he striking proof which he gave, as the
French-Canadian ruler of the greatest of the colonies, of the wisdom,
the imperial secret, which Britain alone of nations had learned--made
him beyond question the lion of the hour. The world, and not least
Britain herself, realized with wonder, in the pageant of the Jubilee
ceremonies, how great and how united the Empire was; and, at this
moment, when all eyes were focussed upon London, the prime minister of
Canada seemed to embody the new spirit and the new relationship. The
press rang with Canada's praises. 'For the first time in my
experience,' declared a shrewd American observer, 'England and the
English are regarding the Dominion with affectionate enthusiasm.' When
the tumult and the shouting died and the Captains and the Kings
departed, Sir Wilfrid Laurier[1] had a proud accounting to give his
people.

{179}

The Belgian and German treaties, so long a stumbling-block in the path
of closer imperial trade relations, were at last denounced. The
definite, concrete offer of the Canadian preference proved effective,
for it was given freely, in no huckstering spirit, with no demand for
any equivalent or that Britain should reverse her whole fiscal system
for the benefit of a small fraction of her trade.

The Colonial Conference was an important incident of the Jubilee year.
Mr Chamberlain, the new colonial secretary, made the chief address and
laid before the members the proposals for discussion. He suggested the
desirability of setting up an Imperial Council, with more than advisory
power, and bound 'to develop into something still greater.' But, as
only the prime ministers of New Zealand and Tasmania gave any sympathy,
the suggestion was not pressed. He spoke in laudatory terms of the
contribution of the Australasian colonies towards the British navy, and
invited the other colonies to make similar offers. As to trade
relations, the colonial ministers decided to consider whether they
could follow Canada's example of a free preference. No definite step
by Great Britain towards _zollverein_ or protection and preference was
suggested. Fruitful {180} discussion took place on Asiatic
immigration, the Pacific cable, and imperial penny postage. All these
discussions, though without immediate results, served to outline the
problems which were to face the Colonial Conference in the
future--after the Boer War had given a new turn and a new insistence to
these problems. It