1516 IMPERIAL UNITY [PART VIII
claimed this to be a sound principle in the interests of the
Empire. The Declaration itself he thought an advance
upon the existing position, and he held that the balance of
advantage was clearly in favour of ratification.
Sir Edward Morris! on behalf of Newfoundland, similarly
welcomed the readiness of the Imperial Government to
accept for the future the principle of consultation, and he
thought that the creation of an International Prize Court
and the definition of its sphere of operations by the Declara-
tion were of great value.
Mr. Fisher ? then expressed his readiness to move a new
resolution in place of that which he had brought forward.
The new resolution, which was drafted in consultation with
the Imperial Government. ran -—
That this Conference, after hearing the Secretary of State
tor Foreign Affairs, cordially welcomes? the proposal of the
[mperial Government, viz. :
(a) That the Dominions shall be afforded an opportunity
of consultation when framing the instructions to be given to
British delegates at future meetings of the Hague Conference,
and that Conventions affecting the Dominions provisionally
assented to at that Conference shall be circulated among the
Dominion Governments for their consideration ; and
(b) That a similar procedure, when time and opportunity
and the subject-matter permit, shall as far as possible be used
when preparing instructions for negotiation of other inter-
national agreements affecting the Dominions.
This resolution was unanimously accepted, the qualifica-
tion under the second head being sufficient to remove the
objections felt by Sir Wilfrid Laurier to any system under
which the Dominions should claim an absolute right of being
consulted as to international treaties, thus bringing upon
themselves the corresponding absolute obligation to take
active part in British wars.
Sir Joseph Ward * then suggested that the Conference
ought to pass a resolution in favour of the ratification of the
' Cd. 5745, pp. 129, 130. ? Ibid., pp. 130 seq.
* A phrase suggested by Sir E, Morris as more appropriate than concurs’
' od. 5745, p. 132.
