27

A.—s

under whatever title it was known, with any legislative or executive power whatever, nor to diminish its immediate dependence upon the Governments of the Dominions represented here; but to provide that it should meet periodically, consist of Prime Ministers, discuss questions of Imperial interest, and where possible arrive at conclusions to be afterwards recommended to its governments and legislatures. But it should have no more power than we possess here of itself putting into effect any decisions at which it might arrive. Consequently, when the despatch of the Prime Minister of Canada was placed in our hands, and the suggestions derived from the experience of that government of the connotations of the word " Council " were put before us, we at once agreed that if Sir Wilfrid Laurier thought fit to press that view, for our own part there would be no objection to adopting the title which he suggested instead of that which we had proposed. We accepted the term " Imperial Conference " instead of " Imperial Council." The body we had in view was a conference that was to have no such powers as, according to the Government of Canada, are associated in their minds and in the minds probably of those whom they represent, with the name "Imperial Council " which to us would not have meant more than " Imperial Conference." We are perfectly prepared to accept that title. Ido not need at this stage to detain the Conference further. Our object is to retain the Conferences as they at present are, in respect to their authority, to their constitution and to their periodical meetings. W T e add a staff, to which allusions will hereafter be made, for the purposes which will then be discussed separately. As to meeting the expenses of that staff, we propose that it should not be cast upon the exchequer of this country. Beyond that it seems to me at all events not essential for us to proceed at this stage. I therefore submit that it is desirable to establish an Imperial Council or Conference. If the word " establish " be taken exception to, because, as matter of fact, the Conference is already in existence, I have no objection to that criticism. What is sought is to insist once more upon the regular, and, so far as we can, upon the permanent existence of this Conference. After that we propose a Secretariat with a view to the consultation through it of the various members of this Conference or of the Prime Ministers and others who would be members of the Conference in the intervals between their meetings; to enable suggestions to proceed from one or more or all of them through the Secretariat to each other and to the Government of this country, in order that questions likely to be dealt with at the succeeding meeting may be examined some time ahead, and that all necessary information and inquiries may be made and views exchanged, so that the proposition, after reflection, may either be pressed, modified, or abandoned when the Conference is entered upon. " Under these circumstances, instead of meeting as we do to-day with only a very imperfect relation to the Conferences which have preceded this, and instead of taking up the questions before us in an elementary fashion, we should have an agenda of partly or completely prepared, and sometimes partly digested matters. This would not only save time, but would enable us to approach our conclusions with much greater confidence. In the same way, with such a Secretariat after a Conference had closed its labours, the resolutions arrived at would either be the subject for further inquiry or where the governments agreed that it was a matter within their scope or their legislatures agreed at some time prior to the next Conference that it was a question within their scope, there might be whatever action, small or great, was called for. The action of the Secretariat would be subject, as I have always said, to the real authorities without whom no action is to be proposed to be taken, that is to say, in each self-governing community, to that community itself: until its assent was given in the ordinary way by law or by executive act, as the case might be, there would be no power in this Secretariat to ask for or to direct any action. The Secretariat would be merely an agency for

Second Day. 17 April 1907.

Proi-osed Imperial t nl'Mll. (Mr. Deakin.)