Imperial War Conference, 1918

Resolutions, Proceedings and Papers of the Imperial War Conference, 1918, which were not published in [Cd.9177]

In 1917, the British Prime Minister, Lloyd George, convened two bodies to examine issues regarding the Empire and the First World War: the Imperial War Cabinet and the Imperial War Conference. The Imperial War Conference held its first Session in March 1917. It reassembled again in 1918 for meetings which took place at the Colonial Office in London between 12 June and 26 July 1918, being held on alternate days to those of the meetings of the Imperial War Cabinet, which had also reconvened. The Conference was chaired by Walter H. Long, Secretary of State for the Colonies, and was attended by a number of Ministers and officials from various UK Government Departments, as well as the Prime Ministers of Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Newfoundland, and the South African Minister of Railways and Harbours. The Secretary of State for India, E.S. Montagu also attended the Conference along with representatives of the Government of India. Whereas the Imperial War Cabinet dealt with Empire problems connected with the conduct of the War, the Imperial War Conference dealt with general Empire problems not directly linked with the War. The Conference agreed to resolutions on the subjects of the control of raw materials, the non-ferrous metal industry, the Imperial Mineral Resources Bureau, Petroleum, the establishment of an Imperial Bureau of Mycology, Imperial statistics, the dye manufacturing industry, demobilisation, nationality and naturalisation, and the reciprocity of treatment between India and the Dominions as regards immigration. There were also resolutions on questions of communication including an Imperial News Service, cable communications, Inter-Imperial parcels delivery and shipping.

Unrestricted

More papers in the India Office Records relating to the 1918 Imperial War Conference can be found in the Public and Judicial Department Annual Files (IOR/L/PJ/6), the Military Department Collections (IOR/L/MIL/7/18378) and Library (IOR/L/MIL/17/5/2395-2396), the Political and Secret Annual Files (IOR/L/PS/11/178), and the Economic Department Annual Files (IOR/L/E/7/934 File 2140, IOR/L/E/7/955 File 1991 and IOR/L/E/7/1219 File 968). Copies of Extracts from Minutes of Proceedings and Papers laid before the Conference [Cd.9177] can be found in the Parliamentary Papers at IOR/V/4/SESSION 1918 VOL 16, and in the Parliamentary Branch Records at IOR/L/PARL/2/434. Further papers relating to the Imperial War Conference can be found in the Papers of Satyendra Prasanno Sinha, 1st Baron Sinha, at Mss Eur F281/103-104, 106.

Imperial War Conference, 1918. Extracts from Minutes of Proceedings and Papers laid before the Conference [Cd.9177] (London: HMSO, 1918)