inquiry into the proposal submitted to the " Conference for establishing a fast service from Great Britain to Canada, " and through Canada to Australia and New Zealand, and the financial " support which would be necessary for the purpose of maintaining such " a service, and also into any other proposals for similar purposes which " may be submitted by any of the Governments concerned." That is what I propose to submit to the Conference, and that will enable us to go into the whole question of time that will be consumed, and the question not merely of the money to be required, but also of the contributions which may be expected from each of the respective contracting States. All these practical questions could be thoroughly sifted and scrutinised, and I do not see why any time should be lost, and why experts should not be appointed before the Premiers leave London now, and why they should not proceed at once to examine into the matter and take evidence. That is the proposal which the Imperial Government put forward. Sir WILFRID LAURIER : Lord Elgin and gentlemen, I am quite pleased with the general acceptance which this proposal has received, and still more pleased that so far as New Zealand is concerned the only criticism offered by Sir Joseph Ward is that the proposal is too limited in its scope. The proposal which I submitted is in these words, " that such service upon " the Atlantic Ocean should be carried out by means of steamers equal in " speed and character to the best now in existence." We cannot do anything more with regard to improving our communication with Canada than to have a service equal to the best that is now in existence between New York and England. So far, I think, it requires no expert knowledge or evidence at all. If you are not prepared to do that, then it is blocking the whole system. Mr. LLOYD GEORGE: Between England and Halifax —that is a different matter, I agree. Sir WILFRID LAURIER : With regard to the Pacific, I limited my proposal to an 18-knot service. I have looked into the matter the last few days, and I find in conversation with some people interested in this service that at this moment it would be very difficult to have more than 18 knots. I agree with Sir Joseph Ward if we could have something better it would be well to do so, and if it can be done by spending money, I may say on behalf of the Government of Canada, that we are prepared to go as far as any Governments here interested in overcoming the difficulties. If agreeable to Sir Joseph Ward, I will amend my proposition in this way : " That such " service upon the Atlantic Ocean should be carried on by means of steamships " equal in speed and character to the best now in existence, and upon the " Pacific Ocean by steamships of a speed and character as nearly equal to the " Atlantic ships as circumstances would permit." Would you accept that, Sir Joseph ? Sir JOSEPH WARD : Quite so. Sir WILFRID LAURIER : I would limit it in this way, but if Mr. Lloyd George would permit me to say so, I do not think it is a question of experts in this matter, but a question of policy. We want to have an " all red

Fifteenth Day, 14 May 1907.

Mail Service to Australia and New Zealand via Canada. (Mr. Lloyd George.)