NATIONAL UNITY.

Waikato Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 2668, 17 August 1889, Page 6 (Supplement)

NATIONAL UNITY.

On the loth inst., Mr. G. R, Parkin, M. A., of Canada, who is ou a visit to Australia, delivered an address at the Melbourne Town Hall on the above subject. The enormous hall was filled almost in every part, and great interest was shown throughout, the. lecturer being repeatedly cheered. Mr. Parkin, touching upon the kindred interests which existed between Canada and Australia, said they belonged to the same race, were heirs to the same great traditions; were proud of the same epochs in national history, and were loyal to the same great throne. It was sometimes said that both Canada and Australia were a little bumptious. Perhaps they were, but, if so, tliuy had something to be proud of. The growth of the colonies had actually changed the balance of the British Empire, and brought tiie people of the Empire face to face with the great question which was presented to them that night. It was useless to say things were to lie left as they were. It could not be. It would lie as wise to stand on the sea shore and tell the tide not to come in as to attempt to stop the great tide of colonial growth which was changing the face of affairs in the British Empire. It was only by an accident that the question was'hot raised 50 years ago. If a stupid King and a stupid Miuistry had not forced the Americans into revolt, the question must have been raised and dealt with years ago. The great population of America could not have allowed the foreign policy of the Empire to be. directed without their having anything to say in it, nor could the Mother Country have borue the great burden alone. Tlicy were face to face with the same problem to-day, with the difference that there was no point of jarring between them and the mother Country. (Applause.) A great primary political instinct of the British people was the principle of. self-government on every point. They believed in having a voice in the government by which tlicy were controlted. and a man who had not got that was not a British citizen in the truest sense of the. word. Australia aud Canada were to day two of the finest countries in the world. Responsible government, as it was given by Great Britain, gave the colonies facilities which even the United States had not got. Whilst that was true, these colonies had grown into great nations, and they had a right to a voice in Imperial affairs. There were only two issues to the problem—either the colonies must have a voice in the affairs of the Empire or they must part from it. Some people, said the speaker, professed to despise sentiment, but it was sentiment made nations. It made a united Italy aud a united Germany. The dread settlement of " unity'' carried the United States through one of the greatest struggles which the world ever saw. Coming to tho arguments generally used against Imperial federation, it was often urged that an empire so vast in extent it would be impossible to defend in case of a great warlike emergency. So far from this j being the case, be believed that the mag- | nitude of the British Empire under mo- ! dern conditions of national existence gave j it the greatest military aduantage any j nation ever enjoyed. If war were deI dared by any country against France or I Germany they might have, within 12 hours, to fight for every foot of their i frontier : but Britain was the centre of a i vigorous and powerful Anglo-Saxon popu ! lation, ever ready to defend themselves | against all comers, and it would be days I and weeks before an enemy could get at [ them. All their ports and coaling stations could be shut, and the enemy paralysed by tho time he reached their shores. The lecturer then went on to point out that were the colonies cast adrift from the Mother Country their position would be very different from what it was to day. Australia could not have spoken to China as they had done on the Chinese question They could not have taken the stand they did as regards the French convict settlement in the Western Poeifie were not the Imperial fleet at their backs. Nor could they have insisted upon Germany not advancing so far in New Guinea as not to. acquire control of Torres Straits. Tliey would have, to submit to the aggrandising and hurtful policy of those powers who would have had their coast sand commerce at their mercy. Under such circumstances the loan crcdit of the colonics would not have rivalled that of Groat Britain itself, but would have sunk disastrously to the level of the smaller European powers, or perhaps even lower than that. The unity of the race said Mr. Parkin, is not only desirable, but it is possible a'.so. No doubt there is an enormous problem to he dealt with. There arc men who are not sound, and who malign, sneer,' and misrepresent if only to wreck the fortunes of the British Crown, : and any moment unexpected events may happen to severely try the national spirit. In the year 1870 no one would have predicted, tho loss of the American colonies and yet ten years later that event was imminent. The great disaster in question was the result of misunderstanding and want of insight and foresight ou both sides. Time has brought another chance—a chance of foundling a nobler and a greater empire than the world ever saw, and let them sec that this time their opportunity is not lightly thrown away.