CONFEDERATION OF THE EMPIRE.

Evening Star, Volume IX, Issue 2634, 27 July 1871, Page 2

CONFEDERATION OF THE EMPIRE.

The following letter, we have authority for stating, was written by the Hon. the Colonial Treasurer, and has attracted much attention at home.

Sir, —A few earnest men appear to be determined ere long to raise the question of joining, in. a federal union, Oreat Britain and her colonies. I have been told that some able papers on the subject have been published in reviews and magazines ; but I have not had the opportunity of reading them, I have seen, also, that Mr Macfie, the men * ber for Leith, has ventilated the question once more, and with the usual result, in the House of Commons. At the present time, therefore, a colonist’s views on the subject may not be uuinterssting.

Those who have studied the relations between Great Britain and the colonies of late years must have concluded that they are approaching a condition in which a definite solution of a very uncertain position will be a necessity. It can answer no purpose to address one’s self to the school which made, or thought it had made, the discovery that the colonies were rather a source of weakness than of strength to the mother country; nor would it be fruitful of good now to inquire how far the gift of constitutional government to the colonies arose out of difficulties which the Colonial Office naturally felt in dealing with local matters at a distance of so many thousand miles, nor how far it had its origin in a dim perception that the time might possibly arrive when it would be thought desirable, to sever the colonies from the parent country. Interesting as such inquiries would no doubt be, in order to a discussion of the whole subject, I am not now able to dwell upon them j nor can I stop to inquire whether the consolidation of the British Nor*h American provinces was not brought about, in large measure, by those who aimed at constituting those provinces an independent kingdom. It was not until last year that the subject of the future of the colonies was fully brought before the nation. Then the question was naturally asked throughout the country, does the removal of the troops from the colonies mean merely an effort in the direction of economy, or is it a step intended to be in the direction of the disintegration of the empire ? 1 am tempted, since Ihave Referred to this question, to say that the colonists do not understand the alleged reasons for withdrawing the troops. There is present to the minds of the colonists a feeling or conviction that in times gon j bye it would have been thought essential to a mere sentiment of Imperial possession that the British flag should wave over some barrack or place of lodgment of some Imperial troops in each colony, and that her Majesty’s representatives, the governors, should not be left without one British soldier to do homage to their position. Nor can the colonies realise tfye jdes of a great nation not having a few trqops to spare for its great dependencies, governed by its own nominees. The colonists do not understand that the fact of troops being in th colonies can involve so direct a pecuniary appeal to the taxpayers of Great Britain as it is said to involve ; because it appears from the colonial point of view, that a nation like Great Britain, having possessums all over the world, can scarcely deem it prudent tq trust so much to the good nature or fqrbearange q{ foreign powers as to dispense with all that can possibly be called spare soldiers in times of peace. Supposing tUat during such times there were no more soldiers belonging to the empire than Great Britain required for her own protection or dignity, the colonics might surely be regarded as useful depots for purposes of training and discipline. However, this is foreign to the question of confederation. Indeed, it is to be observed that one of the conditions of. federation would virtually be to release the British taxpayer from payments on account of colonial purposes. To return to the main subject. When, as I have said, the question was fairly mooted last year, whether the government really did propose a policy leading up to the dismemberment of the empire, an authoritative announcement was made that their actions were misunderstood. 1 do not wish to raise the issue whether this meant a change of policy or was but an explanation of a policy which had been misapprehended. There was, in fact, an official announcement that the mother country would, in the event of war, protect her colonies to the extent of her last shi.ling, her last ship, her last man. At fir.-t hearing this seemed a large and comprehensive declaration. But the colonists have a knack of looking below the surface ; and when they did so in this case, it became a very general question with them, Is th re really any meaning in such a declaration ? It seemed to the colonists that as long as the Br.tiah flag was flown colonies, it was really not left to the choice of the mother country whether or not she should defend those colonies. Obviously, wherever her flag was attacked she would be

bound to defend it. On the declaration of war Great Britain could not haul down hci flag in any one of her colonies, and so say to the power with whom she was at war, “ W* call that place one of our possessions, but wt do not mean to defend it, and so with that portion of British territory you miy do what you like, or what you can.” Much more to the purpose than the “last shilling decla rat ; on—much more intimately connected with the real question as to the future of the colonies—was what I may bo allowed to call the sinister announcement that Great Britain would never .again tight in order to retain a colony against its will. To many colonists such an announcement of policysupposing that after proper discussion it should be ratified by the general feeling ol the country--meant the breaking up of the empire at a time more or less remote. 1 shall address myself more particularly to this position, because upon it appears to me to hinge the necessity for confederation. The understanding, not ratified, but not combated, is, that the colonies may cease to be portions of the empire whenever it suits them. Is that a position which a great nation should accept ? Great Britain without Canada, Australasia, .and South Africa, toi example, to say nothing of other colonies would, in the scale of nations, be a vastly different country from what she (might be with them. And to strengthen the argument it must he remembered that were the colonies absolute and inseparable provinces of the empire their progress would receive an enormous impetus —the enterprise of Great Britain would naturally flow towards them as it would towards some new island contiguous to Great Britain, were it possible that such could arise from the sea. It should also I c borne in mind that should secession of colonies once become fashionable it might extend even to India ,and the West Indian Islands. The day cannot be distant when Great Britain must decide what she is to he. She cannot long continue in the position of being able to assert herself one of the greatest nations of the world, or of laying herself open to being considered one of the smallest. For many reasons the question raised must be determined. It would be idle to pretend not to see in the measures before parliament a plan of general armaments. The policy now being shaped by parliament means that England is commencing to do what other nationsinEuropedidsome time since, namely, to place herself in a condition to light effectively, if either she should be forced or should please to do so. But when a great nation is seriously considering the putting of her armaments into what can he deemed, in the light of events, a proper condition, docs it Hot seem prep .sterous that she should omit from her scheme a vast proportion of her territory which is specially open to attack? Although, as we have teen, Great Britain would, becau- e of her flag, be bound to attempt to defend her colonies if that flag should be attacked, yet, as matters stand at present, the force which the colonics could supply would be quite independent cf her control. Again, it is, to say the least, a singularly irrational ai rangement, that Great Britain should be liable to incur immense expense for the defence of colonies, any one of which, on the day after war had ceased, might elect to leave the empire. I fail to understand hj w it can be consistent with the dignity of a great empire that outlying dependencies of that empire should be expressly placed in the position of being able to deprive the mother county of extensive territory. That Great Britain and hj r colonies now really constitute one empire is far from what we are entitled to assume ; but assuming it. for argument's sake, then the colonies constitute some portion of the wealth and power of the nation as a whole; and is it to be tolerated that small communities of colonists, some < f them occupying large and important territories, should have it in their power, whether as a matter of caprice or of policy, to cut up the pnpire at their pleasure? Yet that is what is really involved in the declaration that England will never again fight to compel colonists to remain connected with her. The colonies themselves occupy at present a position which is so anomalous that it cannot long contjpuc. 'Jheir populations, gifted with a large amount of local power—themselves having resources which bid fair to give to them the importance of great nations—they are really neither parts of Great Britain, nor are they independent nations. Indeed, as far as other nations are concerned, the British colonies are to a great ectent outside any recognised pale of nations, or parts of nations. They are often reminded that they have powers of self-govern-ment ; they aro at times encouraged to the utmost to exercise those powers, Yet they are shut out from those high concerns which affect their outside relations with the world. When the mother country bestowed upon them the gift of self-government, it was surely a natural deduction that she meant in time to give them also some voice in the affairs of the empire, that she meant to train them to the exercise of suph voice, Obviously, it qnist have been impossible to overlook the consideration that in giving the colonies quasi-iudependenco that was being given which must lead them, sooner or later, to feci that they were entitled to a share in the decisii n of those questions which affect them externally. Their position would be one of humiliation if they were to be free merely to govern themselves internally, but to be subject to the vicissitudes consequent upon a policy of the empire from ad voice in which they were to be excluded would bo intolerable. In short, the colonies have been educated up to a natural assertion of their right, either to take a part in the affairs of the empire, or to be told that the empire desires that all connection with them shall cease. There is, again, a singular anomally in the fact that whilst Great Britain is in direct relation with each one of her colonies ; yet, because of the want of a confederation, the colonies have no sort of direct relation to each other. fTo be continued.)