THE COLONIAL PROBLEM.

Evening Star, Issue 4045, 12 February 1876, Page 1 (Supplement)

THE COLONIAL PROBLEM.

Second AktricLß.

Let us see now how the Colonies would be "W&H,* m * ranee of ties that link them with the Parent State. The advocates of web dwumo^sre/happily very few in numS^SSr ; 0|^ he world » « » ciroumstanQe that their views : ott vague theories devoid of any solid Bubatratum of fact. They are unable to point to any injurious results as Jxaving; hitherto accrued from the existing °ffW*W» »nd are driven to the necessity of fdrecasting possible evils in the future most frequently employed is uatja..tjie event of war breaking out between Great Britain and a foreign power hostilities may be extended to the Colonial the Empire. Russia is more especially the bete noir of these alarmists, and the public mind has been for years' past penodically agitated by dismal visions of townsman! in ashes, contributions levied upon Governments and banks, and general confiscation of property by vessels of war belonging to the enemy. Britain, it has been said,,cannot render adequate protection to the enormous seaboard of her entire dominions. No doubt there is something in these arguments; but it is something ettiinently fallacious. It is just possible that our ships may be captured and our cities bombarded because of some European conflict. ,But, as Mr Forster well and wisely pute it, "We must look for reasonable probabilities, and not allow ourselves to be misled by vague possibilities." At present we are secured from attack by the grand old flag that waves over us, and which we are all so proud to call our own. No foreign foe can approach our shores with hostile intent without incurring the certain yengeance of the Mother Country. All her prestige and all her power enshrouds us; and secure beneath the shelter of the great Empire, within whose vast domain the TO H°f\ the morning drum never ceases to beat, we pursue our vocations and «xerctße our industries, unguarded yet unharmed. The day may come when perchance the colonists may be called upon to assist the Britain that now protects them, and should it so happen, who shall doubt that the response would be prompt and hearty ? But that day is long distant, and we question if there lives one man who would dissolve the. ties of our joint nationality because of the possible occurrence of such a contingency. Let us, however, reverse the picture and suppose the Colonies erected into independent states. Could they—any or either of them—maintain a military and naval force sufficient for their own protection? Could the Australasian Colonies, even if federated, do so ? Consider their vast seaboard and the immense extent of their territory, and think what it would cost to support an efficient army and a navy numerous and powerful enough of making even a show of resistance to a great European power such as Russia or France. The united revenues of all the Colonies would scarcely be adequate for the due performance of such an Herculean task. We might exhaust our joint finances and impoverish our people in the effort, but when we had done our utmost all the resources that we coidd possibly command would be of less effect than is the right which we now possess of hoisting the British ensign. So long as we claim affinity with that honored flag, the standing army of Britain is our army her navy is our navy, ever ready for our protectaon and defence m the hour of danger, and they cost us nothing. Titles and decorations have been designated "the cheap defence of nations; the Union Jack is the ch«ap defence of our Colonies.

Then, again, there is the question of mutual .commerce, at present equally profitable to ourselves and to Britain. Does anyone suppose, for an instant, that a serious check would not be given by severance to the commercial relations at present existent? Is it likely that British capitalists would so freely invest in Colonial enterprises and Colonial securities as they now do, if the Colonies were erected into independent States ? As things are, the honor of the Empire is indirectly pledged for the fulfilment of our public engagements, and the law of the Empire controls and regulates private engagements between the peoples of the Home country and of the Colonies. Remove the securities thereby imposed, and the inducements held out to the British capitalist will cease to exist. Consequent thereupon we may be sure there would be a falling off in tracle a diminution of investments, and widely-felt stagnation throughout the Colonies. It may be said that in the course of time this would rectify itself, and perhaps it would ; but is it desirable to invite such undesirable im- . mediate results in the expectation of far-off benefits which may or may not accrue after all. The fable of the dog and the shadow typines what the advocates of disunion would have us pursue; and the good old Scottish proverb which bids us « creep before we gang, comes opportunely to mind. It will be quite soon enough to hoist a national flag of our own, if it is to be done at all when we oount our population by millions! To do so earlier would simply be to imitate the proverbial frog that strove to emulate the ox in size, and perished miserably in the attempt. But it is not at all certain nor do we consider it probable that the desire to sever the Imperial connection and set up for ourselves will increase as the years roll on Rather we incline to the belief that the attachment of our people to the Parent State will "grow with their growth and strengthen with their strength;" and that they will at all times feel that it is both honorable and advantageous to remain an integral part of a powerful nation, to be partakers of her greatness and sharers in her prosperity. With the large measure of selfgovernment bestowed upon us we have nothing to gain by national isolation. No country m the world-not even the great American Republic-is more free than are the Colonies, to shape their own course and carve out for themselves their own destiny We govern ourselves as we please; we pav only such taxes as we think fit to impose upon ourselves ; and without being called upon to contribute one penny to the Imperial exchequer wc retain and possess all the rights and privileges of Imperial citizenship Cwa t Momamm sum was an insignificant boast compared with the dignified position BritSn!" y P hrase -" 1 am » citizen^

_ There is yet another point of view remaining for consideration Let us suppose these Colonies each free and independent. How long would it be before they quarrelled with each other awl provoked, if they did not incur the peril of an internecine war such as recently devastated the Southern States of America ? The mutual jealousies of Victoria and New South Wales, the interminable squabbles about the Murray River traffic, and the boundary dispute between Victoria and bouth Australia, occur to us as instances of disagreement, which, if existing between rival states, might readily be fomented until they eventuated in war ; but so long as the Colonies remain such, they neither can nor would, be suffered to resort to extreme measures in defence of what they may deem to be their rights. The connection with the Empire is a guarantee for the preservation of {>eace between rival colonies which would be oat were they antagonistic States ; and when we consider the bitterness of feeling ▼Jticfc now and again crops out in debating i qutrtioiw euch m tfcoa? wt have referred to,

there seems to be ample ground for the belief that were they absolutely independent of the moral control to which they are now subject they would appeal to physical force for a solution of their difficulties. This is m itself no slight argument in favor of the continuance of things as they are. And, indeed, if change of any sort there is T. - % We should in nmtely prefer that it should be in the direction of drawing the bonds between Britain and her colonies more closely together rather than loosing them. To quote again from the speech of Mr Forster, "Ifit be possible to replace dependence by association, each member of the federation would find in the common nationality as least as much scope for its aspirations, as much demand for the patriotism and the energy and the self reliance of its citizens, as it would if trying to obtain a distinct nationality for itself." Can such federation be accomplished ? We believe it can, and that in its accomplishment alone is to be found the true solution of the Colonial problem. Events march with marvellous rapidity in the days wherein the lot of this generation has been cast, and theie is no greater phenomenon recorded in history than that which is presented by the spontaneous growth of the British Colonies within the last quarter of a century. This branch of the subject, however, is too extensive to be dealt with at the close of an article, and we therefore reserve our further remarks for a third and concluding paper on the subject.