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