THE COLONIAL PROBLEM.

Evening Star, Issue 4051, 19 February 1876, Page 1 (Supplement)

THE COLONIAL PROBLEM.

Third Article,

When we have to deal with facts the first condition of success is that wo should see them as they are, and not as we should like them to be. But in dealing with the possibilities of a distant future, what we wish may be of more consequence than what we think. No plans that we can frame at this moment can be trusted to have the results we may attribute to them three-quarters of a century hence. But the wislies we frame now, if they are framed with the requisite resolution, may have a lasting because a constantly varying influence on the eventß of that remote time. It may make no difference in 1876 whether we look forward to an ultimate severance between the Colonies and the Mother Country, or the maintenance under changed forms of the existing relationship ; but m the lone period which probably sepa-l-atos us from the determination of this issue the Colonial policy of England will probably be very different, according as one or other prospect is steadily contemplated." Such is the judicious language emploved by the 'Pall Mall Gazette,' one of the leading organs of public opinion in the Home country when dealing with Mr Forster's celebrated Edinburgh speech. And it offers a pleasing and remarkable contrast to the flippant and illogical leader of the London ' Times ' upon the same subject. " It is our duty" we are told by the latter authority, "to dispel any remaining delusion that England can cover the earth with her wings." This may be true from the standpoint of view assumed by the 'Times,' because it supposes an ImSerial England, possessed of many depenencies relying upon her for defence and protection. As the old Romans withdrew their legions from the Provinces of the Empire, so is modern Britain withdrawing her troops from the Colonies. The severance of relations with the Empire came not from the Provinces but from Rome itself, and that severance was the precursor of her downfall. There is a lesson and a warning in this remembrance. Politicians of the Gold-win-Smith school would fain persuade Britain to repeat the mistake of Rome. To-day, as in the past, the dependencies protest against the disintegration of the Empirewise far-seeing men at both ends of the world deprecate any loosing of the ties that bind the various parts together. Rather, say they, let dependence be replaced by association. If England cannot cover the earth with her wings, let her call to her aid her sons, now scattered over the face of the globe, and by uniting them all under one constitution, expand infinitely the measure of her wings. In other words, let her pave the way for the Federation of all her dominions, granting to all citizens of the Empire, whether at home or abroad, equal privileges of representation m the Imperial Parliament, and consequently equal power in the State. That this great work can, and may, be achieved in due course of time we sincerely believe; but it is a work wcich requires long and patient and persistent application on the part of those who desire its consummation; and it is scarcely within the bounds of possibility that this generation should witness its accomplishment. But it is ours to plant the tree, of which others shall enjoy *£e frui *» . to lay the foundation of of the building into the possession of which oar children shall enter. Unless England is to descend to the position of a petty State »mongtt the mighty nations of the earth, and her Provinces are to fall away into most utter insignificance as tenth rate republics, their union must be perfected. This is un mistakably the fcra of large Empires. In Europe, Germany has absorbed the small States of Central Europe; Italy has driven out the little princelings who so long dominated over her, and has attained the dignity of a compact and consolidated kingdom; Poland has vanished; Hungary is firmly nnitedto Austria; Turkey has yet to undergo her doom, but unless so.ne unexpected change take 3 place her name will ere long be wiped out of the list of nations, and her territory be parcelled out between the adjacent countries. In Asia, the Russian in north, and the Saxon in- the south-west, ■MO each gradually adding Province to Province, so that the advance-guards of their .•anmaß may any day meet, and only China will remain to be broken up and Appropriated. Africa is being invaded :Bimultanfcously from the Gold Coast to rthe Red Sfa, and from the shores of the Mediterranean to the Cape of Good Hope. 'The aavage-haunted Isles of the Pacific are fceing brought under the flag of civilized nations. North America is almost wholly in the hands of the British races, and the Southern Continent is evincing signs of political uneasiness, which seem to indicate Jtfce coming fusion of peoples and the amalgamation, by force or treaty, of adjacent teiTitories. Nor has this uaiyersal wave atop;>ed short of our own shores and those ■of ouf neighbors. In Australia, the desire for a confederation of the Colonies has long .been a fa\ T orite theme with her best and most thoughtful men. And in N&w Zealand, the all but universal demand of the people for the abolition of the Provinces, indicates, although in a different form, the same widely-spread and rapidly-growing feeling. There is an unexpressed, but universal, desire on the part of men of all nations to draw more closely together, and albeit it is not for us to forecast the final issue, we cannot but regard this feeling as th* precursor of the yet far-distant time when all the people of the world shall be as one, and the sound of war shall no more be heard upon the <€*rth. Holding these views we regard with aatisfaction the recent utterances 4ii 4ft# British Premier at London Guildhall «so» ifee Colonial question. Referring to the establishment of the Canadian Dominion Iby Lord Carnarvon, and to the fact that the *ame statesman. i# now engage ; in establishisg a similar .confederation of Colonies in South Africa Mr Disraeli said, —" These are the aets of a Government that has confidence in the Colonial Empire of Grgat Britain ; who, instead of believing as some have believed that it was an exhaustive encumbrance on our resources and poli x ical life, feet ©n the contrary, that it ought to be to England a source of wealth, of power, and of rfery." And he went on to express confidence that year by year the relations between the Mother Country and the Colonies jyould "increase ia interest, in sympathy, and jm advantage." How, it may be asked, is such a Confederation as is contemplated fco be brought about! Not by any sudden aad violent changes, but by the gradual .effects of tifljfy fostered and encouraged by the advocacy of thoae who seek to avert the 4JBmettfbernient of the Empire. The work dL ih§ present day is to imbue the minds of the peojifl with idea of a more perfect and ration than now exists, and to lay the foundation of such an union by discouraging the -notitiit of future independence, which is bjat ■another name for disunion ; replacing it by {that of (ffcjture association upon equal terms, 'wfcieh saeww union. As Mr Forster remarked—■ < -''I£sMfl be done we need not fear but that at 4A» fitting time the idea will realize itself. H Sfevsr were the conditions more favorable for th£« purpose. Commercially, politically, aud *yen socially our interests as colonists are identical with those of the Mother Country. To use an oftquoted phrase, " the trade follows the flag {" our people take a deep interest in Home politics, and our countrymen at Home ;*re beguming to evjace »u alnjort equal

degree of interest in the political affairs o j the Colonies. The sentiment of loyalty ii : as strong in the remotest dependency as i iasitis in the heart of the kingdom. Stean and the electric wire have brought us s< closely together that the great difficultiei of association presented by space and tim< have been well-nigh annihilated. And th< social ties existing between the people o; Britain and the people of the Colonies are s( numerous and so strong that political dis ruption would bring pain and sorrow tc many thousands of homes in both. Never was this more emphatically felt than wher the policy of severance, openly propounded by a weak Government some years since, was met with a storm of disapprobation ic England, to which the colonists responded as with one voice of universal dissent. The very freedom that we enjoy to manage, 01 even to mismanage our own internal affairs, is a bond of amity. And when the desired federation shall have been accomplished, each component part of the Federal must of necessity still be left free in this respect. All that is requisite in order that the connection should be placed on a permanent basis, is that certain necessary conditions should be observed. These, as laid down by Mr Forster, are reasonable enough. "It seems to me," said that gentleman, "that in order that our Empire should continue, all its different self governing communities must agree in maintaining allegiance to one Mouarcn, in maintaining a common nationality, so that each subject may find that he has the political rights and privileges of other subjects wheresoever he may go in the realm; and lastly, must agree not ouly in maintaining a mutual alliance in all relations with foreign Powers, but in apportioning among th- mselves the obligations imposed by such alliance. I have seen it proposed that there should be an attempt to escape the third of these conditions. It has been suggested that a Colony might, if it pleased, be considered neutral in any war in which we might be engaged; especially this has been urged for Canada. I cannot suppose that any one who supports this view can either contemplate or desire the continuance of the Imperial connection. The very essence of such continuance is a commo i patriotism—the feeling throughout all the different communities that, notwithstanding the seas that roll between them, they are yet one nation, and that all their inhabitants are fellow-countrymen. But patriots cannot stipulate that they will not tight for their country or arrange to desert their fellowcountrymen when in danger; nor would any foreign belligerent be bound by any such attempt to w*ge war on the principle of * limited liability.'" This reasoning is not merely sound. It is based on the correct assumption that the qualities upon which we, as a nation, pride ourselves, have not been lost by the transference of our people to the Colonies—that the sentiments of courage, honor and fidelity, which have long been characteristic of tue British race, have been preserved unchanged and uncontaminated by thci.* descendants in Canada, in Africa, in Australasia, whithersoever, in fact, they have taken up their abode. Sentiment apart, there is no reason for supposing that were the Old Country in danger from foreign foes she would not receive ready and effectual aid from her children in all parts of the globe. No alliance could be more honorable or more beneficial than that which now exists, and which we would fain see cemented and strengthened between the Great Mother of Nations and her numerous offspring. The same policy that eventuated in the federation of the North American Provinces, and which is now engaged in bringing about a similar federation of the South African Colonies, will in all probability next bring its influence to bear upon A\istralia. The great barriers to the federation of the latter are to be found in the variety of landlaws and the differing tariffs of the respective Colonies. The first difficulty would be but of slightly greater inconvenience than at present, even were each community to abide by its own regulations. The fiscal difficulty would be less easily overcome. The protectionist craze of Victoria, however, shows signs of abatement, and there is every reason for hoping that the mere pressure of circumstances will ere long compel its abandonment. With Australia, federated and constituted a Dominion, Tasmania would eagerly cast in her lot, and it would then remain to be seen whether New Zealand would care to maintain a condition of isolation. Probably for a time she would do so, but the advantages of union would be so many and so obvious that she must eventually fall in, as did some of the recalcitrant provinces of North America. There would thus be three great Dominions in lieu of many petty Provinces, and this much accomplished, the next step—namely the admission of them into the Empire as integral parts of the whole—would be easily and speedily effected. The West Indies and other small Colonies would follow in due course, and thus there would be created one of the grandest Empires that ever the sun shone upon since the Creator's fiat went forth—" Let there be light!" Such a confederation as is here contemplated would imply, as an essential condition, the equal representation of all its people in a Central Federal Parliament. The functions of the latter would, consequently, be restricted to a few subjects of Imperial interest, such as the making of peace and the levying of war, questions of defence and foreign affairs, and the laws affecting naturalisation, domicile, and marriage. The Btrictly internat affairs of Great Brij»in and Ireland, and of Canada, Australasia, South Africa, and the Indies, would remain as now under the control of local Parliaments. And it is desirable that at the first initiation of such a vast measure, each Province of the various " Dominions " j should retain its powers of local self-govern-ment. The proposed order of government may be stated as :—The County, the Province, the Dominion, the Empire ; and the net result of such an union may be summed up thus: One flag, one people-one interest. As an initial step to this great end the commercial union, first of the various Colonies and ultimately of the whole Empire seemw eminently desirable. With all her ports in every part of the world thrown open for the free admission and interchange of • the natural and artificial products of the united realm, she might command and control the entire commerce of the world. To such a union the way has already been opened by the Intercolonial Customs law a wise and beneficient measure, which, although it not yet born fruit, will ultimately pave (the ft/ay for the fuller and more perfect uniou which is sought after by advanced politicians. One ihing we hold to be certain. Either tifH federation of the Empire must ore long 'be accompjjshed, or it will fall to pieces, as, in the arbseuae of mutual union and association, all Empires ever have fallen. We may nafc sfcand still, for events force us onward whether we will ijb or not, and the position which ensures safety to-day, threatens danger to-morrow. Progress alone is possible, and politic ; for between it and retro- ■ gression there is no half way. And it is cheering to the well-wishers of confederation on this side of the globe to find the London Press recognising the necessity for a close union. "Every day," writes the 'Post,' "tells us now that the greatness of the Empire is bound up with the maintenance of our connection with the Colonies,

and that, as they grow in wealth and population, the time must arrive when they will have a right to share with us here the power and the responsibilities of the administration of the Empire, and that in the meantime, every colonist must be taught that he is as much our countryman as an inhabitant of Loud >n, and that every Colony is part of the common country, as much so as any portion of the United Kingdom." We canuot close this series of articles more appropriately than by a quotation from an able and thoughtful paper read by Mr Francis P. Labilliere (a native of Australia, by the way), at a recent meeting of the Royal Colonial Institute in London. Speaking of the Permanent Unity of the Empire, Mr Labilliere says : —"ln the region of politics thi3 question hovers immeasurably above all others in importance and grandeur; it is the greatest which statesmen can ever touch, j Upon its skilful handling depends nothing less than the momentous issue whether, within a century, the greatest Empire the world can ever see shall be made or marred. The thought is supremely impressive. In its presence all petty Provincialisms, strifes, jealousies, party differences should shrink into fitting insignificance. England by a unhappy policy lost her first Colonies ; she has now a second great opportunity, such as never before fell to the lot of a nation, and certainly can never occur again, of permanently fixing her borders far beyond her narrow sea-girt isles, and incorporating in indissoluble union with these ancient kingdoms, vast new dominions in various climes and in different hemispheres.' |