THE IMPERIAL CONFERENCE

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 305, 19 May 1911, Page 5

THE IMPERIAL CONFERENCE

COMMONWEALTH DELEGATES ENTERTAINED. I By Cable—Press Association—Copyright. London, Miiy 17. Sir George? Reid gave a luncheon to Messrs Fisher, Pearce and Bachelor, the Commonwealth delegates to the Imperial Conference, at the Trocadero. Those present included Mr. Lewis Hareourt, Secretary of State for the Colonies, Lords Denham and Strathcona, Sir Joseph Ward, the Lord Mayor, leading "London editors, Sir William Hall-Jones, the Agents-General, and many other Australians. Sir George Reid, referring to the Coronation, said that for the first time in history they had a King who knew the dominions from personal observation. Mr. Fisher, responding to the toast of his health, paid a tribute to ihe hospitality accorded him in England. If lie had one desire above any other, speaking as an individual, it was that the British statesmanship, which had enabled the dominions freely to develop, might long continue and be further extended. "By meeting together we get closer in touch with large issues, enabling us to avoid occasions of friction which might arise between different parts of the Empire." He looked forward to the time when such conferences might embrace not merely the Empire, but all English-speak-ing peoples, in the interests of peace.