11

A.—4

XV. Address to His Majesty the King. The Prime Minister was asked by the members of the Conference to present the following humble Address to His Majesty the King : — ' We, the Prime Ministers and other representatives of the British Empire, speaking on behalf of the United Kingdom, the British Dominions, the Indian Empire, and the British Colonies and Protectorates, desire, on the cve # of concluding our meeting, to present our humble duty to Your Majesty and to reaffirm our loyal devotion to your Throne. We have been conscious throughout our deliberations of a unanimous conviction that the most essential of the links that bind our widely-spread peoples is the Crown, and it is our determination that no changes in our status as peoples or as Governments shall weaken our common allegiance to the Empire and its Sovereign. " Knowing Your Majesty's deep interest in all that touches your people's happiness, we trust that our labours in this time of world-wide unrest may be satisfactory to you and conduce to the welfare and safety of your dominions as well as to the peace of the world. ' We pray that Your Majesty and the Queen, may long be spared to enjoy the affection of your subjects and to see all classes equally recovered from the strain and sacrifice of the war."* XVI. Resolution of Thanks to Prime Minister and His Colleagues. The Prime Ministers of the Dominions and the representatives .of India desire to put on record their deep appreciation of the large amount of time and work devoted in a time of heavy strain by the Prime Minister and his colleagues in His Majesty's Government to the Conference. They look with, great satisfaction i pon their meetings, which have, in their opinion, made clear the lines of common action in Imperial and foreign affairs and still more firmly established the free co-opera ion of the peoples of the Commonwealth. XVII. Appreciation of Work of Secretariat. The Prime Ministers of the Dominions and the Representatives of India desire to put on record their great appreciation of the work of Sir Maurice Hankey and other members of the British Secretariat. They consider that his efficiency and that of his staff have contributed in an invaluable degree to the success of the Conference, and they hope that his assistance may be available at future sessions for many years to come. The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and his colleagues also desire to express, on behalf of the British Secretariat, their warm acknowledgment of the cordial and most efficient co-operation of the Dominion and Indian representatives on the Secretariat.

* His Majesty's reply is printed as Appendix VIII.