CHAP. III] THE CONFERENCE OF 1911 1547
were held in any one of the Dominions. Accordingly it was
agreed to adopt the resolution in the following form :—
That in the opinion of this Conference it is desirable that
ministers of the United Kingdom and the Dominions should
between the Conferences exchange reciprocal visits so as to
make themselves personally acquainted with all the various
parts of the Empire.
That the Government of the United Kingdom should take
into consideration the possibility of holding a meeting of the
Conference or a subsidiary Conference in one of the oversea
Dominions.
S 5. NAVAL AND MILITARY DEFENCE
Naval and military defences were not discussed at the
Conference itself, but were relegated for consideration at
the Committee of Imperial Defence.
Advantage was taken of this arrangement in order to
explain at full length to the ministers the situation of foreign
affairs as a whole as it presented itself to His Majesty’s
Government, and thus effect was given in the most con-
venient possible manner to the desire which had been
expressed in Parliament that the international situation
should be fully explained to the delegates. It is clear that
the discussion of that situation without special reference to
defence would have been somewhat academic, while its
close relation to defence secured both that it should be in
full confidence and that it should be brought into contact
with reality.
Following on this exposition of foreign relations, the
question of military and naval defence was discussed,
though no very definite results were arrived at, the whole
plan being to confirm the arrangements which were made at
the Military and Naval Conference of 1907. Statements
were laid before the Imperial Defence Committee, showing
how far the recommendations of that Conference had been
carried into effect.) The General Staff had made consider-
able progress ; a paper as to present arrangements for loans,
attachments, and interchanges of officers of the regular army
! See Parl. Pap., Cd. 5746-2, pp. 3-14.
