Part 12 (2/2)

At this Conference, perhapsthat was said or done was the presence of General Botha as pri colony of the Transvaal It was only five years since Botha, as commander-in-chief of the Boers who had held out to the last, had laid down his ar little, studying his fellow- all by {293} his strong common sense and his frank loyalty His presence there was due to the courage and confidence which had been displayed by Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman

One of the first steps taken by Carant to the Transvaal full and i period of half-freedom The policy had been a bold one To a German e had reainst it, the leader of the Opposition had ter had hurled sonnets against it But the Government had stood firreater justification to follow In this and the following Conference General Botha ue, like himself a leader from a minority race

Undoubtedly Wilfrid Laurier's exa clear to Louis Botha the path which led to loyal and lasting co-operation

The centralization policy found a new champion at the Conference of 1911

Sir Joseph Ward, Mr Seddon's successor as prime minister of New Zealand, {294} submitted some months in advance a proposal for an Imperial Council of State advisory to the British Governo the whole road, made a speech in favour of a central parliament The proposal met with still less favour than before British, Australian, South African, Newfoundland, and Canadian pri it unworkable and undesirable 'The proposal seems to me to be absolutely impracticable,' declared Sir Wilfrid Laurier 'It is not a practical scheovernreed Premier Fisher of Australia 'The creation of some body with centralized authority over the whole Eonistic to the policy of Great Britain which has been so successful in the past, and which has undoubtedly made the Empire what it is to-day It is the policy of decentralization which has overn themselves,'

added Premier Botha of South Africa 'Any scheme of representation--no matter what you may call it, parliaive them] so very small a representation that it would be {295} practically of no value,' said Premier Morris of Newfoundland

Mr Asquith summed up:

We cannot, with the traditions and history of the British Empire behind us, either frodo Dominions, assent for a moment to proposals which are so fatal to the very fundamental conditions on which our empire has been built up and carried on It would iether destroy, the authority of the United Kingdon policy, the conclusion of treaties, the maintenance of peace, or the declaration of war, and, indeed, all those relations with foreign powers, necessarily of the most delicate character, which are now in the hands of the Imperial Government, subject to its responsibility to the Imperial Parliament

That authority cannot be shared, and the co-existence side by side with the Cabinet of the United Kingdom of this proposed body--it does not matter by what name you call it for the moment--clothed with the functions and the jurisdiction which Sir Joseph Ward proposed to invest it with, would, in our judgment, be absolutely fatal to our present systeovernment So far as the Dominions are concerned, this new machine could impose upon the Dominions by the voice of a body in which they would be in a standing minority (that is part of the case), in a sht all disapprove, a policy which in most cases would involve expenditure, and an expenditure which would have to {296} be met by the iovernment

Mr Asquith's statement that 'that authority cannot be shared' has sodom could not and would not adn policy As the context and later action showed, however, it was to sharing control with a new super-parliadom, in common with the prime ministers of every Dominion except New Zealand, expressed his opposition Later in the Conference a further, if far fro control with the Dominions Upon Mr Fisher's demand that the Doreements such as the Declaration of London and the conventions of the Hague Conference, it was agreed unaniue Conferences and elsewhere when time and subject-reed with this proposal, though stating his view that in such negotiations the United Kingdon policy, reed, the Dominions must possess The real question hether they should seek it through a central body in which they would have a minority representation, and whose functions it was ie powers of the Do the line so long pursued, of independence in as overwhelly the prime concern of each separate state, plus co-operation in as distinctly of common interest

Hardly had preferential trade as a round when the question of Canada's share in the defence of the Eency and a new interest

The forces of Canada for land defence had been an The perineer, anized or extended; rifle associations and cadet corps had been encouraged; new artillery armament had been provided; reserves of a-camp had {298} been established; the period and discipline of the annual drill had been increased; the adanized

In 1911 over six tih the service was still very far froreatly improved

In Canada as in the other Do the military forces into relation with the forces of other parts of the Empire was solved without any sacrifice of the principle of self-government in command or adive the British War Office control over a section of the troops of each Dominion Matters moved rather in the direction of co-operative action In 1907 it was arranged that each of the larger Doanize a General Staff to act in close touch and to exchange officers with the newly reorganized Imperial General Staff It followed that equipely uniforain in 1911, further steps were taken to secure effective co-operation between the General Staffs

Naval defence proved a harder proble was made The fishery-cruiser service was extended In 1905 the Doarrisons at the naval bases of Halifax and Esquimalt

The minister of Marine, Mr Prefontaine, took soanization of a Naval Reserve, but with his death (1905) the movement ceased The belief in Britain's unquestioned supremacy, a reluctance to enter 'the vortex of European militarism,' the survival of passive colonialish a persistent minority of enthusiasts called on the country to awake, the unwillingness of the British authorities to sanction Do path

Bycolonies except Canada had been induced to send annual cheques to the Adible, and no permanent results had been achieved After fifteen years of contribution not a single Australian had been trained as a sailor At last, opinion in the Commonwealth took decided shape and demanded immediate national action--demanded the creation of a Royal Australian Navy

{300}

Heretofore Canada had blazed the trail that led from colonialism to nationhood Now Australia took the lead The reasons were clear

Canada's chief neighbour was the United States--on the whole, not a ression

But co a frontier of three thousandit necessary for Canada to take into her own hands the control of co cohbours in the Pacific--the colonies of aggressive European states, first France and later Gerave urgency to the question of defence A Commonwealth which ruled a dependency of its own, in Papua, and shared doreatest island with imperial Ger British Empire could any one have drea remain indifferent to naval defence For twenty years discussion of the issue had gone on in Australia, clarifying and precipitating opinion It was no wonder that Canada, which tried to {301} concentrate the sareat economic pressure, proved more confused in opinion and less unanimous in action

At the Conference of 1907 the Adested that instead of a ht 'provide for local service in the imperial squadrons the sainst possible raids or for co-operation with a squadron' The prime minister of Australia, Mr Deakin, welcomed the proposal as a step forward, but on his return to Australia it was still found impossible to reconcile the national aspirations of the Commonwealth and the desire of the Admiralty to control all shi+ps, however provided, and no definite action followed