Chamberlain managed the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act through the House of Commons, hoping that the newly established federation would adopt a positive attitude towards imperial trade and fighting the war. Wishing to reconcile the British and Afrikaner populations of the Cape, Chamberlain was resistant to Milner's desire to suspend the constitution of the colony, an act that would have given Milner autocratic powers. Chamberlain, as the government's foremost defender of the war, was denounced by many prominent anti-war personalities, including David Lloyd George, a former admirer of the Colonial Secretary.