1506 IMPERIAL UNITY [PART VIII
of members of the House of Commons in favour of steps being
taken to associate the Dominions with the conduct of Imperial
affairs? From the Imperial point of view the authority of
the Government of the United Kingdom would be hopelessly
impaired by the creation of the new Council, and from the
point of view of the Dominions the new Council would inter-
fere with their self-government.
The resolutions proposed by the Government of New
Zealand for the reconstruction of the Colonial Office were not
formally moved by Sir Joseph Ward, because, with his permis-
sion, the Secretary of State for the Colonies,? with a view to
abbreviating the discussion, put forward certain suggestions
of the Imperial Government with regard to the matter.
Mr. Harcourt explained that the office was already in effect
completely divided below the Permanent Under-Secretary
of State. There were the Dominions Department and the
Crown Colonies Department, and in common the General
Department, including the legal branch, the registries,
the library, the accounts branch, the copying branch, the
printing branch, and honours, and similar questions. The
Imperial Government were prepared to create two Permanent
Under-Secretaries if desired, but for office purposes it would
be difficult, and again, the only person, if the change were
made, who had experience of the Dominions and Crown
Colonies work would be the political chief.
Moreover, it would no doubt be desired by both Australia
and New Zealand that the Dominions Under-Secretary
should have knowledge of the work in the Pacific and in the
South ‘African Protectorates, and even Canada was interested
in the West Indies® Then as regards the Secretariat, there
* See House of Commons Debates, April 19, 1911, xxiv. 957 seq. Special
stress was laid in this somewhat academic discussion on the advantages of
a full explanation of foreign politics being made to the Prime Ministers of
the Dominions. ® Cd. 5745, pp. 76 seq.
* Cf. the proposal in Bahamas in 1911 for union with Canada, and the
Royal Commission of 1910 for the consideration of the relations of Canada
and the West Indies ; see its Report in Cd. 5369, and cf. Cd. 5582, pp. 7,8;
4991, 5370, 5371. Canada and the West Indies co-operate in a steamer
service for coods and mails : ef. Cd. 86. 3096.
