The Daily News. TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 6. THE STRENGTH OF UNION.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 126, 6 September 1910, Page 4

The Daily News. TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 6. THE STRENGTH OF UNION.

• Only of late years lias there arisen a ileal sisterhood of nations throughout the j Empiie, and the sisterhood has grown more out of necessity than of sentiment. It is recognised that to have an unassailable Empire the concerns of Canada | should be of interest to Australia, that . the aspirations of New Zealand should be fostered by South Africa, that the great experiments being undertaken in South Africa should be of intense interest to the whole of the King's dominions, so that there is no division in the great family and no friction among the ! children of the mother nation. There is a peculiar bond of union between this Dominion and the greater Dominion of South Africa. New Zealand lias been closely in touch with her for many years, and the affairs of the remarkable coun}try are watched with immense interest, | mainly, one supposes, because New Zealanders had a hand in winning the republics for the Crown. It is appropriate j that South Africa should invite a New Zealand statesman to attend the opening j of the Union Parliament, and .more appriate that the Minister chosen should I be Mr. George Fowlds, who has not only lived in South Africa, but who is credited with having performed a part in the amalgamation of the States. When

j federation of government was the prej vailing topic in South Africa, Mr. Fowlds | happened to be there, and public men 1 there concede that it was partly due to Mr. Fowlds' discussion of the advantages of proportional representation with Lord Selborne, .that ,the benefits of union were emphasised. The system of proportional representation was adopted in the elec- | tion of the second chamber of the Par- | liament and proved so satisfactory that I all parties joined in pronouncing it a i success. "The election," said the Bloemj fontein Friend on the day following the poll, "is a complete justification of the 1 claims put forward by the supporters of the proportional representation systern of voting . In addition to the satisfactory fact that the proceedings went through without a hitch, the result has demonstrated the absolute fairness of , the single transferable vote." The | Bloemfontein Post, on 'the other side of politics, said "the outstanding feature of the election was the absolutely smooth ; working of the system of proportional representation, which proved in practice as simple and as accurate as it was scrupulously fair in character." The act of any Government having for its object the federation of Imperial interests and the material understanding between the sister nations is a. good act. Any man, whether he be a representative of the State or who merely journeys to a distant part of the Empire privately and with his eyes open, must return to his own land with his mind refreshed and with a broader Imperial outlook. The constant interchange of men between the nations of the Empire is- a most useful modern feature possible because of easy transit. The expansion of Empire is merely a danger if the component parts of it think parochially and do not act Imperially. In process of time, it is likely that there will be so complete a union of ideas in the Empire that it will be a true federation, defensively, politically, and commercially. The one outstanding necessity is that the Empire shall have the ability to be selfsupporting, that no combination of men shall be able to dictate prices for the food supply of the British, and that no combination shall ibe strong enough to order a disruption of Imperial relations. And the problems of each of the sister nations are to a large extent the problems of all of them, but it is impossible that they be understood or solved except by first-hand examination. , Therefore, it is wholly good that representative men should' interchange visits, that they be given absolute freedom to carefully study all questions affecting the relationship of the sister nations, and that the one dominating idea shall j be, not the advantage of any section | of Empire, but the power of might and safety of the whole. The might of the Empire grows when England's crowded cities send their surplusage to the broad prairies of Canada, the illimitable 'bush of Australia, the great veldt of South Africa, and the untouched lands of 1 New Zealand. The bettor the sister nations understand each other, the easier it will be for the Britisher to feel, that he is at home whether he is in Battersea, Krugersdorp. Alberta Land, the King Country, Cootamundra, or Simla. Safety and wealth and well-being lie in the expansion of the British family idea, and the idea can be fostered by the knowledge only gained by personal contact and examination. There is nothing better worth close examination than the wonder of South African unity.