Page 161
Page 161
+
11
understanding of how those dangers can be met, that the security of the Empire must in future depend.
Apart from the general consideration of this question, the following subjects appear to me to demand detailed examination by the Conference :--
1. The Conference should endeavour to arrive at some definite conclusion as to the mutual requirements of Great Britain and the Dominions for the purposes of Imperial defence. This subject would naturally entail a state- ment by the Admiralty concerning the naval requirements of the Empire for the purpose of maintaining the command of the seas, not only in home waters, but in the Mediterranean and in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Such a statement must necessarily be followed by an examination of the military forces wanted to enable reinforcements to be sent to threatened points of danger all over the world, and the routes which such reinforcements should take, as well as the methods and amount of transport required. No less important is it clearly to determine, and to obtain an agreement upon, the naval, commercial, and telegraphic arrangements inevitably consequent upon the declaration of war which would affect our whole Imperial system. 2. A slight acquaintance with the work of the Defence Committee must show convincing proof of the transient nature of any such arrangements, and the absolute necessity of their periodical revision. The passing of a few years, often a few months, necessarily involves a reconsideration of the steps taken to ensure at the outbreak of war the maintenance of international agreements, both as regards belligerents and neutrals. It follows, therefore, that one of the most serious questions to be considered by the Conference should be how this periodical revision can most simply and most effectively be ensured.
3. A more hazardous question follows. It is to endeavour to define the general conditions and the precise circumstances under which mutual defence would automatically come into operation. Although this is a matter full of difficulty, it is not one which, between reasonable inen all anxious to arrive at conclusions vital to the interests of their respective countries, should be shirked. Surely it is not beyond the wit of statesmen and politicians, trained in the art of political compromise, to devise some means of bringing about an agreement upon a question so vital to the security and maintenance of the whole Empire.
4. Finally, a conference can hardly avoid making some attempt to organise a plan by which, upon all questions of Imperial defence, constant touch can be maintained between those who are responsible for it. In view of the continual advance of science and the consequential changes in methods of warfare, it is of the utmost importance that, at least annually, the Defence Committee, sitting at the heart of the Empire, should be given an opportunity of discussing questions of mutual defence with those technically responsible for the armed forces of the Dominions. Common sense and common prudence appear to demand a free interchange of ideas between the various representatives of the armed forces of one Imperial system and the chosen representatives of the combined democracies of which the Empire is composed, at least once every year.
It is not pretended that these suggestions embrace all the topics connected with defence which might advantageously be considered at the Conference, but they are offered for the consideration of the Committee of Imperial Defence to serve as a basis for the examination of problems which it would be a misfortune to exclude from the deliberations of the Conference when it assembles.
January 10, 1911
E.
Page 161
Page 161