The ninth annual meeting of the Imperial Federation League in Canada was held in the Parliament Buildings, Ottawa, on the 29th May, 1894, and in the notices of motion printed in the circular calling the meeting was one by Lt.-Col. Wm. O'Brien, M.P., as follows: Resolved, that the first step towards arriving at a system of preferential trade within the Empire should be for the Government of Canada to lower the customs duties now imposed upon goods imported from the United Kingdom. And another to the same effect by Rev. Principal George M. Grant: Resolved, that this League is of opinion that as a first step towards arriving at a system of preferential trade within the Empire, the Government of Canada should lower the Customs duties now imposed on goods manufactured in and imported from Great Britain. These notices exactly foreshadowed the policy adopted by Sir Wilfrid Laurier's Government in 1897. Another resolution was carried to the effect that a delegation should be elected by the Executive Committee to confer personally with the City of London Branch and similar organisations, and agree upon a common course of future action. Accordingly on the 6th June, 1894, the Executive Committee appointed "Colonel G. T. Denison President, Larratt W. Smith, Esq., Q.C., LL.D., President Toronto Branch, George E. Evans, Esq., Hon. Secretary of the League in Canada, John T. Small, Esq., Hon. Treasurer, H. J. Wickham, Esq., Chairman of the Organising Committee, J. L. Hughes, Esq., J. M. Clark, Esq., and Professor Weldon, M.P., to be the delegation, with power to add to their number." Messrs. Clark, Small, and Weldon were unable to act, and Sir Charles Tupper, then High Commissioner, Lord Strathcona, and Lt.-Col. Septimus Denison, Secretary and Treasurer of the London Ontario Branch, were added to the delegation. This was the turning point of the movement, and led to the organisation of the British Empire League and the continuance of the struggle for Imperial consolidation. The account of this mission, its work in England, and the subsequent proceedings of the new League, and the progress of the movement for Imperial Unity during the succeeding years, will be dealt with in the following chapters. CHAPTER XIX ORGANISATION OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE LEAGUE