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and attention was directed to the bearing of these interests on the conduct of foreign relations. Satisfaction was expressed at the improvement in the relations of the European Powers since the Conference of 1923, and it was felt that His Majesty's Government in Great Britain were to be congratulated on their contribution towards the promotion of the peace of the world. The discussion made it clear that the Governments of the British Empire remain firmly attached to a policy of peace and to support of the League of Nations as the great instrument of peace. It was decided not to publish any part of the Foreign Secretary's statement or of the resulting discussion. Subsequent sections of this report give an account of particular questions affecting foreign affairs which were studied during the Conference by the representatives of the Governments particularly concerned. Certain other questions, which raised more general issues, were remitted to the Committee on Inter-Imperial Relations under the chairmanship of Lord Balfour, viz. : — (ia) Compulsory arbitration in international disputes. (b) Adherence of the United States of America to the protocol establishing the Permanent Court of International Justice. (c) The policy of Locarno. The parts of the report of Lord Balfour's Committee dealing with these three questions will be found above. As already indicated, that report and the resolution submitted by the Committee with regard to the policy of Locarno were unanimously approved by the Conference. VIII. COLONIES, PROTECTORATES, AND MANDATED TERRITORIES. On the 21st October the Secretary of State for the Colonies made a statement to the Conference in which he reviewed the developments in the colonies, protectorates, and mandated territories since 1923. Mr. Amery opened by a description of the variety and size of the Colonial Empire, ranging from small self-governing communities like the island of Malta to the vast possessions in tropical Africa. He then emphasized its interest and economic importance to other parts of the Empire, pointing out that its total trade, which had expanded enormously in recent years, was now over £500,000,000 per annum. He laid stress on the importance for the future to the rest of the Empire of the adequate development of these great areas, over 2,000,000 square miles in extent, lying mainly in the tropics, and on the fact that production in the tropics was complementary to the industrial production of the temporate zones. Development had hitherto been retarded owing to lack of transport facilities and also to underpopulation. He made a comparison with the United States of America, pointing out that the British Empire included greater territory and more diversified resources. After describing the openings for candidates from the Dominions in the services of the various colonies, Mr. Amery reviewed briefly events in the different portions of the Colonial Empire during the last three years. He mentioned that the outstanding event for the West Indies had been the holding of a most successful conference in London which had evolved a scheme for the establishment of a standing body to deal with their common affairs ; while there had been a conference on trade and shipping with the Government of Canada at Ottawa in 1925 which had further strengthened and developed the relations established in 1920. He referred to the great potential value of the Imperial College of Tropical Agriculture in Trinidad to the future of agriculture in the tropical Empire. In other spheres of research the needs of the whaling industry were being carefully examined through the work being carried out by R.R.S. " Discovery" in the Antarctic. Passing to tropical Africa, Mr. Amery described the extremely successful tour of the Prince of Wales in 1925, and. referred to the spontaneous enthusiasm with which His Royal Highness was greeted wherever he went. He proceeded to lay stress on the importance of policy in regard to public health and native education. He referred to the visits of Mr. Ormsby-Gore to East Africa two years ago with a Parliamentary Commission, and to West Africa this year.

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