THE IMPERIAL CONFERENCE,

Otago Witness, Issue 1847, 15 April 1887, Page 9

THE IMPERIAL CONFERENCE,

, (Special to Pjress Association.) London, April 5. At the conference to-day, Lord George Hamilton, First Lord of the Admiralty, proposed that the Australian fleet should be increased,- supplementing the present squadron . ; by five cruisers and torpedo boats. England will undertake the construction of these vessels if the colonies will maintain thenj, the whole fleet to be under the control of the admiral. The contributions from the colonies would be £120)000 per annum in time, -"of war and £90,000 during peace ; also th'at,the sum of £30,000 annually should be paid into a sinking fund. The reliefs for the squadron would be triennial. . ' T. he Victorian Government have agreed to the maintenance proposals but have objected to ..the^ sinking fund, contending that the expepse' they have to bear in connection with their; local fleet should be taken as a set- •&■ Mr Dower, on behalf of South Australia, has "concurred in the proposals, and the Government of New South Wales has accepted the offer, urging upon the Admiralty liberal treatment. Sir, -S. Griffith (Queensland) and Mr Dodcjs (representative of Tasmania) have also concurred in the proposals. The New Zealand Government will arrange separately. ' Lord " Hamilton declined to abate the amount of the sinking fund, stating that it ought to have been £40,000. A long discussion took place on the proposals, but no agreement was arrived at, the Victorian delegates remaining firm on the question of the sinking fund. April 6. At the conference- yesterday Mr Downer read his speech, because, as he said, tie could not trust himself to speak without emotion. Mr Deakin said that the action of the Imperial Government in convening the conference was eminently gratifying, and indicated a better appreciation of the colonies on the part of the Empire. The time was not very long ago when English Ministers would never have dreamed of sending such an invitation to the colonies, but there never was a time when the colonies would not gladly have accepted an invitation to send representatives to confer with the Imperial authorities on questions of Imperial and colonial interest. He alluded to the inertness frequently displayed in the Foreign and Colonial Office in relation to questions of great importance to the colonies, and remarked that while the official despatches showed that successive Cabinets were filled with the verj best intentions, the result was often most unsatisfactory. He compared the vacillating policy of England regarding the annexation of New Guinea with the vigorous action of Germany. Speaking of ; the deportation of the recidivistes to the Pacific, he said that some of the colonies were eager to obtain an expression of opinion from the Imperial Government as to whether Australasia is to have the taint of convictism of the worst class thrust upon it. Victoria was determined .to use every effort to ventilate the question to the fullest extent, with the view to obtaining a satisfactory settlement of the matter. ' The representatives of that colony were, however, prepared to submit to the desire of the majority. Earl Granville urged that the colonies and colonial questions should be treated by British statesmen apart from the influence of party feelings. In that lay the only hope of securing continuity and consistency in their colonial policy. Mr .Staniiope was of opinion that the present was a specially favourable time to consider the question of the defence of the Empire. The objection to a uniform law for enforcing colonial judgments in England is only technical, but the adoption of the proposed reciprocal principles with regard to bankruptcy laws is hopeless. Mr Deakin, Chief Secretary for Victoria, has submitted to the Imperial Conference a suggestion for a uniform mode of saving life at , sea. The scheme has been cordially received ; and Lord Stanley, who generally approves of it, promised that experts should be consulted, and hoped that the result would be that provision would be made on vessels for the safety of all on board. At the conference, Sir F. D. Bell, on behalf of the colonies, proposrd a repeal of section 7 of the Colonial Register Act, urging that the stamp duty ought to be governed by domicile shareholders. April 7. The Imperial Conference has closed without any practical result. The Anglo-Australian penny postal scheme was blocked. Representatives from New South Wales and * Victoria proposed an amendment to the bankruptcy law in the direction of making it reciprocal throughout the colonies. They. argued that the bankruptcy laws of the various '-^colonies have culminated in a complete failure, owing to the diversity of the conditions. The proposals submitted for the defence of the colonies were very indefinite, especially with regard to a State fleet. A discussion with reference to the defence of the colonial ports.was begun, and the delegates thought that th£ colonies should only be called on to •maintain these defences after they had been constructed. The Government are "trimming," apparently jwUh a desire 'lo obtain as much support' as possible from the colonies, but the ..attitude taken, up by the Victorian representatives will probably encourage the Government to modify the proposals submitted. . ' '•'■■' ■ April 8. :': ' At the. Imperial Conference on Thursday it has been' decided to discuss the questions of trustees! inVestment of colonial stock, and , the marriage law. Mr.'Deakin, of Victoria, receives an offer of "knighthood, and Mr Wisdom, of New South ' Wales j' will probably be decorated. - ThVquestion of colonial naval defence has been^again tinder the consideration of the

Imperial Conferefice. It'has" been Jproposed ' that the Australian vote -for,, the suggested > Australian fleet should be £150,Q0Q*vperannum, with the addition of- a 1 sinking fund. '