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1902 Colonial Conference
| Field | Value | |
|---|---|---|
| summit_name | 1902 Colonial Conference | |
| image | [[File:1902 Colonial Conference.jpg | 200px]] |
| caption | Front row left-right: Sir Robert Bond (Premier of Newfoundland), Richard Seddon (Prime Minister of New Zealand), Sir Wilfrid Laurier (Prime Minister of Canada), Joseph Chamberlain (Secretary of State for the Colonies (Chairman)), Sir Edmund Barton (Prime Minister of Australia), Sir Albert Henry Hime (Prime Minister of Natal), Thomas Fuller (Agent-General for Cape Colony) | |
| country | United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland United Kingdom | |
| dates | 30 June–11 August 1902 | |
| cities | London | |
| participants | ||
| heads_of_state_label | Heads of Government | |
| heads_of_state | 7 | |
| chairperson | Joseph Chamberlain | |
| (Secretary of State for the Colonies) | ||
| follows | [1897](1897-colonial-conference) | |
| precedes | [1907 Imperial Conference](1907-imperial-conference) | |
| website | ||
| keypoints | Imperial defence, imperial council, customs union, Imperial Preference |
(Secretary of State for the Colonies) The 1902 Colonial Conference followed the conclusion of the Boer War and was held on the occasion of the coronation of King Edward VII. As with the previous conference, it was called by Secretary of State for the Colonies Joseph Chamberlain who opened it on 30 June 1902.
Chamberlain used the occasion to resubmit his earlier proposals made at the 1897 Colonial Conference for an Imperial Council made up of colonial representatives which would act as a quasi-Imperial Parliament and make decisions for the colonies on imperial policy. This proposal, along with Chamberlain's idea for a unified imperial defence scheme, was rejected by most of the colonial prime ministers. While New Zealand proposed that each colony provide a special force for imperial defence in the case of war, Canada and Australia both believed this idea undermined self-government.
Chamberlain also proposed an imperial economic union or customs union with free trade within the empire and tariffs against goods from outside of it. The colonies, however, passed a resolution rejecting imperial free trade. A resolution in favour of imperial preference as proposed by Canada was approved and Chamberlain agreed to bring the idea to the British government. However, this plan was not implemented until the British Empire Economic Conference in 1932.
Theodore H. Boggs, an advocate for imperial federation, described the outcome of the conference as "disappointing."
Participants
The conference was hosted by King Edward VII, with his Colonial Secretary and the premiers of various colonies or their representatives and members of their cabinets:
| Nation | Name | Portfolio | |
|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom United Kingdom | Joseph Chamberlain | Secretary of State for the Colonies (chairman) | |
| Lord Selborne | First Lord of the Admiralty | ||
| Rear Admiral Wilfred Custance | Director of Naval Intelligence | ||
| Lord Onslow | Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies | ||
| Gerald Balfour, | President of the Board of Trade | ||
| Sir Montagu Ommanney | Permanent Under-Secretary for the Colonies | ||
| Sir Francis Hopwood | Permanent Secretary to the Board of Trade | ||
| Sir Thomas Holderness | Secretary of the Revenue, Statistics and Commerce Department, India Office | ||
| Sir John Anderson | Secretary to the Conference, of the Colonial Office | ||
| Australia Australia | Sir Edmund Barton | Prime Minister | |
| Sir John Forrest | Minister of Defence | ||
| Sir Wilfrid Laurier | Prime Minister | ||
| William Stevens Fielding | Minister of Finance | ||
| Sir William Mulock | Postmaster General of Canada | ||
| William Paterson | Minister of Customs | ||
| British Cape Colony Cape Colony | Sir John Gordon Sprigg | Prime Minister | |
| Thomas Fuller | Agent-General | ||
| [[File:Flag of the Natal Colony 1875-1910.svg | 25px]] Natal | Sir Albert Henry Hime | Prime Minister |
| Newfoundland Newfoundland | Sir Robert Bond | Premier | |
| New Zealand New Zealand | Richard Seddon | Prime Minister |
References
References
- (1 July 1902). "The Conference of Colonial Premiers".
- (1967). "The Colonial and Imperial Conferences, 1887-1911: A Study in Imperial Organization". [[Longman.
- (1991). "Historical dictionary of European imperialism". Greenwood Publishing Group.
- Boggs, Theodore H.. (1916). "The British Empire and closer union". American Political Science Review.
- "Papers relating to a conference between the secretary of state for the colonies and the prime ministers of self-governing colonies; June to August, 1902".
- "The Life an Work of Richard John Seddon".
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