The 1887 Colonial Conference met in

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in 1887 on the occasion of

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. It was organised at the behest of the Imperial Federation League in hopes of creating closer ties between the colonies, the Dominion of Canada and the United Kingdom. It was attended by more than 100 delegates, mostly unofficial observers, from both self-governing and dependent colonies.

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, however, was not represented. Among other things discussed, the colonies in

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and

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agreed to pay £126,000 per annum towards the

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to help pay for the

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's naval deployments in the Pacific. In exchange, the British government agreed not to reduce its Pacific Station without colonial consent. A proposal to lay a telegraph cable between

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and Australia was approved. A Resolution to extend the Queen's title to "Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, Ireland, and the Colonies, and all Dependencies thereof, and Empress of India" was also adopted. The conference was only a deliberative body and resolutions passed were not binding. While this was the case and the conference itself was not established by law, it was seen as a formal step in the process of consultation concerning imperial policy and legislation.

Participants

The conference was hosted by

, Empress of India, and her prime minister,

Lord Salisbury Robert Arthur Talbot Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury (; 3 February 183022 August 1903), known as Lord Salisbury, was a British statesman and Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United ...

, with Sir Henry Thurston Holland (

Secretary of State for the Colonies The secretary of state for the colonies or colonial secretary was the Cabinet of the United Kingdom's government minister, minister in charge of managing certain parts of the British Empire. The colonial secretary never had responsibility for t ...

) acting as chair and the premiers and other representatives of various colonies as delegates. The colonies and dominions invited to send delegates were

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, Colony of Tasmania,

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, the Colony of New Zealand, Victoria,

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, and

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. Various other colonies were invited to send representatives to the opening ceremonies but not participate as delegates. William A. Baillie-Hamilton, the private secretary to the secretary of state for the Colonies, acted as secretary to the conference. The delegates were only able to agree on the most general programs towards closer cooperation. In his opening address, Lord Salisbury cited the importance of mutual defense but also maintained his opposition to the creation of a federation, deeming it impractical. He explained that attempts at constitution-making is not feasible because such imperial federation could not conduct its affairs from one center. Some colonies also threatened to boycott debates about such measure.

References

Sources

Citations

Hansard 25 March 1887

Participants

References

Sources

Citations

See also