A.—6

On the other hand, there was obvious difficulty in according to the representatives in London of any of His Majesty's Governments a status which would place them in a position higher than that accorded not only to His Majesty's principal Ministers in the United Kingdom, but also to the members of the respectiveDominion Governments when they were visiting the United Kingdom. As the result of the discussion His Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom intimated that they were prepared to recommend to the King that the Dominion High Commissioners should on all ceremonial occasions (other than those when Ministers of the Crown from the respective Dominions were present) rank immediately after Secretaries of State—that is, before all Cabinet Ministers in the United Kingdom, except Secretaries of State and those Ministers who already have higher precedence than Secretaries of State. It had been ascertained that, if such a recommendation were made to the King, His Majesty would be graciously pleased to approve it. As regards the position of the representative of a Dominion in relation to a Minister of the Crown visiting the United Kingdom from that Dominion, the existing position would remain unaltered —that is, normally a Minister of the Crown from a Dominion visiting the United Kingdom would be given precedence immediately before the High Commissioner concerned. The representatives of the United Kingdom at the Conference expressed the hope that His Majesty's Governments in the Dominions would consider the question of recommending equivalent precedence for any High Commissioner appointed by His Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom in a Dominion. ANNEX. DRAFT AGREEMENT AS TO BRITISH COMMONWEALTH MERCHANT SHIPPING. His Majesty's Governments in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Canada, the Commonwealth of Australia, New Zealand, the Union of South Africa, the Irish Free State, and Newfoundland, and the Government of India, having considered the report of the Conference on the Operation of Dominion Legislation and Merchant Shipping Legislation, 1929, undertake to propose any necessary legislation and take such other steps as may be required for the purpose of giving full effect to the provisions of the present agreement with regard to Merchant Shipping. Part I. —Common Status. Part II. —Standards of Safety. Pari 111. —Extra-territorial Operation of Laws. Part IV.—Equal Treatment. Part V. —Ships' Articles, Internal Discipline, and Engagement and Discharge of Seamen. Part VI. —Certificates of Officers. Part Vll.—Shipping Enquiries. Part VIII. —Belief and Repatriation of Seamen : Wages and Effects of deceased Seamen. Part IX. —Offences on Board Ship. Part X. — General. Interpretation. Article I. —ln this agreement, unless the context otherwise requires, the following expression has the meaning hereby assigned to it, that is to say — " Part of the Commonwealth " means any Part of the British Commonwealth of Nations the Government of which is a party to this agreement. Part I.—Common Status. ( '(milium Qualifications. Article 2. —(1) No ship shall he registered in any pori within the British Commonwealth so as to acquire the status and recognition mentioned i.i paragraph ('!) of this Article unless it is owned wholly by persons of the following description, namely : — (a) Persons recognized by law throughout the British Commonwealth of Nations as having the status of natural-born British subjects : (b) Persons naturalized by or in pursuance of the law of some Part of the British Commonwealth ; (c) Persons made denizens by letters of denization ; and (d) Bodies corporate established under and subject to the law of some Part of the British Commonwealth, and having their principal place of business within the British Commonwealth. (2) Every ship so owned and duly registered within the British Commonwealth shall possess a common status for all purposes, and shall be entitled to the recognition usually accorded to British ships.

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