Reviews.

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume XIII, Issue 558, 9 March 1868, Page 3

Reviews.

“ The Incorporation of Britain’s Coi.onies into her Home Empire,” by C.F. Hursthoi;se.—Stanford, London ; p.p, 32. We received the above pamphlet by the last English Mail via Panama. The writer is a well-known colonist who has heretofore used his pen in defence of right. He endeavors to show in the pamphlet before us that while it would be good policy on the part oi thei mother country to amalgamate her colonies with herself into one great empire, there is great danger of the contrary result occurring—that of colonial separation and independence—being at present mere isolated dependencies, little valued and often decried. In the case of Australia and New Zealand the great temptation to assert its independence,—in its distance from the parent state ; its vast extent of territory, half as large as the whole of Europe; its rapidly increasing population ; its noble public revenue amounting in the aggregate to £12,000,000 per annum ; its extensive export and import trade of £65,000,000 ; its variety of climate, embracing latitudes suitable for the production of every useful vegetable and domestic animal; its stores of mineral wealth, and its capabilities of supplying Europe with the thresh great staples of commerce, wool, meat, and tallow; its immense; coast line; and, lastly, its position, remote from all annexing powers, and contiguity to the great marts of India, China, and Japan. He proceeds to show that in the mother country there are three parties, one of whom, the majority, regard the colonies with absolute indifference; a second regard them as expensive burthens which they would gladly see cut adrift; and a third who, appreciating to some extentheir value, regard them as priceless

possessions, which return their cost to her a hundredfold, and confer on her vast benefits—commercial, economic, moral, and emigrationary, with real power and prestige. These would grapple the colonies to the motheJ country with “ hooks of steel,” grant them direct representation in the Imj penal Parliament, and full social and i political equality with the parent state. jHe proceeds to give the example of The United States of America, whose vast wealth and strength springs from her possession of immense areas for settlement of a rapidly increasing population, and her wise policy of “ Accretion of Territory ” —which, unlike England, she incorporates into herself, and the only apparent reason why England pursues the contrary course is the geographical accident that her accretions of territory are Joined to her by water, and not by land, for if they had happened to have been connected by- land, she would have found no difficulty in parcelling them out as so many additional counties, and so incorporated them into herself. But, he argues, this is no sufficient reason why they should remain dwarfed fragments of the empire or be abandoned by her, especially now that there is actually easier accessibility with the most distant colonies than was the case in the reign of Elizabeth with Cumberland or Northumberland. In fact, to abandon portions of her territory because there is water between them and her shores is an argument unworthy of the descendants of the sea kings, and one that assumes a ridiculous aspect.

A parallel argument against colonial representation in the Imperial Parliament is founded on the immunity from British taxes enjoyed by the colonists. Yet more than an equivalent for such immunity is found in the trade the colonies create for the mother country (about .£25,000,000 per annum. The products they raise for her use, and their relieving the crowded little islands of Great Britain of their pressure of population, which if not drawn off might lead to civil commotion and revolutionThese things doubtless contribute as much to her revenue as the taxes paid by home residents.

There is, however, an identitv ofl interest between the colonies and the mother country in many respects, particularly such, as relate to foreign war, as the colonial ports are more open to an attack from a foreign fleet than the ports of the home country, which claim fur the colonies representation, and such representation would, judging from such M.P.’s as have lived the i i j „ wiviuai mcj auu au ciculcui tO t«.v

British Parliament calculated to produce good legislative fruit in other 1 questions thau these. Mr Hursthouse is not bliud to three grand objections which appear fatal to the scheme. These are—l, tariffs ; 2, the national debt; 3, the geographical position of Canada. Of the first he argues that the home country being committed to the free trade po lioy and the colonies raising their re

VeiiUc iLOiii iiiviL iaiiUS, it i 5 questionable, be says, whether any benefits to be derived from incorporation would induce colonists to forego their import taxes, while the manufacturers of the mother, country would demand that their products should enter the colonial ports as tax free as they do home ports. 2nd ; the National Debt.—lt is to be feared that many hon. members of the British Parliament would insist as the condition of colonial incorporation that colonies should pay not only the taxes caused by the armband navy (which would be fair), but also those caused by the national debt (to which they would not assent.) The third and greatest obstacle appears to be the geographical position of Canada, which could not be annexed to Great Britain as part of itself without umbrage to her neighbor Jonathan. This would probably lead ultimately to her annexation to America after a cruel war with Britain, which might also involve half of Europe. The result of the argument then appears to be that not,incorporation, but separation, is the future of the colonies. If their interests were duly regarded at home they might possibly remain colonies ; but as tbeir interests are dealt with by an autocratic bureau —the Colonial office—itself guided by Exeter Hall, the tool of party cry and rabid prejudice, whose miserable policy in New Zealand has lately resulted in a dishonorable retreat from a quarrel its own misrule provoked, and with drew, before the eyes of sneering Europe, an army baffled, if not defeated, from a conflict with a few tribes of savages, and may yet spread ruin and disaster over other and wider fields than this, —it is probable that the important question of separation will shortly be discussed in the Colonial Parliaments and the Colonial Press. Meantime, there is one thing that could be done to stay the progress towards this end—Colonial representation in the Imperial Parliament. Every little Continental Power, every petty foreign state has its ambassador or representative at the Count of St. James’s to watch over the interests of his country, while the great British colonies have no more direct representation than the Fijis or Timbuctoo, The strong point of the book is its argument for representation of the colonies at home. We are convinced that much of the injustice we have suffered in New Zealand from the misrule of the Colonial office might have been averted if we had bad representatives in the Home Government who! knew the state of affairs with us, our needs, and proved colonial experience ; and we agree that the granting of such a privilege would do much to knit the colonies to the mother country, and delay any scheme of separation. Its weak point, on the other hand, we be lieve to be its argument on the tariff question. There is, in our view, a simple solution to the author’s difficul ty. Colonists are not so much in love with dear goods as to object so strongly as he seems to suppose to the abolition of all tariffs and the substitution of direct taxation, as the means of raising the revenue necessary for government.

“As Introduction to the Geography or New Zealand,” Part 1., by T. A. Bowden, Inspector of Schools. Wellington : Edward Greaves Smith.

Geography, as taught up to the present time in the schools of New Zealand, has partaken more of a general than a particular character, Fumis have learnt about the five grand divisions of the earth, but the details have had more reference to the mother country than their own colonial home; the reason being that no good manual of New Zealand geography has hitherto been prepared for their use. The want is supplied in this little work, which it has been prepared expressly to meet. It is accompanied by two maps of the Islands, and one of Australasia, and we doubt not will prove a ■ most acceptable aid to the instructors of our rising generation in their arduous employ-

Umveesity Scholarships. By the courtesy of the Hon. Colonial Secretary we have received the report of the select committee of the House of Representatives on the establishment of University Scholarships as a means of encouraging education of the highest possible class. It contains the report of proceedings of the committee, the ißiGutcs of evidence adduce !, the report of the select committee of the Legisla—r*„ :i , k .. 4 i w . c , iv , , 3 tivc VJVUIJW/U. V/U LUO 4UUIO U2IU

the several petitions which led to the investigation. The pamphlet contains a mass of valuable information.