The Dominion. THURSDAY, OCTOBER 27, 1910. TINKERING WITH THE EMPIRE.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 958, 27 October 1910, Page 4

The Dominion. THURSDAY, OCTOBER 27, 1910. TINKERING WITH THE EMPIRE.

The great majority of sober persons in. this country,, to whatever political party they belong, will have read with concern and anxiety the latest cable messages about the political situation in Great Britain. The frequent rumours that the "Veto" Conference has been occupying itself with the possibilities of "Home Rule all round" have excited much discussion, but extraordinarily little enthusiasm, in the overseas countries of the' Empire. As'a solvent of the quarrel that has agitated the United Kingdom for nearly eighteen months "Home Rule all round" has probably appeared to the colonies as a very queer device, but whether Scotland and Ireland, and possibly Wales, ought to be given local Parliaments is of course the business of nobody outside the British Isles. The proposal only touches the rim of colonial interest when it branches into suggestions for an Imperial Council, and,' ultimately, a British Federal Parliament. Although such a development must appeal very strongly to. the sympathies of ardent, and immature minds, it is one that must be regarded with concern by all levelheaded citizens of the Empire. The safety of the American Federation, so far,as it is safe, lies in the great number of the unit States and in the fact that between one State and _ its; .neighbour there is practically no., -difference jn needs, conditions, and ' aspirations. ■ The Australian Federation has its safety from its smallness and from the absence of real State consciousness. ' The Australian States are keenly; alive to .their rights as States,- but'there is nothing like' a distinct soul and spirit in : any one of them. .The Empire, however,- is a group of nations soparatcd by oceans and alien Continents, possessed of special and entirely different needs and aspirations, animated, each of them, by a national soul of its own—and, in the mass, as unfit for Federal government as would be the Continent of Europe..: These are ; the thougnts that must arise in the mind of any thoughtful colonial as he, considers the consequences of such a "sweeping away of the landmarks of British politics" as,: according to a cable message printed, yesterday, is foreshadowed by the Daily News as the' ultimate result, of the momentous Conference. According to this journal, what is-to bo expected is, "the re-summoning of the -Conference with; possiblyi an enlarged personnel and a, wider mandate, which will include the redistribution of: seats,' reform of the franchise, and Imperial representation." : The Liberal and Unionist leaders have maintained an attitude of perfect reserve,' and although political, speeches have been delivered by Messrs. Balfour, Bibrell and the Earl of Crewe, nothing has been said that can be seized upon as reasonably confirmatory of tho. rumours that have culminated in. the News' forecast of : a- change sweeping beyond all measure. Slr J. M. E. Fuller, one .of-the Liberal.party Whips; has hinted that the'scope of tho' Conference may be enlarged, but it is unlikely that hjs chiefs at the Conference would give him' tho confidence that is hot theirs to give. His appeal to the Radical hotheads to, exercise patience rather confirms the view that' ho is only doing his party duty-as he sees it from his unaided reading of the , situation. Of much more importance is the suggestion of "Pacincus" in the Times that the Unionists are ready to consider a workable, scheme of Home Rule. Who "Pacificus" may be nobody knows but the editor of the Times, but his- opinions are of the highest importance, for it .was he who: devised the Conference plan, and developed, in a series of letters, the lines upon which the Conference should proceed. His temper, and; incidentally,, his chief concern in writing - letters I 'that so moulded public,opinion in May and June, can be seen in this passage from his first letter, printed on May 23 last:

And is there no way out of it? / If we really believe in our hearts' (as most of us d-i) that we cannot'afford—that it is too perilous—to let the Constitution become an item in the. party game, that not even the Crown itself ought to bo more rigorously kept ■ out of it, can we not then discover some entirely different method, some means injurious to the feelings of neither side, for getting rid of so grave a."national danger?

We do not know, of .course, but we feel quite sure,. that_ this ' careful thinker can be no friend of such a staggering .'■ bouleverscinent .as is hinted at by the Daily News. In the presence of such a possibility as that the domestic controversies of Britain may involve in their solution the upsetting of the equilibrium of the whole Empire, it is almost impossible to take any further interest in British politics as British politics. For what has so far been an interesting and instructive dispute amongst our cousins seems now to be loaded with tremendous possibilities for ourselves and for all the households of the Imperial clan. At the present time there ; is nothing wrong with the Empire, but in this age, unhappily, that would be widely rejected as being no reason why a change should not be made. Most of the leading, advocates of a patent .Empire with all the latest improvements, as we think their ideal may be fairly described, are quite sincere in their belief that something must be done, bnt the public behind them is actuated mainly by a love of change and a vague idea that the Empire _ should bo made into something like a vast commercial company with a London Board of Directors. That their ideas will never bear fruit must be the ardent hope of every sane and cautious admirer of the present arrangement of the Empire. That Empire has • taken centuries to grow to what it is; its strength is the result of the caution with which each step has been taken. Is it rational to suppose that eight leading statesmen can, after a few meetings', confidently propose a violent change that will mean a change of the whole -face of international politics? Can anybody look withthe darkest misgivings upon a rapid step towards a Federation that will lie a change.as profound in its way as would be the substitution of a Republic for the British Monarchy? We sincerely trust that however Britain solves her domestic difficulties she will, do so .without wrenching the Imperial structure out •ACaha&e.