A.—ll

1887. NEW ZEALAND.

CONFERENCE OF COLONIAL REPRESENTATIVES IN LONDON. (CORRESPONDENCE RELATING THERETO.)

Presented to both Houses of the General Assembly by Command of His Excellency.

No. 1. The Agent-Genekal to the Pbemiee. g_- _ 7, Westminster Chambers, London, S.W., 7th December, 1886. I transmit to you herewith copies, received from the Colonial Office, of a circular despatch addressed by the Secretary of State to the Governors of colonies under [Responsible Government, announcing that Her Majesty's Government have advised the Queen to summon a Conference to meet in London in the early part of next year, at which representatives of the Governments are to be invited to attend for the discussion of such questions as may appear to demand attention at the 11116 You will have heard long ago of the proposed Conference through Press telegrams, and if your Government intends that it should be attended by any one on behalf of New Zealand I presume that I shall hear in due course. I am very doubtful at present whether it would not be going beyond my province to offer any opinion of my own respecting the Conference ■> J L I have, &c, The Hon. the Premier, Wellington. 1?- D- Bell-

Enclosure. ~ , _ Downing Street, 25th November, 1886. You will no doubt, have remarked that in the Queen's Speech on the prorogation of Parliament Her Maiesty was pleased to refer to her colonial and Indian possessions m the following term- • " I have observed with much satisfaction the interest which, in an increasing degree, is evinced by the people of this country in the welfare of their colonial and Indian fellow-subjects ; and I am led to the conviction that there is on all sides a growing desire to draw closer in every practicable way the bonds which unite the various portions of the Empire. I have authorized communications to be entered into with the principal colonial Governments with a view to the fuller consideration of matters of common interest." 2 The communications thus promised with the colonies have engaged the careful consideration of Her Majesty's Government, and they have come to the conclusion that the Queen should be advised to summon a Conference, to meet in London in the early part of next year, at which representatives of the principal colonial Governments will be invited to attend for the discussion at those questions which appear more particularly to demand attention at the present time 1 request you to inform your Ministers of this proposal, which I am confident will be very satisfactory to them and to express the hope which I entertain of their cordial co-operation. _ 3 In the opinion of Her Majesty's Government, the question which is at once urgent and capable of useful consideration at the present time is that of organization of military defence. lhe patriotic action of the colonies in offering contingents of troops to take part m the Egyptian cammign made a deep and lasting impression on the public mind, and was the first practical result of much careful work during recent years. It is a necessity of the case that the measures which have been taken in each colony, as well for the organization of the local forces as for the construction of local defensive works, are to a great extent not yet fully understood and appreciated in other parts of the Empire. The close and thorough examination of the whole subject of Imperial defence which was completed By the Eoyal Commission presided over by the Earl of Carnarvon has led to the execution of extensive and important defensive works in various parts of the Empire; and the cordial co-operation offered to Her Majesty's Government by the colonies in carrying out this policy indicates their desire to arrive, so far as may at present he practicable, at a common basis * i—A. n.