Evening Post. WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 30, 1924. PROUD OF THE EMPIRE

Evening Post, Volume CVII, Issue 25, 30 January 1924, Page 6

Evening Post. WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 30, 1924. PROUD OF THE EMPIRE

The porter at the Colonial Office may be excused for not recognising the new Colonial Secretary when he arrived to take charge, and even for mistaking "him for "another shell-shocked patient." How was the "porter to recognise in the " engine-cleaner of yesteiv day "• the man who had succeeded to one of the highest offices in the gift of the Crown and liad presented himself at the front door, with no pomp or circumstance or formal introduction, to .see nobody in partjpular? The (ignorance of the Colonial Office porter is typical of the general ignorance which prevailed throughout the United Kingdom and the Empire regarding the new masters that have bejjn put in charge of British and Imperial policy and the manner in which they wjll discharge their trust. Conservative England received something of a shell-shock when it became evident that the Government which had been commissioned to establish and stability was about to make' way for the party which stands for the capital levy antf the nationalisation of everything. But the tendency to panic has since been replaced by resignation and curiosity and a grateful recognition that the new rulers are noff quite go black .as they were painted. Ignorance and apprehension are. however, still widespread, and the ignorance is probably shared in large measure by the Labour Party itself. How far will the Government go ? How fai) will it try to go? These are questions which the rank and file cf the party cannot. answer, and to which even Mr. Ramsay Mac. Donald's attitude must to a considerable extent be one of " wait and see." , Though the domestic problems of Britain are of no direct concern to I the Dominions, the ridiculous system which makes the defence and the foreign policy of the Empire the sport of party changes on mostly 'irrelevant issues in the parent State gives the Dominions and Dependencies the deepest possible concern in the experiment 'which-is now proceeding.- ■ Here, also, the grave apprehensions that were at first entertained have been tc some extent abated, but it„ is too early to say that they'may' not be. substantially realised, -^t will be possible to speak with more confidence when we know how much of .the Navy ha 3 survived Lord Chelmsford's first statement, whether the Singapore base is to be proceeded with, and, if not, what alternative provision is to be made, if any, for the security of British interests on these seas. But it ig a pleasure to admit that 'in what m?iy be called his Imperial debut the new Colonial Secretary has made a much more favourable impression upon the Empire than he made upon the porter who mistook him for a shell-shocked patient. Mr. J. H. Thomas has long been conspicuous in, the Labour Party as one of the strongest and most level-headed of ij. leaders. Both as General Secretary and as Eresident of the National Union of Railwaymen he was a sturdy champion of their interests, but he was often as eager to avert or to settle a strike as others were to set it going or keep it going/and he was not afraid to incur much temporary unpopularity by opposing the rail*way strike of 1918. Mr. Thomas' career as a Labour agitator indicates that in Parliament he may become something better than a politician ; he mayt even develop into a statesman. Further evidence of the same kind was supplied by the volume entitled " When Labour Rules " which was published by __r. Thomas a few years ago. The book displayed a breadth of mind pn some big questions, and especially a cordial loyalty. to the Throne, which the extreme members of his party could not imitate. If a Labour regime had to be, the Empire is lucky to have a man of this type at tho head of the Colonial Office. His first public appearance in this capacity was at the Australia Day luncheon,, in which'he was very happily associated with the Prince ( of Wales. The good impression which Mr. Thomas had previously made will be deepened and extended by his speech on that occasions Our first Labour Secretary of State for the Colonies is actually, be it noted, proud of the Empire, and he is not afraid to say so. In view of the shy and apologetic manner in which the term " Empire " is sometimes used now, and of the substitution of ''Commonwealth of Nations" in the Irish Treaty and perhaps in other official documents, it is good to find a Labour Minister who is no more disposed to apologise for his use of the word than Mi-. Massey. After five days in office Mr. Thomas deolttres that he is "prouder of the Ehjpife thah ever before." The special reason that he gives is that "Britain has passed through a revolution wherein ink,, not blood, has been spilled," and, __?__*__ ■!_L__f___'lL__ y- .l'P.-a.e-av_l;

or disturbance, trade and commerce and finance are going on just as before;' The apprehensions with which many regarded the change enabled Mr, Thomas to pay a very neat compliment to the King and the Prince of Wales. They were the least apprehensive, he said, "because they were the most wise." It is, indeed, probable that Buckingham Palace has taken a' better-proportioned, ,„nd therefore more philosophic, view of the position than Carmelite House. They knew their people, Mr. Thomae proceeded, recognising tlie fact that patriotism, love of' Empire, service and duty were not a gift or monopoly of one class or creed. Tile King and Prince recognised that men born in humble circumstances, without tlie advantages of a 'Varsity education or real learning, possessed a sense of duty and patriotism unsurpassed by any other type. The Empire %as defended iii the dark days of the war by the men of the slums as well as of the palace, both recognising their common obligations. All sections could be trusted to do the right thing at any given moment. A Colonial Secretary who can talk like this will not fail for lack of good intentions or of a genuine loyalty to the Empire. And a Labour Minister who can talk' like this mayeven be recognised by some genius in Fleet Street as having donte the Empire as good a, turn as Mr, Mac Donald's silk hat.