"4. That the Prime Ministers of the Colonies respectfully urge on His Majesty’s Government the expediency of granting in the United Kingdom preferential treatment to the products and manufactures of the Colonies either by exemption from or reduction of duties now or hereafter imposed. "5. That the Prime Ministers present at the Conference undertake to submit to their respective Governments at the earliest opportunity the principle of the resolution and to request them to take such measures as may be necessary to give effect to it." The Prime Ministers of the Colonies also stated the extent to which they were prepared to recommend to their several Parliaments a preferential treatment of British goods: The Premier of Canada would propose to continue the existing preference of 33 1/3 per cent., and an additional preference on lists of selected articles— (a) by further reducing the duties in favor of the United Kingdom; (b) by raising the duties against foreign imports; (c) by imposing duties on certain foreign imports now on the free list. In New Zealand the recommendation would be of a general preference by 10 per cent., or an equivalent in respect of lists of selected articles on the lines proposed by Canada. At the Cape and Natal a preference of 25 per cent. would be advised, or its equivalent given by increasing duties on foreign imports. The recommendation in Australia would be of a preferential treatment not yet defined. A resolution was adopted favoring future Conferences at intervals not exceeding four years. Other resolutions recommended that a preference be given to products of the Empire in all Government contracts, Imperial or Colonial; that the privileges of coastwise trade within the Empire be refused to countries in which the corresponding trade is confined to ships of their own nationality; that a mutual protection of patents within the Empire be devised; that the principle of cheap postage between the different parts of the Empire on all newspapers and periodicals published therein be adopted; that the metric system of weights and measures be adopted throughout the Empire. These were the mainly important conclusions derived from the Conference, and it was difficult to regard them as quite satisfactory. THE BRITISH EMPIRE: A. D. 1903. Mr. Chamberlain’s declaration for preferential trade with the Colonies. Its political effects in Great Britain. His resignation from the Cabinet. Disclosures of the correspondence. See (in this Volume) ENGLAND: A. D. 1903 (MAY-SEPTEMBER). THE BRITISH EMPIRE: A. D. 1907. Conference of Imperial and Colonial Ministers at London. Formulation of the Constitution of the Conference, to be known as the Imperial Conference. Discussion of preferential trade, imperial defence, and other subjects. Resolutions adopted.