CHAP, III] THE CONFERENCE OF 1911 1499 
Minister in the Conservative Government, and then one of 
the leaders of the Opposition to Sir Wilfrid Laurier’s adminis- 
tration, who made use of the subject as a convenient mode of 
attacking the Canadian Government for lack of energy in 
furthering the interests of the Imperial Conference. He 
pointed out that the published papers showed clearly that 
the Secretariat had more than fulfilled the duties which 
were cast upon them by the resolution of the Colonial Con- 
ference of 1907; that all the subjects dealt with by that 
Conference had given rise to an elaborate correspondence, 
with regard to which indifference and delay had been 
shown in a marked degree by the Canadian Government. In 
particular he pointed out how extremely slow Canada had 
been to reply to the repeated efforts of the Secretary of State 
to induce them to submit some subject for consideration at 
the Conference of 1911. He contrasted the action of New 
Zealand and that of the Commonwealth, both of which had 
brought forward a long string of subjects which they desired 
to submit to the Conference, while even the Union of South 
Africa, despite its recent formation, had sent three or four 
subjects which they desired to have discussed. Newfound- 
land itself had shown interest in the question of steamship 
communication with the United Kingdom, while Canada, 
which had brought forward that topic at the Conference of 
1907, had since let the matter rest, and had taken no further 
action with regard to it. 
In reply, Sir Wilfrid Laurier! adopted and repeated the 
eulogies pronounced by Mr. Foster on the Imperial Secre- 
tariat, showing the advantages of the adoption of the plan of 
having a secretariat in preference to the more far-reaching 
proposals for an Imperial Council which had been urged 
by Mr. Deakin at the Conference of 1907, and which he had 
been compelled to criticize on the ground that the time was 
not yet ripe for such advanced proceedings. At the same time 
he paid a very handsome compliment to Mr. Deakin, whose 
absence from the Conference of 1911 he thought was much to 
be regretted. His explanation of the failure of Canada to put 
* House of Commons Debates, 1910-1, pp. 7524-30.