"‘(4) That much uncertainty, expense, and delay would be avoided if some portion of His Majesty’s prerogative to grant special leave to appeal in cases where there exists no right of appeal were exercised under definite rules and restrictions.’ "The following resolutions, presented to the Conference by General Botha and supported by the representatives of Cape Colony and Natal, were accepted: "‘(1) That when a Court of Appeal has been established for any group of colonies geographically connected, whether federated or not, to which appeals lie from the decisions of the Supreme Courts of such colonies, it shall be competent for the Legislature of each such colony to abolish any existing right of appeal from its Supreme Court to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. "‘(2) That the decisions of such Court of Appeal shall be final, but leave to appeal from such decisions may be granted by the said Court in certain cases prescribed by the statute under which it is established. "‘(3) That the right of any person to apply to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council for leave to appeal to it from the decision of such Appeal Court shall not be curtailed.’" And now, at last, on the 30th of April, the Conference came to the discussion of the question which had been dominant in all minds from the first,—the question of preferential trade. Essentially it was a settled question already,—settled, that is, by the voters of the United Kingdom a year and a half before, when they took the administration of their Government away from the party which had approved the fiscal proposals of Mr. Chamberlain. The commercial negotiation of the colonies now was with a Ministry that stood pledged against the preferential tariff arrangements they desired. On their side they had committed their fortunes to the stimulant working of protective tariffs, against which the judgment and experience of England was still firm. The preferential tariffs which preferential trade involved were in the line of their policy, but directly antagonistic to hers. How impossible this made an arrangement of reciprocity on that line was intimated gently by the Prime Minister when he spoke to the Conference at its first sitting, but set forth later in plain words by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Mr. Asquith, and by the President of the Board of Trade, Mr. David Lloyd-George. "If the Colonies," said Mr. Asquith, "thought it their duty to foster industries by protective tariffs their action would not evoke remonstrance or even criticism from him. He noted that various self-governing Colonies gave preference to the Mother Country, but it was a fact that these preferential tariffs did not admit the manufactures of the Mother Country to compete on equal terms with the local product. Doubtless the Colonies