A.—(s

A discussion also took place, at the instance of the Prime Minister of Canada, as to the desire of the Parliaments of the various parts of the Empire to be afforded the fullest information possible on all matters concerning which negotiations were going on, or discussions taking place, between, the various Governments. It was felt that as many as possible of the communications passing ought to be made available for the use of the Parliaments, and a general understanding was reached as to the principles which should govern, the publication ol correspondence between the Governments. VII. COLONIES, PROTECTORATES, AND MANDATED TERRITORIES. The Secretary of State for the Colonies gave to the Conference, on 3rd. October, a comprehensive review, subsequently published,* of the situation in the colonies, protectorates, and mandated territories. A general discussion followed on various aspects of policy in regard to the development of the colonial Empire and the mandated territories, and great stress was laid by the representatives of the Dominions and India on, the economic importance of these parts of the world, and, in particular, on the value to the Empire as a whole of the great tropical territories in. East and West Africa and in eastern Asia. One question, touched on was the recent arrangement concluded with the Belgian. Government for the rectification, of the Ruanda boundary, and it was made clear that this rectification, still left available a strip of the British mandated territory of Tanganyika west of Lake Victoria, which could be utilized for the construction of a line north and south. The Prime Minister of Newfoundland expressed his interest.in the researches about to be undertaken, in the Antarctic by the late Captain Scott's ship " Discovery." It had already been arranged that any information obtained from these researches should be made available to the Government of the Union of South Africa, and the Duke of Devonshire undertook that the information should be supplied, also to the Newfoundland Government. It should be added that the further developments in. the Middle East, and particularly in Palestine, which occurred during the sittings of the Conference, were placed before it. The Conference took note of these developments. VIII. FOREIGN RELATIONS. The discussions on. foreign, relations were commenced on sth October, by the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, who gave to the Conference a review of the general, situation in every part of the world, and the most frank exposition, first, of the main problems which have confronted the Empire during the last two years, and, secondly, of those which seem most likely to arise in the near future. The greater part of what Lord Curzon said was necessarily of a confidential character, since it was his object to supplement the written and telegraphic communications of the past two years by giving orally to the representatives of the Dominions and India the inner history of the period, but it was thought advisable that extracts from those parts of his speech which related to subjects of immediate interest and importance--viz., the situation in. connection with the reparations problem and the Turkish Treaty—should be published forthwith.j This was a departure from the practice at previous Imperial Conferences, when statements made by the Foreign Secretary have been regarded as confidential throughout. Lord Curzon's review was followed by a general discussion on foreign relations, in which Lord Robert Cecil, as British representative on the Council of the League of Nations, all the Dominion Prime Ministers present, the Vice-President of the Executive Council, of the Irish Free State, and the three members of the Indian delegation took part.:j;

* See Appendix 11. t Sco Appendix 111. J For speeches on the work of the League of Nations, see Appendix IV.

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