§ Captain TRYONasked the Undersecretary for the Colonies what special accommodation for the work of the Imperial Secretariat has been provided in the Colonial Office, and if that accommodation has been exclusively reserved for the purposes of the Secretariat?
§ The UNDER-SECRETARY of STATE for the COLONIES (Colonel Seely)It has not been found necessary to provide special accommodation for the work of the Secretariat, that work being closely linked with the work of the Dominions Department, as was contemplated in Lord Elgin's despatch of 21st September, 1907. See Cd. 3795.
§ Captain TRYONasked what is the establishment of the permanent secretarial staff in the Colonial Office created in accordance with the first resolution of the Colonial Conference of 1907; whether the personnel of the Colonial Office was increased in order to provide this staff; what were the salaries paid to this staff; and what other duties, if any, were any of this staff called upon to perform?
§ Colonel SEELYThe Secretary to the Imperial Conference has been assisted from time to time by three other members of the staff of the Dominions Department of the Colonial Office; the personnel of the Colonial Office was not specially increased for the purpose; the salaries paid to these officers are those regularly paid to members of the Colonial Office of their respective ranks, and they receive no other special remuneration; the officials in question are engaged in the general work of the Dominions Department, and the Secretary to the Imperial Conference in particular, in his position as an Assistant Under-Secretary of State, has had special charge of South African business. A clear line of division cannot be drawn between the work of the Secretariat and that of the Dominions Department as a whole.
Sir GILBERT PARKERDo I understand the right hon. Gentleman to say that the Secretary of the Imperial Conference receives no salary apart from his-regular official salary?
§ Colonel SEELYHe receives no special salary as such.
§ Captain TRYONThen are the three officials mentioned not exclusively engaged but only give a portion of their time?
§ Colonel SEELYI believe we shall have an opportunity of discussing this subject in the course of to-day's Debate. It is obvious there would not be anything like enough work for them to do in connection with the Imperial Conference, which only meets once in every four years.
§ Mr. MACKINDERasked what progress had been made by the Imperial Secretariat in the preparation of the agenda for the Imperial Conference of 1911; and whether memoranda prepared by the Secretariat in regard to the proposed agenda had yet been circulated among the governments of the self-governing Dominions?
§ Colonel SEELYThe Governments of the self-governing Dominions have not as yet indicated the subjects which they desire to raise at the next Imperial Conference, and it has therefore not been possible so far to settle the programme of agenda. On 12th February, 1909, the Secretary of State invited the governments of the Dominions to take into consideration the question of the business which might usefully be discussed at the next Conference, with a view to the suggestion of any subjects which in their opinion should in the interests of the Empire at large engage its attention. The only answers received were from three of the South African Governments indicating that the question of proposing any subjects for discussion must be left to the Union Government about to be established. On 9th March, 1910, the attention of the other Governments were again drawn to the question by telegraph. So far as His Majesty's Government are concerned, correspondence has been proceeding with the various departments as to subjects suitable to be proposed for discussion.
§ Mr. MACKINDERasked on what subjects the Imperial Secretariat had been engaged in each of the years 1907, 1908, 1909, and 1910, in compliance with the resolution of the last Colonial Conference charging it with the duty of obtaining information for the use of the Conference and of attending to its resolutions?
§ Colonel SEELYThe Secretariat, acting under the direction of the Secretary of State, has discharged its functions in seeing that such action as was required 926 or was practicable was taken with regard to the resolutions of the last Conference. The various members of the Conference have been kept informed of the action taken on the subject of the resolutions and have been supplied with the Parliamentary Papers on matters likely to be of interest to them, such as those enumerated in Appendix II. to the Report recently published on the work of the Dominions Department of the Colonial Office (Cd. 5135).
§ Mr. STEEL-MAITLANDasked whether the date for the next Colonial Conference bad yet been fixed; if so, whether he would state when it will be held, and whether he would lay upon the Table papers showing what arrangements had been made in connection with it?
§ Colonel SEELYThe precise date for the next meeting of the Conference has not yet been fixed; it cannot well be settled until the date of the King's Coronation has been decided upon. The Conference will, of course, be held at a convenient date next year.
§ Mr. STEEL-MAITLANDCan the Under-Secretary tell us whether it is. proposed to hold the Conference before or after the date of the Coronation?
§ Colonel SEELYNo; that I could not possibly say. In any case, that of course would be a question for the Prime Minister.
§ Mr. STEEL-MAITLANDasked the Prime Minister whether he will cause to be circulated as a Parliamentary Paper the list of subjects to be brought before the next Imperial Conference and any memoranda, not being confidential, prepared in connection with those subjects; and whether he will afford an opportunity for a full discussion of the scope of the Conference before the end of the present Session?
§ The PRIME MINISTERI am not in a position to give any such undertaking, pending the receipt of the proposals from the Dominion Governments as to subjects to be discussed at the next Conference.
§ Mr. STEEL-MAITLANDMay I ask the right hon. Gentleman whether he will have circulated a list of the subjects which His Majesty's Government propose should be discussed, though he cannot give an undertaking that they will be discussed?
§ The PRIME MINISTERIt would be premature to do that at present. The matter is under discussion.