[This Document is the Property of His Britannic Majesty's Government.]
Printed for the use of the Cabinet. May 1911.
176
Proof
Dominions. No. 37.
CONFIDENTIAL.
MEMORANDUM ON THE RESOLUTION
OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF AUS-
TRALIA WITH REGARD TO THE LAW
OF CONSPIRACY.
THE eighth of the Resolutions for discussion at the Imperial Conference by the Commonwealth Government is as follows:--
"That the members of this Conference recommend to their respective Governments the desirableness of submitting measures to Parliament for the prevention of acts of con- spiracy to defeat or evade the laws of any other part of the Empire; that the Imperial Government make similar representations to the Governments of India and the Crown Colonies."
In view of the indefinite character of this Resolution, it was deemed desirable to send a telegram to the Governor-General, stating that it would facilitate consideration of the Resolution if the Commonwealth Government could indicate precisely what matters were within the scope
of the Resolution, and what cases of evasion of the laws of the Commonwealth it was desired to obviate.
To this telegram, which was sent on the 4th January, the Governor-General replied in 2 despatch of the 18th January, in which he stated that the primary reason for the Resolution was to make it an offence against the laws of Hong Kong and Singapore to conspire to defeat the Immigra tion Restriction Act of Australia, the Chief Justice of Hong Kong having expressed the opinion that such conspiracy was not an offence against the
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