a;
and Sir Oliver Mowat, the veteran premier of Ontario, was unanimously
called upon to preside over this important assemblage. Resolutions were
passed with great enthusiasm in support of tariff reform, a fair measure
of reciprocal trade with the United States, a sale of public lands only
to actual settlers upon reasonable terms of settlement, an honest and
economical administration of government, the right of the house of
commons to inquire into all matters of public expenditure and charges of
misconduct against ministers, the reform of the senate, the submission
of the question of prohibition to a vote of the people, and the repeal
of the Dominion franchise act passed in 1885, as well as of the measure
of 1892, altering the boundaries of the electoral districts and
readjusting the representation in the house of commons. This convention
may be considered the commencement of that vigorous political campaign,
which ended so successfully for the Liberal party in the general
election of 1896.

In the summer of 1894 there was held in the city of Ottawa a conference
of delegates from eight self-governing colonies in Australasia, South
Africa, and America, who assembled for the express purpose of discussing
questions which affected not merely their own peculiar interests, but
touched most nearly the unity and development of the empire at large The
imperial government was represented by the Earl of Jersey, who had been
a governor of one of the Australian colonies. After very full discussion
the conference passed resolutions in favour of the following measures:

(1) Imperial legislation enabling the dependencies of the empire to
enter into agreements of commercial reciprocity, including the power to
make differential tariffs with Great Britain or with one another. (2)
The removal of any restrictions in existing treaties between Great
Britain and any foreign power, which prevent such agreements of
commercial reciprocity. (3) A customs arrangement between Great Britain
and her colonies by which trade within the empire might be placed on a
more favourable footing than that which is carried on with foreign
countries. (4) Improved steamship communication between Canada,
Australasia, and Great Britain. (5) Telegraph communication by cable,
free from foreign control, between Canada and Australia. These various
resolutions were brought formally by the Earl of Jersey to the notice
of the imperial government, which expressed the opinion