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PROOF

6472

Defence-15151

20, 12, 30

No.

UNION OF SOUTH AFRICA.

THE GOVERNOR-GENERAL to THE SECRETARY OF STATE.

(Secret (2).)

SIR,

(Received 24 February, 1913.)

[Answered by No.

Governor-General's Office,

Cape Town, 5 February, 1913. I HAVE the honour to transmit to you herewith, with reference to your despatch, Confidential, of the 10th December, 1912,* a copy of a secret minute, No. 89, from Ministers, dated 30th January, on the subject of the more continuous connection of the Oversea Dominions in naval and military affairs with the Committee of Imperial Defence in the United Kingdom.

I have, &c.,

Enclosure in No.

GLADSTONE,

Governor-General.

(Secret Minute. No. 89.)

Prime Minister's Office, Cape Town, 30 January, 1913. Ministers have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of His Excellency's Con- fidential minute, No. 1/459, of the 2nd January, 1913, on the subject of the repre- sentation of the Dominions on the Committee of Imperial Defence, and His Excellency's secret minute, No. 1/459, of the 2nd January, 1913, covering copies of secret printed documents (No. 94 C.) dealing with the same subject.

2. Ministers desire to express their appreciation of the views expressed by the Right Honourable the Secretary of State contained in his Confidential despatch of the 10th December, 1912, and of the readiness evinced by His Majesty's Govern- ment to make provision, through the machinery of the Imperial Defence Committee, for more frequent opportunities of consultations between the Imperial and Dominion Governments.

Ministers have noted with pleasure that, as Mr. Secretary Harcourt clearly indicates, no new departure in constitutional practice is intended, but that the proposals of His Majesty's Government are simply a further expression of that spirit of mutual consultation and helpful co-operation, which in the past has so happily animated the British Government in its relations to the Governments of the self-governing Dominions.

3. Not only have matters of grave military and naval concern to the Empire and its component parts been very fully and frequently discussed at various Imperial Defence Conferences, but, at meetings of the Imperial Defence Committee, His Majesty's Government have made to representatives of the Dominion Governments full and frank disclosures on very important aspects of Imperial foreign policy. In the interval between these conferences, Ministers have repeatedly received from the Overseas Sub-Committee of the Committee of Imperial Defence the most valuable technical advice in regard to defence arrangements for the Union.

4. The existing machinery for consultation and suggestion has thus worked so smoothly that Ministers would be loth to see any new departure inaugurated which might in the end prove less satisfactory in practice. In particular, they doubt whether the idea of a Minister of the Union residing in London for the purpose of constantly representing the Union Government on the Imperial Defence Committee is practicable.

5. As long as the control of foreign policy remains, as under present conditions it must necessarily remain, solely with the Imperial Government, and the Imperial Government continue, as agreed at the last Imperial Conference, to consult the

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