A.—6

Mr. Baldwin : Mr. Mackenzie King, I know I speak for every one of my colleagues w r hen I say how grateful we are to you and those who have spoken for all the kind references they have made to anything we have been able to do. lam very glad that the Imperial Conference has met this year, even though it has taken place in the midst of pre-occupations graver and more embarrassing than we have had for some years, and for this reason —if it be the fact, as some of you have so kindly said, that you derived strength from meeting in council here, so much the more is that the case with us, because I have found that the mere presence of you all from all corners of the world in Conference here, in the spirit that has prevailed, seems to have filled one with a new vigour and a new hope, and you have certainly brought refreshment to all of us. With regard to what you say as to the work of Sir Maurice Hankey and his staff, we on this side would like to endorse that, and I know Sir Maurice would like me to tell you what he has so often said in private—how conscious he is of the help he has received from all the delegations that have come to London for this Conference. I feel that we all of us owe a great debt to the secretariat, from the top to the bottom —not forgetting the typists, whose work has been very heavy this time and who, by the rapidity and accuracy of their work, have contributed very much to aid lis in the fulfilment of our labours. This Conference —and I say this with some humility in the presence of Lord Balfour, whose memory goes back so much further than mine—this Conference has been marked by as fine a spirit as any Conference that has ever met in this country, and I think the progress that has been made may be measured not so much perhaps by the written words, as Mr. Coates said—important as those written words are —but rather by the refreshment of the spirit in every corner of the Empire, a spirit in which I hope the work will go forward in years to come. It has been an immense pleasure to all of us to have you here, and we only hope that you will take away with you as pleasant memories as you will leave behind you.

APPENDIX XVI. REPLY FROM HIS MAJESTY THE KING, EMPEROR OF INDIA, TO THE ADDRESS FROM THE CONFERENCE. I have received with much pleasure the address presented by the Prime Minister of Great Britain from the Imperial Conference ; and the Queen and I warmly thank all the members of the Conference for this expression of their fidelity and devotion to the Crown. I have followed with close interest all the proceedings of the Conference. lam convinced that its labours have afforded, not only to the members of the British Commonwealth of Nations but to the world at large, a better understanding and a clearer vision of what the British Empire means and of the ideals for which it stands. It has given me the utmost satisfaction during the past few weeks to greet so many of my Ministers from the Dominions and the representatives of the Empire of India ; and to have opportunities of learning personally from them something of the problems and aspirations of my peoples overseas. The Queen and I treasure the recollections of our visits to those lands among the happiest experiences of our lives. We wish the members of the Conference God-speed and a safe return to their homes. George R. I. 26th November, 1926.

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