Though most other opinion leaders did not go as far to state outright opposition to the governor-general's actions, they did spur important early debates as to the role of the governor-general. Barton himself admitted to some influence from the Governor-General: though initially Barton was reluctant to commit support to the Boer War, communications by Hopetoun to the Colonial Office in December 1901 revealed that Barton's position had been changed in favour of committing support and that change had most likely been driven by Hopetoun's efforts.