Imperial Conference were meetings of Prime Ministers of the Dominions of the British Empire in London which had been held since 1917. The sixth Imperial Conference took place from October 19 to November 22, 1926. Representing the Dominion of Canada was Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King.The central issue of the conference was the status of the Dominions within the Empire. The Conference produced the Balfour Declaration which established the principle that the Dominions were all equal in status, and not subordinate to the United Kingdom. It stated that the United Kingdom and the Dominions:
"...are autonomous Communities within the British Empire, equal in status, in no way subordinate one to another in any aspect of their domestic or external affairs, though united by a common allegiance to the Crown, and freely associated as members of the British Commonwealth."
King George V(front, centre) with his prime ministers.
George V (seated, centre) with Rt. Hon. Stanley Baldwin, United Kingdom,(seated left), Rt. Hon. W.L. Mackenzie King, Canada (seated, right). Standing Rt. Hon. Walter Stanley Monroe Newfoundland, Rt. Hon.Gordon Coates, New Zealand , Rt. Hon. Stanley Bruce, Australia , Rt. Hon. J.B. Hertzog and W.T. Cosgrave, Irish Free State. Canadian Delegation Mail
Canadian Delegation Mail, London to West Norwood (London), November 4, 1926
Official Paid handstamp
Canadian Delegation 1926 Imperial Conference cachet
Official Paid London, November 4, 1926 |
The Prime Minister's seal was embossed on the back flap.