The Evening Star. PUBLISHED DAILY AT FOUR P.M. Resurrexi. MONDAY, APRIL 30, 1885.

Thames Star, Volume XVI, Issue 5074, 20 April 1885, Page 2

The Evening Star. PUBLISHED DAILY AT FOUR P.M. Resurrexi. MONDAY, APRIL 30, 1885.

ETaif of the trouble that has arisen between the British and German Govern* ments orer Pacific annexation may, per* baps somewhat indirectly,yet reasonably, be traced to the unnecessary fuss made over a year ago by the Conference of Australasian statesmen held in Sydney with the arowed object of Colonial Federa tioo. An effort, prompted, no doubt, by well intentioued politicians, was made to not only form a union.of the British possessions in the Southern Hemisphere, but particular stress was laid upon the necessity of taking, steps lo prereol fureifu

colonisation a round the colonies represented at this Conference. This selfish, yet from some points of view pardonable. proceeding has had a very unsatisfactory effect, it haif caused other countries to look around for means to plant some of their surplus population, and for an openingfor' their commerce which has resulted in Germany, not unreasonably, casting an eyeonjicquiring, for a certainty, a largo portion of New Guinea, arid France evincing a desire to render permanent her power to deport convicts, if she so list* to various islands adjacent to the colonies. This Federation scheme, it turns out, was wrongly conceived and ill-advised; it has | caused trouble to the Home Government, and is likely to result in harm to those who, as we have stated, were doubtless interested by very worthy motives., Although progress in government, as in all other things, is very desirable, it would appear that the system under which the colonies " have so well, so long, and so successfully worked, would take some time to improve upon. Men desirous of fame are ever eager to introduce changes, but solid-headed politicians are, as a rule, somewhat shy in receiving them; this conservatism does good work. ,So many contingencies arise when innovations of such importance as the one under review are made, that extreme caution should guide, those inclined to introduce a novelty. The colonies have prospered well under the system of independent government, and have never shown any inclination to sever the tie binding them to the Mother Country; what more they require in the matter of general govern* ment it is somewhat difficult to conjecture. Each is allowed to manage its own affairs, and were general management, even of only a partial character adopted, we fear dissatisfaction would ensue. No less an authority than John Bright thus speaks on the subject:—This cver-.growirig Empire, which so many men clamour for, is in my opinion, only a delusion and a snare. It involves an increasing burden, and it must involve, in some not very remote future, catastrophe from which we hope that our children may be saved. The Imperial Federation "League proposes that the British Empire—that is the United Kingdom, with all its colonies should form one country, one interest, one undivided interest for the purpose of defence. The idea, in my opinion, is ludicrous. They must be blind to the lessons of history. The true policy of this country ig not to seek to enlarge our Empire. Nor is it to seek to bind the Empire together, more closely in the way proposed by the Federation League. The way to deal with our colonies is to deal with them as we do now, to encourage them, to give them freedom as now, to deal justly and fairly with them on all occasions, to cultivate sympathy and goodwill towards them ; bnt if we bind or attempt to bind them in a* closer tie by meddling, with them, by allowing them to give counsel, which perhaps we should not follow, we shall find tbat instead of their being more our friends they will be less our friends, and that the bond of union will, in all probability, be weakened. I am for friendship—l have said this often from this platform—l am for friendship and justice to all our colonies, and to foreign Powers, but I think we have enough on our bands. We have possessions almost all over the globe, and our language is spreading all over the globe. A bundred yeara hence the English language will be the prevailing language as compared with any other language. In North America there will be 100 millions of people speaking English within a very few years—within the lives of many I now see before me. You will hear it spoken by millions in Australia and in South Africa ; you,will bave.it spoken, as you now have ii spoken, by millions in the British dependencies. Our literature must follow the language. Let us be content, if we can, with the territory we hare and with the regions we govern. Let us deal with all people as we would wish them to dea' with us. Let us suppress the longings and hungerings for more territory ; let us resent the irritating and offensive teach* ings of hysterical members of the press ; and let the time come when, as I think, one of our poets has said, "Where Britain's power is felt mankind may feel her mercy too." The desire for the unity of the " Empire cmnot ever be more fulfilled in the spirit than it is now, and British people will never be more in communion at heart than they are at the present time—the laudable efforts of enthusiastic and ambitious colonial statesmen- notwithstanding. Things bad better have remained as they were ere this foreign jealousy regarding colonisation was aroused. The English Premier's expression—although a little bombastic, as might be expected from such a.BOurcer*that " The future of the i world belonged to English speaking people unless they ere guilty of abase desertion of an easy duty, and,'thus renounce the noblest, the most beneficial, the most peaceful primacy ever presented to the heart and understanding of man," is as likely to be' fulfilled under the present system of Government as any other known. Interchanges of treaties are much more likely to be successful between the colonies than is any scheme of Federal Council likely to be conceived. The interests of the various branches of the Empire are not sufficiently identical to warrant a belief tbat the federation spoken of would tend to promote their general prosperity.