JHAP. IT] THE CONFERENCE OF 1911 1511
the status of the Dominions as compared with that of the
United Kingdom, for if it were advisory to the Secretary of
State, it would seem to follow that the conference itself
would be merely advisory to the Secretary of State. If,
moreover, the High Commissioners sat on the committee,
there would be no advantage over the present position, for
the High Commissioners were officials only, and they could
not, like Prime Ministers assembled in Conference, be
expected to take the larger view of the interests of the whole
country and even of the whole Empire. The day might
come when different arrangements might have to be made,
but when it did come these arrangements must be on the
sound British principle, not of government by officials, but
of government by persons elected by, and responsible to
the people.
As a result of the discussion Mr. Harcourt! immediately
declared that there was not sufficient unanimity to make it
worth while to proceed with the proposal. The suggestion
was made in order to meet what was understood to be the
wish of some of the Dominions, and it did not represent any
conscious want on the part of the Home Government. Sir
Joseph Ward 2 much regretted the rejection of the proposal,
and he laid stress upon the necessity of some means of
continuing the work of the Conference during the interval
when it was not in session, and on the great difficulty of
sending ministers from so distant a place as New Zealand
to sit on subsidiary Conferences, and without such subsidiary
Conferences it was impossible for the Dominion Governments
to co-operate. The proposal would not in any way have
prejudiced the position with regard to the Imperial Council
which he had proposed, and he was sure that that Council
would come in any case when public opinion was ripe for
such a reform.
Finally Sir Joseph Ward formally withdrew his resolution,
and the Government of South Africa withdrew their resolu-
tion in favour of placing the Dominions Department of the
Colonial Office under the Prime Minister ; this was shown
' Cd. 5745, p. 193. 2 Thid., pp. 188 seq.
