 As a member of the "Kolonialrat" (colonial advisory board) he was the only supporter of a 1901 proposal to free all slaves in Germany’s African colonies by 1920.Valois proposed that all children born to slaves should be born free, but this was overruled as "premature" and the board objected strongly to the proposal.He was long a foe of the United Kingdom and supported a strong cruiser fleet as the most feasible way to fight her in any future war.