1887 Colonial Conference facts for kids

Quick facts for kids 1887 Colonial Conference
Attending representatives.
Host country	United Kingdom
Dates	4 April–6 May 1887
Cities	London
Chair	Sir Henry Thurston Holland (Secretary of State for the Colonies)
Precedes	1894
Key points
Imperial co-operation, Naval defence, Pacific telegraph cable, Royal title

The 1887 Colonial Conference met in London in 1887 on the occasion of Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee. It was organised at the behest of the Imperial Federation League in hopes of creating closer ties between the colonies and the United Kingdom. It was attended by more than 100 delegates, mostly unofficial observers, from both self-governing and dependent colonies. India, however, was not represented.

Among other things discussed, the colonies in Australia and New Zealand agreed to pay £126,000 per annum towards the Royal Navy to help pay for the United Kingdom's naval deployments in the Pacific. In exchange, the British government agreed not to reduce its Pacific Station without colonial consent.

A proposal to lay a telegraph cable between Vancouver and Australia was approved. A Resolution to extend the Queen's title to "Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, Ireland, and the Colonies, and all Dependencies thereof, and Empress of India" was also adopted.

The conference was only a deliberative body and resolutions passed were not binding. While this was the case and the conference itself was not established by law, it was seen as a formal step in the process of consultation concerning imperial policy and legislation.

Participants

The conference was hosted by Queen Victoria, Empress of India and her Prime Minister, Lord Salisbury, with Sir Henry Thurston Holland (Secretary of State for the Colonies) acting as chair and the Premiers and other representatives of various colonies as delegates. The colonies invited to send delegates were Newfoundland Colony, Canada, Colony of New South Wales, Colony of Tasmania, Cape of Good Hope, South Australia, the Colony of New Zealand, Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia, and Natal Colony. Various other colonies were invited to send representatives to the opening ceremonies but not participate as delegates. William A. Baillie-Hamilton, the Private Secretary to the Secretary of State for the Colonies, acted as Secretary to the Conference. The delegates were only able to agree on the most general programs towards closer cooperation.

In his opening address, Lord Salisbury cited the importance of mutual defense but also maintained his opposition to the creation of a federation, deeming it impractical. He explained that attempts at constitution-making is not feasible because such imperial federation could not conduct its affairs from one center. Some colonies also threatened to boycott debates about such measure.

Nation	Name	Portfolio
United Kingdom	Sir Henry Thurston Holland	Secretary of State for the Colonies (President)
	Lord Salisbury	Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
	The Earl Cadogan	Lord Privy Seal
	W. H. Smith	First Lord of the Treasury
	Edward Stanhope	Secretary of State for War
	Lord George Hamilton	First Lord of the Admiralty
	The Viscount Cross	Secretary of State for India
	The Lord Stanley of Preston	President of the Board of Trade
	Henry Cecil Raikes	Postmaster-General
	The Earl of Onslow	Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies
	Sir James Fegusson	Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs
Canada	Sir Alexander Campbell	former Canadian senator for Ontario
	Sanford Fleming	engineer
Newfoundland Colony	Sir Robert Thorburn	Premier
	Sir Ambrose Shea	Leader of the Opposition
Colony of New South Wales	Sir Patrick Jennings	former Premier
	Sir Robert Wisdom	former Attorney-General
	Sir Saul Samuel	Agent-General
Colony of Tasmania	John Stokell Dodds	former Attorney-General
	Adye Douglas	Agent-General
Cape Colony	Jan Hendrik Hofmeyr	Member of the Cape House of Assembly
South Australia	Sir John Downer	Premier
	Sir Arthur Blyth	Agent-General
Colony of New Zealand	Sir Dillon Bell	Agent-General
	Sir William Fitzherbert	Speaker of the New Zealand Legislative Council
Victoria	Alfred Deakin	Chief Secretary
	Sir James Lorimer	Minister of Defence
	Sir Graham Berry	Agent-General
	James Service	former Premier of Victoria
Queensland	Sir Samuel Griffith	Premier
	Sir James Francis Garrick	Agent-General
Western Australia	John Forrest	Surveyor General and Commissioner of Crown Lands
	Septimus Burt	former Attorney-General
Natal	John Robinson	Member of the Natal Legislative Council

See also

• Imperial Conference
• All Red Line - the eventual network of telegraph cables connecting the British Empire.