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Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1113, 28 April 1911, Page 4

Theke seems to us to be a word or two to say upon the news, recorded in one of to-day's cable messages, that Sin Wilfrid Laurier will not be present at tho Imperial Conference. Ho considers it important that he should bo on the spot to pilot the Reciprocity Agreement through the House of Commons against the Opposition it is certain to meet, and lie has therefore decided that one or more of his colleagues must represent the Dominion in London. It is unfortunate, of course, that Sin Wilfrid cannot be present at the Conference, but being a statesman he has taken to himself colleagues who can represent his Government quite adequately either at home or abroad. And nobody will blame him for staying at Ottawa, or blame the Opposition for keeping him away from London. Contrast the situation with the situation in this country in 1909. When the Opposition contended that the business of our Parliament should go on as usual, they were assailed as anti-Imperialists. For Sir Joseph Ward, having been able to attract to him mainly incompetent colleagues, said that if the session were to be held as usual, New Zealand would not bo represented at the Defence Conference. He would not'go, and so nobody should or could go! At the.time it was difficult to get tho whole public to realise to the full the paltriness of the Prime Minister's attitude. Perhaps the present situation in Canada will enable everybody to sec clearly how our petty Government fooled the public and Parliament.