KEENLY HECKLED.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1181, 17 July 1911, Page 5

KEENLY HECKLED.

—• ♦ SIR JOSEPH WARD'S IMPERIAL COUNCIL. DECLARATION OF LONDON. INTERESTING POINTS DISCUSSED. Br TcJccraoh—Press Association-Oonrriuhl (Rec. July 16, 5.5 p.m.) London, July 15. Tho roport of the proceedings of the Imperial Conference, which covers over four hundred pages, has now been published. It does not include a record of the Defence Committee's conferences. Tho daily precis furnished reasonably good reports. Tho full report shows that Sir Joseph Ward was vigorously heckled over his Imperial Council proposal, especially as to whether ho wanted a Council of Stato or a Defence Parliament, and also as to the vagueness of his scheme, his speeches going beyond what the mere resolution led the Conference to expect. Sir Wilfrid Laurier, in discussing the Declaration of London, stated that Canada did not think she could take part in every war, and as the Canadian fleet might not bo called upon to participate, it would be better to leave the chief partner to negotiate regarding the Declaration. In reply to a question by Mr. Batchelor (Australian Minister for External Affairs) as to whether there was any probability of an agreement with regard to tho conversion of merchantmen into warships, Sir E. Grey pointed out that Germany was the chief opponent to such an agreement, and England was in a small minority on the point.