PUBLICITY AT THE CONFERENCE.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 136, 8 June 1907, Page 9

PUBLICITY AT THE CONFERENCE.

LONDON. April -J6.

Questions continue to be asked and comments to be made on tlie very limited publicity allowed to the proceedings ol" the Premiers' Conference. As Mr. "Deakin puts it, "a little precis of the Conferences is slipped out day by day. That conveys an intimation more or less cold and distant that the Conference is still in existence, and is engaged upon its labours." In the House of Commons yesterday "Mr. Lyttelton asked whether weekly summaries of the proceeding-; of the. Colonial Conference could not be presented to ihe House. Mr. Churchill said that a verbatim note, of the proceedings had been taken, and it would be for the Conference, when its business ended, to say whether it should be published. He would bring the matter before Lord Elgin.

Mr. Hunt asked whether tbe Government objected to the debates in the Colonial Conference on Hie question of Imperial preferential trade being freely re.ported day by day.

The Prime Minister said he thought this question had been fully answered yesterday by the Under-Secretary for the Colonies. It was entirely for the Conference'itself to decide what publication there should be. This applied to the whole of the questions before the Conference including preferential tariffs.

Mr. Hunt: Does the Government object to have the debates fully reported?

The. Prime Minister: I have already s-aid the matter is entirely in the lraneis of the Conference.

Mr. Hunt repeated his question

The Prime Minister: It would be indecent for mc to say whether we objected or not. It is for tiie Conference to decide.

From what I can gather, the opposition to publicity that exists within the Conference comes from Sir Wilfrid Laurier, and from him only. The other Premiers are unanimously in favour of allowing the debates to be reported, but dn view «£ Canada's opposition thiey have not pressed the matter. Under the circumst_ces the Prime. Minister'a atti-

■hide, as explained in his reply to "Mr. Hunt, is obviously the correct one. He has not interfered one way or another, but has left ibe Conference to decide the question lor itself.