Mr. E. J. Harding, C.M.G., was our Secretary. An Oxford man of
distinction, a member of the permanent staff of the Colonial Office,
studious, enthusiastic, energetic, of rare temper, tact and patience, he
was all such a Commission could desire. He and three or four assistants,
with local officers selected by the Governments in each of the Dominions,
one and all most capable men, formed a Secretariat that served us well.
The Commission started operations by taking evidence in London in the
autumn of 1912, but its main work lay in the Dominions, and on the 10th
of January, 1913, we sailed for Australia and New Zealand, touching at
Fremantle (Western Australia), Adelaide (South Australia), Melbourne
(Victoria), and Hobart (Tasmania) on our way.
In New Zealand we travelled through the island from south to north,
staying in that beautiful country for nearly a month, and holding
sittings in the principal cities. One sitting we held in the train--a
record surely for a Royal Commission. Easter intervening, we indulged in
a few days' holiday in the wonderful Rotorua district, where we enjoyed
its hot springs, its geysers, its rivers, its lakes and its Maori
villages.
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