EMPIRE CONFERENCE

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 10288, 17 July 1911, Page 5

EMPIRE CONFERENCE

THE REPORT PUBLISHED.

SIR JOSEPH W.a.j HECKLED.

(Received Last Nighit, 5.5 o'clook.) LONDON, July 15. The report of the proceedings at the Imperial Conference, which occupies over four hundred pages, has been published. The report does not include a record of the Defence Committee conferences. .

The daily precis, which has already been cabled, furnished reasonaibly good reports of the proceedings.

Sir Joseph Ward was vigorously heckled over his imperial Council proposal, especially in regard to whether he wanted a Council of Start© or a Defence Parliament; also on the vagueness of his .scheme. His speeches went 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 "was, and as her fleet might not be called upon to N -y, participate, it would be better to ' leave the chief partner to negotiate the Declaration. In reply to a question- by Mr Ba/t----chelor, of Victoria, as to whether there "was any probability of an agreement j n regard to the conversion of merchantmen, Sir Edward Grey pointed out that Germany was ihWchief opponent, and England was in a small minority on the point.