THE LUNCHEON, 
The PRESIDENT (Sir Arthur Balfour, K.B.E.) presided 
over the Luncheon, at which the principal guest was the 
Rt. Hon. S. M. Bruce, M.C., M.P., the Prime Minister of 
Australia. 
The PRESIDENT, in calling upon Mr. Bruce to speak, 
explained that he was unable to attend the Dinner in the 
evening, and he had, therefore, kindly consented to come to 
Lunch, when he would have a good opportunity of meeting 
the leaders of industry and commerce in the country. 
The Rt. Hon. S. M. BRUCE, M.C., M.P. (Prime Minister 
of Australia), who was received with loud cheers on rising to 
speak, said : Mr. President, my Lords and Gentlemen, I think 
you will agree with me that the Chairman did not give me 
very much help. I came here full of hope that having come 
to business men I was going to hear some profound senti- 
ments ‘uttered by the Chairman which would blaze the track 
which I ought to follow, but like so many Chairmen, he has 
completely betrayed me and left me stranded. 
I regret very much that I will not be able to come to 
your Dinner to-night, because naturally when the day’s work 
is done, or when it ought to be done, people are more tolerant 
of - the person who gets up and insists on expressing his views 
at very considerable length. The middle of the day is a 
time when impatience soon begins to demonstrate itself, and 
one cannot elaborate on any subject at great length. But 
there are one or two things I want to say, and I will say 
them as briefly as I possibly can. Some of you may have 
noticed that I appear to be very much more interested in the 
economic side of this Conference than I am in what might be 
called the imperial side. That impression is not really 
a correct one, because I am equally interested in every side 
of the question that we have to consider. (Hear, hear.) 
But I have got a profound conviction that the possibilities of 
doing anything effective with regard to the great questions we 
are considering at the Imperial Conference is entirely dependent 
on what we do at the Economic Conference, (Hear, hear.) 
Britain in the past has been a great nation and has had 
a great position in the world. Her voice in the councils of the 
nations has transcended that of any other power. Her defence 
has been secure and her safety has been assured, but all those 
things have depended upon Britain’s proud position in the com- 
mercial world, and the great position that she has held amongst