X.—l

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to make its preparations on such lines as will enable it, should it so desire, to take its share in the general defence of the Empire," the arrangements required to facilitate the co-operation of the Military Forces of the Empire fall within the scope of the duties of the local sections of the Imperial General Staff working under the orders of their respective Governments and in communication with the central section at the War Office, on which the Dominions will be represented. (B.) —The Progress op the Imperial General Staff and the Development of its Functions. The following statement, showing the progress that has been made, was laid before the Committee by the Chief of the Imperial General Staff:— The need for a General Staff " selected from the forces of the Empire as a whole " was affirmed by the Imperial Conference which met in London in 1907, and it was then decided that the Chief of the General Staff should put forward definite proposals to give effect to the resolutions of the Conference on this subject. Accordingly, proposals were put forward through the Colonial Office to the Governments of the self-governing Dominions in December, 1908. These proposals were generally accepted by the Governments concerned early in the following year, and the actual formation of an Imperial General Staff was then taken in hand. The Imperial General Staff has therefore been scarcely two years in existence. In such a short period it would not be reasonable to look for very great progress. The General Staff of the German Army in its present form had been in existence for over half a century before its value was proved to the world in 1866 and 1870. The General Staff of the Japanese Army was over twentyfive years old before the recent campaign in Manchuria began. Although the General Staff of the Kegular Army had only been in existence, under that name, a little over three years when its development into an Imperial General Staff was decided on, a Staff, which included in its duties a good deal of what is now known as General Staff work, had been in existence for centuries ; the Staff College had been established for over half a century ; and a large number of experienced Staff officers were available to take up the duties of the new formation. Notwithstanding its extreme youth in its present form, it may fairly be claimed that considerable progress has been made by the Imperial General Staff in its two years of existence, as will be seen from the following short account of what has been done :— As soon as the formation of the Imperial General Staff was seriously taken in hand it was found that more definite agreement on various points was required, and accordingly a paper on the detailed arrangement of loans, attachments, and interchanges of and between officers of the Regular Army and officers of the forces of the oversea Dominions was drawn up under the orders of the Chief of the Imperial General Staff in 1910, and was forwarded through the Colonial Office for the consideration of the various Governments concerned. The proposals contained in that paper have been accepted in principle by Canada and New Zealand. Australia has not yet replied, and the Government of the Union of South Africa have stated that they are not in a position to enter into any engagement at present. Formation and Organization of Local Sections of the Imperial General Staff in each Dominion. Canada. A Canadian section of the Imperial General Staff is in process of formation and is being evolved from the existing Canadian General Staff in accordance with a proposal put forward by the Department of Militia and Defence in 1909. The following officers may perhaps be regarded as constituting the Canadian Section of the Imperial General Staff, so far as its formation has gone : — Chief of the General Staff and Ist Military Member of the Militia Council (Major-General, General Staff) — Major-General C. J. Mackenzie, C.B.