"That it will be to the advantage of the Empire if a Conference to be called the Imperial Conference is held every four years at which questions of common interest may be discussed and considered as between His Majesty’s Government and his Governments of the self-governing Dominions beyond the seas. The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom will be _ex officio_ President, and the Prime Ministers of the self-governing Dominions _ex officio_ members of the Conference. The Secretary of State for the Colonies will be an _ex officio_ member of the Conference and will take the chair in the absence of the President. He will arrange for such Imperial Conferences after communication with the Prime Ministers of the respective Dominions. "Such other Ministers as the respective Governments may appoint will also be members of the Conference—it being understood that, except by special permission of the Conference, each discussion will be conducted by not more than two representatives from each Government, and that each Government will have only one vote. "That it is desirable to establish a system by which the several Governments represented shall be kept informed during the periods between the Conferences in regard to matters which have been or may be subjects for discussion, by means of a permanent secretarial staff charged under the direction of the Secretary of State for the Colonies with the duty of obtaining information for the use of the Conference, of attending to its resolutions, and of conducting correspondence on matters relating to its affairs. "That upon matters of importance requiring consultation between two or more Governments which cannot conveniently be postponed until the next Conference, or involving subjects of a minor character or such as call for detailed consideration, subsidiary conferences should be held between representatives of the Governments concerned specially chosen for the purpose." On the subject of Imperial Defence, which was then taken up, and in the discussion of which the Secretary of State for War took part, the following resolutions were approved: "That the Colonies be authorized to refer to the Committee of Imperial Defence through the Secretary of State for advice any local questions in regard to which expert assistance is deemed desirable. "That whenever so desired, a representative of the colony which may wish for advice should be summoned to attend as a member of the Committee during the discussion of the questions raised.