The Dominion. SATURDAY, MARCH 7, 1914. WELDING THE EMPIRE.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2001, 7 March 1914, Page 4

The Dominion. SATURDAY, MARCH 7, 1914. WELDING THE EMPIRE.

The tour of the Dominions made by the Empire PnrHameHtai'}' party last yca.r is already beariag good fruit. Tlifl membtirs &£ tho Bvitisli .Pnrltnnicnt wjjo made tlio trip acquired a groat deal of flysHftud ini'oi'm.atio.ll about the uvorsoas .D'QfiHil; ions, and they avu now putting their knowledge to excellent use in. man . directions, Who-nevcr opportunity offers they are- removiag misCoiriceptwns a.nd stating tho real fActs earning the social, conrroercial, afid natiqiial affairs of the E.eif'govort' ing British posscssioas in various parts of tho world. Only a day or two ago the Empire Parliamentary Assoeiatiou g:a,vc a dinner to t l he Preffiier of Qtieeasla.ntl {utn, I)eNHAJj) and Me. A. M- Myeits, JI.'P., of New Zeftland, aad Lord EjiMQti made a- speech, in the course .of which ha i'cffirrqij to some of the impress.sions he had gained during, his visit to Australasia. The gathering also gave Mr.. Mxers aa opportunity of correcting .tho jttis-staterne-nts; wl-sieh have been spread abroad in Britaiti regardijig our defen® systein, ftnd no doubt those English politicians who have- bad-the advantages of seeing things, as they actually -.are will continue the campaign against the Biis.vGp.resentat.ions of a section of the anti-militarists. There is still a SWprising amount of ignorance in the Homeland coitcomißg the outlying portions of the Empire, Me. DbsHaji gave an illustj-afti.oa of this whom he remarked that people ifi. Britain often forgot that' tho Australian State have sovereign tfgfrts, and tli-erq are good reasoss for believing that this state-of ignorance extends much. furthej? than the relations of the va-i'iOtts State Gbyernmeijts to the. Commonwealft.. It has tfikea a long while to exterminate the. i?lea that New Zealand is a corner ef Australia.., bvit this ridiculous geographical has now ceased to hiisleacl tli.? majority of educated people, and it is tn be hoped that tlic progress o.f ■enlightenment- will soon j!ewovc many other errors of a similar character.

i'eriodical vigils to the Dominions by members of; the British Parliament, and other public mm of standing, sucli as Loijr> Kitcheser, Sm; Jas llajijwqx, Loud Biitce, and Ear.c_ GeSy, cannot fail to weld the Empire iatp a clos&r unity based on tlis firm .foundation of knowledge mid sympathy. The information which one. derives from books and lieWiipapers is very useful as iai r as it 'goes, kit it does liot go f'ai; efteitgh,. arid can never TOakei the same abiding impression as direefe perspi?al .and jn,(j.iiirio.s ■on the spot, 'IntelHgo'iit ...vf.sitors from the 0 : M Country ea.n iearii whai mariner of people we really arp; tt'hile on ouj part, we will have an opportunity of hearing th?tr views in .public and hv wivata ,? v qd of .see: ing tSiem face to face. ' Personal eqiitact of tliis nat.tire brguts mutual understanding and sympathy. It is for.'fetich.' reason's., as these, i.ii addition to' the ordinary feelings of hospitality, that w? welcome Eaßl GaEY to our sliores, far we know that when he return to rji'itain ho wiJl he in a- position to tell his countrymoil that, tiiongh we may have mt own ideals erf nationhood and oiir to solve, we aft loj-ol Britishers, and recognise oUjr rospu/ftsil?.ili:tfcs as partners iii a World-WidE EiS.pirc, Tho Mother Ooiirrti'y lias as .touch to fear'ft bom the, Ponijnlong as theßominiorts have to iertrrt from the Mether. Oowiiitry. "The Jilo.therla.ncl eh.oultl take hints from the .experience," said the Duke ■of Argyll at the E.mpirc Parliamentary Association's' lunelieoft, flia Bi'itish electors Can wate'h tho rcsnfts. of our legislative experiments, and when, for instance, theV see how wall our syskini of compulBOr.v training is Working they will probably he persuaded, ta a citizen army of. their ewn., '■ The great success of Britain's colonial policy is largely due to the fact.that the overseas. British ctuiamuuities hare be*n thoroughly tnistcd and taken into partnership bv the Motherland. The growth and consolidation of the Empire" are not so liHrch the outcome- of dolibcta-fe planning, or of a wll-thotight'Oiiii ■ scheme, as tlio natural result of the celorusing instinct of our race, The. Efnptr-e. is hound tftget-her by those coiHftion ideas of Iwv and eonstitn-. ttonal. goy-emmeiit which British ■■ eoaittunities haw carried with thaiu: whevever they have .founded new na- : tions; irstt, a:part fioin these rather intangible bond? And seiitimcnts., the : Empire seew ; s, atfii'st siglit-, as M;r. S-itoSEf io-Av recently pointed out. ■ Jacking .in aliiiost evefy 'cfemeflt of i unity. What is it that binds its fr<jm.tho legal and' technical point of view ? JjEk, dficlared that this common; unity was j to lie fcmild iii al.legi.anco to the | Orpwn. The ho said, did not recognise- tho British. .Empire: it re■c.ognisc'd'. the Bomitiiotts, and pftsses* sioiis of'the Grown. Evesfy foot of territory overseas had been teutonic: ally acquiwd fo-y the Orowri, every! admißistmtive' act was; . done in the na.me- of 'the KiwS- Ther.e was; n;o part of t the Empire *'whero the Kt^6 ! s- writ runneth npi," eKce;pt in the protested States.* The lecturer went on to om.phftsia.e the great t.m- ■ ;portance of this fact, It was by this ■ assumption of. tho supreme; and universal' authority of the. Crown, lie said, that the Empite was held to.ge.the ; r» and its vaiup Wfts fiijly eagnised .by all colonial epnsfeitutioiiists, Ooming to the divergence between theory and. practico in this authority of tho King, Mb, showed that lh& Crowri (jxerted more real power over logisjatjsjii ia the Dominions than id B'rilajn, Bieiitlofliiig the veto'imwosed oft the Bills of variotrs co'loiwtfl Paflianwnti 'Now that p.ower. <s| the Qrawn vested in. the Oabijie.t At Some- and there was a "growing feeling in the Dominions that the two sets of councillors, those "in the Dominions and th&so at Home, should stand on the ■same footing in vespcefe to the Throne, This cruesLi-on is an extremely interesting and .important, one. The Sritialv Empire -is still uiiiiergojng a ijrocess of evolution, and what its final form will he' ■>» one can, at |jres.ent sa,y;. hut mil* g/mm'ntjmi mitst doits part in deter' minintj the lino of fewlopincnl:, md it is of the utmosi impovtaiico that'the leaders of Imperial thought s.heiild havf! n. thorough aor riiiaiiitam'.e with tli* Brnpifc as n, whole, •tiitl each of its parts., for sound knowledge and sympitbetir. aye ess*ntJiil qualifilcatiafls for Eminre-building,