The Waikato Times AND THAMES VALLEY GAZETTE. TUESDAY, NOV. 19, 1889.

Waikato Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 2708, 19 November 1889, Page 2

The Waikato Times AND THAMES VALLEY GAZETTE.

TUESDAY, NOV. 19, 1889.

Equal and exact justice to all men, . Of whatsoever state or persuasion, religious or political.

Tjikub are few questions of the present clay which present so niucli deep interest as Imperial Federation, by which is meant the solidification of the whole of the vast Empire of Britain. Certainly, none other instrinsically possesses such elements of irresistible potentialities, affecting not only the many millions of human beings who are subjects of the Empire, but also the entire human race as well. Once the unification of the British Empire is accomplished, there will remain the possibility of greater completeness and grandeur being given to the movement by the United States entering the Confederation, and thus cementing the Anglo-Saxon people and nations into one mighty Power. The results of such an alliance of kindred and political forces upon the world, can scarcely be sufficiently estimated now ; but, of this there can be no doubt, that its influence on civilisation, human progress, and in the cause of universal peace would be overwhelming. It would be the herald of a new and brighter era in the history of mankind. Events are rapidly lending towards the consummation of this magnificent conception. So stupendous has been the work of progress and enlightenment made by "the world in late years, aided by the researches of science and the diffusion of education and general knowledge, that \ww ideas of social, political, or religious advancement rise and shape themselves into practicability with a rapidity that would be marvellous if not felt to be in obedience to a mysterious agency that is working out the elevation and final perfection of the human species. In this light can be regarded the mystic energy that is urging the British nations forward. We can look around the globe and carefully note what the British people are doing in every quarter; we can compare", their deeds with those feeble efforts of other peoples, and feel assured that the Anglo-Saxon race has some great destiny to fulfil in the human economy from which they cannot escape, and for which they are being used, almost unconsciously, as a needed instrument iu the hands of an unseen designer. The Federation movement is the means to some great, end. A few years ago, Federation was looked upon as a chimera, the creation of the fanciful imagination of optimists. It has now gained recognition as something more real than a dream ; and men, themselves leaders of thought and action, who turned from the movement as impracticable, are now found ranged in the foremost ranks of its advocates, and lending strong aid to its promotion. They have been caught by the subtlety of the spirit whicb is moving the age. Sir Henry Parkes, the distinguished Premier, and with him the colony, of New South Wales, held aloof from the scheme of Colonial Federation, and the Federal Council did not count amongst its participants the mother colony of the Australasian group. No doubt the idea attached to the Council, at that time, was of too circumscribed a character, or its sphere of action and responsibilities too narrow, to satisfy the active mind of such a far-reaching statesman as Sir Henry Parkes. The absence of patriotic New South Wales was, of course, a serious drawback to the success of the Federal Council; nevertheless it is from that colony that a proposal, rivalling all others in the majesty of its conception, comes, having for its aim tho construction of a more representative Council, with larger powers than the one that sits modestly every yoar at Hobart, and which shall bind the whole of the Australaaiau colonies under one polity of noble aspirations I aiiduatioual aympathiea. Sir Soury

Parke's schotno for a Dominion, with a central Parliament and Government controlling tho policy of a united Australasia, to bo established on similar lines to the Dominion of Canada, is ono worthy tho genius cf a great statesman whose sole anxiety is the progress and prosperity of his race. He has, with the boldness which is characteristic of him, gone further than was ever suggested by the Federation party, mid where hitherto he refused adhesion he has now stepped in and lifted the movement to the heights of political loftiness. It has been received with general favour in England and the colonies. Sir Henry Parkes has been, as it were, forced to throw himself into the cause of B'ederation by unforeseen circumstances, in reality yielding to that mysterious influence of which we have spoken. The instinct of selfpreservation may, perhaps, be accounted a cause for his conversion in such a remarkable manner to the interests of Federation, the necessity for developing strong and sufficient measures on a common basis for the defence of the colonies against foreign attack has stirred his brain to devise his idea of a powerful Dominion that shall be the dominant power under the'Southem Cross. J3e that as it may, the idea is in perfect unison with the spirit that is pushing the Anglo-Saxon race onwards to the performance of the great destiny intended for it. The Dominion of Canada, which has eonquered all the difficulties that beset it at its launch, is acting a great part in the interests of the Anglo-Saxon people, and is adding stength and pride and influence to Empire. The time is now ripe for a further consolidation of the British race ; and the Dominion of Australasia will be the next stepping-stone to that larger work of assimilation. Imperial Federation, if not an Anglo-Saxon Confederation. There exists, it is true, a serious drawback, probably tho only one of grave moment, that confronts the immediate realisation of Sir Henry Parkes' scheme, namely, the vexed question of fiscal tariffs. Circumstances again will force this to a satisfactory solution; it has reached its maximum point at which the excessive irritation and incitement to retaliation will direct the different Governments to listen to wise counsels and adopt a policy of uniformity reciprocally beneficial. That done, the days of the Dominion will be near at hand.