At Wednesday's Conference, at which Mr. Balfour made a memorable
speech endorsing Sir Edward Grey's endorsement of Lord Rosebery's warnings, while Mr. Haldane endorsed Mr. Balfour, a most interesting discussion took place on a motion by Mr. Fink, an Australian delegate, in favour of universal training. That resolution was not pressed, and rightly not pressed, to a division, but it was evident from the general tone of the discussion that a very largo body of the delegates were in favour of such universal training for Britain and the self-governing parts of the Empire, and that the Conference as a whole realised that in some shape or other the sense of personal responsibility in regard to national and Imperial defence must be brought home to the citizens of the Empire. To this discussion Mr. Leo Maxse, editor of the National Beview, made an interesting contribution in pointing out the folly and absurdity of representing newspapers as in favour of war because it was good for their trade. That is an idea which dies hard, but as a matter of fact, and under modern conditions, newspapers do not thrive either in war or under the heavy taxation which war producee.
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