comversion operator overloading

[Elkvis]

let's say I have a class:

template<class T>
class Container
{
  public:
    Container(const T& t) : m_T(t) {  }

    Container<T>& operator = (const T& t) { m_T = t; return *this; }
    operator T () { return m_T; }

  private:
    T m_T;
};

is there a way to make sure that the conversion operator returns a reference to the private data member? I have googled this subject and nobody even talks about this aspect of conversion operators. Is the default return type a copy or a reference?