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Appendix III.

CO-OPERATION OF THE NAVAL FORCES OF THE UNITED KINGDOM AND OF THE DOMINIONS.

General Principles laid down by the Admiralty.

The British, Canadian, and Australian fleets to be sister members of the King's Navy, hoisting the white ensign at the stern and the distinctive flag of each nation on the jack staff.

2. Each fleet to be administered by its separate Admiralty.

3. As an essential condition of this partnership and as a preliminary to its formation the Dominion Admiralties to agree with the British Admiralty upon a common system of naval discipline and training.

4. By arrangement, officers and men to be interchangeable between the three fleets.

5. Each fleet to confine its operations primarily within the area of its own station. Special arrangements to be made between the Admiralty concerned and the British Admiralty when the particular service on which a Dominion fleet is engaged takes it outside its own area. Visits by Dominion fleets to foreign countries to be subject to approval by Imperial Government.

6. In the event of war the British Admiralty to control the whole of the King's Navy, but each Admiralty to be at liberty to withdraw from the partnership before joining in hostilities. If a Dominion Government has resolved upon common action in a war, it is not to be at liberty to withdraw its fleet from the partnership so long as the war lasts.

Appendix IV.

ORGANISATION OF AUSTRALIAN NAVAL FORCE.

Provisional arrangements agreed to by the Representatives of the Admiralty and the High Commissioner of Australia.

The following proposals are put forward as a whole, as steps in the direction of carrying out the arrangements provisionally arrived at during the meetings of the Imperial Defence Conference held in 1909, which are recorded as follows in Parliamentary Paper Cd. 4945 :—

I. "In peace time and while on the Australian Station the (Australian) Fleet Unit would be under the exclusive control of the Commonwealth Government as regards their movements and general administration, but

II. "Officers and men should be governed by regulations similar to the King's Regulations, and be under naval discipline, and when with vessels of the Royal Navy the Senior Officer should take commend of the whole.

"The Australian Fleet Unit should form part of the Eastern Fleet of the Empire, to be composed of similar units of the Royal Navy, to be known as the China and the East Indies Units respectively and the Australian Unit."

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