A.—6a

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last, and amended after consultation between the British Admiralty and Board of Trade, should be adopted throughout the Empire as the basis on which an international convention might be concluded. This amended draft is as follows :— " Immunity of Stale-owned Ships. " (Amended Draft: October 26, 1923.) " Article I.—Vessels owned or operated by States for trading purposes, cargoes owned by them, and cargo and passengers carried on such vessels, and the States owning or operating such vessels, shall be subjected in respect of claims relating to the operation of such vessels or to such cargoes to the same rules of legal liability (i.e., liability to be sued for payment) and to the same obligations as those applicable to private vessels, persons, or cargo. " Article 2.—Such liabilities shall be enforceable by the tribunals having jurisdiction over and by the procedure applicable to a privately owned ship or cargo, or the owner thereof. " Article 3.—Ships of war, State yachts, surveying-vessels, hospital ships, and other vessels owned or operated by States and employed on other than trading purposes shall continue to enjoy the respective privileges and immunities hitherto enjoyed by them by the comity of nations. Liabilities against such ships in respect of collisions or salvage claims shall, however, be enforceable, but only by action before the competent tribunals of the State owning or operating such vessels ; and no such vessel shall be liable to arrest. Similarly, State-owned cargo carried for non-commercial purposes in ships owned or operated by the State shall not be subject to seizure, but shall be liable to process of law, but only in the Courts of the State owning such vessels. " Article 4.—The provisions of this Convention will be applied in every contracting State in all cases where the claimant is a citizen of one of the contracting States, provided, always that nothing in this Convention shall prevent any of the contracting States from settling by its own laws the rights allowed to its citizens before its own Courts. " Article s.—This Convention shall not be binding on a belligerent State in respect of claims arising during the period of belligerency" 5. IMPERIAL POLICY WITH REGARD TO THE IMPORT AND EXPORT OF LIVE-STOCK. After consideration of this question the Imperial Economic Conference decided that steps should be taken to promote inter-Imperial trade in pedigree stock throughout the Empire as a whole on reciprocal terms, subject always to satisfactory precautions being taken against the introduction of disease. It was further agreed that a Conference should be arranged between representatives of His Majesty's Government anei the Canadian Government to consider the question of the administrative interpretation of the terms of the Importation eff Animals Act, 1922. 6. IMPERIAL POLICY WITH REGARD TO FORESTRY. It was decided to adopt the following resolution : — That the Imperial Economic Conference accepts generally the resolutions of the Empire Forestry Conference (Canada, 1923), and recommends them to the respective Governments of the Empire for their favourable consideration.* 7. WORKMEN'S COMPENSATION. It was decided to adopt the following resolutions : — Resolution I. Non-resident Workmen. That this Imperial Economic Conference, taking note of the existing restrictions in the workmen's compensation laws of certain parts of the British Empire on the payment of benefits to workmen and their dependants on the ground of non-residence in the State in which the accident happened, and having regard to the tendency of such restrictions to discourage movement within the Empire, is of opinion that no British subject who is permanently incapacitated, and no dependant of a British subject who has been killed, by accident due to his employment in any part of the Empire should be excluded from any benefit to which he would otherwise be entitled under the workmen's compensation law of that part of the Empire on the ground of his removal to or residence in another part of the Empire. Resolution 11. Seamen. That this Imperial Economic Conference, having had its attention drawn to cases where British sailors injured by accident while serving on ships registered in some part of the Empire have had no claim to compensation owing to the law of that part of the Empire being restricted, in its application to seamen, to accidents occurring within territorial waters or other limited area, is of opinion that the Government of any such part of the Empire should ensure that the benefits of its compensation law will extend to all accidents to seamen serving on ships registered within such part of the Empire wherever the ship may be when the accident takes place. And, furthermore, the Conference invites the Government of any British colony or protectorate where there is a register of shipping, but where legislation giving compensation rights to seamen does not at present exist, to consider the adoption of such legislation.

*See page 270.