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31. During the last two or three years the Governments of the self-governing Dominions have availed themselves of the permission to obtain the advice of the Committee of Imperial Defence, and have referred several defence questions to that Committee. The procedure adopted in such cases is for the questions first to be considered in detail by the Colonial Defence Committee (which is a Sub-Committee of the Committee of Imperial Defence), who prepare a memorandum on the subjects under reference for submission to the Committee of Imperial Defence. The practice has grown up of inviting a representative of the Dominion concerned, if available, to attend meetings of the Colonial Defence Committee when such references are under consideration.
32. It would appear from the terms of the resolution now proposed by the New Zealand Government that it is desired that representatives of the Dominious should be invited to attend meetings of the Committee of Imperial Defence whenever questions affecting the Dominions are under discussion, whether such questions are raised by the Dominion Governmeut or not.
In actual practice, questions affecting the local defence of the Dominions are not discussed by the Imperial Defence Committee except at the request of the Governments of the Dominions concerned, so that the acceptance of the resolution of the Government of New Zealand would in fact not alter the existing procedure.
33. In view, however, of the fact that the Governments of the Dominions insist upon reserving to themselves the right of deciding when the occasion arises whether their naval and military forces shall or shall not take part in any particular war, the Sub-Committee consider that it is inexpedient that any further extension of the privilege of being represented at the Committee of Imperial Defence should be accorded.
It will be sufficient to inform the members of the Conference of the arrangement approved in 1907, without drawing attention to the reasons against extending it.
34. As regards the selection of the representative of the Dominion to be invited to attend the Imperial Defence Committee, it will be for the Prime Minister to decide, after consultation with the Government of the Dominion concerned through the Colonial Office, whether the High Commissioner would be the most suitable representative in each case. As the Prime Minister will probably have in the Admiralty and War Office Members of the Committee a sufficiency of technical advisers, it may be that he would be prepared, subject to a reservation, to assent to the proposal that the High Commissioners should as a rule be summoned to attend the Imperial Defence Committee when matters affecting their respective Dominions are under discussion.
VII. PROPOSAL OF THE UNION OF South Africa.
35. The Government of the Union of South Africa have submitted a proposal "that wherever votes in favour of monetary contributions towards Imperial naval defence are made by the overseas Dominions, any naval service rendered or provision "for local coast defences made by such Dominions with approval of the Admiralty "be borne on such votes." (See Appendix VIII to this Report.)
36. The Sub-Committee would point out that as this question deals rather with procedure in the adjustment of accounts than with defence policy, it hardly seems to fall within their terms of reference.
They recommend that it should be discussed by the representatives of the Union of South Africa with the Admiralty and War Office at a preliminary private discussion as suggested in paragraph 3 of this Report.
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