At Euston station two royal carriages were in waiting, each drawn by a pair of horses, and with coachmen and footmen wearing the royal scarlet liveries. In these carriages he and his party were driven to the Hotel Cecil, London. He was disappointed at not having a little more time for a chat with several New Zealanders who met him on the station platform, but there were the royal carriages waiting, with the men in their gorgeous liveries, attracting much notice, and he set off at once. It rather amused him to travel in such state, and to see the sentries at one place present arms as the party passed; but he felt that he was being given a very pleasant welcome to England.
There was another whirl of receptions, banquets, excursions and other amusements, and then came the second Premiers’ Conference and business.
He had brought with him from New Zealand a number of proposals to place before the Premiers. They were:—
(1.) That it is essential to the well-being of the Mother Country and His Majesty’s Dominions beyond the seas that in such dominions, where the same does not exist now, preferential tariffs, by way of rebate of duties on British manufactured goods carried in British-owned ships, should be granted, and that in the Mother Country a rebate of duty on colonial products now taxable should be conceded.
(2.) That it is desirable to have an Imperial Reserve Force formed in each of His Majesty’s Dominions over the seas, for service in case of emergency, the limits within which such reserve force may be employed outside the colony wherein it is raised to be defined by the Imperial and Colonial Governments at the time such reserve is formed, and to be in accordance with any law in force for the time being respecting the same; the cost of maintaining and equipping such reserve force to be defrayed in such proportion and manner as may be agreed upon between the Imperial and Colonial Governments.
(3.) That the Australian Squadron be strengthened: (a) by increasing the number of cruisers; (b) by withdrawing some of the inferior gun boats and replacing them with modern and better-class cruisers; and (c) by adding torpedo catchers or destroyers, if deemed necessary, the extra cost of maintenance entailed to be defrayed in the same proportion as provided under the existing agreement and on a population basis.
(4.) That, in arranging for the administration of that portion of the Empire formerly known as the South African Republic and the Orange Free State, provision should be made that duly qualified members of the learned and skilled professions now admitted and hereafter to be admitted to practice in the Dominion of Canada, the Commonwealth of Australia, and in New Zealand, be allowed to practice within the newly acquired territories referred to.
(5.) That it would be an advantage to the Empire to have subsidised mail services established as between Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and Great