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7% 
 
 THE FEDERATION 
 
 OF 
 
 Greater Britain. 
 
 • BY 
 
 CHARLES WADDIE, 
 
 HONORARY BEGRBTART OF -THB SCOTTISH HOMB BUUi ASSOCIATION ; 
 
 AUTHOR OF "HOW SCOTLAND LOST HBR PABLIAMBNT" ; "AN IVQDIRT INTO 
 THE PRINCIPLKS OF NATIONAL AND LOCAL SELF-OOVBBNMISnt " ; 
 "HISTORICAL LESSONS ON HOMB ROLE," ETC. 
 
 W J 
 
 J^ 
 
 WADDIE & CO. LIMITED, 
 18 9 5. 
 
 Threepence. 
 
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 ^^(Kl^Ce^^Cjey (^^A^<^'L^c£<LJ 
 
 THE 
 
 FEDERATION OF GREATER BRITAIN. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 THE FIRST STEP NEEDED. 
 
 TilE |pacious and popular cry of Imperial Fedoratiou has been 
 for sojne years before the country, agitating the political world. 
 We fear, however, there are few of those who speak so glibly on 
 this question that realise its magnitude or have any idea of the 
 obstacles that lie in their path. We will refer to a few of these 
 as tersely as possible. The British Parliament at i^resent con- 
 sists of a House of Commons containing G70 members, and a 
 House of Peers containing over 500 members. These two 
 assemblies not only undertake to look after our Indian and 
 Colonial Empire, all our outlying dependencies, watch over 
 our army and navy, but every relation with foreign States. 
 Tremendous as this work is, it only forms a portion of the 
 duties that fall to our Parliament. The whole domestic affairs 
 of England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales, come to be attended 
 to in this congested Assembly. Not a single change in the 
 law, not one private enterprise, however insignificant or stu- 
 penduous it may be. but must go through the forms of parlia- 
 mentary procedure. Need it be wondered at that the whole 
 machinery has broken down hopelessly in the attempt to grapple 
 with such a mass of work. 
 
 It is the above state of affairs that gives vitality to the cry 
 for Home Rule. The Irish have been the most forward, 
 
The Federation of Greater Britain. 
 
 because their needs are greatest by reason of their poverty, 
 but neither Scotland nor Wales have been uninterested obser- 
 vers of the patriotic efforts of the Irish people. While this is 
 so, there is no part of the country that suffers so much from the 
 congestion of business as England herself. At last these truths, 
 in 1885, were forced upon the attention of the Liberal Party, 
 and their veteran leader, Mr. Gladstone, introduced his first 
 Irish Home Rule Bill in the session of 1880. What became of 
 that Bill is matter of history. It has always been a source of 
 wonder how any body of experienced politicians could have 
 imagined that a Home Rule Bill for Ireland alone was possible. 
 This was perfectly patent to the Scottish Home Rule Associa- 
 tion, which was formed in the beginning of 1886, and fearing 
 the wor.st consequences from the blunder, the Honorary 
 Secretary wrote lo Mr. Gladsloue on the 24th of May, 1886, 
 before the Irish Bill was rejected, pointing out that the four 
 nations of the Union needed Home Rule, and said, "I feel 
 there is no halting place, no half measures. National Parlia- 
 ments for the four countries, and an Imperial Parliament over 
 all, alone can solve this difficult question." These truths, which 
 seem so obvious, hav^e been slow to take root in the mind of 
 the Liberal Party. Y(^\. , there is a reason for this aberration 
 of judgment. It was party spirit which ruled in their councils — 
 thev thought to get rid jf the Irish obstruction in the House 
 of Common.s, and then reign supremo in London over the three 
 remaining countries of the Union. Scotland and Wales were 
 overwhelmingly liberal, England sent a majority of conservative 
 members to the House of Commons, while the House of Lords 
 was permanently conservative. The hope of the Liberal Party 
 lay with the two smaller countries of the Union, to lose them 
 was to place the Liberal Party in the cold shade of the opposi- 
 tion. It was a party triumph they sought, not the wise 
 direction of the affairs of a great people. Nor can we acquit 
 the Irish of selfishness ; they showed utter indifference to the 
 welfare of the other countries joined to them, clamoured for a 
 settlement for Ireland, or, at least, first, when such a partial 
 settlement was impossible. Selfishness defeats itself — had they 
 made common cause with Scotland and Wales they would ere 
 this have been in the enjoyment of their Parliament in College 
 Green. 
 
 i 
 
The First Step Needed. 3 
 
 A second Irish Home Rule Bill was introduced in 1893, and 
 forced through the House of Commons only to be rejected by 
 the House of Lords. At last the truth is beginning to dawn 
 upon the Liberal Government that Home Rule all round must 
 be faced, if the business of the country is not to come to an 
 utter collapse. Lord Rosebery at Devonport and at Cardiff 
 revealed this change in their sentimi ats as clearly as any 
 orator can, while Sir George Trevelyan and Mr. Campbell- 
 Bannerman, all Cabinet Ministers, have given expression to 
 the same sentiments. Hardly a single Liberal Member of 
 Parliament can now be found who does not admit the necessity 
 of Home Rule all round. 
 
 All the above facts are only interesting to the Imperial 
 Federationist as showing the first step needed for the realisa- 
 tion of his hopes. Let them not deceive themselves. Would 
 members from Victoria, the Cape, New South Wales, or 
 Canada, waste their time in a Parliament taken up with 
 a Crofter Bill, an Irish Land Bill, a Local Veto Bill ? Is not 
 this Parliament so congested that it can only afford a summer 
 afternoon to consider tiie affairs of our Indian Empire with its 
 200 million souls ? We credit our Colonial brother with more 
 commoii sense than entrust the least of his affairs to such an 
 Assembly. But even suppose it were possible to admit the 
 Colonies into our present Parliament, would not the same 
 cbjjction apply as in the late Irish Home Rule Bill — viz., 
 they would have a vote on our domestic affairs while we 
 would have no say in theirs. There can be no dubiety about 
 this — such a measure would only end in the destruction of all 
 Government. The time is not far distant, however, when all 
 this will be changed : England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales, 
 will each manage their own national and local affairs in the 
 same way as the Colonies do at present. Then a true British 
 Parliament Avill be open to receive the concentrated wisdom of 
 the whole British world. 
 
The Federation of Greater Britain. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 THE NEW BRITISH PARLIAMENT — HOW CONSTITUTED. 
 
 Let us now consider what would happen, after the home 
 countries had pi.t their own house in order. It is clear that a 
 new British Parliament would have to be created ; the present 
 Parliament, which is based upon the population of the United 
 Kingdom, would no longer be adapted to the needs of the 
 country. The separate legislatures would strip it of three- 
 fourths of its work, and what was left would be of interest to the 
 whole British people both at home and abroad. What then 
 would be the business of the new British Parliament, and 
 what interest would the self-governing Colonies have in joining 
 it ? The British Parliament would have the exclusive control 
 of the aratiy and navy, the diplomatic relations with foreign 
 states, and the momentous issues of peace or war. It would also 
 be the guardian of the interests of the whole dominions of the 
 Crown, over which it would exercise control. It would be the 
 ultimate and final court of appeal in all disputes between the 
 self-governing states of the Empire — in fact, it would retain 
 what has been so often demanded, the supremacy of the 
 Imperial Parliament. The constitution of every State under the 
 Crown being statutory, parliaments are its own creation, and 
 what it made it ?an unmake. If any of the Colonics or home 
 countries overstepped the delegation, they would be called to 
 order by this supreme tribunal, while the whole power of the 
 Crown would be available to compel obedience. There is no 
 novelty in this, it is the present rule of the Imperial Govern- 
 ment, the only difference of the new British Parliament would 
 be, when the Colonies were represented by delegates they would 
 be submitting to the authority of the whole of Greater Britain, 
 not to the views of the home countries only. 
 
 It is not our object to go into details, but it is desirable to 
 point out some of the functions which the Imperial Government 
 would undertake, subject to the control of the British Parlia- 
 ment. The postal and telegraph service naturally suggest 
 themselves — much overlapping and consequent expense might 
 
The New British Parliament — Hoiv Constituted. 5 
 
 be saved by a central authority cotitroUiug the whole system. 
 The commercial relations between the various states of the 
 Union might well bo regulated, while patents for inven- 
 tions and copyrights could be made to apply to the whole 
 dominions of the Crown. The whole of our Indian Empire 
 would for the first time receive careful attention. Surely 
 enough has been saiil to give ample work for the most august 
 assembly in the world. 
 
 If ever such a system as we have sketched is to work 
 harmoniously, the perfect equality of all the states represented 
 in the British Parliament must be recognised. The principle of 
 population must be at once discarded — in this case it does not 
 apply. When States enter into a Federation, they surrender a 
 portion of their natural rights, but all must surrender alike, for 
 if one has a preponderating voice in the assembly, the others 
 become her vassals. In a matter of peace or war, for exa..iple, 
 the State with the smallest population might be the most 
 interested in peace, as her territory might be the first to be 
 exposed to the attacks of the enemy. To submit to the voice of 
 the majority, when all were equally represented, would be just, 
 but if one of the States by reason of her population and exagger- 
 ated representation were able to set aside the wishes of all the 
 others, such a state of affairs is not freedom, but the unjust 
 subjection of one people to another. Besides the self-governing 
 States of the Empire, we have a great many dependencies. The 
 settlements on the Avest coast of Africa, the West Indian Islands, 
 and the Mauritius, are examples of these. Would they not be 
 deserving of some representation in the British Parliam.ent ? 
 Although they might claim attention, their subordinate position 
 would be adequately represented by a small number of members, 
 one delegate from each Crown Colony might be considered 
 ample. 
 
 We confess that, while a British Parliament, like the above, 
 would be constituted on reasonable and just principles, we have 
 little hope of convincing the English people to fall in with our 
 views. The population and wealth of England is so much 
 greater than any other unit of the federation, it will be hard to 
 convince them to take up a position of equality Avith their 
 neighbours. They are anything but a meek people, and so 
 much might be said from their point of view, that they might 
 
6 The Federation of Greater Britain. 
 
 claim to have right and justico on their side. Yet tlieir claim 
 to supremacy could never be conceded. It becomes, then, the 
 duty of InipiTial Federutionists to bring their whole force to 
 bear upon England, to convince her of the justice of their claiuis ; 
 when they have done ho they will have achieved a triumph. 
 
 England, then, being convinced and willing tc' take her 
 legitimate place in the Federation, we will now consider how 
 this new Parliament is to be constituted. Here it must be 
 clearly understood by our readers that no dogmatic opinion or 
 hard and fast line is insisted upon; what we state is simply 
 suggestions or illustrations of the principles we wish to enforce. 
 We will presume that two chambers will be constituted in this 
 British Parliament. What will these two Houses of Parliament 
 consist of? We think the various National Parliaments shouhl 
 elect these, say that Great Britain and Ireland had 100 repre- 
 sentatives in the Lower Chamber and 50 in the Upper House, 
 in the proportion of 50 and 25 to England, 20 and 10 each to 
 Scotland and Ireland, and 10 and 5 to Wales.* Now, if the 
 self-governing Colonies and Dependencies had an equal number, 
 the Lower House would have 200 members, and the Upper 
 House 100 members, all elected, a number sufficient for all 
 practical purposes of business. What is desired is a British 
 Parliament that would embrace the concentrated wisdom of the 
 whole Britisli world. The selection of these members, in our 
 opinion, wou^d be best left in the hands of the Parliaments of 
 the respective self-governing States. By this means we would 
 get a calmer judgment and better selection of members. Many 
 of the greatest minds shrink from the ordeal of a popular 
 election, when a glib orator puts to silence a philosopher and 
 thinker of the first rank. 
 
 * This seems a giving away of the very principle we have been contend- 
 ing for — perfect equality between the nations. What we propose, however, 
 is simply a concession to English prejudice. She has so long enjoyed 
 supremacy, her population and wealth are so vastly greater than any other 
 unit of the Empire, that it is hardly to be expected that she would reach 
 that sublime height of self-abnegation as to be content with no more power 
 in the British Parliament than the principality of Wales, however much 
 such would be in hui^ony with abstract justice. 
 
Some Duties that ivould Fall to the Federation. 7 
 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 SOME OF THE DUTIES THAT WOULD FALL To TFIE FEDEllATION. 
 
 It has been hold that taxation without roprcsentatioh is con- 
 trary to the first principles of liberty. If that bo so, then it 
 must bo held that representation wlth(nit taxation would bo 
 equally unjust. If all the States under the Crown send dele<,'at('S 
 to a British Parliament, it is perfectly clear they must take their 
 share in the burdens imposed by that Parliament. The Govern- 
 ment of the home countries would undertake to provide for the 
 whole business of their respective donunions in the same way 
 as the self-governing Colonies do at present. That being the 
 case they would become joint partners in the new British 
 Parliament, whose policy and expenditure being regulated by 
 themselves, would have to be paid for by themselves. The 
 army and navy at present costs the home countries, in round 
 numbers, thirty-two millions a-year; the foreign anti colonial 
 service costs over six hundred thousand pounds; while there 
 are other miscellaneous items of expenditure which Avould raise 
 the sum needed to be provided for by the British Parliament to 
 something like thirty-five millions a-year.* 
 
 It has generally been conceded that the National Debt should 
 remain a burden upon the home countries ; how far this is just 
 is worthy of consideration. The debt is not the production of 
 the present generation ; for the past fifty years all wars have 
 been paid for by those who made them. Our grandfathers 
 looked at this question in a different way ; they argued that the 
 wars they waged were for the preservation of the country, and 
 to extend its infiuence and territories, and as all future genera- 
 tions would reap the advantage, so it was only just that they 
 should pay the interest on the capital expended. We do not 
 agree with this plausible view of the question ; the National 
 Debt is an obligation of honour only, for our ancestors had no 
 
 * The burden would, of course, be in accordance with the ability of tht 
 several States, not regulated either by population or representation ; for 
 example, Scotland would pay much more thr.u Ireland, because she is 
 richer, although her population is less. In like manner, England would 
 be called upon to pay more in proportion than Scotland, being a richer 
 country. The new States of the Federation would be treated in exactly the 
 same wav. 
 
8 
 
 The Federation of Greater Britain. 
 
 right to mortgage tlie earnings of future generations that they 
 might wage wars free from a portion of its pecuniary burdens. 
 But is it an obligation of honour only on the home countries ? 
 Was not a portion of the debt incurred in the conquest of Canada 
 and the Cape of Good Hope ? Is it just that they should enjoy 
 the assets anr^ refuse to pay the debts of the estate? This 
 view of the case is worthy of the fullest considerition by our 
 Colonial brother ; hitherto,, the .mother country has treated her 
 children with consideration and indulgence. While they have 
 been set up for themselves, she has freed them from burdens 
 that fall to all self-governing States, their prosperity and welfare 
 being very dear to her. But as they have now grown to man's 
 estate — have their business well established — it is time they took 
 upon themselves all the burdens that fall to the householder. 
 
 There could be no cordial relations between the members of 
 the Federation, no homogeneous state, if a war of tariffs Avas 
 indulged in between them. The United States of America, 
 although the most rigid of Protectionists, never dream of impos- 
 ing taritfs between the states of the Union — absolute Free Trade 
 rules among themselves. It is not necessary for our purpose to 
 discuss the question of Protection versus Free Trade, but what- 
 ever may be the opinion of the self-governing states of Greater 
 Britain, it is clear that all under the dominion of the Crown 
 will require to be treated alike. Protection against foreign 
 nations might be admissible — to wage a commercial war against 
 the members of the same family of nations could only end in 
 disaster and the break-up of the Federation. It does not follow 
 from this that a national revenue should not be raised by 
 indirect taxes ; we do not think it is a wise system, but it is not 
 a violation of Free Trade principles. It is principally objection- 
 able from the expense of collection and the interference in 
 private concerns ; it is a check upon enterprise much in the 
 same way as toll-bars used to be a hindrance to traffic on the 
 public highway. If, then, there was absolute Free Trade in the 
 whole British dominions — so vast and so varied is the climate 
 and territory of our possessions that every product under 
 the sun can be produced on our own estate. We are thus 
 rendered independent of all the world ; we are self-contained 
 and need not distress ourselves about the fiscal fallacies of our 
 neighbours. As we believe that Free Trade is the chief corner- 
 
Some Duties that would Fall to the Federation. 9 
 
 stone of the whole edifice of Imperial Federation, we submit, 
 with all humility, to our Protectionist Colonial brother a few 
 rer ms why that principle ought to be adopted. The first 
 principle of Free Trade is that the consumer of any product 
 has an inalienable right to purchase that article in the cheapest 
 market. If the State steps in and says you must not buy 
 from A without paying a fine to the State in order that B may 
 be able to compete with A, then the State is committing a 
 moral wrong, a great act of injustice, for by that means it 
 deprives the subject of a portion of his wealth for the benefit 
 of B. It will no doubt be said, we know that, but unless we 
 do so we can have no manufactures, we will be perpetually 
 dependent upon foreign markets ; we must do a little wrong to 
 individuals to secure a great good to our country. Now this 
 argument could never apply to the Federation, for we would 
 then be r.ll one country, each province producing the article 
 nature intended it to do, and by the interchange of commodi- 
 ties benefit each other. It is the blessed fruits of legitimate 
 commerce that it benefits him who sells and him who buys. 
 It would be as sensible for Queensland to try and manufacture 
 paper as it would be for Scotland to raise sugar. No doubt 
 each after a fashion would succeed, the cane could be grown 
 under glass here, and at a like vast expense pap'^r pould be 
 made in Queensland ; it would be poor sugar in the one case, 
 and vile paper in the other. Manufactures are the growth of 
 centuries, and cannot be galvanised into life by Acts of 
 Parliament. A peculiar feature in production must have 
 struck all observers. Certain trades get established in certain 
 districts ; generations of operatives grow up there ; skill is 
 inherited ; and the result is that no other district can compete 
 with them. Some capitalist is tempted to set up a mill in 
 another portion of the country, the result is almost invariably 
 a failure. This is but following a natural law ; man transmits 
 his mental as well as his physical peculiarities. Hoav foolish, 
 then, is it for a new country to turn from the natural wealth 
 that surrounds it on every side, and needs but attention to 
 reward industry, to bolster up a foreign product, which must 
 only be like the shrubs in a botanic garden, weak and sickly 
 plants, barely recognised by those who have seen them in their 
 native home. 
 
lO 
 
 The Federation of Greater Britain. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 HOW THE FEDERATION CAN BE DEFENDED. 
 
 The Federation of Greater Britain would be considered by 
 many as a guarantee of peace. This won' 1 only be so, how- 
 ever, if our power to resist invasion was equal to our wealth. 
 If our population were wholly given over to peaceful pursuits 
 we would soon attract the cupidity of, and become a prey to, 
 some warlike power. It will, we think, be not out of place 
 here to consider how we can preserve the priceless boon of 
 liberty which we have acquired. 
 
 The constant tendency of highly civilised States is to neglect 
 military exercise, and to resort to the hiring of mercenaries to 
 defend theni against their enemies. Sometimes they have 
 committed the egregious folly of taking aliens into their service, 
 recruits from warlike tribes or peoples in a ruder, and con- 
 sequently in a more militant state of society than themselves. 
 They have always had reason to repent of their folly. Although 
 it is less dangerous when the ranks of the standing army are 
 recruited from the natives of the country they are called upon 
 to f^efend, yet no people can have perfect security for their 
 liberty if the vast majority of the population are unacquainted 
 with the use of arms. All peoples are more or less prone to 
 hero-worship, and soldiers not unfrequently apply that worship 
 to their favourite general, thus standing armies are a constant 
 menace to the liberty of the people. 
 
 It is a melancholy reflection that Europe at present is little 
 else than an armed camp. Two millions of soldiers are con- 
 stantly under arms, the instruments of war have exhausted 
 the ingenuity of a scientific ago, while the loss of useful employ- 
 ment, and other expenses, is more than sufficient to banish 
 poverty from every country in Europe. Two thousand years of 
 Christian teaching have had little or no effect upon statesmen, 
 for while peace is ever upon their lips, war is in their hearts. 
 We do not wish to moralise, but simply to state facts and 
 point out the danger oi" such a state of affairs to our 
 c ountry. 
 
 i 
 
How the Federation can be Defended. 1 1 
 
 
 Britain has the smallest and yet the most expensive army of 
 any of the large States of Europe ; and, but for the sea and a 
 strong fleet, would not remain an unconquered country for a 
 single year. The madmen who would attempt to destroy this 
 rampart of the sea, either by a tunnel or a bridge, should be 
 lool'ed upon as public enemies, and dealt with accordingly. In 
 our opinion this rampart of the sea is not sufficient, even if we 
 should continue to command it by our superior maritime skill. 
 A storm might scatter our fleet at the critical moment, and an 
 invading army having got footing upon our shores, the havoc 
 they would make in so rich and defenceless a land makes us 
 shudder. It is necessary, then, if we are to have perfect 
 security for our liberty, that our whole male population should 
 be trained to arms. It is certain, however, that the people of 
 this country would never consent to the military system 
 adopted on the Continent. Conscription and compulsory 
 military service is repugnant to the genius of our people. In 
 this their instincts are right ; the barracks and the camp are 
 not good schools for the moral and intellectual training of 
 youth. The waste of power is enormous; some of the best 
 years of a young man's life are given to an occupation that the 
 most ignorant day-labourer will perform as well, if not better, 
 than the most highly developed intellects of our cities. But is 
 there any need to adopt the Continental system to attain the 
 desired end ? We think not. Our Volunteer service abund- 
 antly proves that a military training can be got without 
 interfering unduly with the civil avocations of our daily 
 life. 
 
 In order that our whole male population may be trained to 
 arms, we must begin with the boy when he goes to school- 
 It should be made a compulsory part of his education that he 
 should be thoroughly drilled by competent r cers, and private 
 adventure schools should not be exempt v. n this necessary 
 part of the boy's education. How perfect children can become 
 in marching and all complicated military movements is shown 
 every year at our public theatres during the pantomime season. 
 The boy at school having been made perfect at his drill, when 
 he goes to his apprenticeship should then be required to enter 
 a cadet's corps, and the drill which he will there have to go 
 through should be arranged at such times as will interfere as 
 
12 
 
 The Federation of Greater Britain. 
 
 little as possible with his civil employment. During the course 
 of his apprenticeship, which will average five years, the young 
 man will have become perfect in his military duties, and will 
 have it in his option either to continue with his regiment or to 
 retire. The whole male population being thus trained to 
 arms, each district of country should have its own army corps, 
 and the different regiments of the regular army should be 
 attached tc their respective districts, and from thence draw 
 their recruits, their quarters being always there when at 
 home. Thus the Regular Army and the Volunteer Army would 
 be affiliated together and become one homogeneous mass of 
 troops.* 
 
 The better to illustrate the advantages of the above plan, let 
 us take the city and county of Edinburgh, as a district in Avhich 
 a complete army corps could be formed. The population of the 
 district is close upon 400,000 ; as the registered electors are 
 58,841, it is not unreasonable to suppose that an army corps of 
 25,000 men, between twenty and forty years of age, could be 
 furnished from this population. These troops, if divided into 
 infantry, cavalry, and artillery, would form a complete army 
 corps. Apply this rule to the whole of Scotland and you have 
 an efficient army of 250,000 men, and no power on earth could 
 conquer such a people. Apply this to the whole of Greater 
 Britain, and all the rest of the world combined would fail to 
 conquer us. The extra expense which such a system of ndlitary 
 training would entail could be met by strict economy in the 
 management of our army and navy, neither of which need be 
 so large and expensive. A considerable number of our large 
 staff of half-pay officers could be usefully employed in imparting 
 military instruction to the local bodies of troops. A military 
 school should be in every district, where young men could study 
 the art of war and undergo an examination entitling them to a 
 commission, so that such appointments would be given to merit 
 and full knowledge only. While no regular pay would be given 
 
 * The regular army and navy being recruited from and paid for by the 
 whole British world, naval and military arsenals would require to be 
 erected in convenient centres, so as in the event of war they would not be 
 dependent upon England alone. At present these are all located in the 
 south of England, an obvious danger to the other parts of the Empire. 
 
How the Federation can be Defended. 13 
 
 to this body of men, all expense in the way of uniform and 
 equipment should be borne by the State. This body of men 
 would only be called into active service, and receive regular pay, 
 on the occasion of an invasion of our shores. We need hardly 
 point out that that would be a most unlikely event to happen ; 
 no State in the world that we know of would be mad enough to 
 attempt a landing upon the shores of a country with two 
 millions of disciplined free men prepared to resist their invasion. 
 The sense of security which the country would also enjoy, would 
 free us from panics, advantage of which has been greedily taken 
 by those who are interested in an extravagant military 
 expenditure. 
 
 The advantages which the above system of military service 
 would give, apart from perfect security from invasion of our 
 shores, are considerable. It would improve the character of our 
 young men, make them more manly, wean them away from 
 frivolous amusements such as football and cycling, give them a 
 greater and more intelligent interest in the country and its 
 institutions they were called upon to defend. It would secure 
 our civil and religious liberty, make despotism impossible either 
 in the shape of a military or civil dictator. Should such an 
 event as a great war be forced upon our country, our standing 
 army recruited from the population of Greater Britain, would 
 be available to go to any part of the world their services were 
 required in, for our own home would be perfectly secure in the 
 keeping of the trained youth of the land. 
 
 / 
 
14 
 
 The Federation of Greater Britain. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 SOME DANGERS TO BE AVOIDED, 
 
 We will conclude this essay by pointing out some of the dangers 
 that beset so vast a State as we have been considering. In a 
 former treatise we tried to enforce the lesson of history that the 
 preservation of small nationalities was essential to the progress 
 of the human family. We pointed out that the Roman Empire 
 by crushing out the life of the smaller peoples, and imposing 
 her own iron will upon them, paved the way for her decline and 
 fall, ana plunged the whole world into mental darkness. Let 
 us now consider if a similar fate would not befall us, if such a 
 vast State as we have been depicting were created. The struggle 
 among individuals for pre-eminence raises the standard of 
 acquirements of a whole people ; if there was no ambition there 
 would be no progres; , on the contrary, such a people would soon 
 lapse into barbarism. It is the ignoring of this fact that makes 
 the Socialist propaganda such a silly dream. If, then, it is in 
 the interest of progress that there should be such striving 
 among men, it is of equal importance that there should be 
 striving and rivalry among nations. This gives rise to very 
 serious doubts as to the wisdom of creating so vast an Empire 
 as we have been considering. The power that would be wielded 
 by a small body of men in London, would be truly immense, 
 and unless some drastic checks were put upon it, it would be 
 more than the virtue and wisdom of the average ruler could be 
 entrusted witli. The head of such a State would command 
 armies and navies vastly greater thar had ever been known 
 before ; if he could then assure to himself the allegiance of his 
 government, his power would be omnipotent, while the wealth 
 and patronage at his disposal would be such as to put a severe 
 strain upon the virtue of those who did not approve of his policy. 
 No individual State would be able to resist the action of so 
 powerful a Government, however much they might disapprove 
 of the measures promulgated. Would we not then repeat the 
 errors of the past, and some future historian record the decline 
 and fall of the British Empire ? 
 
 There is only one way of avoiding such a calamity as noted 
 
Some Dangers to be Avoided. 
 
 15 
 
 above, and that is thpct each State of the Federation should be 
 self-contained and omnipotent in their own dominions. What 
 was surrendered to the central authority in London would need 
 to be clearly defined, and some quick and easy remedy put into 
 the hands of the State by which they would be able to resist any 
 encroachment upon their liberty, A supreme judicial court to 
 decide such points of international difference as may crop up, 
 seems the most likely way out of the difficulty. All interference 
 with the internal arrangements of each State would need to be 
 sternly resisted. When all this was done we would miss the 
 wholesome rivalry of nations, something of a provincial character 
 would still cling to the local capital, and there would be a 
 tendency for the more ambitious members of the commonwealth 
 to seek employment in the Imperial capital.* 
 
 Let us now try and sum up the position of Imperial Federa- 
 tion when it became an accomplished fact. It would create 
 the most powerful State the world ever saw, no foreign power 
 or combination of rivals could ever hope to wage a successful 
 war against us. As far as our shores were concerned, we would 
 secure the blessings of peace. The genius of our people being 
 commercial, the field for enterprise would be so immense that 
 it is reasonable to expect that the general well-being of the 
 whole people would be raised to a higher platform. While 
 poverty and vice is never likely to be banished from the world, 
 these might be kept in check, and ultimately be reduced to 
 such propoi'tions as to give little concern to the well-doing. 
 The other races of the world would look up to us and learn 
 the lesson of civilisation in the British School. Some have 
 dreamt that a Union with the United States of America may 
 be possible, and the whole English-speaking world federated 
 into one great State. We see no signs of the near accomplish- 
 ment of such a state of affairs ; but apart from this, what a 
 vast field Is open to the enterprise and genius of the British 
 people. The poet, the divine, the philosopher, u,nd the scientist 
 
 )ted 
 
 * The national capitals, such as Edinburgh and Dublin, would be raised 
 from their present position, being the seats of Government, but the Imperial 
 capital would be correspondingly raised, having to deal with grander 
 affairs. As the separate States of the Union would not meddle with foreign 
 affairs, they would miss the rivalry which comes of such intercourse. 
 
i6 
 
 The Federation of Greater Britain. 
 
 would speak in his own language to one hundred and fifty millions 
 of the most highly educated and intelligent of the human family. 
 Our race, dotted all over the world, would be beacons of intel- 
 lectual light to the surrounding nations. The Persian and 
 Roman Empires, and every other State Known to history, pales 
 before the grandeui- of such a people. 
 
 What then is the alternative to this scheme? Jt is that 
 each of our Colonies will become independcn'. npublics, with 
 no more connection with Great Britain than +he United States 
 of America. It is idle to suppose thrt they will continue much 
 longer in leauing strings, they will assert their manhood and 
 claim to be factors in the history of nations. The subordinate 
 position of a Colony will become intolerable to them. Whether 
 then they elect to throw in their lot with the old country or set 
 up for themselves, we have no fear for the British race, their 
 future must be a grand one. We will not venture upon an 
 opinion which would be the best for the welfare cf our people, 
 all that we desire to do is to pl;ic'> the question before the 
 countries concerned in as clear a light as possible, and leave 
 them to solve the stupendous problem. 
 
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