HC Deb 11 February 1884 vol 284 cc416-7
SIR HENRY HOLLAND

asked the Under Secretary of State for the Colonies, Whether he will lay upon the Table a Copy of the Report of the Committee appointed to consider the office and duties of the High Commissioner of the Western Pacific; and, whether he can state what steps Her Majesty's Government propose to take with reference to that Report?

MR. EVELYN ASHLEY

Sir, the Report of the Committee referred to shall be given to the House without delay, but Her Majesty's Government have not yet been able to come to any decision, nor, indeed, to give any full consideration to the subject. The question has been materially affected by the action and resolutions of the highly important intercolonial Convention just held at Sydney. This may probably modify conclusions which might otherwise have been arrived at, and the recommendations of the Report may prove to be, in some respects, inapplicable to the altered conditions of the case.