1510 IMPERIAL UNITY [PART VIII
view of the frankness with which the Imperial Government
had taken the Dominion Ministers into their confidence, that
there should be some subsidiary body to facilitate closer
communication, and he agreed that such a body, if established,
 should be purely advisory. Mr. Batchelor 1 thought
that the advisability of such a standing committee was not
open to doubt, especially in view of the fact that no question
could be referred to the committee without the consent of
all the Dominion Governments. But General Botha? was
quite unable to accept the proposal. He pointed out that the
object of the Conference required the attendance of members
of ministerial standing, and that it would be unsatisfactory
if some ministers sent their High Commissioners to represent
them and others were represented by ministers. He was
wholly in favour of subsidiary Conferences to which ministers
would be sent, but he could not accept a standing committee
which would interfere in any way with the work of the
responsible Governments. Sir Edward Morris3 shared
General Botha’s view. Nothing could be done with the
proposed committee which could not be done by the various
public departments in correspondence with the Dominions
through the Colonial Office. Conferences were not able
really to do much work directly ; the present Conference
had had a comprehensive agenda put before it, but the net
result would probably only be one or two important matters
which were not on the agenda at all. To set up the proposed
body would lead to circumlocution and confusion.
Sir Wilfrid Laurier ¢ viewed with serious apprehension the
intervention of any body whatever between the Home
Government and the Governments of the Dominions. The
relations between the Dominions and the Mother Country
should be carried on directly by the Governments themselves.
The organization of the Colonial Office had given ample
satisfaction, and he thought that matters should be left as
they were. The views of South Africa were reinforced by
Mr. Malan,” who thought that the committee would lower
Cd. 5745, p. 176. ® Ibid., pp. 177-9.
Ibid., pp. 177, 180. * Ibid., pp. 180, 181. 5 Tbid., pp. 182, 183.