That the President and those members of the Canadian Branch who are members of the Council of the League in England be hereby appointed a deputation (with power to add to their number) from the League in Canada to the League in the United Kingdom; and that they be instructed to lay before the members of the Parent League the views of the Canadian Branch on matters of national moment, such as the organisation of a Royal Naval Reserve in the colonies, and also to express their opinion that, as a guarantee of the general safety of the Empire, vigorous steps should at once be taken to provide that the British food supply should be grown within the Empire. The deputation consisted of the following: The Hon. R. R. Dobell, M.P., George R. Parkin, J. M. Clark, A. McNeill, M.P., Sir Charles Tupper, Bart., John T. Small, Sir Sandford Fleming, K.C.M.G., Lieut.-Colonel George T. Denison, D'Alton McCarthy, Q.C., M.P., Lord Strathcona, H. H. Lyman and J. Herbert Mason. CHAPTER XX MISSION TO ENGLAND, 1897 I left for England via Montreal on the 31st May, 1897, and expected to arrive in Liverpool a day or two before Sir Wilfrid Laurier, who was to sail some days later from New York on a fast ship. We were delayed for some days by fogs, and did not arrive in Liverpool till after Sir Wilfrid Laurier had left that place. He had arrived in the old world for the first time of his life, and at once fell into the hands of the Liverpool merchants and business men, at that time generally free traders. He had not a colleague with him and naturally was affected by the atmosphere in which he found himself, and in his speech at the great banquet given by the British Empire League with the Duke of Devonshire in the chair, he made a few remarks in reference to preferential tariffs for which he was severely criticised at home. I joined the party at Glasgow two days later, and Sir Wilfrid, who seemed pleased to see me, had a long talk with me between Glasgow and Liverpool on the special train which took the party down. On the following morning the Liverpool papers had cables from Canada giving an account of the discussion in the Canadian House of Commons over the cabled reports of Sir Wilfrid's speech. He was attacked vehemently by Alexander McNeill, our champion in the House, on one point of his speech at Liverpool, and Sir Richard Cartwright and his colleagues, in defending Sir Wilfrid, did so on the ground that the reports of what he said could not be taken as correct, and asking the House to withhold comment until the full reports should be received. This was a desirable course to adopt, for cable despatches have so often conveyed inaccurate impressions.