THE IMPERIAL PRESS CONFERENCE.

Marlborough Express, Volume XLIII, Issue 105, 1 May 1909, Page 3

THE IMPERIAL PRESS CONFERENCE.

ENTERTAINING THE EDITORS

At the Imperial Press Conference, to be held in London in June, nearly a thousand British journalists, representing every shade of opinion and every part of the Motherland, will be joined together to do honour to the press of the Empire. Their sixty guests are picked delegates from the 3000 newspaper offices of Greater Britain chosen by their colleagues. The social side will be, as the Spectator has well put it,, "the kind of .welcome ambassadors could not expect to have offered to them." The Government, the Prince and Princess of Wales, the Lord Mayor and Parliament will all in turn entertain the delegates. There will be a special military review at Aldershot and a naval display at Portsmouth in their honour. The great cities of the north are arranging for visits from them when the conference proper is concluded. On all sides it has been realised that this affords a great opportunity of showing to the men who are the eyes and ears of Greater Britain what the power and resources of the Motherland are.

The distance travelled by some of the delegates in order to attend can best be realised by the fact that so as to arrive in London on 4th June those from New Zealand will have to leave home on 12th April.- The Australian and New Zealand guests will reach Vancouver on sth May and will spend about sixteen days in Canada. Preparations are already in

progress to give them a welcome ; there worthy of the best Canadian traditions. This will culminate in an ! official reception by Lord Grey, the ; Governor-General, at Ottawa. Ihe ■ Canadian delegates will join the Australians en route, and will travel on '' with them. Arriving in London they ! will be housed at the Waldorf Hotel. I Nearly a thousand are expected to ibe present at the banquet on Satur- ! day, sth June. 'It will beheld in I the Hall of Music at the Imperial ! International Exhibition. The hall ' will be specially decorated with symbols of Empire. The adjoining Congress Hall will be used as the reception room, the two being connected by a covered way. It is at this gathering that Lord Rosebery will give his opening address. _ j The conference meetings, at the 1 Foreign Office, start on Monday morning, and last each day from 11 to 1. These meetings will be private, borne of the greatest statesmen of to-day, Imperial as well as national, will join in them, discussing various aspects or the mission and work of the press throughout the Empire. The list of receptions and. entertainments includes the following:— _ On Sunday, Gth June, the visiting editors will "bo the guests of Lord Burnham at Hall Barn. On Monday, 7th June, a luncheon will be given at the House of Commons by members of both Houses who are associated with literature or journalism, and in the afternoon the delegates whl be received by the Prince and Princess of Wales at a garden party at Marlborough House. On Tuesday. Bth June, an official banquet will be given by the Government, with Lord Crewe in the chair. On Wednesday, 9th June, there will be a reception and luncheon at the Mansion House, given by the Lord Mayor of London. On Thursday, 10th June, Mr Balfour will preside at a luncheon to be given by the Constitutional Club. In the evening the Duke and Duchess of Sutherland will give a reception at Stafford House. On the invitation of Mr Halclane, a. day is to be spent at Aldershot, where the guests will be able to see something of the British Army. On-Saturday. 12th June, the week will conclude with a visit to the Fleet, as guests of the Admiralty. On Monday, 14th Jims, Lord Northcliffe will entertain the delegates to luncheon at Sutton Place.

On the completion of their stay in London the delegates will take a short tour through a few of the leading cities of the north. Here the committee find great difficulty in' making a selection that, in the time at disposal, shall give an adequate idea of the great commercial undertakings as well as the historic and picturesque side of the provinces. Invitations from municipalities have poured in ; far more than can possibly be accepted. Such great centres as Manchester, Liverpool, Edinburgh and ©lasgow must be included.