the Colonial Office,
studious, enthusiastic, energetic, of rare temper, tact and patience, he
was all such a Commission could desire. He and three or four assistants,
with local officers selected by the Governments in each of the Dominions,
one and all most capable men, formed a Secretariat that served us well.

The Commission started operations by taking evidence in London in the
autumn of 1912, but its main work lay in the Dominions, and on the 10th
of January, 1913, we sailed for Australia and New Zealand, touching at
Fremantle (Western Australia), Adelaide (South Australia), Melbourne
(Victoria), and Hobart (Tasmania) on our way.

In New Zealand we travelled through the island from south to north,
staying in that beautiful country for nearly a month, and holding
sittings in the principal cities. One sitting we held in the train--a
record surely for a Royal Commission. Easter intervening, we indulged in
a few days' holiday in the wonderful Rotorua district, where we enjoyed
its hot springs, its geysers, its rivers, its lakes and its Maori
villages. Returning to Sydney, we travelled northwards to Queensland and
there entered seriously upon our Australian duties, holding sittings at
Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Hobart and Perth. In Queensland
we penetrated north as far as Bundaberg, Gladstone, Rockhampton and Mount
Morgan. In the other States tours were made through the irrigation areas
of New South Wales and Victoria, and visits paid to the mines at Broken
Hill (New South Wales), the Zeehan district and Mount Lyall (Tasmania);
Iron Knob (South Australia), and Kalgoorlie (Western Australia). Some of
our party penetrated to remoter parts of Australia such as Cairns
(Northern Queensland), Condobolin (west of New South Wales), and
Oodnadatta (Central Australia), still the furthest point of railway
extension toward the great Northern Territory.

To Tasmania we were able to devote a few days, taking evidence and
enjoying its wonderful beauty.

Finally, we left Australia on the 9th of June, four months after our
first landing on its sunny shores.

On arriving home it was determined that for the remainder of the year
1913 we should remain in England and take further evidence in London.

We resumed our travels in January, 1914, when we left for South Africa.
There we held a number of sittings, taking evidence at Capetown,
Oudtshoorn, Port Elizabeth, East London, Kimberley, Bloemfontein, Durban,
Pietermar