to ensure peace in Europe, culminating in the agreements of Locarno; and congratulates His Majesty's Government in Great Britain on its share in this successful contribution towards the promotion of the peace of the world."

Signed on behalf of the Committee,

November 18, 1926.

BALFOUR, Chairman.

APPENDIX

[See Section V (a)]

SPECIMEN FORM OF TREATY.

The President of the United States of America, His Majesty the King of the Belgians, His Majesty the King [here insert His Majesty's full title], His Majesty the King of Bulgaria, &c., &c.

Desiring

Have resolved to conclude a treaty for that purpose and to that end have appointed as their Plenipotentiaries:

The President

His Majesty the King [title as above]:

for Great Britain and Northern Ireland and all parts of the British Empire which are not separate Members of the League (of Nations),

for the Dominion of Canada,

AB.

CD.

for the Commonwealth of Australia,

EF.

for the Dominion of New Zealand,

GH.

for the Union of South Africa,

IJ.

for the Irish Free State,

KL.

for India,

MN.

who, having communicated their full powers, found in good and due form, have agreed as follows:

In faith whereof the above-named Plenipotentiaries have signed the present Treaty.

AB

CD.

EF

GH.

IJ.

KL.

MN...

(or if the territory for which each Plenipotentiary signs is to be specified:

On the 20th October, the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs made to the Conference a comprehensive statement on foreign affairs, and on the invitation of the Conference His Majesty's High Commissioner in Egypt attended and made a more detailed statement on the position and prospects in that country.

These statements were followed on the 25th October by a general discussion on foreign affairs, in which the Prime Ministers of Canada, the Commonwealth of Australia, New Zealand, the Union of South Africa, and Newfoundland, Mr. O'Higgins, for the Irish Free State, Lord Winterton on behalf of the Indian Delegation, and Mr. Lapointe for Canada, took part. General appreciation was expressed of Sir Austen Chamberlain's review.

Opportunity was also taken to explain those aspects of foreign relations with which the Dominion Governments had been specially concerned during the last three years, in particular the various matters on which negotiations had been carried on between His Majesty's Government in Canada and the Government of the United States of America.

As in 1923, emphasis was laid on the vital importance to the British Empire of the maintenance of the route to the East and South Pacific via the Suez Canal, 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:

(a) 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 emphasised 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 temperate zones. Development had hitherto been retarded owing to lack of transport facilities and also to under-population. 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 year. 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 at 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.

He pointed out the great expansion in trade in both East and west Africa, and alluded to the £10,000,000 which His Majesty's Government in Great Britain had decided to guarantee for increasing transport facilities in East Africa. He also mentioned the recent establishment of a Governors' Conference in East Africa and the successful completion in the past summer of the negotiations as to control of the Rhodesian railway system. He then referred to the great prosperity of Ceylon and Malaya, alluding to the importance of the rubber restriction scheme. Hong Kong, on the other hand, had been through a difficult period owing to the serious situation in China and the Canton boycott of shipping. After describing the great improvement in the political situation in Palestine and its steady development, Mr. Amery ended his review with a reference to the successful conclusion of the negotiations regarding the Mosul Frontier and to the undeveloped resources of the Kingdom of Iraq.

This review was followed by statements from the Prime Ministers of the Commonwealth of Australia, New Zealand, and the Union of South Africa, regarding the position in New Guinea, Western Samoa, and South-West Africa, and by a statement from the Prime Minister of Canada regarding the Canada and West Indies Trade Agreement, 1925.

Mr. Bruce emphasised the great importance of New Guinea to Australia. He dwelt especially on the public health policy now being pursued there, on the need for a system of training for its administrative officers, and on its possibilities of economic development. Mr. Coates, described, in particular, the economic progress made and also the development of self-government amongst the natives of Western Samoa. General Hertzog gave a short account of the progressive stages in the constitutional and administrative development of South-West Africa during the last few years; he also mentioned the recent negotiations between the Union and Portuguese Governments as to the Angola-South-West Africa Boundary.

All these statements were subsequently published.

Discussion also took place as to various matters of common interest affecting Mandated Territories. These are dealt with in Section IX of this Report.

IX.-QUESTIONS CONNECTED WITH THE WORK OF THE PERMANENT MANDATES COMMISSION OF THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS

Questions of common interest in relation to Mandated Territories were referred to a special Committee which included representatives of Great Britain, the Commonwealth of Australia, New Zealand, and the Union of South Africa. This Committee had under consideration two questions raised by the Permanent Mandates Commission in their report to the Council of the League upon which the Council had invited all the Mandatory Governments to express an opinion, namely, whether petitioners from Mandated Territories should be heard in person by the Commission, and whether the questionnaire proposed by the Commission should be adopted by the Council of the League as a basis for the annual reports on "B" and "C" Mandated Territories.

The Governments represented on the Committee found themselves in complete agreement on these matters, and, at the instance of the Committee, the Conference approved the terms of a Note which the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, on behalf of His Majesty's Government in Great Britain, proposed to send to the Secretary-General of the League of Nations.

The Report of the Committee and the Note sent by the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs to the Secretary-General of the League have been published.

X.-CONDOMINIUM IN THE NEW HEBRIDES

The further developments in the New Hebrides since the Imperial Conference of 1923 were examined by representatives of His Majesty's Government in Great Britain in consultation with the Prime Ministers of the Commonwealth of Australia and New Zealand, and agreement reached on the policy to be followed.

XI. BRITISH POLICY IN THE ANTARCTIC

The question of Antarctic exploration was discussed between representatives of the Governments interested. There are certain areas in these regions to which a British title already exists by virtue of discovery. These areas include:

(i) The outlying part of Coats Land, viz., the portion not comprised within the Falkland Islands Dependencies.

(ii) Enderby Land.

(iii) Kemp Land.

(iv) Queen Mary Land.

(v) The area which lies to the west of Adélie Land and which on its discovery by the Australian Antarctic Expedition in 1912 was denominated Wilkes Land.

(vi) King George V Land.

(vii) Oates Land.

The representatives of the Governments concerned studied the information available concerning these areas with special reference to their possible utilization for further developing exploration and scientific research in the Antarctic regions.

XII.-DEFENCE

The Conference gave much consideration to the question of defence, and to the methods by which the defence arrangements of each part of the Empire could be most effectively co-ordinated.

The Prime Minister of Great Britain initiated the discussions on the 26th October by a review of the work and organization of the Committee of Imperial Defence, in the course of which he emphasized the purely advisory and consultative character of this body. He also outlined the chief developments which had taken place since the last Conference, notably the creation of the Chiefs of Staff Sub-Committee and the decision to establish an Imperial Defence College.

After a reference to the progress already made and to the further steps to be taken in the development of the naval base at Singapore, Mr. Baldwin mentioned that the pursuance of this policy had been greatly facilitated by the contributions of the Federated Malay States, Hong Kong, and the Straits Settlements.

Mr. Baldwin was followed by the Senior Officer of the Chiefs of Staff SubCommittee (Admiral of the Fleet Earl Beatty) in a survey of the general strategic situation, and by the Secretary of State for India in a summary of the special problems of Indian defence.

The discussions were renewed on the 15th November, when statements were made by the Prime Ministers of Canada, the Commonwealth of Australia, New Zealand, and Newfoundland, by Mr. Havenga for the Union of South Africa, by Mr. O'Higgins for the Irish Free State, and by the Maharaja of Burdwan for India.

Meetings also took place at the Admiralty, the War Office, and the Air Ministry, in which the situation from the standpoint of His Majesty's Government in Great Britain was presented in greater detail, and other phases of common interest were considered at a meeting held at the Offices of the Committee of Imperial Defence.

Much interest attached to the opportunities afforded for observation of the various arms of the Service in operation, notably the naval review off Portland, the Army mechanical display at Camberley, and the air demonstrations at Croydon and Cardington. Apart from their interest from the point of view of defence, these displays revealed technical developments in mechanical traction and in aviation which may prove of importance in their application for civilian

purposes.

The information thus obtained and the opinions exchanged will, it is believed, prove of much practical value in aiding the several Governments of the Empire in the determination of their policies of defence, and are commended to their most careful consideration.

The Conclusions reached by the Imperial Conference on the subject of Defence may be summarized as follows: