The 1907 Imperial Conference was convened in London on 15 April 1907 and concluded on 14 May 1907. During the sessions a resolution was passed renaming this and future meetings Imperial Conferences; previously, they had been called Colonial Conferences. The chairman of the conference was British prime minister Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman.
The conference decided to cease referring to self-governing British colonies as colonies and conferred upon them dominion status. Canada and Australia were referred to as dominions in the conference's statements while Newfoundland Colony and the Colony of New Zealand were granted dominion status by royal proclamation on 26 September. Natal and Cape Colony would unite with the two Boer colonies of Orange River Colony and Transvaal Colony, which had been given self-government in 1907, to form the Union of South Africa as a dominion in 1910.
The possibilities of Irish Home Rule and self-governance for India were also discussed. Imperial preference was raised but rejected by the British prime minister due to British support for free trade.
Participants The conference was hosted by King-Emperor Edward VII, with his prime ministers and members of their respective cabinets:
Nation Name Portfolio United Kingdom Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman Prime Minister (chairman) Lord Elgin Secretary of State for the Colonies Sir Edward Grey Foreign Secretary Lord Tweedmouth First Lord of the Admiralty R. B. Haldane Secretary of State for War H. H. Asquith Chancellor of the Exchequer David Lloyd George President of the Board of Trade Sydney Buxton Postmaster General of the United Kingdom Lord Lorebrun Lord Chancellor John Burns President of the Local Government Board John Morley Secretary of State for India Lord Crewe Lord President of the Council Winston Churchill Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies Australia Alfred Deakin Prime Minister Sir William Lyne Minister for Trade and Customs Sir Wilfrid Laurier Prime Minister Sir Frederick William Borden Minister of Militia and Defence Louis-Philippe Brodeur Minister of Marine and Fisheries Cape Colony Leander Starr Jameson Prime Minister Thomas Smartt Commissioner of Works Natal Frederick Robert Moor Prime Minister Transvaal Louis Botha Premier Sir Richard Solomon Agent-General Newfoundland Colony Sir Robert Bond Prime Minister Colony of New Zealand Sir Joseph Ward Prime Minister
See also Imperial Conference
References
External links Minutes of Proceedings of the Colonial Conference, 1907.