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ITHIN

THE

MPI RE.

^iTHIJsr

THE

^MPlB^

" We are anxious above all things to conserve, to unify, to strength-
" en the Kmpire of the Queen, because it is to the trade that is carried
"on WITHIN THE EMPIRE that wc look for the vital force of the Com-
" merce of this country. — Lord Salisbury.

/^ V

WITHIN THE EMPIRE;

AN ES.SAY ON

IMPERIAL FEDERATION

—BY-

THOMAS MACFARLANE, F.R.S.C.

■-♦- —

OTTAWA :

James Hope & Co.,

1891.

>^U8

l7i2dH

TO
LIEUT.-COL. ('. K. HOWARD VINCENT, C.B., M.P.. Ktc.

A MBMBRR OK THK KXKClTTrVR COMMITTKK
OK THK

IMPERIAL FEDERATION LEAGUE

AND POUNDER OP THE

UNITED EMPIRE TRADE LEAGUE,

THIS E88AY IS, BY PERMISSION,

MOST RE8PECFULLY DEDK^ATED,

IN THE HOPE THAT ITS (;ONTENT8 MAY ASSIST
IN THE ADOPTION,

BY BOTH LEAGUES,

OP ONE AND THE SAME PLAN KOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A

UNITED BRITISH EMPIRE.

aON"TE!ITTS

Paoe.

Introduction

Chapt^T. I. The Ne(t,.s8it.v for Action

II. NationaliticM and Nations

n I. A Retrospect and Uh Lesson

IV. The (Colonial Conference

V. An Imperial Treasury

VI. A British (^inimercial Union

VII. Fair Protection vs. Foul Tratie

VIII. A Parliament of Parliaments

IX. A Federal Executive ; Kngland's Hegemony 71

X. An Anglo-Saxon Connnonwealth ; Conclusion , . . . . m

o
7
18
10
26
36
45
54
62

IXTKODUiTlOX,

Fctlcmtioii oi Scparat ion ? Wliich of long can tlic Unilcil Kingdom hf cx-

llicse fates is in stoic foi-tliat wonder- p('ct<'<l to pi'oti'ct, at her own expense.

Fill af^'LCi'e'-C'ite of statesor nations called the sliij>ping and coasts of all the Hi-i-

Itlif Hrilish Knipiie? This isa (piest ion t ish Colonies and dependencies I-' How

^V liich has pi'ohahly pi-escnled its«'lfto long will these Hi-itivli jiossessions he
nany minds during the last f(>w years, content t<» hav«» their foi'cign alTairs

I'egai'ds Separation it is enough to controlled hy a I'arlianient in wliieh

iiay thai it is opposed to the pat riot ic they havi' no represental ion y The

ientinieiit of the vast majority of Hii- answer to thes«' (pieries can scarcely he

Iffish suhjects tln-oughoul tin- Kn\pire.
^Jporeover it is inipossihle of aci'oni-
|l;|^lishment, for the consent of all thean-
lorities intei-ested is neccssaiy tosuch

different in suhstanc<' from tlie follow-
ing:--()nly until an arrangement can
he made nioi'e advantageous for all
concerned. This conclusion hi-ings >js

iiange. On the other hand many | to face fh<' eiupiii-y as to whetlier such
ybelicve that the (juestion of Imperial an advantageous re-ai-rangement can Ix;

'edei'jition will fttrce itself npim us for
pic'ttlement at no very distant date.
MBut hefore an ordinary citizen of (Ji-eat

found in Imperial Fetleiat ion.

Five years have e!ap.M>d since I lead
a ])aper hefore th<' .Montreal Mianch of

|i' (Jreater Hritain will i)estir himself to I the Imperial Federation League in
kco this prohlem he will naturally ask: Canad.i tMititled, " .V I'nited Kmpii-e."
P^annot we i-emain as we .ire? Is not In writing this and a good many othei-
|»e present lorni of Hritain's coiuiec- articles, which have since a|)pfared in
P|on with hi'r various possessions satis- the colunms of Inijurinl /■'>■(/< r<i/ Ion,
rfactory, and itdieiently permanent y | and other jo)u-nals, it seeme<l to me as
|;:«rsot a few of the people interested if the advantages to he dei-ived fTdin a
pl&id >:'..me individuals in high posit ion, consoHdat ion of the Fmi»ii'e incii.isi'd,
l^ilil'e iiicliived to answei- these (pie>t ions and the diftlcult i«'s in the way of such
■ ♦t'firmatively. \'oic('s to this effect a consununation decrejised with I'very

■Wi'ie iieard not long ago in the Domin- renewed consideiation of the subject.

fen House of Conuuons, and ev<>n at I ha ve since h'-come a lirm helicver in

iie of (he ni'M'tings called toorg;ini/,e tfie i)ract icahilit y of .i closer Hritish
<■ lm|»ei'inl Fedeiation League somi' I'nion, and have endcMN tmrrd in this
i're present who objected to decl.iiing essay to I'ei-ast t he aii iil s ;iho\e re-
tnat "the political i'elati«)ns hciween ferred to, in( orpor.ite tlr-m with new
(ireat Ih'itain and her c<)lonies must ni.ilter and place t hem before my fel-
nie\ilaf»ly le.id to federation or disin- low count rynien in the hope of induc-

tegration."

ing in them a like failii. It is not my

;, Nevertheless, it i.s possiltle to main- , object to |»rovid<'an oi-iginal scheme for
t*it> that the i-elations in ([uest ion aic the reeonst ruction of Ib.e Hritish Fm-
^>t satisfactory. This will become pire, for many of the suggest ions here

I'ident to any one who seriously asks
■mself the following (piestions :- -How

end)odied ha\e long been before the
public. Hut I have tried to imitate th<'

example of Watt with the steam
engine, and to so combine these jis tci
proihiee n plan whieh nwiy ultimately
result in the ronstruetion of a political
machine, capable of working well and
harmoniously for the common weal.

It is not, however, tobeaasumed that
the "conunon weal" of all British sub-
jects is to be found in unlimited exten-
sion of the .siilTrnge, in placing our
trade interest^s at the mercy of for-
eigners, or in completely abolishing the
House of Lords ; neither can it consist
in a levelling up of all orders, chisses
and raees in the Empire to one com-
UKm standing. Efforts of this sort
have ended in faihu-e before now.
About two hundred and fifty years ago
the Connnons of England passed an
Act declaring that the t-ountry and its
dominions and territori«'s should here-
after be governed as a ('onunonwealth
and Free State "for the good of the
people, and that without any King or
H«mse of Lords." It was the fashion
of that time to make short work with

! machinery of Government. The Lonj;

j Parliament had shortened th<' King by

I a head; Cromwell h.ad shortened thi
Ijong Parliament to a rump, and finally
the Rum)> materially shortened thf

! con.stitution and essayed to govern
England " without any King or Ilousf

! of Loi-ds." It may at once be stated

! that this (piotation does not furnish.

' even in a distant degree, a text for the
j>resent essay. On the contrai-y, it is
my convicti<»n that by conserving tlit
rights of the Crown, and properly ex-
ercising thi'in, by making use of tlu'

■ stability and statesmanship tobefouinl
in an upper House, and by defendiiiK
the commercial interests as well as the

I territorial integrity of the Empire, <-i
compact aggregate of British Nations
would r«'sult, well entitled to be (•■•illed
an Imperial Commonwealth, and fully
able to promote the material prosperity

; and highest welfare, in short, thf
"Conunonweal" of all British subjects

: and all the varied races now liviti;.'
" within the Empire."

int. Tlu' Long
od the KinK l>y
shorteiu'il tht
imp, and finally
shortt'iu'd tlif
yed to govt'in
King or Hou^''
once be st«tt'<l
i\s n<»t furnish,
c, a t«'xt for tlif
contrary, it is
conserving tlit
id properly ex-
king tise of tln'
ship tohefouml
d by defending
:» as well as tlu'
the Empire, ji
British Nations
tied to be calU'd
calth, and fully
terial prosperity
in short, the
British subjects
Ices now livinj:

CHArXER I.

The Necessity for Action.

When the news arrived frcmi England
six yeai-s.-tgo, «)f th«' formation of the
Imperial Fe<leration League by some
of the foremost statesmen and admin-
istrators in the Fhnpire, it was received
as glad tidings by many loyal hearts.
In these, the hope of a I'nited Emjjire
had been hidden away for years with-
'out a chance of germinating. In 1885
the favourable time s<'emed to have ar-
rived to agitate for the Unity of the
Empire, and "The imperial Federatior
League in Canada" was formed. The
foimders of the I^eague at honu' gave
no uncertain soinul with regard to their
'. objects, and while acknowledging that
■ their path was beset with ditticulties,
tlu^y were ready, whenever opportunity
offered, to point these out, and discuss
the best means of overcoming them.
It is true that the resolutions adoi)ted
were general and elastic, but several of
the leaders grve their views quite free-
ly regarding the political aspect of Fed-
eration, and even discuss«>d the besc
plan of est4iblishing a Parliament for
, the Empire. It was lu)ped and expected
■I that, by such discussions and candid in-
terchanges of opinion, a plan for the
proposed Federation would gradually
l)e developed, satisfactory to the gi-eat
majority of the nuMnbei-s of the League,
capable of being placed before the Eng-
lish and Colonial public as its platform
and of being pressed upon the states-
^ men of the Empire for consideration
'^~ and action.

It has to be admitted, unfortunately,

' that tliese expectations have not been
realised, and that many loyalists in
i Canada are again beginning to experi-
ence a little of the hojie deferred which
" maketh the heart sick." Not only
have tlu' utterances of om* leaders he-
conu' more and nu»r»' indi^:tinct, but tln^
efforts of memlMMN to get the poli<-y of
the licagiu" defined have been iliscour-
aged, and it has become the fashion to
sneer at such tn)id)lesom«' individuals
a.s "constituti«)n-mongers." Speaking
generally, it may be said that Lord
Salisbury's remark about the FairTrad-
ei-s applies with etpial force t«) Imperial
Federal ionists : "VVIn're they are pre-
'* else Ihey ai'e not agreed and where
I " they are agreed they are not precise."
I When \v(- reflect that the Anti-Corn
I Law League accomplished its «>bject in
! seven years, that frtnn the start that
I object was well defined and that five
'years have elapsed since our move-
ment was inaugurated, we caiuiot but
j be convinced thatan accelerated rate of
pr«>gress would result if the Federaticm
faith were properly fornudated, and a
stan(hird raised round which true Ih'it-
ish men might rally and fight, and
which they might ultimately carry for-
ward to victoi y. From the following
facts it will, however, be seen that
there is no hop*' of this at present, and
that therefore individual Federat ionists
nve justified in speaking out and insist-
ing that tlu' time ha.s arrive<l for action
on the part of the League a« a whoU'.

On the 23i-d of Jidy, 18«), Lord Salis-

bui-y wr()t<' to the Prcsidi'nt of the
liiip(>i-ial F('(l»'riitiou licaf^uc, on hcluilf
of iiiiiisclf and coIltNi^iU's in the lni])«>-
riiil (fovennncnt, that tlicy would •' Iw
" happy to rct'civo and to coiisich-i",
" with all the resju'ct due toaconiniiui-
" ication from so inHuential a body,
"any suj^^estions which th«> Lcajfuc
'* «l('sir»'s to make for the purpose of
** niodifyiug tlie relations between this
*' coinitry and its eolonies." No such
suKf^esticm has since been made by
the Council of tlie I^eague, nnii-h to
t be rejifret of many who are anxious for
the progress of the movement.

For a lonj; time the Imperial Feder-
ation League avoided the adopti(m of
any ]>articular ])lan for closer union.
At last, it ventui'ed a st<»p forward and
applied to Her Majesty's (Jovennnent
to summon a second ('(donial Confer-
ence. Every federationist woidd, with-
out d(ad)t, have hailed with joy the as-
seiid)ling of another Council t)f the
fOnii)ire, but Loi'd Salisbury was averse
to the proposal, and expressed the
opinion that "it would be an unusual
" and in«'xpedient course for the gov-
" enuuent to summon a meeting to
" consider the ipiestion of ^^(h'l'ation
" unless they were themselves jn-epared
" to make a rectunmendation on the
" subject." Under these circmnstaiu-es
the wisdom of i»ersisting in the api)li-
cation for sununoning a conference at
«»nc(^ may well be questioned.

Here in Canada when the Govern-
ment is approached by the rei)resenta-
tives of any body <if citizens, the latter
would consider itself as very fairly and
favourably treated, if recpiested to
formulate its views for the considera-
tion of Ministei-s. They would oidy be
too glad to do so, especially if the Pre-
nuer j)roniised to treat them "with all
the respect due to so influential a body."
There does not seem to be any reason

wliy, in Fngland, such a course woidd
not be fitting, and tlu-re is too nuuh
reason to fear that the Council of the
Ijeague "missed the occasion" uhen
they neglected to take advantage of
Lord Salisbury's offer to receive and
consider their views.

Li August, IHSS, Sii- Hector Langevin,
delivei-ed at .loliette, in the l^rovince
of Quebec, a foi-cilde speech on Im-
perial Federation, in the presence of
liis colleagues in the Canadian (Govern-
ment, Sir Adolphe Caron and the Hon.
Mr. Chapleau. In this speech Sir
Hector threw down the gauntlet to
Imperial Federationists, and demanded
a declai-ation of their principles. He
said : " L -t them shew us in black and
"white how this Impei-ial F«'(leration
"can take elTect without destroying
"our existing libel ti»'s; let them shew
"us what voice we shall have in this
"grand Imperial Parliament, that is to
"decide (pu'stions concerning all (piar-
" ters of theKmi)ire : let them shew us
"hf)W the L'nited Kingdom will modify
"its fiscal policy so as n<}t to force us
"to have rec()urse to direct taxation.
" Further, let them tell us, will oui" re-
"pnvsentation be based on popula-
"tion':*" Up to the present moment
this appeal remains without oflicial re-
joinder from the Imi>erial Federation
League, although it is plain that a
luiion, such as federationists desire,
cannot be brought about without the
good will of the French t>anadians and
their leaders. Sir Hector's opposition
is bred of distrust. Imjierial Federa-
tion is to him suspicious from its vague-
ness, and it is plain that if the fears of
his compatriots are to be removed the
authf)rities of the Leagiie must an-
nounce a more defiintepijlicy.

Several efforts have been ma<le since
the delivery of Sir Hector's speech to
impress upon the officials of the League,

Dursf would
is t<»«) iiiiu-ii
niiu'il of llu'
ision" wlu'ii
(Ivantn^c of
r»'('i'iv(' and

>r liau^fvin,

he Proviufc

cch on Irii-

|)r«'H('iU"«' of

lian (lOVi'Vii-

Liul th«' Hon.

s))t'»'rli Sir

Kuuntlt't to

ul dcuinndfd

ncijdes. H<'

in hl.-u-k and

I F«'(Ierati(fn

destroying

t tlicni sIh'W

iiave in tiiis

t, that is to

n(jf all (luar-

«'in slu'W us

will modify

t to forco us

ct taxation.

will our rt'-

on i)f)pula-

nt nioniiMit

it official rt'-

Fi'dcratio'i

lain that a

ists di'sirt',

without the

ladians and

^ ()})position

ial Fociei-a-

n its vagiie-

tlie fears of

pinovcd the

nujst an-

inade since
speech to
the League,

Itoth here and in England, tlie necessity
of i-eplying authoritatively to such de-
mands for more information. Some
plain statement of |)olicy is indis])ens-
al»le to enal.'le those who believe in Im-
perial Kedei-ation to convince others
tiiat a closer union of the vai-ious por-
tions of the Kmpir*' would he of
advantage all round, and that it would
not. in any material tlegree, irjterfere
with the rights we now enjoy. But up
to the pi-esent tinu' the Council of tlu-
licague has not thought fit to move in
the desired direction, and to-day Sir
Hector's remark of two years ago may
lie repeated with e(pial emphasis, "the
••fact is that this tpiest ion has not been
■•carefully considered."

On the J)th May, ISS.'), scait-i-ly six
luonths after the inaugural ion of the
parent society in England, the In\peri-
al Federation League in ('ana<la was
tormtHl. On t!.e evening of the same
day. in .Montreal, a most successful
public meeting was held, the lu'wly
elected president, Mr. Dalton McCarthy,
presiding and giving utterance to these
words: "We are all prepared to
"shoulder a musket in defence of the
••mother-land, and she is eipially ready
"to «lo the same by u.-. If that senti-
"ment fills every hiyal lu^art, there can
"be no harm in putting in definite
•■ terms the etmditions under which we
"can i)e called up<ui to stand shouhh-r
•• to shoidder." Many elocpienf words j
were sj)(>ken besides those of tlie Ptesi- \
dent, but none awakened sui-h enthusi-
asm a.s the speedi of Principal Cirant
of Queen's L^niversity. Two years and |
a half afterwards tli^' latter distinguisii- j
ed orator penn<'d the following sen- i
t^'uces in an essay entitled, "Canada
First." "The weakness inherent to
"political organizations that have no
•definite work to do Is see-n in tlu'
••difBcidty that has been found in

"forming, and maintaining in exist-
"euce, branchesof the Im|M'rial Feden;-
"tion L 'ague. I an» a meud»er of tliat
" league, but it is evident that it will
"soon vanish into thin air, unites some
"scheme of commercial or politic-al
"nation is agreed upon for the carrying
"out of which its mend)ers may
" work."

Mr. (i. I)own«'s (^arter. President «)f
the League in Victoria, when visiting
England, nearly two years ago, ex-
pressed himself as follows at a meeting
of the League: " In speaking to-day, I
"simply put before you that which I
"believe to be th«' true position of
"affairs, and when you give the woid
"that we are to announce a more ac-
"tive progranune, you will Hud no
"warmer advocate than myself. Until
"you give that sanction we shall be
"perfectly hiyal to the patent League ;
"for tliere nuist not be two voices, one
"speaking one way and one another.
"But I do put this question before you
"for consideration, whether the tinu'
"has n»)t now ari-ived when we shoidd
"have an active instead of a mere
"passive policy— whether you should
" not have a positive instea<l of a nega-
"tive force, because if you do not, one
"does not know wlmt at any monu'nt
"may happen."

In March, 1880, Sir Frederick Young
wrote reganling the P<dicy of the
League as follows: "The time nuist
"undoid)tedly come when thisjudici-
"ous reticence will have to be abaiui-
"on»'d, and when someil«'finite scheme
"nuist be pi t foiward by the League,
"as the one for which it claims sup-
"port, forgiving practical effect to the
"principle it advocates — the Federation
"of Great Britain and her Colonies."
In the same article, Sir Frederick
})laces on recor«l a sunnnary of the
various plans which had been proposed

fcir effect in>^ thp ol)j<'ct of the LeaKuc
Riiicr tlien we Iiave lind four years of
(Useiissioii, and tlie coliiiinis of //»-
pet'iiil F«'(fcnifi<m contain Ihe tlioii^litH
of niany writers on the inouientous
subject, but still tlie time referred to
by Sir Frederick Voiini? seems to be as
far distant as ever.

F'l-oin these (|Uotations atid th(^ cir-
cumstances above narrated, it will be
seen that from all (juartei-s, fi-iendiy
and hostile alike, the fjeairur- has b«'en
ur^ed to propound a more (h'finite
policy. Tbit all that it can be held re-
sponsible fr)r ai-e the folIowiiiLf |)rinci-
plcs taken fr(tm its publisJied proceed-
ings, net^lecliiif? only the resolutions
which rr-fer to mattei-s of or>j^ani/.a-
tion.

1. That in ordcM- to secmc the per-
manent unity of the Kmpire some form
of federation is essential.

2. That the object of IheLeafijue is to
secure by Federation the pei-manent
unity of the Fmpii-e,

;-{. That no scheme of Fetleration
should interfere with theexistiiijU'ri^litH
of Local I\irliameiits as r«>f,rards local
j'.iTairs.

-I. That any scluMiie of Imperial
Federation shcndd condiine on an
equitable basis the resources of the
Empire for the maintenance of coni-
m(m interests, and adecpiately provide
for an organized defence of conunon
rights.

'). That tlie establishment of ))eriodi-
cal conferences of i-epnvsentatives of,
the self-poverninfj; communities of the
Empire should be the first aim of il\e
Fmperial Federation T,,eague. ;

While attempting to critici/.e tlic
policy of the Leaj^^ue, we must not
neglect to acknowledge the great obli-*
gation which that body has conferred
ir>on tlie friends of the movement, in
providing such a joiuMial as Imperial

Fn/rrafltni for tho discussion of all
phases of the (piestion. It is hard to
say wliich is most to be admired ; th •
ability with which it has Im-ku conduct-
ed or the liberality with which its col-
umns have been thrown open t-o the
ex|>ression of every shade of o|)iuion
among Federat ionists.

It is also to be gratefully recogni/.eil
that the I>eague in raising thv standard
of the "permanent unity of the Em-
pire" has done. excellent work in Eng-
land. Hut it can scarcely be admitted
that a new organization, based ui»on
this principle alone, was necessary in
{'ana<la. because fi<lelity to British
connection is one of the essential
characteristics of the |jibe»-il-('onserva-
tive party. This grand principle the
League proposes to secui-e l)y Feilera-
tion, that is to say, if .Mr. Freeman's
definition is to be accept e<l, by (rausing
the vaiious parts of the Em})ir'e t<i foim
fme state in its relatixi with othei-
Powei's. Can it be said that in its plat-
form thei'e is one j)i'actical measure
propose(l to cause the Empire to pre-
sent a imited front to foreign nations-
To take a very simplcunstance, is tlieie
in it nny proi)ositi<m so to reorganiz<'
tlie IJritish dijiloinatic service as t<i
make it a; cai-eful of th«' inteiests of
India and New Zealand as of England;-'
or does it afford any j)i'ospect of the
invention of a coimmm coinage
for the Empire ? Thei-e is not a
single ])ractical step toward Feciera-
tion proposed or even suggested, ami
tiie ]irogramnie of the League might
fairly be paraphrased by these words.
"We want to federate the Empire, but
"d(m't know liow, and wish the Im-
"perial Government to tnketiie matter
"in hand."

To ask the Government of the day to
call togetiier ('olonial Conferences t<i
coiisitler "the. possibility of establisji-

ill

:fle
'p( )S
bo;
frai
our

it i>

ih!^

ihoi

g'H
Us

ly rec()j?ni/.i'"l
; t\v.' slaiular-l
y «)f Ihc Kin-
work in Kiif^-
y hi' luliiiitti'il
1, hascd upon
s nt'ccssjiry in
y to British
the essential
i.Til-Conscrvii-
priiicipl*' thf
lU'o by Fcdera-
Mr. Fncinairs
f(l, by (;ausin^
Jmpii'*' t<i form
111 with other
hat in its plat -
tiral nieasiirt-
Empire to pr»'-
n'ij^n nations?
■itant-c, is Iht'iv
to rcorgani/.f
siM'vifo as to
h«' int(*i*'sts of
;i.s of England?
)rospect of the
lion coinage
re is not a
)ward FtMiera-
suggestod, and
League might
ly these words,
lie Empire, Imt
I wish the Im-
take the matter

at of the day t<>
Conferences to
ty of establish-

ing cloHor an«l more suhstanlial nnion," I But to obtain this by corresponilenee
is to ask it to devise a plan and to take ' and without bringing representatives
the responsibility of proposing it. If of tlie licague togethei- to exciiang**
th«' [mperial Federation lieagneeannot ideas vei'bally woidd be, ol)\ iotisly, a
shoulder this responsil)ility. is il reason- very impei-feel eoursi-. It is true that
able to ask the IniperiaHiovernment th<> eonstitut ion of the League contains
to do so? The League isonly a private no provision for consult ing the Coloidal
organi/ation, and even if it were to organisations before t.iking any iin-
^1 make mistakes in its proposals the portnnl action, but it is (piite possible
matter would not be so vei-y sei'ious. for the I^'ague in ICngland to invent
Bui it is very ditferent with a (lovern- suchnieans. I ndee<l it is very necessary
nicMl. wl'.ose mistakes may not only be that it should do so uidess the Colon-,
ruinous to itself, but may be also very ; ial Leagues are to become independent
disastrous for the c(aintry. Moreover and form their own plans. To prevent
it ii< doul)tful whether a government anything of this sort, and to piduiole
Can be reasonably called upon t«) act in tlu' unity and progress of the move-
a matter which has not been placed be- nu-nt, besides preparing the wa\ for a
fore the peopje. and upon whi -h public second Conference, it would seeui inde-
(ipinion has not been formed. Even spensible to call together a com cut iou
supposing that a second Colonial ('on- I of Imp«'rial Fedei-atioidsts. Indeed,
ference were called, what would the when we come to think, it seeiiis won-
League Ite pre|)ured to recommend ?> dei-ful that nothing of the sort haN yet
To judge fi'om their utterances its lea<l- been held, and that we have made any
fvs would be "caught napping." If real pi-ogress without it.
'tliey were wise, j>efoi«' urging the gov- The Imperial I'^edera'ion League was
t'lniuent to take action they would call , not formed out- moment too soon, for
n Congress of Federationists and I inHuences, are at work in several Colon-
decide upon the best measures to pro- ies which will make the Consolidation
pose. We might tlien be able to cease of the Em|)ire the more difficult of ac-
boastingthat we hadnopnigramme.and complisliment the longer it is postpon-
frame the best that can be devised with ed. There never was a case in which
our jireseiit light, stating plainly that it <'ould be said with greater truth that
it issubjec: to revision with the growth delays are dangerous, and never one in
pi our knowk'dge and experience. All which the time for positive action was

l^his is the work of the League and
4hould precede any action by Her
:yla.jesty's Ciovernnieiit.
cl Such a ])rogramme should emanate
ik'om the whole Imperial P'edeiat ion

more o{)|)ortune than at present. In a
speech in the House of Lords, not so
very long ago, the noble President of
the League made use of this very word
"opiiortunity," and just as be then

e.igue throughout the Empire, and ' urged reform on his colleiigues. so may
Hot from the Council or Executive Com- «ictiou now be urged upon the Execu-
initleeof the parent body alone. Nor, live Committee of the Le;igiie in the
Indeed, does I lie latter claim any mono- ! very (piotation Lord K«>.sebeiy made
poly in the matter. Lord Uosebery ii«<' of :—

kimself decl'irpn flint it elwnilil liu " ^Hss not tl\c' occusioii ; b> I ho forclotk t;ik(;
gnus, ir (uciaies tnnt it SliouKl lie Tlu.t subtle i)<nv*r of novor halt iuK time.
fguided by the opinion t>f the Colon- bost the mere nionienls puttiiiK olf whoulil
?s " with regard toanother Conference. Misehanee alnio-st as grave as crime."

ill:

Of cdurs*' it is iiuuinlxMit npini Miuse
who urK«' action tn iinlicah' tJu' dirrc-
tioii it should takt*. This I iiav«> «'ii-
dcavoiii-cd to do in th«' present chaptt'r.
I recommend a convention of In>periid
Federationists to a^ree upon a ])lan to
In* sn^^ested to Lord Salisliury for tlie
consideration of an Imperial Confer-
ence. Fn the following chapters of this
essay I shall endeavour to describe
what I consider to he the plan of easiest
execution. It may \w said briefly to
consist of the following stejjs :

A. Obtain tut IiniH'rUil ItvrcuucU'inn
a duty of 5 per cent, ad ra/drnn on all
f«»reij?n imports into every part of the
Km 'ire over and above all local tnritl's.

B. Place this revenue in char>?e of
an [niiHi-idl Minisfri/, separate; from
that of Kn^land, to defray the c<ist of
the Iti'itish navy, and to meet other
hnp(>rial outlays.

C. Let this Ministry be responsible
tof//j hnpcr'Ktl Semite, f«>rmed by so
re-constructing the House of Lords as
to giv«' r«'presentation to each division
of the Flmpire in proportion to its con-
tribution to the revenue.

There is abundant evidji'nce to show
that the commercial phase of FVdei-a-
tion is up|)ermost in the('olonial mind.
On the other hand, it may be noticed
that, in the L^nited Kingdom, the cur-
rent of th(»ught among Federationists
turns mostly «)n the defence of the ICm-
|»ire, the extent to which the Colonies
I lUght to contribute to its cost and to the
improvement of inter-British telegraph
and jiostal affairs. A third view is that
of the Fair-traders, who adopt the
principle <)f " Free-trade (as far {is pos-
"sible) within the Emjjire, and Protec-
"tion against the world." Now, if
these different ciii'rents of thought re-
garding Federation, now flowing
separately, although in the same direc-
tion, could be guided into t)ne channel

their power would begreiitly augment-
ed, and, in fact, rendered iri-esistible.
This union may be accomplished and
the triple object of uniting and defend-
ing the Kmpire, and enc« uraging its
trade attained by the adoption (»f the
ab4ive mentioned measures.

It is sometimes argued that the Col-
onial legislatures shouhl be the tii-st to
fornudate their wishes for closer union.
Meanwhih' the Coloniesare waiting for
action by the Mother ('ounti-y. L'nder
such circinustances there ean Iw no
progress; and how is it to be expected
that a legislature can act before public
o|)inion has been educated by the opera-
tions of the League and its branches?
They nnist first propose ju policy. Here
again the branches wait on the parent
League, and the latter, apparently, on
the branches. Well ; the League in
Canada has taken action on the (Jom
mercial (juestion without provoking
action by the League in L«)ndon. How
long are we to play at,this shifting and
shirking of responsibilities?

Lessing (;auses the fiery fSaladin to
exclahn, "He who considers seeketh
reasons for not daring." Schiller
makes William Tell say, " He who de-
liberates too much will accomplish
little." It is a common German saying
that, " Boldly ventured is half won."
In these days Germany suits its action
to its woi'ds. Is it possible that the
"Fatherland" is gaining what the
" Motherland" is losing in manly state-
craft? Certain it is that Germany
would very willingly pick up anything
in the shape of Colonial territory or
influence that England might abandon.

There was a time, previous to tin-
peace of Tilsit, when England was im-
plored by the Continental powers to
come to their aid against Napole(»n.
She refused or delayed and afterwards
had to wade through blood, and spend

■•■I

itly rtUKiiu'iit-
i iriTsist ibh'.
iii|>Hsh«'(l iiiul
^ ami <l«'f«'iiil-
(•< uraKi>»K its
option of tlic

'S.

tliat liu'CoI-
l)e th«' Hist to
•cloKci' union,
rt' waiting f»)r
mtry. Under
•«« can Im' no
(» b«' fxpcfted
iM'fori' pulilic
1 l)y the opera-
its Itrani-hes ?
u policy. Here
on the parent
ipparently, on
;ie Iji'a^^ue in
» on the Com
lit provoking
iOiulon. How
is sliifting ami
es ?

I'y Salatlin to
iders seeketh
ig." Schiller
" He who de-
lU accomplish
erman saying
is half won."
iiiits its action
ssihle that the
iig what the
n manly state-
hat Germany
k up anything
il territory or
night abandon,
revious to the
igland was iiii-
ital powers to
list Napoleon,
md afterwards
uod, and spend

niilliotis to «<*coni|)lish. almost singh' perience teaclies?" or is if only lo

linnde.l, the lihei-atioii of Kni-ope. Fs licr residt in conMiniing the adage, "lie

future Colonial policy to he one of that will not while he may shall not

which we should he able to say '* Kx- when he will y

CHAPTKR H.

Nationalities and Nations.

The most superficial observer of the
political events of the last fifty years
can hardly fail to have noticed that thi'
tendency of the age is towards the
foi-mntion of larger an<l more powerful
n.itional aggregates. What the cause
of this may be is uncertain. It
may result from a desire on the part of
small communities to be of greater
conse(iiience in the world, or perhaps
the object is to reduce the general ex-
penses of g(»vernment. But, in any
case, the fact remains that national
consolidation is characteristic of our
times. Where the nature of the case
makes it impossible to speak of the
autonomy of the new combination,
some one nationality, more powerful,
intelligent or energetic than the others
in it, usually st<*ps to the front and ex-
ercises a i)rej>onderating influence and
action; a hegemony, and by its nutans a

happened with Prussia inCJennany an«l
Austria among th«' sclavonii- nationali-
ties. In the case of the British Km])ire
this hegemony is already possesse<l by
the United Kingdom, jmd only a very
little exertion on her part would seem
to be necessary to transform the pre-
sent loose connection betw«'eij herself
and her colonies into a closer and more
i beneficent union, which, ,'or want of a
j better name, those who desire it call
■ Imperial Federation.
I To denote this clos«'r union one of its
I most distinguished advocates, Mr. C
! U, Parkin, who recently visited Austra-
lasia as a representative of the Lt'ague,
I made much use of tiie expiession "na-
! tional unity." This is, of course, to be
regai'ded as e<|uiv.Mlent to Impj-rial
Federation, or perhaps as indicating
' the end to which the lattiM- is only a
means. The expression is also a most

nitional union on a broader and more appropriate one for distinguishing that
liberal foundation is effected. This has broader national union, such tis fed"r-

Mtioni.stN aim at, from Ho-calli'd Nation-
aliHiii, which in reality is only sfcti«)n-
aiism or provincialism. It in very
ncccsHary in Htudying this whole huI>-
ject to draw a vei-y dist inct line between
that school of politicans which sees
political salvation in the establishment
of nnnd)erless independent or send-
independent nationalities, in »-entrifu-
gal s(*cession or separation, and that
other more mo«lern and more reason-
able way «>f thinking which discerns
Ixitter prospects of political permanen-
ce, material iiiipri»v(>ment and nationaJ
advancenuMit in what may be called
political centripetalism, oi- the cond)in-
in^ of nationalities, into ^rt>nt nations.
The latter woulil seem t<» be the true
direction of political proj^ress. just as
in cosmical evolution, nebula' condense
to stars, and th<'se again arran^re them-
selves in constellations or solarsystems.
It is, however, in history, n«)t in astro-
nomy, that we find such a record of the
past expei||enee of nationalities and
nations as will fjuide us in shaping the
future of our own country. The fur-
ther we go back in history the greatei-
do we find the efforts of ntitionalism to
havt; been in the cause of liberty, and
the more futile the struggles of the
naticmality. In more recent times the
nationalities, or natioiu*ttes ixs they
have been called in a Canadian news-
paper, have to a very great extent
given place to nations, natch to the
advantage of civilization and p«)litical
progress.

It is unnecessary to go back to the
first French revolution. The successes
and the catastrophes of that epoch ciU-
minated at last in the fall of N.ipole<jn,
and the collapse of the kingdoms he
had created. Tlie patriotic achieve-
ments of the nations who rose up
against him, the stu])endous sacrifices
of England, and the heroism of Water-

loo did not save the contliH'ut of
Europe from afterwards becondng
afT1icte<l with all the disi>asesand mean-
nesses which attend upon government
by petty potentates. Natiunalil y in-
surrections were fruit less. aii«l even the
revolutions of IHIH ])roduced no lasting
beneficial residts. Hut t he disastei-s ul
that time seem to have taught thf
lesson of a more excellent way, and
since then, the binlding up of nations
rather than the d«>t bronenieiit of king>
has been striven for by the fiiends ol
freedomand i'ldightened progress. That
this tendency to i'<'sist national disin-
tegration, and to favor the citnsolidii-
tion of the nationalities has been at
work dining the last fifty years will be
evidiMit from a reference to certain
ev«'nts in Switzerland, Italy, t lie I'nitt'd
States, Canada and (Germany.

I nsui'i'ectionary movements were not
always, in past history, the work
of socialists and repuidiians, nor were
these always directed against monarch-
ical govermnent. Switz«'rlaiid affords
an instance of this. In iHlTthe F(»resi
Cantons rose in rebellion against that
repid)lic, and endeavoured tose|)aratc
themselves from it. Luzerne, Schwy/.
Uri, Unterwalden, Zug, Freiburg and
Wallis fornu'd themselvt^s into ii
separate union called the "Sonder-
bund" to resist the action of the lil)eral
cantons which controlh'cl the federal
government. The latter had decreed
the subjection of the Church tt) the
State, the abolition of the convent.-
and was detennined to expel the.Iesuit-
from the country. When the "Sondei-
bund" was formed the goveriuneiit
called upon it tf) dissolve. The demand
was refused and armed resistance con-
tinued, but after their troops were de-
feated, and Freiburg and Luzerne
taken, the rebel cantons were forced td
submit, and the Ultramontanists to

CUIltilD'Ht ot

irds ItccDiiiiii^
'iiHi'saiid iiiniii-

Dtl ^OVt'l'MllllMlt

Natioiinlily iii-
■i.s. and cvfii till'
Iu(-<>«1 no iastiiiK

the disasters ul
iv«' taught the
'Unit way, and
ig up (if iiMt ions
ricnicnt of kinK>
y tlu' friends ol
d proKi't'ss. That

national disin-
»r the cunsolida-
»'s has bfcn at
fty yt-ars will l»c
iMU'c to ('{'I'taiii
Italy, thcl'niti'd
rniany.

:'ni«'nts wt'i'c noi
lory, the work
licans, nor were
f^ainst nionarch-
itzt'rland affords

i iHlTtlu' Fori'st
on a^^ainst that
in-cd to separate
u/.»'rn<', Schwyz,
g, Freiburg and
iiselvi'.s into a
till' "Sonder-

onof the liberal

>.ive up tht'ir pn'tt'Usions. Tliey were than that of his own kingdom. He

<il>li><ed to i»ay the (•<»st of the\^ar. to protected t'le exiled Italian paliiots,

.sid>init to chau^e!? in the eantoiial i-on- broke roinpletely with lit rainontiin-

J.I ilutions, antl t(»expel the Jesuits from icni. atnl s<piarely opposed Austria's

itlieir bonlers. The federal i-oiisl it ul ion policy and inter«'s(s. Sardinia hadonly

IV as likewise lutxlified atid st renf^tlieiied t1\ e millions inhabitants, but the whole

land the republic consolidated. In ISIS moral power (tf Italy was at its ba<'k.

^Switzi'Hand eensed to be a collection of NN'ith the assist^ince of France it ae-

'>ov»'rei^;n cantons, and became a peace- (|uii'ed Loinl)ardy in iSiM), and so strong

able and prosperous nation. Thi> seems was the devotion of the Italians to

to be the first in.-.tajice in histoiv of the national unity that they i^rnored I he

,triumph of thespirit of jiationa! unity, provisions of tlu* l*eac«' of Zurich,

*riie riglit of a republican community to according to which the Italian state's

Mcede from a federal I'nion wa> etVec- were to form a i-onfedeiacy under tin-

Vively denied and the rebelling nation- presidt-ncy of the F(tpe, They weie as

fttes forced to ri'innin united with hostih* to a new federation as to their

their sister cantons as a nation. little kingdoms anddukedoms, and the

Nowiiere was the nationalistic spirit result proved tln'ir sagacity. In l."KIl»

III former times so strong; as in Italy. ' Tuscany, .MoiU'iia and I'arma joined

.AK'*''" "H'l JiK'"''" '""I *!'<' aspirations of themselves to Sardinia ; (iaribaldi next

Is'aples and Sicily for sepai'al«' nalional made a pres'-nt of Naples .ind Sicily to

iir IcKislative existcMice been powerful Victor Fmmanuel, the small potentates

enough to ruin tHe cause (jf Italian vanished and province after province

liberty. Hut the year lH.'»flsaw the be- was annexed. In 1H($1 Victor Fmman-

ginningof a new policy and the lirsi ual became Kin^ of Italy, and at last,

Kforts towards a hi}<h(U- aim than in 1H71, took p(»sse.ssion of the capital,

liationetteism. At the Coiij^ress (»f Rome. Thus, by siippressinjj; the spirit

3'aris, Cavour laid beftire the K''<'iit <>f I»'oviiu-ialisni, the Italians establish-

Itowei-s th«' demands of the Italians for ; ox\ their nat ional unity, an object which

iiatictnal existence, and declared that, , the previous sti-uKt^les of the nationali-

tliitil these were satisfied, a pennanent ties for centuries had failed to accomp-

li^iropean peace could ncjt be establish- lish.

ed. Austria then had possession t)f ; The theory of St^-ite KiKhts, which

tiombardy and Venetia, French troops ' was upheld by the «leiiiocratic paity in

led the fecU-ral occiii)ietl Home while Naples and Sicily ^ the United States up to the time of the

ter had decreed \vere in the hands of the successor of civil war, may be reufarded as another

Church to tli" Kin^ Honiba and the ("amarilla. Italy ; instance of tli(> oci iiii-eiice of a iiation-

>f the convents .included numerous nationalities, but ; alistic spirit in a republic, detrimental

expel the.Iesuit- JKeapolians and Florentines, Hoiuans [ to its best interests and even dainjei-ous

en the "Sonder-

he government

. The demand

resistance coii-

• troops were de-

r and Luzeriii'

is were forced td

amoiitanists to

ind Venetians were alike tired of their ! to i
petty princes and reactionary ji^overii- theo

its existence. Accordinj^ to this
>ory the IJ^nited Stiites was made up
bu'iits, and looked ui)on the title of of a number of sovereign common-

Italian as higher and prouder than any
ihey had previously borne. Sardinia
feeeined to them like an oasis in the

wealths, each capable of t-xercising all
legislative and exemitive powers except
tliose expressly dt'legated to the federal

desert. Its King, Victor Eninianuel, I government, and each possessing the
cared more for the groatiiessi of Italy right to separate from it at pleasure.

Ifl

n I

Thrsf prftf'M.siKDs, ctiinhliicd with otlicr
fciK tiotiJi V ililliU'ricr.s wci')' t l>«Taii.s«- of
till* iittt'iiipl tliiit was iitiitit' to wirck
tilt' |{r|Mil)lir in IS»H, whi'ii tlu- .-Invi'
Ntiitco I'or'iiifd t hfiiiHflvfs into n scpnr-
iilr ( 'ont'nl ■i-atioii nv "NoiKicrtaind,"
af'ti'i' tli(^ iiiaiiix'i' of the Swiwh Fori'ht .
Caiitoiis ill IKI7. Ahiiost ail tilt' iii-
haliitaiils of the Noiitlit rii St4it*-s, coin-
prising one-fourth part of tiit* total
population of the country, hccanit^
i'(!Ih'1,s, and carric*! on a four years' war,
duriiif^ wliich a half a inilUon lives were ,
Hacriiiced. Ihil the people of the
Ignited States knew the valuectf nation-
n1 unity, and exerted themselves toihe
utmost to preserve it. in th<- end the
rni«)n was maintain(>d, the soverei^fn
statesdeprivedof theirsoveieij^nty, the
doctrine of stat«' rights dest royed. the
nation preserved and the laws of the
federal K<*v«'rninent made supreme.

The lesson thus taught, and the whole ;
experieiic*' of the I'nited States re^aitl- ^
\nn state rights, were not without their !
inthience on Canadian statesmen, at
the time of Confederation which took;
place in KSti", shortly after the close of |
the American civil war. In tlio British
North American \ct the matters sub- |
ject to provincial leKisIation are dis- j
tinc-tly stilted, as is also the principle j
that tli(> Dominion Parliament issupre- !
me. and charj^ed with the control of all j
subjects not delegated to the provinces.
It is perhaps Ui be regretted that ('on-
federation »lid not effect a closer union
of the Lower Provinces, aiul avoid the
establishment of s.-parate governments
and legislatures for Nova Scotia, Xew |
Hruiiswick and Prince Edward Island. '
This end the pavment to them and the 1
other provinces of hirg«^ subsidies by ,
the Dominion render any reduction of
its customs duties next to impossible. |

Notwithstanding this. Confederation
on the whole has been a decided success,

■ iiid in a very marked d«'grei' eondiici\t'
to national unity. This was es|»ecially
seen in the suppression of the Wii !
({ebellion. Knlirely of tiieirowii iin
tion, and without the aid of Hriti>li
troops, the (a iiadin lis restored <irder in
the northweHt, and preserv«'d tin' unit \
of their own Dominion and that of tin
Kmpire. After such action the po.
sibility of successful secession on tin
part of any of the provinces is vei \
remote indeed.

Perhaps the most brilliant instano
of the tendency to national consohd.i
tion in our age is furnished by tli>
(iernian Kmpire. Details are unnect^
sary. The jealousies and hostilities n'
the (iernian nationalties have givei
place to the unity of the (iernian im
tion. Mavarians, Prussians, Saxoii>
Hanoverians and Hessians no longi
vaunt their resjiective countries. A
cry out with Ariidt, "The whole n
(iermany it shall be." and declare i;
the strains of one of the noblest of w;i
songs, "Thou, Iihin«>! shall remain , I
(iernian as ourhearis."

Is there in all this no encourngemen
for those who desire the permaneii
unity of the Kmpire? Is the desire fc
consolidation less powerful in Iiriti>
hearts than under a (iernian Kmpire <
nn American Republic? Wetrowiin
Besides we must' remember that, i
point of fact, we now possess union i
a certain extent and that our ett'tn-tsai
only retpiired t«)wards making tin
union more practical and fruitful fi
defence and for mutual encourageimi
and support in peace or war. In etft'i
iiig this there is no necessity for rei|ii:
ingthat any of thenati«)ns constitutii
th«' British Empire should sacrifice ;ii
of Its peculiar characteristics or ii!>

nil
?f 'I
<-l
It
\\
ol
h.

ti<
an
th
El

Ca
th*

not

lat

Oft

Ha I

B!a^

hii\

tutions. Neither do Imperial Fedn
tionists desire anything of this soi
In fact noninterference with Iih

tb<

ist>

met I
b(>

■oni
«ny

t&e

niriid

fill-e
Stell
peril
Mac(
With
Of f (

'! '
;i i

H was fs|M'ciiill\
1)11 of th«' Hi' I

if ilu'ir own i

. aitl of Hiiti>li
rt'stnii'tl ol'(l«'l' iu
•siTVt'iHIu'unitv
11 ami that of tli'
mtinii Ww V<>-

S«>(M'Ksi(>ll »>U til'

i-»)vinc«'H is v»M\

hiilUaiit instant,
itional lonsolidi
uinislu'd l»y <•"
tails art" unnrn >

anil h«>8tiliti<'s<i
Itifs Imve givci
,f tin* (Jt'inmn nn
I'lissians, Saxon-
essians no lon^v
I- ttmntiit's. A!
"The whoh' <■

" and (U'daif i
tlu- nobh'st of wii
i»! shall nnnain ii

JO cncouragcnHi
the pt'vniant'ii
Is thf (Ifsire IV
)Wfrful in Hiiti'-
Joinmn l-'nipiif >
it? We trow ni'
inenibi'i' that,
rt- possi'ss union i
that our t'tt'tnts ill
uds nuikinK th;
il and fruitful t'
iial enc-oui-a^t'niti
or war. In ettV.
t'cossity for roqii;
ations «H)nstitutu
ihould sacritici" ;ii
iicteristics or in>

rights is one of th«' |»rhicl|tl«'s, ah-fa<Iy past history of th»' world. Still, f»trsnch

«|iioti'd, of thi' Inipt'i'ial Krdt-ration a I'nion tin- t«'rni "f<'d«'ration" doi's not

L«'ji^nf. and its journal has all alon^ appear suitahle, and prohnhly no nanii'

iniiitilairn'd that the arran^t'nit'nt ot will «>ver In* found Ix'tter than the pr«>-

tlie local h'K'slative and executive sent one of ** Kinpire." If we cured to

^nnchincry of each part of the Knipire search far enoiiKh Iwu-k in history we

^•oiirerns that part alone. ft has de- n,i^ht douhtless disinter "The Holy

dined to express any opinion on the Honian Knipire of (icrnian Nati«>ns,"

rliish (piestion, that heinj; a snhjcct as the lU'arest approach to our (-onteni-

which exclusively concerns t he people plated uiutui of British cotnitries.

of the I'liited Kinploni. Similarly it Ihit a name of this s«)rt nuKht

-linlds that Australa.sian I'nion is a ! not conuneiid itself to KukHsIi

rfiiatter with which Imperial Federa- ears, and our Canadian tra<li-

'itiniiists, as s[u\\, have nothing to do, tions speak strongly in favor of a

and there is not the slijjhtest dan>,'«'i' "I'nited Umpire." .M<»st likely the

that in effecting the Federation of the majority of thecommuinties now living

Empire any change would he siif^^ested under the I'nion .lack, would he con-

IIH n-Kards the institutions of any tente<l to he known as forming P'li't of

Canadian |>rovince, or of any append

af;e of the IOm|)ii-e in any othei- part of

the world. Imperial Federation <loes

"TheTnited British Kinpire," orof the
"Ffiited Fmpire of British Nations."
As an instance within the Knipire of

«.f ,.....>.. i ii.|.< . .... .....,......,....■,., I .................... I

Hot seek and could not accomplish the j the outbreak of that nationalistic tend-
tational ohiiteration of any (»f the races j ency which has b(>en stiKinatised in
of the lOmpire. The ('ana«lians. Austra- this paf)er as antagonistic tothedeve-
Bnns, Afric.'inders, West Indians and lopmeiit of a lar^e and liberal national
Bast Indians would, each of them, still life. Queensland may be mentioned.
Ilave their sep.irate national existence, I This younj^est Bi-itish colony has
which Fedeiation would tend far more ' I'ecently accpured .some notoriety. In
■*" " " ' "" its review of the occui-reiices in I.SHJS,

to pres<'rve than to de.sti'oj
would be t
•h Imperial
How would it be chai

What th(>n would be the nature of which concerned the Coloi.ies, the
the I'nion which Imperial Federation- Tiitics ^nvf the folUiwiiiK'is part of th'.^

,».. ...... .»v. ....„ , , .1 ..-record: "Queensland has declnuu ;,

cterised ? If a clo.ser Imperial I'nion "ratify the Naval Defence Hill, which
i» brought about, it will and must be 1 " has been adopted by the othei-

itts aim at?

act

aomethinK altofjrethei- dilTerent fron
iBiy soi-t of "federation' which has

Austi-alian >?overmnents, as well as
" by the Imperial I'jii'liameiit, and has

--^.- , , -

f listed in the past. With Canada "since compelled the withdrawal of
ready confederat^'d, jindothei- j^i-oups "Sii- Hem-y Hlake. whos<' appointnu>nt
t British Colonies inclined to forsake ' "as jrovernoi" had been announced,
e nebulous condition, their closer "and in wlios** place .Sirllenry Nor-
Wiion with the other parts of the Km- ' "man luus been nominated."

^ ire would form a most brilliant con- , While indebted
stell.ntion in the i)olitical he.-ivens, or ' Country for th(

to the Mother
securitv of its

I ' " , ... V ........ ^. .... . .., . , ^, ... .....

, perlia])s a newsolar system, asSir.Iohn coasts and shipping?, Queensland aims
o Imperial e( « Jfacdonald snp:af<'sts ; a central power [ at depiiviuK her of almost the only
hing or tins ^( . ^jtj, .,„xilliary nations; a confederation j right remaining to the Crown in a

.'n<

;e witl

.• '"" ................ ...f,... .V...........f^ ... ...V ......... ... ..

federations without a parallel in the British CtWony, the appointment of the

wsm.

(lovernor. Not only so Imt it is said
to be governed by men phfdged to
affect its separation from tbe Empire,
a project wbicb would diminish the
lui'er by about oiu^-thirteenth part
of its area, and about one-thous-
andth part of its population. One
Queensland newspaper urges the
discussion of thecpiestion in order that
'* the more friendly and easy niay be
"the sc^parallon when it comes," and
anothei', according to Sir Charles
Dilke, has described llu' view of the
present premier as being that the
British Cabinet and the Colonial Office
are a pack of old women, and the
Mother Country "a composite grand-
" mothei'ly old wi'eck . . . tottering
"with a handbaganda cotton and)rella
" towards an open grave."

Truly theassuranc<' and waywardness
of this scantily-populated fiagment of
the Kmj)ire is immense. It seems
resolved to reputliate the solemn vows
made by loyal sponsoi-s for it at its
bajitism, i-efuses t(j be confiiined and
wishes to follow after strauLa' gods. It
appccars ambitious tobeconn' the South
Cnroiina of the Empire, U^ use tall
words, eat fire, and inaugiu'ate a rebel-
lion, at least on paper. .Just as there
were in the United States men who
pnidainuHl the i-iglit of each State to
secede, so thei-e have been* Englishmen
partic\ilarly anxious to tell tiu' colonies
that they might go when they pleased.
The residt ha'^ been to ])roinote the
growth of lU'rnicious iilens in certain
colonial connnunites. In the United
States such doctrines were resisted and
stamped out by a sanguiniiry war.
They were legarded as destructive of
the existence of a nation which the
United States claimed to be. Can they
be permitted to spread with<iut danger
to the existence of our Empire i' The
secession resisted successfully by denio-

•cratic America. can suri'ly be su]ipresse(l

I with gr»'ater consistency and equiil
effect by nionarchic.il England, or by

, nations of (Jreater Britain.

There is really no other ground for
reasonable Britons to take in this
matter than ^that expressed by Sii
Julius Vogel: "I do not believe il
" would be oi)en to any gr'eat colony tn
"leave the Mother Coimtry, any more

I " than it is open to Ireland to do so."
(Jrant the right of secession, and inter-
minable troul)les arise, leading to coni-
plications and wars far more disastrous
than coidd |)ossibly follow from main-
taining the Unity of the Empire now
and at all hazards. But are we to per-

! mit the .seed of disintergation to be
sown, and eventstodrift until civil war
ensues: until the balkv horses become
lunnanageable, and we have to under-
take the task of whipi)ing ji colony
back into the traces? This is what the

United States had to do, but can we

not learn from such reiu-nt history ':
Is there not statesiiianshij) left in Eng-
land to steer clear of such a catas-
trophe?

"As a man soweth that shall he also
rejij)." The text a])plies ecpially well to
nations. Foi-ty years ago England in
arranging her fiscal affaii-s, did so in ii
manner uttei'ly regai-dless of the com-
mercial interests of her colonies, and
has ever since, in matters of trade,
treated them like alien conumniities,
Is it surpi'ising that some of them
should now feel and act as such? Nn.
indeed ; the wonder is that the loyal
sentiment in the colonies should ha\i
such wonderful vitality, when the in-
difference of many of the ruling state's
men in the Mother Country is consider-
ed. Far worse I'esults were predicted
by the liistorian Alison who says:
"Such distant dei)endencies, fornung a
" vast Empire with tUe ocean for its in-

\f.

■ l)t'sii]i])r(?ss('(l

cy Jind o(|U!il

jif^^laiul, «)!• by

in.

li'v jj^ruund for

take in this
t'sst'd by Sii
not believe il
fr-eat colony to
itry, any nioic
land to do so."
iion, and intei-
I'ading to coni-
lore disastrous
w fron» niain-
e i'hnpire now

are we to per-
.'rjj:ation to be

until civil wai
horses bei'onic
have to inider-
j)ing a colony
bis is what the
lo, but can we
jcent history /

lip left in Kuf,'-

sucb a catas-

"terior line of coinnnniicat ion. (in({

• lirh! tixjrilirr hi/ the .strung hoiiil of
•■ miihut/ iiiffnut, may, if ruled by

• w isdoni and <lirecttd by foresij^ht,
•• lonj^ l)id di'fianct' to the open or covert

• hostility of foicij^n })o\vei's. Divided

• by the neglect or irritated by the sel-
•llsh legislation of the parent State,

• (le|)iivi'd of the strong iiond of nui- i
"tual interest arising from pr«»tected
'•industry, cast adiift upon the world,
•and exposed to (he competition of
•• loreign count lies, the lOmpire of which

■ t iiev from a part will speedily fall to
•pieces, Ix-cause the ruling power at
•■ home, to gratify separate interests in

"the dominant island, has neglected
'•the mission appointed for it by I'ro-
'•vidence, and ceased to i>enelit the
•■ human race.'

The momentous (piestions of to-day
.ifc these: How can, "the ruling power
at home," repair tlu' damage which
Ihitish Uimy has sustained, aiul induce

such colonies as Queeusl., iid willingly
to remain part of the lOmpiie, and liear
its share of the burden of dt'fending
a? ("an this burden be placed on the
shoulders of the colonies in such a
nuxnner as to encourag*' them to bear
it?

It is useless in the case of a disalTect-
ed colony toap|)eal to sentiment alone.
A plan nnist be brought foiward which
will, at the saint time, recommend it-
s»'lf to the interest of the w licde l';m|)ire.
Such a measure has been suggested and
will have full consideration in this
essay. Meanwhile it is encouragiug to
j observe some evidenci- of a retiun to
I reason on the part of tlie statesmen of
Queensland. Its I'epresentatives at the
Federation Conference, in Australia
iield in February last, were (pn'te lare-
ful and moderate in their language, and
strongly approve*! of the j)rop<ised
AustriUasian I'Vderafion under the
IJj'itish Crown.

it shall he also
e(pially well tc
igo England in
lirs, did so in ji
'ss of the com-
i" colonies, am
ters of trad<'.

comnnuiities.
Sonu> of them
as such ? Nil,

that the loyal
i»'s should ha\i
•, when the in-
e ruling states-
it ry iseonsider-
were pi-edictcd
I who says :
icies, forming a
jcean for it« in-

C'lIAPTEK 111.

A Retrospect and its Lesson.

iJeforeconsidei'inghow (heconsolida- histoi'y is not a very attraclivt- s\tbject:
lion of the p]mpirecan be effected most but if we digest its hitter lessons, they
easily, it would seem advantageous to inay show us the dangns througli
lake a look backward at the i)rogress j which we have i)assed and strengthen
of the idea, and to do st) from a Cana- us when the time for action ai-rives.
dian point «)f view. Thus regai-ded, we About two cent»u-ies ago, (Ji»'at Hri-
soon become aware of the fact that] tain and her Colonies on the Atlantic
our movement is not of yesterday, and j Coast began to find that the business of
that there has ijeen ret rogres.sion in it settling the country was a very pre-
as well as advancement. Indeed its 1 carious one. Raids and requisitions by

■I'

th«> Indians of the west, and the French
«)f the north, entirely dissipated any
prospect of profit, or (!ven of peaceahle
possession. An unsatisfactory state of
affairs continued tintil, by the capture
of Quebec and the conqjiest of Canada,
the Motlier Country was aVde to secure
the thirteen Colonies against attack,
and make them a country worth living
in. Scarcely was this done, however,
when these same Colonies revolted and
svt up in business for themselves, after
undufifully appropriating the premises
and st,ock which had cost Great Britain
so much blood and treasure. This ac-
tion was not followed by any offer to
pay for the business they had taken
possession of. On the contrary, they
went to greater lengths, and turned
out of the establishnurnt those em-
ployees who had been faithful to the old
firm, and who did not npprove of the
summary methods which the junior
partners had adopted, in getting the
Atlantic business into their own hands.
The people thus expelled were the
United Kmpire Loyalists, who, as stated
by Hobei't (J rant Ilaliburton, "had for
" more than eight years fought through
"a wi'iiry civil war, and had risked
"their lives, their all, for the English
"Crown. In 17S;^, when the treaty
" was signed no amnesty was se-
"ciu-ed f()r them, and nioi-e than fifty
"thousjind scapegoats of British diplo-
"niacy, men, wonu*n and children,
"were driven into the wilderness" of
the noi'th and the noi'thwest. Theii-
story tills us with grief, pity, and a
righteous indignation. But their
struggles for a United Empire and
their faith in its ultimate establishment
shine through the mist of the j)ast
century, to guide us onwards in the
l)ath which they were the first to ti-ead.
It is true that this faith of the United
Empire Loyalists did not bear inunedi-

ate fruit. Indeed, so barren was it of
results that it has since been spoken nl
as their dream. In course of time ;;
generation of statesmen rt>se up who.
we must charitably suppose, nevei
heard of their story or their dream.
At least it was left entirely out of con
sideration in England's dealings with
her Colonies, and when the time came
for granting them responsible govern-
ment.

F^qually oblivious wereEnglishstates-
men of the interests of a United Empirr
in some of the treaties made regarding
our boundaries. To this day the Asli-
Uui'ton Treaty is by every Canadian
regarded as a proof of English indiffer
ence. Her statesmen of that time seem
to have thoiight, although they did not
say, what Louis XV, said, but did not
think, when he signed away Canada:
" It's only a few acres of snow." Look-
ing at a map of North America, therf
is to be perceived what looKs like a big
bite out of Canadian territory at tb»'
place where lies the State of Maim-.
\Vh«'n that was ceded to our neigli-
boiu's, we not oidy lost "a few acres ot
snow," but that old bite cost us a few
nnllions of pounds extra in building
the Intercolonial Railway away round
to the north of it. The State of Michi-
gan was another bite taken out of us.
and it was especially hard t«) lose it.-
northern peinnsula, between l^iikes
Michigan and Superior, one of the rich-
est mijieral regions in the world. Thai
concession cost us a few more millions
in carrying the Canadian Pacific Rail
way I'omid the north shore of Laki
Superii>r. Later on, the Oregon terri
toiy was yielded i ,, N) our enterprising
cousins, and the saUiC railway was in
conse(iuence obliged to cross the Selkirk
range, instead of following the natural
route down the Columbia Hiver. All
these concessions were made by Eng-

bnrron was it of
■ been spoken nl
oiii'se «tf tiiiH' ;:
n r(>se up whn.
suj)posi', ncvci
)!• their dreajn.
rely out of f()ti
s dealings witli
1 the time came
onsible goveni-

eP^nglish states-
United Empire
made regarding
is day tiie Asli-
very Canadian
English indiffer
' that time seem
igh they did not
lid, but did not
: away Canadii:
f snow." Look-
America, theie
looKs like a big
,erritory at the
State of Maine,
to our neigli-
**a few acres ol
e cost us a few
ra in huilding
ay away round
State of .Michi-
aken out of us.
lard to lose its
et ween Ijjjkes
)ne of the rich-
world. That
more millions
n Pacific Rail
iiiore of Lak(
Oregon terri-
i!' enterprising
ailway was in
OSS the Selkirk
ng the natural
a Hiver. All
made by Eng

l;»M(l in ifilei- to |>le;i-^e the I'nited
.'^i.iies. iititl f'>r t be ])urp(>se (if securing
pe.u-e with them, ('an it bi- said that
l!ie Amei'lcnn- have made as many
s.H'i'itifes for the same object ?

Nor ili<l Canadian cummercial intef-
es(s fai-e any betti'i- (Iian boimdary

I ((uestinns. There was a time in the
liistory of (ireal Hi-ifain when practice
and expcrit'iice were T-egarded as the
true rouridalion for 'Ix'ory in every
department of indnsti-y and statecraft.

;. }»ut al>out the ye:ir 1HK>. a tendency
was developed on the part of some of
our siatesmen to work in tlii' opposite
dii-ect ion. Tiii'iiing the inductive
method upside down, they detei-mined
toui;ikr' facissin'.;;;-!' with theirtlu'oTMCs.
'J'hey assumed that certain principlesof
trade which they regarded as unassail-
able, would produce certain iienelicial
reailts everywhere, and under all cir-
cumstances. And so the policy of free
impiti'ts was adojtted, uhicli was tlie
cause of nuich conunercial emb;irr-iss-
nicnt in Canada, cari-icd distress even
into her b.-ukwoods, and, to a large ex- i
toit. provoked the amiexation moxc-
ment of 1S1!».

It would be out of pl;u-e here to dis-
cuss the merits of rrotcction and Free

Trade. Federationists may proj)erly
take the position that each sect ion of
tlic lanjiire is free to adoi)t the prin-
ciples oft he one system or the other, as
tl'.ey may tliink fit. Ihit it is surely
ni.itter for i-egi'et that the Fi'ce Tratle ,
a'.ritaiors of forty years ago win'e so!
li. ad strong as to give to the (■t)l()nies
scint consider.'ition. and so unpatriotic
as to anticipate with sat isfaclion a dis-;
nienibernient of the ilnipii-e. Col)den j
himself s.'ii'.l: " The Colonial system. ^
"with all its da/./.ling appeals to the
*' )>assions of the peoi)Ie, can never be
" got rid of exc(>pt by the iiuiirect ]>ro- \
"cess of Free Trade, which will grad- j

"ually and imp(>rcept ibly loost-n the
"bonds which unite oiu' Colonies to us
" l)y ;i mistaken notion of self-interest."
Tilt apostle of Free Ti'ade visited
Fg> p , (ii'cece, France, Italy, .Vusti-ia.
Prussia, and twice he rrossed the ocean
to the United States in ordei- to impreg-
nate these countries with Free Ti'ade
doctrines, hut he m-ver visited a Mritish
colony, Ol- made any j)roj)osal for im-
pi'ovinj; the commercial relations be-
tween thetn ind the .Mot lier Count ry.
Even as late as iStM, Cobdeii wrote:
" I cannot see what substantial interest
"the British i)eople ha ve in the coiuiec-
" t ion to compensate them foi-guaran-
" teeing three or foui' miilioiis of North
" Americans living in Canada against
"anothei- conunuu'ty of Americans
"living in their ni'ighbourhood. To
"defend these Colonies is a task !)<•-
" yond our jxiwei'. We h.ive rer'ognis-
"ed theii' I'ight to control their own
••fate, even to the point of assei'ting
"theii- independ'Mice whenever they
"think fit, and which we know to be
" oidy n (piestion of time." Cobdeii
died two months laKu-. How melan-
choly to reflect that this should h.ave
been till' theme of the last nttei'ances
of a man of such genius and power!
After- Cobden's death some of his fol-
lowers continued to argue in favor of
tlu' dismemberment of the IOin|»i!'e.
They did not seem to perceive that this
was eipuva'cnt to nation.il suiciile.
Canada was especially the oliject of the
sneers and disfavour of the Manchestei"
si'hool. while tin- l'iiit<'d Stales, al-
though cai'rying to far greatei- ex-
tremes the pi'actical apj)iic;;t ion of the
]>rotective principles which these poli-
tical economists condenuied, was look-
ed u|)on as the pattern nation, ^'et,
while the latter, on moi-e than one
occasif)n, displayed fe, lings di-iinrt!y
hostik' to England, faithful Canada

'J%<,

»»

W'jis able to say, at each saerifict' of her i
tei'rit«»ry or interests by tbe Motbei-
Country, "yea, tliougb sbe slay me,
yet will I trust in ber." Indifference
on the part of our English Ciovernnient
to the welfai-e of the Colonies untler
oi'dinary circunistanees appears suHi-
ciently inexplicable, but, in the case of
Canada, and considering the proximity
of the United States, it aniounis to
something like "veiled treason. ' Here
was ('anada, for a series of years, ex-
posed to the temptation of surrender-
ing her position in the Uritish Empire,
and of changing her allegiance for ap-
parent material advantage, while those
who plotted to absorb hei-, and even
winked at an invasion of her tei-ritoi-y,
were received with favour and contl-
denc-) by tlui only powei- to which
C-anada could look f(jr sympathy niuX
aid.

The American leanings of English ,
statesmen were well display(Hl in the
negotiations connected with the Treaty
of Washingtori when tiie claims of
Canad'i for compensation for the
Fenian raid losses were set aside. This
indifference to a United Enii)iie policy
reached siuh a state about eighteen
years ago, that the Hon. .losejjh Howe ;
expressed himself in this way:— "Of
"late newdoctries have been expound-
"ed in the Mother Country. The dis- ;
"organisation of the Em])ire has been
" openly pronndgated in leading and
"influential organs of public sentiment
"and opinion. Our brethren within
" the narrow seas have been coiniselled
"to adopt a narrow })olicy ; to call,
"h...ue their legions, and leave the out-
" lying provinces without a show of |
"sympathy or protection. One('abinet
" Minister tells us that British Ameri-
"ca wuinot be defended, and another
" that he hopes to set> the day when the
" whole coutiuent of America will

"peacefully repose and pros|)er under
" I^epublican institutions, I do no',
"(h'sire to anticipate the full and anipli'
"discussion which Parliament will givi'
"to England's recent diplomatic effori>
"to buy her own peace at the sacrifice
"of our interests, oi- of that comedy
"of errors into which she has blundei'-
"ed; Init this 1 may say, that tlu' tinu-
"is rapidly approai Iiing when Cana-
" dians and Englishmen nmst have ;i
"clear and distinct understanding a>
"to the hopes and obligations of the
" future." No apology is neces>iai'y tor
this lengthy tpiotation, which correctl>
represented the feelings and UtiiVH at
that time of many besides the vetei.iii
statesman of Nova Scotia, who ha^
long situe p.-jssed to his resc. W'heti lie
gave utterance to those v ords the pros-
pect nuist iiuleed have seemed dark te
a U}iited Empire Loyalist. One oi
them, Haiibiuton alieady (pioted,
bitterly says regai'ding tin* views oi
English statesmen of that period: "A
" panacea has been suggested whicii
"has the double merit of being aii
"etfectual remedy and a good specula-
" tion. The nation is advised to cut it-
" throat to save itself the cost «if living.'
and ho compari's a nation t .lat ((iuiil
follow such a«lvice to the man "who
"was so mean that he cut off one oi
"his feet to save himself in shoe
"leather."

The CJermans say, "when the neeil
is greatest then the help is nearest,
and very soon after this time we havt
evidence of a reaction. But, in truth.
th(> great heart of England nevei
seiMously thought of dismembering tii(
Empire, and her weak-kneed statesmen
found they had reckoned without tla-ii
host, that they had matle a huge mis-
take in even hinting at such a thing.
Howe spoke in 1872 ; shoi-tly af terwaril.-
the tide began to turn, and our own

1(1 prosper umliT
)n.s. I do iioi
jc full ami aiiiplf
ijuiit'iit will fjrivf
iplomutic eH"oii>
' at the saci'itiii-
of that foiiH'dy
she has hliuuli'i-
LV, that tlu' tiiiif
ing when Caiia-
t'li imist havr ii
iiuk'rstanding a^
l)li^atior\s of the
,• is nccc.s.sai-y t'oi
, which coiTcctl)
igs aiul "cars at
^idt's the vetci.iii
icotia. wlio has
s resc. W'ht'ii he
«' V ords tht'iu'os-
' st'ciiu'il dark td
)yalist. One o!
ilready quoted.
))jj the views oi
that period : "A
>uj?K*'^'*'*^l which
rit of heing an
a ^ood speenla-
Ivi.sed to cut it-
leeostJif living.'
ation t.iat eoulil
the man '* whe
Ic eiit ol¥ one el
iniself in shoe-

r when the neeii
jelp is ni'arest,'
lis time we have
I$\it, in truth,
I England nevii
nnemhering thi'
:need statesmen
hI without their
ule a luige mis-
It such a thing,
[rtly afterwanl-
1, and our own

rrciiiier, wluMi reviewing the situatiiui

ill l.ST'j, was ahle to make this stat«'-

mrnt : " W*- have got the pledge of the

• Motlier Country and, us I said he-

•I'ure, that ple«lge has never Imh-ii

••t)roken that the whole power of the

■' I'wnpire will lu'cxerted in our tlef«'nee

I -if occasion sliouM reipiire." This

I .^.une speech contained the germ of the

; present movement, although at that

time the term Fi'deratinu had not been

iincnted for it. Let us hear what tlie

same veteran st.'ite-nian. (tur "old

:|p.irliameiitary hand" .said about the

^CKUsolidation of the Kmi)ire litteen

\\ears ago: "As ti> tlie futm-e of

••Canada, I have long held very deeid-

"e<l opinions, and these lead m«! to be-

••lie\e that England will he tlie central

'•power, with auxiliarv nation.s tlu^

"Colonies in alliance with her;

*• when we would have less of depend-

■"eiu-e and more of an alliance; we

•• woidd all b(> united uiuler the .same

■•.Sovereign, and all owe allegi.ince to

"the .same Crown ; all inspired by the

" Ilritish spirit, and bound togethei- by

"an alliance offensive and defensive.'

Tills may not mean Imperial Fedei-a-

tion, but it is possible to claim it as

foretelling the consolidation of the

Kmpire befoi-e the end of th(> pre.sent

flit'entury. Not longaftei wards Sir John j

IMacdonald proposed his "National i

I'olicy," and regained power on thei

Htrength of it. He tlirew aside thej

llulvice of the Manchester School who |

'•" persi.stently entreat mankind to re-

■*" gulate their conimercijil atfairs on

■**tlie a.s.sumptiim that the entire race 1

••of man is but a band of brothers,"!

»nd adoiited M. Thiers principle:!

"among the most sacred rights is that

"of the labour of a country to its own

" markets." Even at this time the idea

of a closer union had its advocates and

f found expression, as the following ex-

tract from the Montreal O'i/.r<7/cof \>i
March, 1S7J>, will shew: -

To (hr Ui{iht Uon. Sir John A. Mufil'inalil.
K.C.li.. <t'c., «£•('., lit the ojxitiiij/ of i'mliii-
nil lit, Fchitiitvy, W.> :—

As ne'er Ijcfore with poweriunl honniirei'invued.

'I'li.m entert'st our lejjfis'ative luill^;

'I'liixurh (liiiiii'i'rs ttiiclien. (lisciiiUeiUM a1)()Uiul.

Yet <'onllii<MU t() llieo tlie n.ition ealls

\\ olconie, I'rcMiior! The Crown luul people's

choiee.
To caeli of tlieiii be loya and sincere,
As to (Jill's jiroN iiience ; their hleiideil voieo,
Tlie voice of British law do Mioii revei-e.

Hind lis ■•li'l e'oser to that dear old laiiil
The nurse of nation.s; niiKtresK of the world
.Make our dcfeiieo her own ; make us to stand
In her defence where'^-r llio flap's uiii'ui I'd.
(Quench not the Kii:okin.<,' flaN of iialrioi zeal
That snioulderH 'niongsi uur gallant voinnicois,
Hut nurse, encourage it; ritlo and sleei
May prove of serviee in u few short years.

Protect our mines and forestis; our bi.jad lunds
Let hardy settlers freely sow and reap ;
fnito our Provinces with iron l)andn.
Our lakes ami streams with ehanne's hroad and

deep.
For all such blessinKs we will Uiil and pay
.\ willinj^ tribute on o\ir dearest nf^eds,
For rich and poor alike do bless the ilny.
When trade revives and enteriirise sueeeedii.

Defend our laboura first ! tho aliens foil !
.Vea.sure for nieasurc nietcthem; fearless wield
Tlie lij-rhteous power; let even Uritaiiis soil
He foreiKii while our homes and hearths yon

shield,
.•^till ; to the mother fain her sons would briny
The fairest fruits their labours can attain ;
Oh! may she yet regard the olFering
As worthier, better than all foreign gain.

To patriotic view all o'er the earlli

A prospect marvellous and wide expands

Dear to rc'igion and to hunuin wuriii

The clo.ser union of all Mritish lands.

Further such aims thou leader great and bold,

.So shall thy fame o'er tliese same lands be

spread.
Thy work to generations still be told
\Vhcn thou art numbered with the glorious

dead.

Six years afterwards the Canadian
militia shewed in the North-west the

TfT

v.'ilucfif " I'iflc jMul steel " roi'tlieiinil y
of the I)()Miiiii<in, iiiul a better work
still vvns (loDe a year later when the
Canadian F^ieifie Hailway was cdin-
pleted, and with it the " iron hands "
Avhieh hind the ])r()vin(es to^'ether.
This was, nioreovr'r, as gi-eat a deed us
had evei- before been v/roii^ht for the
Unity of the Enij)ire, and deserved to
lu'comnieniornted, as was attein])t(^d in
the followir.jj^ lines which aj^jieared in
the Ottawa CiH.-cn of IMth October, \
IHSH: - i

To Sir John Mnrdonald on /i/.v r< turn from
liriti.tli Cohnnhia, Si'jifiiiitirr, issn, I

Froin (iu( Dm' youthful West, riiili:in( witliliopc,
WbcresmooLli I'acitJclavcH \'iiii»,'ouver'H wliores.
VV'licre Kiiiiit. tiinljcr clothiiH tlio iitiKlity h1uj)0,
\V"lier(^ luiiiKtl, bridt^e iiiid rail tiniiRk the (ioui's
Of jealous inoiiiiluiii pasnUN, lliou didst come;
Oil iron wiiM];s from out tin; setting siiii
lirinffiiij^ tliy slicnvus; wldlc ouch (.'anadian

homo
Echoed the cry, "Welcome I I'remior! well

done 1"

Henciilh the snowy Selkirkn wiiuls the road,
And ]msM llie source of niiiny a Hudson 8lreani,
Aeross the fertile belt, tlie new abode
t)f future inilliou.s of our coiinlrynicn.
Its ruKine. strikes Supi rior'si Uif-^ with awe,
Awakes the echoes of the Lnnrcnlides,
!-^alutes the tow(T crowned height of (ittawa.
And on ttie murt,'in of S'l. I,awrence glides.

Now East and \'/cst arc one; thy faitli suhlinio
Kcniov'd the inountaiiiti; hound with strongest |

Htcol
Our provinces, west, centra', inaritinie ;
And lix'd for centuiies our eouatry's weal.
The ancient Host is iiowtlie niodern West ;
Far colonies come nearer (liigland's whoro.
And {'aimda shall henceforth be confessed
The Keystone of the Arch of British power.

Huge Wius the t^isk ; strong were our country '«

foes,
■*/ho sought tliy lofty purposes to tliwart;
jviny, foul slander, ov'n rebellion rose
To disconipoHe Ihy pafrioiie heart.
'Mil! grctaicst cotKiuerors eaiuiot subdue,
V/ilh all tl'.eir powers, the spite of meaner souls;
Well hasl tliou done thy jtart ; so f-hall v^•o too
When next doth rage the battle of the polls.

The shn/lnws lenpthen of Ihy busy life ;
Ihit think not that thy warfare yet is o'er;
U-aNcuM not yet unguided ii\;lie strife;
One ta.-k remains woithy of a i thv power.
I niti the IJi.pire! make it stisnd compact
Shoulder to shoulder, let lis membersfcol
The toMcli of British brotherhood and act
As one vast nation, strong and true us steel.

If, in attcniptirig the Federation nl
tlu! Empire, Knglish statesman wonlil
handle that bnsiness ;is vi^j^oroiisly a-
our.s did the CDnstriiction of the Caiui
diaii I\k ific Railway, it mij^ht be pos-
sible to complete the work Hve years
earlier, and give Sir .7ohn Maedonald
and Lord Salisbiuy, and even Mr,
Gladstone, an opportunity, while yei
in the flesh, of beholdinjjf anothev
stupendous task completed in the in
terest of the wiu^le I'^mpire and ot
Christ ian civilization

Nine years after the delivery of Sir
.John .Maedonald's consolidation speecii.
the Impei'ial Federation League wn-
organized inuler its first chairman, the
Hight Hon. W. E. Forster, who dieii
17 months later, on tlie 5th April, LSsO.
One of his latest utterances, wh.if
might be called his "Swan Song" anu
very dilTerent indeed from ('obdi'iTs.
was his article on '* Impei ial Feder;;-
tion '■ which a])peared in the NinetccHti.
Cvnliin/, In view of the progress
which hits since been n)ade, many ol
his words are prophetic. For instani t
he iisked, "' Is it impossible for Lor.l
"Derby to write to the (Queen's repie
"sentative ut Ottawa, and Sydney, and
" Victoria, and Adelaide and Brisbane,
"and Auckland, and Hobart Town,
"somewhat to this effect : — 'The necc-
" isity for re-casting the defences of tin
" Eni})iri> is lu-gent. Her Ma jesty -
"Ministers wish to take counsel with
"your Gov<'rn)nent on the sLej)s to In
"taken. Ask your Ministers to eni-
" power their agents in London, or, ii

f*n

buH.v liff! ;
.ro yot Is (i'it;
it 111) strire ;
a 1 thv power,
ti'.iul compacl
members ftM'l
■hf)nil and aet
III true us sU'.ol.

f FcdciJilioii <it

■TtC'SJlliin WOlll;!

s vifj;()rously .m-
)n of tlic Cuiui
it iiiiKlit •)•' l><i^-
ivork tlvo yeai-
r)hn Maccloiiiiii!
aiid even Mi.
nily, wliile yci
oldiiifjj aiHitlic!
icLcfl in tlu' ill
lOiupii'o and ot

' dclivet'y of Sir

ilidalion spoecli.

on Li'iigiu' \va-

t c'hairiiiaa, tin

Ji'rfttT, who difil

5tli Ai.ril, 1.S;-<1,

I'ranci's, whai

■ivau Song" aiiu

"roni Cohdi-nV.

njK'i ial Ft'dcr.;-

1 thi' Xini'tcniti:

f the l)^o^Tl'^^

niad(>, many d

For instaiin

ssible for Lor.l

(Queen's it'pi'i •

lul Sydney, ami

e and Brishaiu.

llo))art; Town.

t:— 'The neto

defences of t!i'

Her Majesty-

ivi' counsel wiJi

the steps to In

iinisters to em-

1 Jiuudon, or, ii

"they prefer it, to send somo special
'" represejitative, to confer with mi'and
••with the rei)reseiitatives of the other
*• si'lf-ffoveriiinjj; ( 'olonies. Your Minis-
•• icrswillnot he committed to any course
f ' recommended by such conference
V until they have been informed there-
*• of and ai)prove ' " ? Two ytiars after-
vards Forster's .su^i:i;estion was foUow-
fd by the (loverruneut which succeed-
ed to pow«'i'. The Secri'tary of State
for the Colonies i.ssued the invitation
on the 2r>th of November, 188(5, and on
ihe 1th of Api'il, 1.S87, two years
pfter I'\>rster's death, the Colonial
t'onference actually met. Tliat such a
result was attained within three years
ftftei- the formation of the hn])erial
Federation licaf^ue si)eiiks volumes as
^) the pfreat influence of that society.
"" The proceed in,t;s of the Colonial Con-
feicnce^of 1887 have been i)ublished,
but have not yet received anythinf?like
the attention tliey deserve. That the
greatest importance wasattached to its
deliberations by the statesmen of the
Empire is evidi^nt from their expres-
sions of approval. Tlie prophecy of
Ijoi'd Salisbury has oftt>n been (pioted.
He said : " Wi' all feel the gravity and
"importance (»f this occasion. The
*' decisions of this Conference niav not
'!* be, for the moment, of vital impijrt-
♦'anct> ; the business may seem jjrosaic
•'and may not issue in any great results
"at tlunnoment. IJut we are all sensi-
/*' ble that thisnu-eting is the beginning
" of a state of things which is to have
jP'gi'CMt r(>sults in the future. It will
*' be t)ie parent of a long progenituri',
^'and distant councils of the Empire
*'may, in some far off time, look back
•' to the meeting in this room as the
"root from which all their greatness
" and all their beneficence sprang."
Lord Knutsford spoke as follows :—
" Many plans have been devised,

"many suggestions made for fitting
"memorials of lli'r Majestj''s .lubilee
"Year; (fiiot lioininrs, tot snih-tifia',
"In this <'ountry w have hear'd of au
" Imjierial Institute, a Chui'ch Home,
" hospitals, fr(>e libiaric-s, and so forth.
" IJut I as.-;ert, without fear of contra-
"diction, tliat the a.-sen!l)ling together
"in this country of leading Colonial
"statesmen and npresentatives of
"Greater Hiitain to discuss matters of
'Imperial inteiest afi'oting alike the
" Motlier Country and the Colonies, is
" greatest of all memorials.'' The same
stfitesman declared at the close of the
proceedings that he looked "hopefully
"forward to future conferences" and
Sir Samuel (I'l'ittiths, the oldest actual
Minister pres»>nt, said, "I think we
"may look forward to seeing this sort
"of infoi-mil Cinincil of the Kmpire
"developed until it becomes a legisla-
" tive body- at any rate, a consultative
"body, and some day, perhaps a legisla-
"tive body, under conditions wliich we
"cannot now foi-esee, and that indetKl,
"meetings such as this will before long
"be recognised as part of the general

i " governing machinery of the Empire."
It is imj)ossibl<' to read such words and
study the proceedings of this confer-
ence without feeling ajul exultingly

i declaring that with it and its develop-
ment the "dream" of the old United
Empire Loyalists is in full course of
realisation.

! Whatevei- may have been the case In

j the past, it is certainly impossible now
to say that Colonial affairs, at least, so
far as regards tei-ritorial (juestions and
Imperial defence — are not receiving
sufficient attention from the Home

j Government. At the same tim(> it can
be maintained that the commercial in-
terests of the whole Empire are not
now obtaining that amount of con-
sideration which almost every other

■■

civilised nation in these days feels
bound to hcslow on such mutters. And
wlijit is tile lesson whieh our pn.st ex-
perience, as above related, teaches us
rejjardinf? them ? Surely this -that th(!
commercial policy which has brought
the Kmpirt! to the verge of dismember- j
nient and which, there is too much i
reason to believe, was devised for this

very purpose, can no longer bo excused,
and, thatoiu- present plan of treatinf;
the inhabiUmts of the diffeivnt pail,'-
of the Empire, in mattei-s of -trade, as
if they wei-c; aliens, and placing them
exactly on the same footing as foreign-
ers should b(! abandoned at tihe earlie.-t
possible moment.

CHAPTER IV.

The Colonial Conference.

The study of the jiroceedings of the
first Council of the Empire is exceed-
ingly profitable to those who desire to
understand the nature and defects of
the present relations betwixt the
Mother Country and her Colonies, and
who are anxious to see a closer and
more serviceable union substituted. In
the speeches of the various delegates
the disadvantages under which the
several parts of the Empire labour at
present, and the objects which it is
considered desiivible to accomplish for
the common weal are plainly set forth,
while the obstacl(>s which present them-
selves have been as plainly recognised.

The subjects which were at first offi-
cially proposed for the consideration of
the conference by the Home (iovern-
ment were the organization of syste-

matic defence and the improvement of
postal and telegraphic communication.
Political Federation was expressly ex-
cluded, but the door was left open for
the introduction of any other import-
ant (piestion which, in the general opin-
ion of the Cohmial Governments, might
properly and usefully be brought under
consideration. In acctn'dance with
this latter supposition, the Colonial
Secretary wrote to the Colonial repre-
sentatives under date the IDth Mai-ch.
1887, as follows:— "I shall be obliged
** by your communicating to me in
" writing the subjects which you havt'
" b(!en instructed by your Government.
'* and which it may bo in your opinion
" desirable to bring forward." The
representatives of Queensland, Victoria.
Cape Colony, South Australia and

<'!• ho excused,
n of treatiiif^^
litlVrent pnvU^
••s of t lade, ii!-
jtlaeiiif^ them
uff as foi-eifrn-
iit the earlie.-1

provtmient of
iiimiiication.

xpi'essly ex-
eft open for
ther impoi't-
^•eiieralopin-
neiits, might
•ought uudej'
•dance witli
the Colonial
olonial repre-

IDth Mai^ch.
11 he ohliged
ig to me in
ich you have
iovernment.
yoxir opinion
■wai^d." The
lud, Victoria,
usti'alia and

Nittal found themselves ahle to comply j
with this reipiest, and a munher of ;
;idilitional suh.jectw W(»re suggested and
nftei^wai'ds discussed. In this way the
delihei'.it ions of tlu- Conference spread
over a very wide i-ange, and it was
even found possil)h' to introduce gent- '
lemen i^e])i'eseiiting the W est Indies,
and to discuss aiul condeuin the foieigii
sugar hounties. licaving out of con- i
sideratiou those whicli interest only '
one part icuhn- colony, and ihosi- of a ;
legal character, the matti "•s which I
came hefore the Conference for (;on- i
sidei^ation may be classesl under the ,
following divisions:— Naval and mili-
tary dttfence; postal and telegi^aphic
(^oinnumication: inter-hiit is!i trade !•('-'
lations; Imperial annexation; the cen-
sus throughout the Kini)ire; preserva-
tion of life at sea. To refer at length
to all these subjects in the course of
the present chapter is an impossibility,
but there are points of special import-
.•iiice to which attention ouglit to be
directed.

The chief sid)ject discussed by the
Conference, upo!i which jiositive action
was reached, was that of increasing tlie
naval force foi^ the protection of the
floating trade in Australasian waters.
An agreement betwixt the United
Kingd(jm and the Australasian Col-
onies was arrivedat. subject to ratifica-
tion bv their i-espective parliam(Mits,
according to which five fast cruisers
and two torpedo gun boats were to be
liuilt by the Imperial Government and
])laced within the limits of the Austr.a-
Lisian stntion. For this defi'uce the
Colonies of New South Wales, Tas-
mania, South Australia, New Zealand,
Victoria, Queensland, and West Aus-
tralia were to pay to the Imperial Gov-
ernment, interest at five per cent, on
the first and prime cost of these vessels,
such payment not to exceed £'So,(M}.

" The Colonies ai'c in addition to be;ir
"the actual charges for maintaining
" fi'om year to year three fast cruisers
" and one torpedo gun boat, which are
" to be kept in conunission in time of
"peace, and also of tlie three other
" vessels which are to remain in re-
" serve, provided always that the claim
" made by the Imperial (-overrinn'nt
" imdei- this head does not exceed the
"animal payment of filLlNtO." Al-
Ihougli the Pailiameiit of (Queensland
refused to ratify this agreement, there
is no doubt that its terms will idti-
mately be cai-i-ied into effect. The dis-
cussions at the conference regarding it
are most interest ing. and al)ound with
evidence that a most genei-ousand con-
siderate spirit actuate<l all the lep-
resentatives. Tliefiict that this assess-
ment of 4*12(),('"** annually w.is levii'd
upon the Australasian Colonies, and
agi-eed to by t lieir,(U'legiit es, without
any reference to the i-elative wealth,
jxipulation, shipping or trade of the
contrai'ting parties, is a ju-oof of the
readiness of the Australians to
do their duty in the matter of
naval defence. Mr. Service, of Vic-
toria, called attention to the fact
that no basis had been laid down upon
which the contribution should be made,
and his contention, that the ariange-
ment proposed by the Imperial (iovei'u-
nient was destitute of any funilamental
pi'inei{)le, was not seriously contro-
verted. The most that can i>i' said for
it is that it seems t<j Ite roughly based
upon population. The population of
the Australasian Colonies amounts to
about l';il)eT' cent, of the whole poj)U-
lation of the Empii^e, andthesiun they
have agreed to conti^ibute is about one
per cent, of the total Hi-itish navy
estimates, of which the whole Empire
has the benefit. It seems unfortimate
i hat this contribution sIkhUiI have as-

su'iicd tlic foriii i)\' .1 siilisidy, imd fluit
it i^Iioiilil Imvc l)ct'H fixed wifliout
rcrcrfncf to tlic rt'ljitivc i)ia;;iii(iid<' of
tlu' t fiidi', wciillli (ir pnp-.ilat inn uf the
()1 iici- ( '(ill )i lies (ir t lie Mot lnT ('uimti'v.
I»Mf ;if1<'i' .'dl, t lie lU'ijuif^'ciMciit i-ioidy
tciiipiirnry. Jiiid in cari yiii)^ it out, cx-
pt'i-ifticc will !)(• f^aiiird i-c^ar'dinjLC its
iiK'i'its as a plan for ohtaininf? contribu-
tions fi'oin ilu' Colonics.

it is nnicli to the ci-cdit of the Aus-
tralians that tlu'y agreed to this cori-
tiil)UtIon so rf-adily, l)i'(a;i>c tJicy
inij^lil have taken tiie position tliat,
according to the jireseiit undi I'standiufj;
hetweeti (Jrcat liiitain and lierColon-
i(>s. naval defence is exclusively the
business of the Imperial ' ioverninent.
The st.aten>en( of Sii- Ali'xander Camp-
bell is esjiecially explicit upon this
point. He>aid: "The !mi)erial («ov-
" ei'iunent liail pi'cviously j^iveii u.s
" notice of their intention to withdraw
" from the Colony Tier Majesty's
" troo])s, and they declared their reso-
*' hit ion to carry that out. The Gov-
" enuuent here (i.e. in London) agi-eed
" to undertake the naval defi^iu-e of
"Canada, the Canadian authorities
" undertaking the liuul defence of the
" Colony. ^Cpon that l)asis the con-
" federation of all the Provinces was
" formed, viz.: — That Her Majesty's
** troojis were to be withdrawn (the
" withdi'awal was then in course of
" beinjjj carried out), and tliat the local
" authorities were only to iuul(>rtake
" the land defence." Other delei^at.'s
spoke to thi' same effect, and all of
them seemed to accept inu'eservedly
the principle that land defence
should lie undertaken and paid for by
the Colonies. A great amount of in-
formation as to what each of them had
done in this respect was laid before the
conference and led to expressions of
much gratification from its members.

I Sir .Mexandei- Caui|)bell spoke foi- Can-
ada, and described its inilitarj' etl'oiis
and resources. He also claimed that
I the construction of the Canadian I'aei-
! fic Hallway was a very solid contribu-
tion to Im|»erial defence, " My means o I'
"that railway," said he, "and by
" means of the Intei-colonial liaihvay.
" we have extended the possible coni-
"municatiou from Loiulon to tlie ex-
"treme Moi't h-West on the Pacilic
" Ocean, and reduced the t i me occupit d
" in t ra versing t bat distance to a }iei'i(id
"of 11 foi'tnigbt. So that now Ilei'
"^Majesty's (iovernment could send
" I'einforeements of nuui and material
"to Kstpiimalt in 12 <»!• 11 days from
"this place I London). To consti'uct a
" railway that can put such a power
" in the hands of Iler Maj(\sty's (iov-
" ('rnmeut is uiidoid)ledly a great cen-
" tribution to the defeiu-e of the coun-
" try. Few things can be luoi-e vahi-
" able to the defence of a counti-y than
" tlu' powei- of i-eady comnninii'ation."
The readiness with which this claim
was admitted by the Hnglish represen-
tatives wasone of the most remarkable
and gratifying features of the confer-
ence. INIr. Stanhope, the Secretary of
State for War, said, " I confi'ss that I
" entirely agi-ee with Sir Alexander
" Campbell in saying that it is not
" possible to exaggerate the advantage
" from a military point of view which
" the Em})ire has gained by the con-
" struction of the Canadian Pacific
" Railway." A similar and wider ac-
knowledgement was made by Lord
Knutsford in his letter of 2;{rd .Tuly,
1887, to the Governors of Colonies
transmitting the Colonial Conference
report. He writes thus: — "Summary
" statements, forming a valuable and
" interesting record of the pi-ogress of
" all the self-governing Colonies in
" matters relating to defence, were laid

jxikc for ('nil -
ilitjiiy ('Hnrls
cliiiiiH'd that
nimflinii l*iui-
(ilid coiilfihu-
" \\y iii('!iiis(«r
lie, "Jiinl liy
iiial Haihvny,
possihli' cou\-
on In tlio ox-
1 tlu' I*acilic
time oi-ctipi* il
tu«' to a iicriod
liat now Tier
t (MUlld si'Tul
1 and nialcrial
U (lays ft'(^ii»
Po coiifstruot a
such a i)owcr
Majesty's (Jov-
ly a gri-at (-(Mi-
•(' of the (-orin-
1x1 iijoro vahi-
i country tlian
nniunication."
ell this claim
^flish i-cprcscii-
ist ivniarkable
of the confcr-
o Seci'ctary of
confess that I
■iii- Alexander
lliat it is not
theadvantafi;e
()f view whieii
|d by the con-
ufiian Pacilic
land wider ae-
ade by Lord
of 2;-$rd July,
of Colonies
al Conference
— " Summary
valuable and
|he prof^ress of
C«)lonies in
ince, were laid

before the conf<'rence, and will be arm coalinj; stations ntul fort^ nt
I'lwdidenlia'ly connnunicated to the .Sjciwa Leone, St. Helena, Simons H;iy
Colonial tJoverunicnts; but if is not ' (at t he Cape of (iixtd llo|ie). Trincoina-
d«'sirable to include them amoiiK the lee, .lamaica and I'orf C/»strie.s (in the
published papers. Tlu-se statements island of Santa I, iieia). At other very
are extremely gratifying; to Her important iioints the Home (iovern-
Majesty's (iovernment, as showing , ment has supjilied or pn»poses to sup-
tlu' »'nergy, altility and .self-sacrifice j jjjy the most modernand veryexpensive

guns and othei-ai inaments, leaving the
cost of the works to be defrayed by the
Colony oi- dependency interest4'(l. This
is the case with Table Hay, .Mauritiu.s
Aden, Colombo, .Singapore, Hong Kong
and i)ossibly also with lOsijuinialt. It
must not, however, be forgotten (hat a
very great deal has l»een acconi|)!ished
by several <jf the Colonies, altogether
apart from their nulit^iry organizations.
The defences, for instance, of Sydney,
Newcastle and Melbourne, which ai-e
coaling stations as well as harbours,
have been built, their armaments sup-
plied and theii' forts manned wholly
at Colonial expense.

If all this be well considered it will
not awaken surprise that tlu' various
Austialian i-epresentatives were dis-
inclined to respond to the proposal of
the Imperial authorities that their
CJovernments should bear the cost of
fortifying and defending the coaling
stations at King (ieoi'ge's .Sound and
Thursday Island, excluding only the
cost of an armament which the Austra-
lian representatives did not regard as
sufficiently modern and effective. They
co\dd not see that ineiely l)ecause these
stations were situated uj)on Atisf ralian
Territory, they should be dilfei-ently
cla.ssed from those which were l)eing
fort ifled almost at tlu' sole expense of
the Impeiial (fovernment. Sir Graham
Berry said that "if these are the ma-
" tured views of the Imperial Govern-
" ment, I feel 'quite satisfied that the
" Parliament, certainly of Victoria,
** and I believe of the other Colonies,

with which the Colonies have con-
" ti'ibuted their shai'e towards the
" general defeuce of the Kmi)ire. Thus,
" «h'aling wWh ix-rson nrl only, it ap-
'• pears that in the Donnnion of ( 'anada
"the avjiilable force of active militia,
"together witli the permanent coi-ps,
"amounts to nearly .*{."),(MX) men;
"in the Australasian Colonies the
" t(/tal armed strengtli is no less than
":U,(XK); and in the Cape and Natal
"there are trained foi-ces of r),r)0() and
"l.'yK) men respei'tively. There is,
" moreover, in each ca.se a larg<> reserve
" which can be drawn upon in case of
" need."

But between the naval armaments
and the defence of shipping on the
high seas by the Imperial Government
on the one hanil, and the military
establislunents of the Mother Country
and the Colonies for land defence on
the other, there are to be found de-
fensive works of an amphibious char-
acter, the nature and cost of which
gave rise to very interesting disccus-
, sions. These are the first-class coal-
'{ ing stations which are being estab-
.* lished and fortified "for the puri)ose of
^; •' maintaining comnniniciition with the
^ " distant dependencies of the Empire,
^1 " and protecting the floating trade in
I " the event of war." Mr. Staidiope
1 gave a description of the extent of
*the work of this nature which the
I Imperial Government proposed to
undertake. Besides the Imperial
• fortress of Malta, Gibraltar, Halifax
and Bernuida it has to maintain and

■f*

•' would urarcr-ly iindcrf^ik*' the fx-
*' pt'tisc of works outHi(l«> their own
" l)oiiii<liirifN, if the Iiii|U'riul (Jovcni-
*' iiifnl n'piKliatcd all liahility wliat-
** ever towai'ds the cxpcnHi'.s of ♦In-
" foitiflcaf ioiiH of Aiisti-alia. (Ilrar,
" iH'ai). I tlioii^lit it tu'ct'-ssary to Hiiy
"lluH plainly, because it has cfnui'
" upon me liy surprise to learn tliat
*' tlu> lni|)erial (Joverninent treats
"KiuK (ieorK«'M Sound ditfei'ently
"from oilier coaling stjitions of Ini-
" pfiial injportanee." Other delegates
spoke in a similar way, and, in addi-
tion to such considei'at ions, tlie absence
of a propel- basis upon which to pro-
portion the contributions was aj^ain
connnented on. Mr. Service said, " I
*' feel in d(>alinf( with this (luestion a« I
" did and as 1 expressed myself, in
" dealing with the creation of the new
"fleet, that there is no principle laid
*• down upon which linancial contribu-
"tions sh(»uld be made ' He said
nnich more to the sarnie e<Vi ct, and Avas
followed by Sir John Downer, whose
speech contains the following passage:
" As to what has just fallen from Mr.
" Service, I must say that I sid)stan-
" tially agree with him; we synipa-
" thise with each other, I have no
"doubt; furthei", I have no d()vU)t, the
" Imperial Government sympathises
" w ith lis in our small way, and we,
" understanding their difTiculties thor-
" ouglily sympathise with them and
" thoroughly imderstand the difYi-
" ciilti«!s they have to deal with in
" carrying out that which they may
" think will be th<; best thing for the
" security of the Empire generally.
" But after all, as Mr. Service said, the
" time will come Avhen this will have
" to be settled upon something like a
" fair basis. Whatever the difficulty
" of the Imperial Parliament, and
" whatever the difficulty of the

" (\>loiual Parliainpnt, there cannot be
" that perfectly good, and projier reln-
"tionofthe I'nited Kingtlom to the
"Colonies, which we all desiie, unless
" it is founded upon a substantial basis
" which nnist conunend it.self to the
" sense of justiie of all."

In these remarks it i« nf»t possible to
discover any trace of a disinclination
on the pai't of the Australians to bear
their share of the cost of Imperial
njival defencj', but they wish to arrive
at an und<*rstaii<]ing as to what that
share should be, and how the contribu-
tions»l«»wards this object from all the
counti'ies in the Km|)ire should be ap-
portioned. Some were of opinion that
these matters ar«' too nuuh looked at
from local points of view, to the ex-
clusion of the Imperial aspect of the
common defence of the lOmpiie. Hints
were even thrown out to theelfect that
t hi se questions could otdy IxMh'alt with
satisfactoi'ily, by a higher |)arlianient
than that of any of the divisions of
the Km|)ire. On thisi)oint Mr. Service
said :- *• We cannot find any fault with
" you for fending otF, as it were, ap-
" plications for no end of money to
" what is called the Imperial Parlin-
" ment, because we see and feel from
" our own (experience that the thing is
"absolutely necessary. But it brings
" into relief the fm-t that the Parlia-
" ment sitting in Ix)ndon is really
" a local Parliament for the Uni-
" ted Kingdom, and that it is
" ceawing to some extent to have
" ha»ve Imperial functions, which is
" made manifest by anotlier fact ; thf
" fact that growing colonies like these
" in Australia are called upon t^) takr
" their own share — in fact the heaviest
" share in their own local defences,
" seems to me to shew that the Iiu-
" perial character of the Government
" and of the parliament in London is

J*
for

iTP cannot hv
I pnnHT n-lii-
K<l<ini \o the

)st)»,ntial hnsis
itH«lf to tlU'

if)t ])ossit)l<' til
(lisincUnntiitii
•iilians t«> iM'ar

<»f Impirial
wish U> arriv»-

to what that
/ thf contiibu-
•t from all tht'
. sliouhl brap-
»f opinion that
inch looked at
i-w, ti» tlu' »'X-

nspf'C't of thi'
Cnipin'. Hints
, the ctYt'ct that
ly biMh'aU with
licr pailiunu'nt
lie divisions of
int Mr. Servic*'
I any fault with

as it weie, np-
1 of nioui'V to

npcrial Parlia-
and fe(>l froni

lat the thing is
But it brings
lliat the Parlia-
lidon iH really

for the Uni-

that it is

tent to havi"

lons, which is

ither fact ; th*'

lonies like thesi'
1 iipon to take

^i-t the heaviest
local defences.

Iv that the Ina-

lie (Jovernnient
in liondon is

•'to Home extent disappeaiing ; and I ! "whole of this loss could be saved to
f " fatii y that lliat is a fad which will " the coiuitry, and an inuneiise burden

" have to Im' dealt with in tlie near
" futui-e. That would, of cours*-, point
" to some botly of an Imperial char.i-
" act<T which couhl ihal with (juestiouH
"of this sort, riot oidy from a defence
" point f>f view, t)ul from a Ibiance point
*• of view."' These nuotalions will shew
that the discussion travelled over
ground situateil at (piite a distance'
from King (ieorge's Sound and Tiuu-s-
I ilay Island. No decision was arrived at

(regarding the defcmc of these points,
and Mr. Staidiope and Lctrd Knut«-
ftird were unable to do more than
promise full consid(>rat ion of tlu^ views
put forwartl by tint t'olonial repre.sentu-

, tives.

The subj«'ct, next in importan(;e to
the defence of the Kmpirci, which wa-s
discussed by t he coi»fer(>ru'e was Postal
and Tel«-g|'jiphic Communication, but
it cannot be said, witli regard to these
that any very positive result.s were
reached. The sclu-nu' for an Imperial
Penny Postiige did not receive nuicli
consideration from the Colonial (h'lega-
les who almost all proiiounci-d it im-
practicable. One statement after
another was made as to the amount of
loss sustained in working the present
postal airangements of each Colony,
and from this it was ai-gued that addi

.tional outlay would meet with disap-
proval. Mr. Ilenuiker Ili'aton's state-
ments were phured before the Cont'er-
jpnce and he was invited to supplement
ihinn by verbal explanations, but aft«'r
pe withdrew^ they were not seriously
liscussed by the delegates. Mr. Heat-
11 (piestioned the contention of the
lecretary of the Ti-easiu-y that the
)stal rates to the Coloiues coidd not
»e reduced because therii was already a
IS3 uj)on that service of over iil,(XX)

jber day. He maintained that " the

" taken from tht> neck of our connner-
" ce, by the simple expedient of stop-
" ping till' payment of the hug(> sub-
" sidles now rei'«ived by certain st«'ain-
" ship companies, or by shifting the
"obligation to pay the ttKdt.CMK) now
"annually paid for oui Foreign and
"Colonial I'ackvt Service from the
" Post Onice Department to the
"Admiralty, the lattei- department,
" moi-eovpi', paying only such sums as
" njay fairly be claimed foi-the sei-vice."
A vei-y great deal can be said for Mr.
Healon'K vi«w. The term "Postal
subsidy" even in the (%>loides ih a nns-
nomer, aiul such grants are made (juite
as nuu'h for encouraging passi-nger
trattic and facilitating ti'ade as for
carrying Her Majesty's nuiils. Mr.
Heaton, however, did not suggest any
other account to which the Colonial
subsidies could be charged, and it wjuj
peihaps on this accoimt that the Col-
onial delegates shewed so litth' interest
in the inatti'r. They looked at it froui
their own local stand point and made
no suggestion of an Imperial method
of meeting the diflicully.

The Austi-alian and South African
(h'legates very distinctly expressed
their unwillingness to join tlu^ " Cni-
versal Postal I'nion," and, in doing so,
lent considerable sup})ort to Mr. Hea-
ton's views regarding that combina-
tion. This is what he says about it to
the lAist master (leneral under date the
22nd, March, lHS7:-"You say that
" owing to (Jreat Hrit^un and several
" of !u'r Colonies being niend)ers of the
* Postal Union they are prevented from
" estab'ishing a permy postage system
" nmoiig themselves. Yet this is the
" union which you have constantly
" iH'ged the Australian Colonies to join 1
" This Union which ties your hands,

'• which stiindH in the way of reform,
" ami wliich imposes upon you all man-
*' iier of fetteriiifjf restrictions ! Surely
" it would he wiser to advise Australia
'* tokeep free from it, and to recoverour
" own freedom hy giving fair notii e to
" the other powers. In my opinion, the
" Postal Union, so far as the Colonies
" and India is concerned, has proved a
'* delusion and a snai-e. I find that
" India, Mauritius, Buenos Ayres, and
" twenty other places in the Postal
" Union are chai-ged 100 per cent, more
" for postage from England than from
" France and Germany."

With reference to the projjosed new
steamship services in other parts of the
Enjpire, and the new suhsidies propos-
ed, Lord Knutsford's summing up is as
follows : "The important proposals of
" the Canadian Pacific Railway Com-
" pany for a service of powei-ful
" steamers hetweeu Vancouver and
" Hong Kong, by way of Japan, was
" not discussed at length in the Confer-
" ence, being already under the
" consideration of Her Majesty's Gov-
'• ernment. Attention was, iiowever,
" called by the Canadian representa-
" fives to this scheme iis well as to that
•* for establishing a line of steamers
" from Vancouver to Australia, and it
" was stated that the mails could be
" carried to Australian and Asiatic
" ports in considerably less time and
•' at less cost by those Pacific routes
" than at present."

Much information was furnished and
many prajects were mooted concerning
Inter-british cable comnumication, and
some of the members, perhaps feeling
themselves free from hami>ering details
and responsibilities, indulged in en-
thusiastic expressions, almost sugges-
tive of Imperial Federation and cer-
tainly pointing towards closer union.
The following is an extract from the

speech made hy Sir Alextandc^r Camp-
bell in bringing the dis(;ussion to a
close. "AVe consider that by taking
advantage of the telegraph line from
the Atlantic Ocean, at Halifax, to
the Pacific Ocean, at Vancouvers
Island, which we Canadians have
established without any help fi-oni
Her Majesty's Government, or any
refereiu^e to them, the Govermunts
of the varitnis Colonies of th'^ Empire
will be lending tlu^ most valuabl6
assistance to that which we all have
in view, and which ihe members of
Her Majesty's Government have
repeatedly exi)ressed their desire to
see brought about, as it is undoubt-
edly the desire alike of Her Majesty's
subjects residing here in Great Brit-
ain and of Her Mejesty's subjects
it'siding all over the world — that is to
&..;y, a closer connection of the various
component parts of the Empire — we
think we have afforded the best
means of doing this by opening the
line of railway telegraph across the
Continent of America. We have
placed it in the power of Her
Majesty's Government in Great
Britain to draw closer those bonds
by th(^ most impt)trant of all ties,
the ties of speedy communication,
the ties of interest, and the ties
which spring from opportimities of
making communications from one
end of Her Majesty's dominions to
the other by telegraph lines almost
entirely within the control of Her
Majesty's subjects. These we think
are the most import-fmt means wliich
could be resorted to for drawing
closer those bonds between the dif-
ferent parts of the Empire which we
all value so much."
Sir Alexander was foUowanl by Mr.
Sandford Fleming, who explained anil
recommended a comprehensive scheme

*''Y'

■M

[)>•

til

COl

thi

'•f

"'w8

■•1,

-H

"(1

'•ii

*• i(

•• v

" n

•' w

'•t(

" .U

i ^

•ti

" S(j

,:>

caiider Caiup-
cussion to a
at by taking
apli lino from
t Halifax, to

Vancouvers
ladians have
ly help from
nent, or any
i GovernjiHits
of th'^ Empire
nost valuabl6
•h we all have
a members of
rnment have
heir desire to
it is imdoubt-
Iler Majesty's
in Great Brit-
'sty'.s subjects
)rld— that is to
I of the various
le Empire— we
•ded the best v
)y opening the ;
iph across the
a. We have
;)wer of Her
ut in Great
T those bonds
nt of all ties,
)nimunieation,
and the ties
)portunities of
nis from one

dominions to
1 lines almost
ontrol of Her

lese w<3 think
t means which
for drawing
tween the dif-
ipire which we

Uowa'd by Mr.
explained and
lensive scheme

l)y which the most of the submarine
and main telegraph lines, as well as
the new I'acific cable to Australia
could be consolidated and brought
within the manageiueut of t)ne depart-
ment undei- Government eoutrol. Then
the following resolutions were pa,sse«l
unanimously by tlie conference: —

1. " That the connection recently
'* formed through C'anada from the At-
" lantic to the Pacific by railway tele-
'• graph opens a new and alternate line
"of Imperial conununication over the
" high sejiHand through British possess-
*• ions which promises to be of great
•• value alikti in naval, military, com
" mercial and political juspects.

2. " That the connection of Canada
** with Australasia by direct submarine
" telegraph across the Pacific is a pro-
" ject of high importance to the Em-
'* pire, and every doubt as to its prac-
•• ticability should without delay be
*' S(^t at rest by a thorough and ex-
•* haustive survey."

Several of the delegates expressed
the hope that these resolutions woidd
b(* followed up by action, but Lord
'Knutsford's conclusion does not go far
.towards sustiiining such hopes. He
Jtvrites thus to the Goveriu)rs of Col-
onies:—-" In connection with the sub-
•*' ject of telegraphic conununication,
•' the propositi of an alternative ine to
"" Australia wiis promintnitly brought
>*• forward. The C'olonial representa-
s" tives were of opinion that their Gov-
/• ernments would not, unless the
f Imperial Government also contril)-
,*' uted be willing to subsidize another
4' Company in addition to the Eastern
!»' Extension Telegraph (Company; and,
" in l)ehalf of the Imperial Post OfWce,
?' it was stated that the question of
*• such a subsidy could not be entertain-
" I'd by that department. While, there-
'• fore, I expressed my willingness to

I " bring before 1: 'r Majesty's Govern-
" ment the wislivs of the nu'inbeis of

j " the conference that a line might be

! " construcltHl for militaiy purposes, to
" be exclusively conti'olled by the

I " Government, I could not hold out
" any hope that such a scheme would
" be favorably received."

From what has been brought forward
of the views of t he delegates it is very
plain that no important work, i-ecog-
nised jus essential to the proper defence
of the Empire, or to the advancenuait
of British commercieal interests, can
be undertaken, because of the diflicidty
of getting the various parts of the
Empire to agree as to the extent to
which they are respectively interested,
and as to the amounts which they
should severally contribute. The
financial obstacles were the most form-
idabh?, and with regaid to sevei-al
unich desired undertakings the dele-
gates seeuxed to feel the difficulty of
obtaining appropriations from their
respective Parliaments. Another diHi-
culty was the absence of a satisfactoiy
basis upon which to levy assessments
fi-om the various divisions of the
Empire.

But he proceedings of the con-
ference have made these difficulties
plain, they also suggest a remedy.
They contain a proposal which sooiu'r
or later is likely to b»! adopted as a
means of establishing an independent
source of revenue foi- Imperial piu'-
poses, and of obUiining this t)n a fair
basis fr<mi the various conununities
throughout the Empire. Mr. .Ian
Hendrik Hofmeyi', one of tlu' delegates
of the Cape of (mjcxI Hope, has the
merit of bringing forward this
schenu' which in the Colonial Con-
ference report is cla.ssed imder the
heading of trade <iue.stions. The fol-
lowing exti-acts fr«)in Mr. Hofmeyr's

ppeech on the 3rd of May, 1887, will
afford a clear idea of the nature of his
proposal: — "The fourth of the eight
•* subjects proposed to be brought be-
" fore the Conference by the Cape
" delegates in their letter of 1st April,
" reads thus: — ' To discuss the fea'^i-
•• bility of promoting closer union
" between the various parts of the
" British Empire by means of j^n
*' Imperial customs tariff, the revenue
*' from such tariff to be devoted to the
•' general defence of the Empire.' I
•' find that this is not quite understood
" by some of the delegates, and there-
" fore I would like to amplify it in
"this way: — 'The feasibility of pro-
•' moting a closer union between the
" various parts of the British Empire
" by means of an Imperial tariff of
" customs, to be levied independent of
" the duties payable under existing
" tariffs on goods entering the Empire
** from abroad, the revenue derived
•* from such tariff to be devoted to the
" general defence of the Empire.'

" I have taken this matter in hand
" with two objects — To promote the
" union of the Empire, and at the
•' same time to obtain revenue for pur-
" poses of general defence.

'* Now, this conference has devoted
•' a very considerable part of its time to
" defence.and we have done something;
'• but I take it upon myself to say that,
" from an Imperial point of view, the
" proceedings of the conference in con-
" nection with the subject of defence
'• cannot have been perfectly satisfac-
•' tory. What have we arrived at?
•' Simply this : that the Australian
" group of colonies will pay a certain
• amount annually towards the support
"of a few ships in their own waters.
" But what has the rest of the colonial
" empire done towards the maintenan-
" ce of the imi^erial navy ? Nothing at

" all. The Cape ha« not agreed to do
" anvthing, Canada has not agreed to
" do anything, and none of the other
" colonies have agreed to do anything,
" for reasons which I think are weighty,

• and which this conference will not
" overrule. At the same time it is ad-
" raitted by some high naval authori-
" ties (although not perhaps by the
" authorities whom we have had before
" us) that the British fleet is not quite

* so strong and powerful as it ought to
" be, in view of the tremendous inter-
" ests that it has to protect when com-
" pared with the French and German
" fleets, and having regard to the
" limited interests that they have to
" protect. Supposing that the Imperi-
" al Government were to find by-and-
" bye that it required very consider-
" ably greater assistance from the col-
" onies towards the maintenance of the
" fleet and of the army than it hay
" hithorto obtained, I doubt very
" much whether you would find
" that a system of subsidies would
" answer in the long nm. You
" would in that case find very soon
" that the principle of representation
" would be asserted by the Colonies.
" The system of subsidies, if developed
" to any extent, would practically
" amo\int to a tax, and where ynii
" have a tax, the people who bear the
" tax sooner or later ask to be repre-
" sented. In other words you might
" find a system of political federation
" brought to the fore, a system which.
" however much we may incline in that
" direction, would, we must all agree.
" present tremendous dilflculties. The
" system of subsidies by the colonies tc
" the Mother Country has been tried
" between France and its colonies. Ir,
" the French colonial law there is «

" clause to the effect that the colonie.'- ;
" shall be bound to contribute certaii ■

'W<>

ot agreed to do
1 -not agreed to
e of the other
« do anything,
ik are weighty,
rence will not
le time it is ad-
naval authori-
erhaps by the
lave had before
eet is not quite
i\ as it ought to
mendous inter-
tect when com-
zh and German
regard to the
t they have to
hat the Imperi-
to find by -and -
. very consider-
je from the col-
ntenance of the
ny than it has
I doubt very
I would find
ubsidies would
ag run. You
find very soon
representation
the Colonies,
es, if developed
Lild practically
nd where yon
who bear the
isk to be repre-
)rd8 you might
ical federati(»n
system which,
y incline in thnt
must all agree,
ifflculties. The
' the colonies tc
has been tried
its colonies. Ir,
law there is »
lat the colonies'
iitribute certain

amounts to the maintenance of the
French navy, but according to the
latest report that I have seen there is
not a single French colony that pays
a subsidy to-day ; in fact, the reverse
is really the case, and the mother
country has to pay for the defence,
and in some cases even for the civil
government of the colonies. There-
fore, taking into consideration the
necessity that the Briti.sh Empire
should have some other consolidating
force in addition to mere sentiment ;
that it should have the force of self-
interest ; that at the same time some-
thing more might have to be done for
the defence of the empire than has
been done hitherto, and that then
the colonies would not be prepared to
pay it in the form of subsidies, but
might not object to some indirect
taxation, which practically admitted
their right to greater fiscal privileges
within the empire than are accorded
to foreign powers. 1 have, following
the hints that I have seen in the pub-
lic newspapers from time to time,
f ornndated this subject for discussion.
The scheme which I wish to lay before
the conference is one which would
promote a closer fiscal union between
the various parts of the empire,
which would produce a revenue for
imperial piu'poses, and which would
at the same time leave the various
fiscal taiiflfs of the different parts of
the Empire, of the colonies as well as
of England, untouched. I will give
some figures to show how this plan
might work in practice. I find that
the total imports into the United
Kingdom from foreign countries in
1885 amounted to £286,0(W,000. That
is the last year 1 could get. The total
imports into the colonies (I need not
give tlio proceess by which I arrived
at the figures) for 1885 would amount

" £66,000,000. The two together would
" give £352,000,000, representing the
" imports of foreign produce into the
" whole of the empire. Now, suppos-
*' ing that we were to levy an average
" rate of 2 per cent, all round (the tariff
*' might be arranged so that one class
" of goods should pay more than
•* another), that 352 millions sterling
" would give a revenue of not less than
" £7,000,000. That is a revenue which
" would pay for a very considerable
" part of the British fleet. It would
" relieve the colonies from the pay-
" ment of subsidies, and at the same
" time that it would be paid by the
" colonies it woidd be paid by Great
" Britain too, of course. I do not know
" whether Great Britian would feel it
*' or not, but the colonies would not
" feel it, and it would establish a feel-
" ing on their part that whilst they
" were paying for the defence of the
" empire they were at the same time
" enjoying in British markets and in-
" tercolonial markets certain advant-
" ages which foreigners did not enjoy.
" That woidd establish a connecting
" link between the colonies mutually
" as well as between the colonies and
" the Empire also, such as isnot at pre-
" sent in existence, and which might
" further develop by-and-bye into a
" most powerful bond of union."

Although it may be said that the
Colonial conference of 1887, this first
Council of the Empire, has not been
productive of very vigorous action in
favour of Imperial unity, it must at the
same time be remembered that those
who took part in it can be confident' y
regarded as the sowers of the seed from
which, no doubt, and in good time, an
abundant and satisfactory harvest will
be reaped. The record of the proceed-
ings of the conference constitute a
brief, which every believer in, and

.'I'liii-rfrnf

advocnto of Iinporinl Federation nmst | tage not only preserved and unimimii'cd
study and lay to heai't if he would be hut advantageously developed and
instrumental in handing down to those strengthened,
who come after us oiu* national heri-

CHArXER V.

An Imperial Treasury.

The proceedings of the (colonial Con-
ference of 1887 teach us sonu> very im-
portant things, and even the discussions
which ended apparently without result
shew us what it is necessary to provide
in order to render the Empire secure
and prosperous. They further reveal
tx) us the understanding which exists
to-day throughout the British Empire
."IS regards its def(>nce. Each colony,
or gi'oup of colonies oi- dependency has
to meet the expense of protecting itself,
so far as the use of military force or
militia is concerned, while the United
Kingdom not only has its own land de-
fence to attend to, hut also the protec-
tion of the cojists of the whole P]mpire
and of its shipping at sea. Of course
this arrangement is imperfect and can
only be defended as being of a transi-
tory character. That the whole cost
of the British navy and of foi-tifying
and defending the coaling stations
should fall on Great Britain seems utter-
ly unreasonable at first sight, and until
due consideration is given to the fact
that no other part ni the Empire has

anything to say as regards foreign
aifairs, or the conduct of negotiation-
which may lead to the outbreak or the
avoidance of war. In fact the absenit
of any right on the part of British
colonies to sha{)e Imi)erial policy,
seems to carry with it the absence ';t
liability for the expense of the Briti.sli
fleet and the Imperial fortresses. When
theref(jre the home (Jovernment called
upon Australasia to contribute to the
defence of shipping and coaling sta-
tions, it undertook to disturb existinu
arrangements, andought, in all fairness,
to have suggested some concession U
the colonies of the South Pacific as I't ■
gards the management of Imperial
concerns. Moreover, the so-called Im-
perial Government, with the view ot
establishing a more orderly state of
things, shotdd have laid down some in-
telligible principle according to whicli
the amount to be c(jntrit)utecl by tlu
Mother Country and colonies respi'L
tively could be regulated, anil it should
have offered, in some way or other, t<
keep the finances of the Empire distirn.;

nndunimpainil
developed iiiul

regards foreign
t of negotiation-
} outbreak or tht
I fact tlie abseiuf
part of British
Imperial policy,
it the absence 't
se of the British
ortresses. When
)verument called
ontribute to tin
smd coaling sta-
disturb existinji
[ht, in all fairness,
ne concession U
|uth Pacific as n •
■nt of Imperial
the so-called Im-,
ith the view *)t
)rderly state ot
d down some in
)rding to whicli
Intributed by tin
colonies respei
;ed, and it should
Iway or other, t<
e Empire distinct

JroMi those of the United Kingdom.
Tlit'se consid(!rations are worthy of the
• ittention of the Imperial Federation
I>fi)gue in England, which has adopted
as its first aim the establishment of
j)rfiodical conferences, and show how
necessary it is, in order to their success-
lul working, that well matured pro-
[KKals should be laid before them not
i»nly for establishing a proper basis for
he contributions towards naval de-
fence, but also looking towards the in-
■ention of a separate Exchequer and
m Imperial Senate.
To anyone resident in Canada, and
wcustomed to the distinction which
•xists between Dominion and Provin-
ial finances, it becomes a matter for
'onder that an Imperial Treasury
'parate from that of the United King-
lom has not yet been created. The
'ant of it must have had the effect
Sometimes of preventing the adoption
if a vigorous and effective policy in
foreign and colonial affairs. But, ih-
tt<'ad of bringing into existence a com-
jftion fund for Imperial purposes, an
l|t tempt has been made to obtain con-
^ibutions towards Imperial Defence
#id to disburse these through the
tlledium of the English Exchequer,
srhaps a more correct view of the
msaction is to regard the subsidy
ich the Australian colonies have
llfreed to pay for the increase of the
[uadron simply as a payment to the
lited Kingdom for certain services,
lis is not a plan which has had much
ccess in the past, nor is it one which
[likely to have a tendency towards
isolidating the Empire. To pay for

tts is the first step toward.- owning
m, and when thevlifferent divisions
dig the Empire come to acquire inde-
iindent fleets, the unity of the Empire
ill not be of long duratitm. And even
!a system of contributing by subsidy
#~
if

to a purely Imperial revenue could be
inaugurated, it is doubtful, for the
reasons given by Mr. Uofmeyr and
quoted in the preceding chapter,
whether it would be permanently
maintained on the part of the Colonies.
Happily tfiere is a more excellent way
indicated in the proceedings of the Con-
ference, and the prt)posal of Mr.
Hofnieyr. Although the latter com-
mands approval, as far as it goes, it is
very evident that the revenue of £700,-
000 which it would provide is insuffi-
cient to meet all the expenses of au
Imperial character. What these ex-
penditures are likely to consist of may
here be considered.

In the first place it has to be remark-
ed that the several divisions of the
Empire already possess and support
their own military systems, and their
cost does not require to be considered
from an Imperial point of view. If,
unfortunately, war with any foreign
nation should break out, our military
resources would have to be combined
and utilized in a similar manner to
those of the German Empire. But, in
times of peace, they would be subject
to the local authorities and provided
for by them. It is, however, different
with the British fleet. There can be
only oiu', just as there is only one
German fleet, and its cost is a burden
which should Imj shared by all the
peoples of the Empire. In June, 1S80,
a special number of the Imperial Feder-
ation Journal was issued entitled,
'* Fifty years progres.s," and containing
a reduced copy of the Howard Vincent
Map of the British Empire. This map
possesses features never befoi'e heard
of in geography. On it we find not
only the possessions of the British
people laid down, but also the limits of
their marine domains. The vast
a'iueous surface of the ^lobe is divided

into naval stations in each of which
"Britannia rules the Waves." In
noting them it gradually dawns on the
mind that the British fleet patrols the
high seas like a police force, giving
security not only to our own shipping
but to that of all other nations as well.
We cannot suppose that the latter
ha'«^' r.c I., itations conterminous with
oms, nor K.ive we heard that their war-
ships have been extensively useful in
suppressing piracy or the slave trade.
The shipping of all nations is a debtor
to the omnipssent British Fleet.
Equall; i'l.i.c'-od to it are Canadian
liners aadi\ nti - 'i'^n coasters, but with
unparallelc ' Lot" ai ty the UnitedKing-
dora has heretofore .^ive * he whole ex-
panse of tl' ' -• <nignil?.» , ."'•otectorate
of the ocearia. u '.i^.- > '^^^vnl esti-
mates there are other eixpe '.<.vuc=i for
common purposes within the Empire
which would have to be paid for out of
an Imperial Revenue. Among these
may be memtioned the defences and
garrisons of the Imperial fortresses,
harbours and coaling stations ; sub-
sidizing steamships for use in time of
war; subsidizing the main lines of
steam and telegraph communication
connecting the various divisions of the
Empire; the consular and diplomatic
service, the Foreign and Colonial
offices, and the cost of an Imperial
Senate. And if there is any outlay
more triily Imperial than another,
surely it is the expense of supporting
the Throne and Court of Her Most
Gracious Majesty. If all these pay-
ments are to be well and properly met,
the rate of duty suggested by Mr.
Hofmeyr, would have to be increased
from two to five per cent.

The latter is the rate suggested by
the present writer in an essay on the
Biibject, which was read before the
Montreal Branch of the Imperial

Federation League in Canada, on the
2l8t December, 1885, and which Wfis
published in " Imperial Federation
(Vol. I p. 51.) In that paper lad vocatt'i I
the imposition of a duty of five p«'i
cent, on all imports from foreign coun-
tries into any part of the Empire, the
proceeds to be devoted to Naval Defen-
ce ; this duty to be over and above and
independent of all existing tariifs.
home or colonial, and at the sametinif
incapable of preventing any of the
provinces of the Empire frora modify-
ing its ordinary local tariff at pleasure.
The following statement shows the
value of the imports into the Empire
from foreign countries in 1885 and the
amounts that would be realised from
an Imperal duty upon them of five per
cent, ad valorem : —

Into Great Britain and

The
Imperial
Revenue.

Ireland

£286,566,000

£U,328,m

" India, Ceylon the

Straits Settlements

Labuan and Mauri-

tiUH

24,337,000

1,216,^'*

" Canada and New-

foundland

12,736,000

636.S(K

" Australasia

6,751,000

337.5,5(1

" The West Indies,

Honduras and Bri-

tish Guyana

3,206,000

160,:wi

" AfricA

1,061,000

63,0.5(1

" Gibraltar, Malta,

Bermuda and the

Falkland Islands..

154,000

7,7i«i

£334,811,000 £16,740.:>,V'

Tlie Imperial Revenue of £16,740,.V)(i
per annum, thus created is no doubt a
respectable sum, but not more than is
required for the esipenditures above
mentioned. If ay attempt is made tc
construct an Imperial budget the bcM
way is to take these outlays as far a?
possible from the recent public accounts
of the United Kingdom :

Canada, on the
nd which was
il Federation '
per I advocated
uty of five pti
n foreign coun-
he Empire, thi-
X) Naval Defeii-
• and above and
xisting tariffs,
it the sametinu'
ig any of the
re froiu modif y-
iritf at pleasure,
nent shows the
into the Empiru
i in 1885 and the
IB realised from
bhem of five per

The
Imperial
llevenuf.

i6,566,000 £14,328,300 I

!4,337,000 l,216,So(ij

2,736,000 636.S(«i

6,751,000 337,.V.'i

1 3.206,000 160,»«'

1 1,061,000 5SM'

154,000 7,Ti«'

4,811,000 £16,740,.Wi

le of £16,740,5.)<i
M is no donbt ii
liot more than i;^
enditures above
lempt is made ti
] budget the boM
Outlays as far a-
; public accounts

Kary . including transport £13,000,000

Dufenco of harbours and coaling

stations 500.000

Foreign and Colonial oftlcos 110,000

Diplomatic and Consular Service . . 900,000

Imperial Senate 50,000

Royalty lOO.ooo

Steamship subsidies 600,(X)0

t Submarine and I^nd Telegraphs. . 200.000

£15 460.000
It would thus appear to be possible
Jto provide for the payment of these
[large sums by imposing throughout the
Empire the import duty above men-
tioned of five per cent, ad valoi-em on
[foreign goods.

To attempt to raise an Imperial
Irevenne of sixteen millions sterling
[annually by means of direct taxation
|in the various divisions of the Empire
iTould be an impossible proceeding.
Even in the United Kingdom where
[the people are well accustomed to the
[imposition of direct taxes some diffi-
(culty might arise in attenjpting to raise
Federal revenue by such means. The
English Parliament, or at least the
House of Commons might very reason-
ibly object to the collection of local
[•ates for federal purposes. However
this might be, it would certainly be
limpossible in Canada to raise $3, 184,000
)y any such means. As was said by
5ir John Macdonald, "The Dominion
practically limited to indirect taxa-
tion." Even if the proposal were made
pay this sum out of our ordinary
Revenue into the Imperial Treasury, it
night well happen that the people of
/anada would object to contributing
that manner. It would be said that
7e support our own militia, and have
Jade great sacrifices in building the
'aniuiian Pacific Railway, a truly Im-
^fjerial undertaking. As for the navy,
l^lthough we might be willing to pay
J>ur share for the protection of our
Shipping, we would decline to imitiate

England's profuse generosity, and
burden oui-selves gratuitously with
part of the exjMjnse of preserving the
peace and safety of the high seas for
other nations. Indeed it ought not to
be forgotten that foreign nations profit
from our vigilance, contribute nothing
towards maintaining the pejice of the
high seas, and can only be made to do
so indirectly by the adoption of some
such plan as Mr. Hofmeyr's. Without
doubt his will be found a better system
than contributing by subsidy, or rais-
ing the money by direct taxation.
There are classes in all communities
who object to paying over hard cash
for the common weal. The British
workman contributes two-pence with
every glass of gin he drinks, a penny
with every half-ounce of tobacco he
purchases, but will give nothing direct.
In Canada there ai e also certain classes
who would object very noisily to direct
taxes or contributions for the common
purposes of the Empire, and would
probably, as in Queensland, call these
the Imperial "tribute." It would be
bad policy to stir up their opposition,
and our recourse must be to indirect
taxation, by which every chiss can be
made to contribute to the defence of
the Empire.

The objections which might be raised
against his scheme have been most
ably passed in review by Mr. Ilofmeyr
himself, and it is impossible to do bet-
ter than transcribe this part of his
speech. He says : —

" Now I know that there are various
difficulties which may be started
against this project, and I have noted
some of them down.

The first is that it would be said that
the proposal amounts to tlie levying of
a differential duty, and that differential
duties are bad in themselves, and there-
fore should not be allowed. But I

maintain that this injpenal tariff of
customs would be no more a ditt'oren-
tial duty as between England and its
colonies than are the duties under the
Australian Act authorizing the Austra-
lian colonies to grant special privileges
to one another's trade; so that it cannot
be condemned on this account, unless
we are prepared to demand the repeal
of the Australian Act. (Hear, hear.)
Then again in the Cape Colony we to
some extent have diiferential duties
also. We have a ditferential duty in
the Cape Colony, not only between our
colony and another British colony, but
between the Cape Colony and foreign
states. We have two republics on our
borders, the Transvaal and the Orange
Free State ; arid one of our Customs
Acts has a provision to this effect :
That all South African produce, includ-
ing produce either from the Transvaal
or from the Orange Free State, with
the exception of some articles, such as
tobacco, spirits, sugar and colfee, shall
be admitted duty free. While, for in-
stance, all grain imported into the Cape
from Australia has to pay a duty to a
very considerable ainount, Fi-ee State
and Transvaal grain pays nothing
whatever. Morever, I believe that in
India a similar practice obtains : that
any imports coming overland from
the northern border states, outside of
India, are admitted duty free, or, at
all events, not under the same tariff as
those which come into India by sea.

As a second difficulty it might be ad-
vanced that the proposed imperial tariff
would be an infraction of the most
favored nation clause in the treaties
with foreign powers. I do not know
whether it would involve any greater
infraction of existing treaties than the
cases which I have already quoted. If
the cases of the Cape Colony and
Australia cannot be considered as an

infraction of these treaties, neither can
the present proposal. But if it should
after all amount to an infraction of
existing treaties, then J slunddsay that
it may be as well that for the future
England should take care that, when
treaties are entered into, the most
favoured nation clause is not applied
against its colonies to the same extent
and in the same way as if these colon-
ies were foreign powers instead of being
integral parts of the empire itself. I,
moreover, find that the system of favor-
ing colonial above foreign trade is one
which is adopted by almost every other
colonial power. France, adopts it,
Spain adopts it, Portugal atlopts it.
Holland does not adopt the system her-
self, but she allows her colonies to levy
a differential duty as against foreign
goods, but not as against Dutch goods.

We may be told, thirdly, that it
means protection. Well, it may come
to mean protection by-and-bye. If the
system should be • introduced, it will
depend very much upon the representa-
tives of the colonies of the empire and
of the United Kingdom whether it
should be extended so far as to become
protective in character or not. For the
present, however, I do not aim at pro-
tection. I aim at something that shall
supply a cohesive force to the empire,
and shall at the same time provide
revenue for defensive purposes.

We may be told, fourthly, that it
would revolutionize the fiscal system
jf England. England nowadays ob-
tains a revenue of £20,0(X),000 from cus-
toms. But that revenue of 1885 wiis
levied upon imports, amounting to only
£28,900,000, whilst articles free of duty
were imported to the value of not less
than »12,000,0()0/. If the plan I have ^
sketched were to work, the bulk of the
articles imported into England should
be taxed, however low the tax may be,

•s ob-
n cus-
was
o only
duty
:>t less
have ^
)f the
hould
11 y be,

oi- t'lsp some colonies might corn plain
that they enjoyed no reciprocal advant-
iixus luider the scheme. If England
wei'e to favour some classes of imports
produced hy certain colonies, hut not
those produced hy other colonies, the
plan pi-ohnbly voidd not work. If, for
instance, wheat, which is a Canadian
and Australian staple article, did not
obtain this advantage, then Canada
and Australia would hardly see the
use of entering into the proposed ar-
rangement.

As a fifth diflflcidty, it woidd prob-
ably be advanced that the food of the
poor man in England would be taxed.
Now, a tax of two per cent, or there-
abouts would not raise the price of the
bt-ead of the poor man very much,
especially as the poor man would get
breadstutfs duty free from all the col-
onies— from Canada, Australia and
India; and the grain-producing power
of those and various other colonies
nnght be developed to an almost un-
limited extent, so that ultimately
hardly any rise in price would be ob-
served. I have no doubt that if the
laboring population of England were
polled upon the subject they would
not consider this an insuperable ob-
jection, especially if it were explained
to them that the scheme might result
in the development of a better market
for their own manufactures in the col-
onies.

There is another objection (6) which
I believe to be of a somewhat more
vital character. It is this, that the tax
would be one upon the raw materials
recpxired for British manufacture. But
it would be a tax not on all raw mate-
rials, I it only on those not coming from
tlie colonies. The colonies might de-
velop their producing capacity to such
an extent that, after the lapse of some
years, the tax would hardly be felt at

all in England. In this respect also the
tax might bt> considet'ed less ol)je('tion-
able if the English people fomul that
the chances are that they would be in-
demnified for any loss they suffered by
reason of a tax on raw materials by
having a better market in the colonies
than they have under the present sys-
tem of frtH» competition between foreign
goods and their own all over the em-
pire.

Then I have heard it said (7) that an
imperial tariff would lay additional bur-
dens upon the already over-burdened
British tax-payer. I believe that it
would not do so, but that, on the con-
trary, it would relieve the British tax-
payer of some part of his burdens. The
British taxpayer at present has to pay
for the maintenance of the army and
navy singlehanded, alone, by himself.
Under my plan he would share that
burden with the colonies, and he would
know at the same time that whilst he
contributed something under the head-
ing of a new tax, he at the same time
obtained a better market for his indus-
try in the colonies.

Then it is attempted (8) to frighten
us with the threat that foreign powers
might retaliate. But how would they
retaliate ? They would retaliate, I sup-
pose, by levying duties on British trade :
but they do levy duties upon British
trade already — (hear, hear)— they do
levy protectionist duties on British
trade. ♦ » ♦ Some colonies
do levy high duties on British trade ;
possibly they even do it for protection-
ist purposes ; but whether they do it or
not, under my plan British trade would
in the colonies have an advantage of a
a certain percentage over foreign trade.
Supposing, however, that they did
proceed to levy even higher duties than
at present upon British trade, the
result might, of course, be that the

consxiniption of Brif ish floods in foreign
countries would d«!crtiiuse. But does
not the consumption of British goods
In foreign countries decn^juse even at
present, while it has been and is in-
cresising in the colonies? (Hear, hear.)

Another objection (0) might be this :
Supposing that this plan is adopted,
how are you going to work it ? Is it to
be a voluntary or a compulsory system ?
May each colony cf)me in as it likes, or
are you going to apply coercion ? Of
course coercion would be out of the
question. But supposing that some of
the colonies refused to c(mie in and
that oth(!r colonies did come in, is Eng-
land going to levy a differential tariff
as against the recalcitrant ones, that is,
against some of its own colonies ? Is it
going to give some of the colonies in the
United Kingdom the benefit of a differ-
ential fiscal tariff, while from other
colonies that benefii is to be withheld?
This, I believe, is one of the most seri-
ous objections that might be raised.
But most of the difficulties in the way
of great movements are overcome as
you go along, and the possibility is that
if the plan shoidd wt)rk, and that if the
colonies should And that there is really
a very great advantage and benefit to
be derived under the scheme, even the
last one would come in, and there ^ould
be none left outside.

Then if all these difficulties are over-
come you would require some body
with legislative, and to some extent
also administrative powers, a body that
would fix upon the amount of the tariff,
and a body that might amend the tariff
from time to time, either raising it or
reducing it, and which at the same time,
in consultation with the British Gov-
ernment, might have something to say
about the administration of the funds.
In other words, you would have a sort
of limited fiscal parliament by the side

of the British Parliament and the vari-
ous cohmial Parliaments. This would
be a difficulty. (10.) It would Ikj diffi-
cult, indeetl, to delimit and describe the
rights and pcjwers of a fiscal parliament,
iw compored with tne rights and powers
of the Imperial Parliament and of the
various colonial Parliaments. But I
wish those delegates who are great ad-
vocates of imperial federation toundei'-
stand that this, after all, is a mucli
smaller difficulty than you would have
to grapple with if you entered into a
larger measure of imperial imion or
political federation. This small body
which would have to be created wouhl
perhaps Ikj the germ of an imperial
federation afterwards ; or, if it failed,
imperial fedei*ation itself would have
to be thrown overboard for good as
utterly hopeless.

I have briefly gone through the mc )st
salient difficulties. I have a great deal
more to say, but I do not want to de-
tain the conference longer. My excuse
for bringing this subject forwai'd must
be that, as it is a most important one.
and as it has been discussed outside
this conference repeatedly, it may bi-
as well, now that the delegates from
the various colonies are assembled
together, that they shoidd give som<e
attention to it. The plan, as I have
already said, may not perhaps be feas-
ible at present; but I think that a great
deal will be gained if the atteutitm of
the Impeiral Government and Parlia-
ment, and of the colonial Governments
and Parliaments, be directed to it. If
no attention were directed to it, if it
were not discussed, we should find that
the difficulties standing in the way of
an imperial fiscal union, instead of de-
creasing in number, would become
greater and greater. If there are
treaties standing in the way, those
treaties, instead of lapsing, in course

'■ most
,t deal
to cle-
^xciise
must
om*.
iitside
;iy be
'roju
bled
som**
lavi*
feas-
great
Urn of
irlin-
nents
If
if it
that
ay of
f de-
come
i are
those
curse

of time would bo renewed, and other
tit'aties would be added to them, in-
crojiHing the looseneHs of the emj>ire
instead of promoting its solidarity.
But if this matter bo discusHed, and if
it be continually borne in mind, it
stands to reason that in future treaties
which may be entered into between the
Imperial Government and foreign
countries, the fact that the colonies are
not foreign countries, but are insepar-
able parts of the British Empire, will
be remembered, and the most favoured
nation clause will not be brought to
bear against England's ov/n kith and
kin. At this moment the scheme may
be Utopian, but even as Utopian I ven-
ture to lay it before the conference. I
can only regret that it has not been
taken up by an abler delegate than my-
self, and more especially by a, delegate
who is a greater master of the English
language than I am." (Cheers.)

It will be noticed that in this defence
of his scheme Mr. Hof mey r denies that it
in any way countenances the principle
of protection, and it may be well to
look at this matter som«^what more
closely. T() levy duties on particular
imports, in order to encourage particul-
ar manufacturers, would plainly be re
turning to Protection, a course which
the British nation is not likely to adopt;
but to impose a uniform rate of duty
on all imports without exception for
the purpose of raising revenue, and
placing the foreign and the native pro-
ducer on an equal footing, would be a
perfectly consistent and reascmable
proceeding. In order to show that such
a thing has nothing in common with
Protectionism, it may be well to en-
umerate and define the different sorts
of tariffs which are now in operation
among civilized nations, beginning at
the protectionist extreme.

I. Protection with export bounties.

It may be argued that Pr(»tection, puro
and simple, is itself a system of bounty
giving. When the nianufactur(>rs of
any nation have exclusive control t)f
their bonuf market they are able t(» sell,
and frequently do sell the excess of
their production to foreign nations at
cost, or less than cost, or at lower rates
than it would command at home. The
extra jii-oHt they make «)n the houte
consumption Is an Indirect bounty.
But when positive payments in money
are made upon the export of certain
articles, that nuist svuHfly be regarded
as the most extreme development
Protectionism has yet reached. As the
grossest infringement of their princip-
les it ought to rouse the Indignation of
all conslsUiut free-traders, and Inspire
them to just retaliation. Of this poli(!j',
Franc(i and (Jermany aff'ord the most
flagrant examples, and the United
States allow to their sugar reflnei's
such a drawback on their exports as
amounts to an actual bounty.

II. Protection, pure and simple. A
protective tariff is one imposed prin-
cipally for favoring native industrial
interests, and is not absolutely requir-
ed for r»!venuc. The best example is
that of the United States, the openly
expressed object of which is to benefit
the capital and labour of that country.
Ik provides a large amount of revenue,
which is paying off" the war debt
rapidly. There is no pressing neces-
sity for this, and were the Americans
anxious to promote commerce with
other nations they could easily lower
their import duties. But there does
not appear any hope of this and al-
though the nation does not seem to
approve the McKlnley Bill, it appears
to have made up its mind to retain its
Protective policy. It is quite just to
say that this is fen* the purpose and has
the effect of enabling the manufact-

urcr to pay his workinon luKhc^ wapfos.
The coiiHUincr in willing to pay inoro
for the (i^oodH he usi'h if thereby he nin
fiMider work more phMitiful hiiioiik his
(H)uiitryinen. He simply prefepH to pay
his iMior rattis in this way ; to K'vt<
highi'i' rates for lahoitr rather tliaii
fosti'r pauperism by distributing
unearned money.

III. Inclihuitial Protection. This
system raises revenue by imposing im-
port (hities, whieli are so arranged as
to favor native industries. It \<ran in-
troduced in ('anada by Sir A. T. Gait,
and it is possible to maintain that we
are still practising the same plan.
Canadians do not raise more revenue
than their public works, the extension
of their railways and the maintenance
of their credit require. Raw materials
are mostly free, and so are the provi-
sions consumed by the labouring
classes. Tea and coffee are not duti-
able, because no duty, however high,
could start or stimulate their cultiva-
tion in our northern climate, and be-
cause they are very generally con-
sumed by our working men. Under
our system a " free breakfast table " is
more of a reality than in England.
On the other hand duties are levied on
textile fabrics and articles of luxury
because the consumers of such can V)est
afford to j)ay them, and because, iti
this way their manufacture within the
Dominion is stimulated.

IV. Tariff for Revenue only. This I
conceive to be the imposition of a uni-
form small rate of duty on all imports
without recard to their nature. From
this sort of tariff the idea of favoring
native industries is excluded, and the
duties are imposed simply to raise the
money for paying the expenses of the
Government. No materials are free, so
that no industrial or commercial inter-
est is favored beyond another. The

nearest apjiroach to this ideal revenue
tariff is that of Holland, which levies a
duty of 5 pi>r cent. tu\ valoi-em (»n all
manufactured goods. Helglinn may
also be c(>,isld«!red as enjoying a re-
venue ta'.'iff, although the rati* of <luty
imposed thereon most import>i is nearer
10 |H'r cent, ad valorem.

V. Free Trade. A Free Tiade tarlf
is the most difficult to define becnust
the phrase is a contradiction. It might
be appliiHl in a case where" rev(Miue is
raised wholly by dii-cct taxation, and
trade entirely free from customs duties.
But there is no such cjise, and, if there
were, such a nation cotdd not be con-
sidered as enjoying Free* Trade. For,
as it takes two individuals to make a
bargain, so it takes two nations to es-
tablish true free trade. If England
were, to-morrow, to sweep away the
last vestige of her import duties. Free
Trade would, nevertheless, be a myth,
and would ren;ain such until her good
had free access to some foreign market
In spite of this. Great Britain is now
credited with being a Free Trade coun-
try, because she levies import duties
only on a few articles of widespread
consumption. This nnist stand in the
absence of a better, for the best prac-
tical instance of a so-called Free Trade
tariff.

VI. Export Tariff. This system must
be mentioned iis standing at the oppo-
site extreme from that of Protection
with export bounties. It is practised
in some of the West India Islands, one
of whose means of raising revenui is
by duties on the productions which
they export. Tliat such should be im-
posed at the present day is the strong-
est proof of the chaotic condition of
tariff questions within the bounds of
the British Empire.

Among the various tariff systems
here enumerated it would seem that

th«< onn ludst closclv' r«'.s»'inl)liiij; Mr.
IInfm»'yi''.s,sclu'»ii(' in t liiit dftliu-d wiult'i'
No. IV. Tliis Dutch .system woiiltl, l)y
many proplc, li(> callt-d an a[)|)r<ia('li to
Fr«'«' Trade, liut. In tnitli, it isueitluT
Fr«'«f Trade nor I'l-otectionist in prin-
fiple. At any rate wlieii im|)oised on
r.'kW materials and mamd'actured floods
alike, it cannot ho hh'uI to jtartake in
the slijfhtest degree of I'rotect ionism,
and therefore il on^^ht to he readily
adopted hy all shades of liheral opinion
in (ireat Britain.

Tr put a duty on manufactured arti-
(;lt>s and allow raw materials and gi'^iii
to enter free would really he a spe(!ies
of j)i'otection to some industi'ies. In-
deed U) exempt any species of foreign

im|)orts from this duty wouhl lay it
open to the chiiige of heing imposed
for the piiipose of henelltling particul-
ai- intefesiH whereas it is meant to he
a duty for revemie purposes oidy. Its
im|>osition could not he regarded as a
renunciation of free trade ptiwticeon
th«> part of the Uinted Kingdom any
more than woidd he the continuation
of the tea and cotTee <luties. The latter
are reipiired along with other taxes,
for carrying on the (iovertiment of
(treat Mritain. The Imperial ad va-
lornm duty on imports is just as essen-
tial for meeting the expeiulit ures of
the Kmjiire though the medium of an
Imperial Tit-asmy.

CIIArTlJ^ VI.

A British Commercial Union.

For several years past an agitation
has heen carried on hy certain parties in
Canada and the United States in favor
of what is called, sometimes, "Com-
mercial Union" and at others "Un-
restricted Reciprocity." Not only so,
hut the Opposition in the Dominion
Parliament has definitely adopted this
policy. Many persons ai-e inclined to
say that this fact accounts for the pre-
sent disintegrated condition of tlie
Liberal party in Canada, but it AVouId
be a mistake to belittle the importance

I or the possi])le conseciuences of the
j movement. One is sorely tempted to as-
cribe the present ])rominence of the
l)i'oject to the uiu'easoniiig zeal of its
j advocates, aiul their sublime indilfer-
' ence to the obstacles which must pre-
■ vent its realization. It is indeed
strange to find any man of literaiy or
j i)olitical eminence characterisitig Im-
! perial Federation as impracticable and
j visionary, ;^nd at the same time foster-
i ing an agitation for tariff charges to
I which the Mother Country could never

«-^

con-ent, and of whicli tho ad vantages
to the Dominion disappear oven on tlie
most snpei'fifial examination.

The advocates of this new political
prescription, although ext remely exact-
ing when considering anything which
others have to propose for the consolid-
ation of the Eujpire, are very reticent
or indefinite concerning the details of
their own scheme. But it seems to
consist of the following proposals : —
To aholish all custom houses on thefvon-
tier, and all restrictions on travel «)r
trade between the Dominion and the
States to the south of us ; tt) increase
the duties now levied on imports from
Great Britain and elsewhere to .the
same rates as now levied on foreign
imjiorts under the United State? tarifl;
to pay these duties into a common ex-
checpier, and divide the product be-
twtum the Canadian and United States
Governments in proportion to the
population of the tw(j countries. It is
a difficult matter to treat these proposi-
tions seriously. It is impossible to see
how Great Britain could consider, far
less consent to them. Nor Avould it, I
believe, be possible to find a Canadian
statesman with sufficient effrontery to
lay such proposals before Her Majesty's
Representative, and at the same time
tiilk of maintaining British connection
even of the most attenuated descrip-
tion.

But if we pass over these considera-
tions and enquire as to what material
advantagesthe i.ew arrangement would j
bring to the Dominion, they seem to
be very slender indeed. An increased |
export of coal would possil)ly be caused I
from Nova Scotia to the States of the ;
Atlantic sea-board, and of iron ore from I
Ontario to Pennsylvania and Ohio.
But, on the other hand, the prices of
all imported articles would be increas-
ed twenty-five per cent., the mai'kets

of the Dominion would be flooded with
American goods, the capital which has
recently lieen invested in manufactur-
ing woidd be swept away, and the
skilled labour of our factories and
foundries Wf)uld have to wander south-
ward. With regard to our agricultural
products, the ch.'inge would not create
for them any market which is not
already fully su])j)lied. As for the
financial part of the plan, if it were
worth while to enquire, it would cer-
tainly be fo\ind that the shai"o of
revenue falling to Canada would be
altogether insutflt^ient to i)ay the inter-
est on her debt, and provide for the
provincial subsidies. But, besides all
this, which has been already fidly dis-
cussed by Mr. McGoun and others,
scores of questions aiise i\s to the
working details of the scheme which
the Commercial Unionists have not yet
deigned to notice, and which it would
be unprofitable now to enumerate. A
Canadian who not long ago was ques-
tioned by a banker in the States as tt)
his views on Um-estricted Keciprocity,
replied, "The scheme is ridiculous; if
ever (^anada should go in that dii-ec-
tion, there can be no halfway betwixt
oiii" present condition and complete ab-
sorption into the United States." The
American then I'emarked that that was
precisely the statement made by every
man of consetjuence in Canada whom
he had consulted. Opinions precisely
similar are held by many Americans.
Mr. Joseph Wharton, of Philadelphia,
who had in LS7t), suggested a Zolherein
between the United States and Canada,
wrote recently in a letter to the editor
of the Nation as follows: — "My views
are not changed on that subject, except
that as the practical dilliculties become
more apparent of agreeing upon sche-
dules, of harmonising api^'aisei-s owing
different allegiance, and of dividing

rlfd with
hich has
iiifiictui'-
and the
•ies and
•r south-
icultiiral
:)t create
1 is not
for the
it were
ould cer-
ihare of
vould be
he inter-
! tor the
(.sides all
fully dis-
. others,
1 to the
le which
e not yet
it would
raie. A
vas ques-
ites aa to
■iprocity,
ulous ; if
lat direc-
r betwixt
iplete ab-
s." The
that was
by every
la whom
precisely
nericans.
idelphia,
oUverein
Canada,
lu^ editor
Sly views
t, except
s become
poll sche-
Ts owing
dividing

joint revenue, I have ctniie to jierfer
absolute political union with Canadtoa
any halfway measure." This quotation
goes a long way towards i>roving that
"Unrestricted Reciprocity" is utterly
impracticable and that any attempt to
(;arry it out simply prepares the way
for the political (tbliterat ion of (.'anada.
Such a scheme only requnvs to be men-
tioned to the Canadian people to be re-
jected. The truth is that the new
movement is only a revival of former
agitations for annexation or independ-
ence, and is the work of p. vociferous
nunority of restless persons who hope
for salvation for themselves and their
party in reckless political change.

But the course of these agitators
should have its lesson for us. Truly
"fools step in whei'e angels fear to
tread." Why should we, who are
labouring for Imperial Unity, be afraid
to disseminate an antidote to their
poison ? We too are advocates of Com>-
mercial Union, but it is with the Mother
Country, her (Jolonies and Dependen-
cies. We maintjiin that Great Britain
should have the preference in Colonial
markets, and Colonists the iii-eference
in those of the United Kingdom. Most
of us can descry higher objects than
this in Imperial Federation, but there
are those to whom if oin- movement
does not ujean advantage in trade it
means nothing.

It is, indeed, oidv by preferential
commei'cial arrangements that the
British Empire can be made to present j
a coherent exterior. Compare the I
front it now shews with that |)ossessed
by other nations. When the l)i>imdari- j
es of the German Enipii-e or the Ameri- ■
can Republic ax-e reached, merchants
are made to feel it in a very tangible j
manner, and givin to understand, by |
(he tarilf arrangements that true union
prevails in these countries. The nations

of the British Empire are not united
by any such bond. Each has been left
to its own devices in this matter, and
the result is a medley of free trade,
revenue and protective laiitfs, at which
foreigners smile but of which tlu-y con-
trive to take advantage. "To keep
foreigners from fooling us" was grand
old Admiral Blake's motto in foi-mer
times, but it now seems to be forgotten.
The foreigner can sail round Australia
finding a dilfei-ent tai-ilf in ev»'ry port,
but none which indicates to him that
he is an alien, or that the country is
British. Nor can he fhul that the
Bi'itish flag has the preference over his
in the East or West Indies, in Canada,
South Africa, or even in England itself.
When the various countries constitut-
ing the British Empire agree to favour
each other in their conunercial inter-
course, then they will have taken the
first steptowardsareal;uidclos(>runi(m,
The only bt)nd bevween them whi(!h
other nations will be able to feel and
understand, in lime of peace, is a tarifT
in which some ccjusideration is mani-
fested foi- our own fai-ming, manu-
facturing and trading fellow subjects.
Let us have " Conunercial Union" by
all means, but let it be a British Com-
mercial Union, suited to the circum-
stances of the whole Emjiire.

British Commercial Union nuans, of
comse. union among the menibcis of
the British Empa-e by certain arrange
nients for nuitual aid and intercourse
which do not extend to foreign nations.
It necessarily involves unit ual pai-ticipa-
tion in certain advantages, from which
other count ri«'s are exc'Iudcd. The
commonest form of such a t'onunercial
Union is that presented by the United
States: by the various kingdoms and
principalities constituting tlu^ (Jerman
Empire; and by the dilferent provin-
ces which form the Dominion of

Canada. Such union provides for
pei'fect freedom of trade between the
states or provinces so boinid together,
with more or less restriction of inter-
course as regards commerce with other
countries. This restriction usually as-
sumes the form of duties upon imports,
the proceeds of which are, in many
(tases, re([uired for purposes of revenue.
No othei- plan of commc^rcial federation
has had any successful existence in
the world's exjierience, and, therefore,
when a British Commercial Union is
mooted it is at once taken to mean, on
the one hand, free trade betwixt the
various parts of the Elinpire, and. on
the otlier, a tariff of somt; description,
discriminating against foreign nations.
But perliaps this definition of a (Com-
mercial Union may not l)e satisfactory
to those political economists who have
advocated the greatest possible free-
dom of trade, not only between the
integral parts of the same federation,
but between such aggregated com-
munities and other nations throughout
the world. Possibly the free-traders'
idea of a (Commercial Union is unre-
stricted commerce, not only between
its members, but with all the world
besides. If so, it is one of those un-
realisable combinations that have had
no existence in the past, and do not
seem possible in the future. Let us
suppose, for instance, the various ob-
stacles in the shape of tariffs that are
said to obstruct trade between the
British possessions at the present time
to be entirely removed or to be all re-
modelled after the English fashion,
without the institution of any Imperial
tariff leviable on foreign importations;
would it be possible to look upon the
residt of such an ai-rangement as a
" Union," in any sense, commercial or
otherwise ? Certainly not ; at any
rate, it coidd not be regai'ded as an im-

provement on the Union we at present
enjoy. It seems that, no matter how
the present British tariffs may be
modified or improved such changes
woidd not !)ring Bntish possessions
into closer union if the question of a
common customs tariff, to be imposed
by all of them as against foreign coun-
tries, be kept out of consideration.

Since, thei-efore, a British Commer-
cial Uniorl involves the imposition of
duties on imports, it is necessary to
return to the consideration of the ques-
tion as to how the simplest form of it,
indicated above, would answer for the
whole British Empire. A\'hat would
be the result, if absolute internal free
irade were adopted in conjunction with
an Imperial tariff"? What would be
the consequence, if the amoimt of
revenue at present derived from Cus-
toms duties throughout the Empi.e
were obtained, not by taxing British
products, but by duties on foreign im-
portations? It is in solving such prob-
lems as these that recourse nuist be
had to Sir R. W. Kawson's "Synopsis,"'
in which the foimdations for the dis-
cussion of such questions has been well
and securely laid. According to the

statistics of this work, it appears that
the sum of 37,189,274/. was raised in
the year 1885, in the various parts of
the Empire, by duties on imports and
exports. In the same year the value
of the imports from loreigu countries
into the Empire was, as has been
already mentiou«!d, the following :--

Great Britain and Ireland 4;28(),53tJ,(Xlil
India, Oylon, Kti-nUs Sci-

tleinents, Labtian, and

Mauritius 24,R:^7,(XX)

Canada and Newfoundland 12,730,(X)0

Australasia t5,761,()U()

West Indies, Hondiu-as—

andBritish Guiana ;3,2(»«1,(KM»

Africa 1,061,000

Gibraltar, Mnlta, Bermuda

and tho Falkland Islands 154.(XKi

Total 4:;«t,811,(XX)

ijn im-

prob-

ist bt'

isis,"

dis-

well

the

tbut
d in
ts of
and
ahie
iitrii'S
been

A simple calculation shows that it
would be necessary to impose a duty of
111 per cent, on this amount to obtain
the revenue above mentioned. All
agree that revenue must be raised in
the various possessions ; opinions may
vary as to the manner of obtaining it.
If it were proposed to raise that part
of it now derived from customs duties
by a duty of 11*1 per cent, ad valorem
on foreign imports, it would become
necessary to ask, how much would, in
this case, be collected in the various

divisions of the Empire. The following
statement gives the answers, and com-
pares the amounts with the sums actu-
ally raised at present, from customs
duties : —

.5 3 O § G

Great Britain and Ireland £31,808,826

India, Ceylon, Straits
Settlements, Labuan,
and ManritiuH

Canada and Newfound-
land

AuHtralasiia

West Indies, Honduras,
and British Guiana

Africa

GibraltaJ, Malta, Ber-
muda, and the Falkland
Islands

■w O

p X o S

° =?l

<
£19,827,000

2,701,407 3,427,391

1,413,696
749,361

.^55.866
117,771

4.130,773
7,222,054

949,115
1,475,230

17,094

11,(XX)

157,711

£37,161,021 £37,189,274
A glance at this statement shows
that a change from the present system
of levying Customs duties, to one f)f
internal Free Trade, with an outward
Imperial tiiriflf of 11*1 per cent., would
occasion an increase in the amount

raised in Great Britain of 37 per cent.,
but that, in the case of the (,'olonies
and dependencies, the following im-
mense losses of revenue from Customs
would be sustained : —

per cent.

India, &c 21

Canada, &c , 65

Australasia 8t)

West Indies, &c 62

Africa 02

Gibraltar, &c 80

To make up these losses by a resort
to direct taxation would be a coiu'se
utterly impossible for any Colonial
statesman, and, in Canada, it would be
one of doubtful legality. The Domin-
ion could scarcely levy direct taxes so
long as the various Provinces avoided
doing so. It might be suggested that
the subsidies paid to the various Prov-
inces out of the Dominion treasury
could be reduced or abolished, but tliis
would require a revision of the British
North America Act, and endanger our
Confederation. On the other hand, it
might be claimed that Great Britain
should make up the deficiencies out of
her increased revenue from Customs,
but this course would no doubt be
deemed as impracticable as any other.

From the foregoing it seems plain
that inter-British free tiatle would
utterly derange the finances of all the
Possessions. Indeed, it might be
argtied that demanding it would be
an interference " with the existing
rights of local parliaments, as regards
local aflPairs," and confequently a viola-
tion of federation principles. Such
interference would certainly not pro-
mote the progress of the League in the
Colonies. It follows that the manage-
ment of the various British tarilfs,
however chaotic and void of principle
they may appear, must be left to the
authorities at present in charge of
thenj, and any suggestir)ns for modify-
ing them nuist be made with the
greatest care, and with due considera-
tion for the financial necessities of each
separate possession. In the proceed-
ings of the Colonial Conference this
has been fully recognized, aiul in the
suggestions there made, it has been
taken for granted that the duties leviinl
for the piu'poses of e^ich part of the
Empire should not be interfered with.
As regards an Imperial Tariff, Mr.

Service (from Victoria) expressed him-
self as follows :—

" I must say that whilst the question
of a common tariff throughout the
whole Empire has been mooted again
and again, it has always seemed to me
impossible, probably because I did not
think it out. I knew it was impossible
for the Australian (.'olonies, for ex-
ample, or for Canada to accept the
l)rinciple of commercial intercourse
which exists in England. But I must
confess that a remark which fell from
Sir Samuel GrifYiths awakened a new
set of ideas in my mind ; and that was,
that it was not necessary that all the
component parts of the Empire should
have the sania tariff in order to carry
out this idea— that is to say, ' that if
you placed a differential duty as be-
tween the Imperial products and the
foreign pi'oducts, it would not matter
what the precise local tariff happened
to be,' I never looked at the matter in
that light before, but I have thought
about it a good deal since, and I must
say it appears to me at present that
there is a good deal in that point," Sir
Samuel Griffiths, from Queensland, in
his letter of the 28th March last to the
Secretary of State for the Colonies,
wrote on the same f«ubject as follows :
*' I hope that an oppoi'tunity may arise
diu'ing the Conference of discussing
the practicability of consolidating and
maintaining the Unity of the Empire
by adding to the existing bonds a i
definite recognition of the principle j
that Her Majesty's subjects, as such,
have a community of material interest
aa distinguished from the rest of the
world ; and of considering how far effect
may be given to this principle by the
several countries foruiing part of Her
IViajesty's dominions affording to each
other commercial concessions and ad-
vantages greater than those which are

grantied to subjects of other States.
Without for a moment suggesting any
interference with the freedom of each
Legislature to deal with the tariff of
the coimtry under its jurisdiction, I
conceive that such freedom is not in-
compatible with a general recognition
of the principle, that when any article
is subjected to a duty on importation a
higher duty should be imposed on
goods coming from foreign countries
than on th{)se imported from Her
Majesty's dominions." The same
policy was endorsed by the general
committee of the Imperial Federation
League in Canada at a meeting held at
Ottawa on June 20th 1887, and largely
attended by members <»f Parliament.
It was then resolved :—" That this
meeting suggests for consideration Im-
perial Reciprocity as the trade policy
most in accordance with the objects of
the League, and reiterates the opinion
that trade between different parts of
the Empire should take place upon
more favorable terms than trade with
foreign nations." This resolution was
reiterated at the annual general
meeting of the League in Canada, held
in Toronto on the 24th March, 1888.
'That the Imperial Federation League
in Canada make it one of the objects
of their organization to advocate a
trade policy between Great Britain and
her Colonies, by means of which a dis-
orimination in the exchange of natural
and manufactured products will be
made in favor Oi one another, and
against foreign nations ; and that our
friends in Parliament are ereby called
upon to move in support of the policy
of this resolution at the earliest possible
moment,"

This principle has also been formu-
lated by tlit^ Privy Coimcil of Canada,
which long ago declared "that trade
should be as free as practicable between

the various portions of the Empire,
having regard s(jlely to their own in-
terests, and undeterred by any ol)liga-
tion to treat others with equal favor."
When the resolution of the League
in Canada was adopted in March, 1888,
most of its members were then prob-
ably unaware that neither the English
nor the Canadian Parliament was at
liberty to put such a policy into
practice. They did not know that
ti-eaties between England and certain
foreign countries were in existence,
which expressly precluded i^referential
fiscal treatment of British goods by
the Colonies and dependencies of the
British Ci-own. A return presented to
the House of Lords in June, 1888, con-
tains precise information on the subject
and has no doubt awakened in many
minds astonishmtuit and anger. The
treaties with Belgium and the German
ZoUverein stipulate that the produce
of these countries shall not be suhject
to any higher or other duties than the
produce of the United Kingdom, and,
while those treaties are in force this
express provision is extended to all
countries where commercial treaties
with Grejit Britain ccjutain a most-
favoured-nation clause, and apply to
British Colonies. It is useless to point
out by what inf.atuation the Imjierial
Government was induced to consent to
such stipidations. It is enough to
know that the treaties may be put an
end to after twelve months' notice, and
that there is some prospect of their
being abrogated. Mr. HowardVincent,
who has brought up the matter in the
House of Conunons several times, was
able, on the 16th June, 1890, to obtain
the assurance from the Government
that ** no doubt this important matter
will be considered when new com-
mercial treaties are about to be con-
cluded with foreign states."

So far as the present writer is con-
cerned he would, as an incidental
protectionist, rejoice if satisfactory
nuxliflcations of the existing tariffs
throughout the Empire could be ar-
ranged. But it would appear to be too
much to expect this, for the following
reasons : 1 — The interests concerned are
too varied, involved and conflicting to
admit of satisfactory compromise in
the framing of such "ri^ciprocal tariffs.
2 — Such attempts would be regarded
by very many as preliminary to the
establishment of a system of artificial
encouragement to particular manufac-
tures ; in short, as a return to protec-
tion. 3 — Even if successful, this system
of Imperial reciprocity, as it has been
ealled, would only influence local in-
dustries and benefit English or Coh)nial
finances, but would not provide any
revenue for Imperial purposes, without
which a strong, united Empire is im-
possible. 4— Such a proposal, whether
made by the Mother Country or a
colony, might reasonably be character-
ized as more or less selfish in its nature,
and intended chiefly for the material
benefit of its originator. These objec-
tions do not apply to the Hofmeyr
scheme, whioh is simple and unselfish,
entirely free from protectionist bias,
and capable of producing an Imperial
revenue.

In truth the plan brought forward by
Mr. Hofmeyr only gives more precise
expression to an idea which has already
gained favor in South Africa, Australia
and Canada, and although its primary
object is to obtain a revenue for Im-
perial purposes, it would have the
effect also of favouring Inter-British
trade. It woidd, in fact, establish an
Imperial conunercial union. The tariff
arrangements of the L^nited Kingdom,
of the self-governing colonies, of India
and of all the British dependencies,

would remain, as at present, subject to
the various authorities who now con-
trol them, save and except that an ad-
ditional duty would be levied upon all
foreign goods, but not upon British
"productions. Not only is it the only
system which could be adopted through-
out the British Empire without inter-
fering with any of the tarifif systems
established by either Mother Country
or colonies, but it is the only practic-
able system which would lend uni-
formity to the British possessions in
the eyes of foreign traders. On enter-
ing a British port they would fli-st have
to pay the Imperial duty on all their
goods, and then such other duty as the
local tariff called for. No other sug-
gestion provides so readily a common
fund for the purposes of the Empire.
If its various colonies agree to contri-
bute towards its defence it is surely
most reasonable to insist upon their
being put on a better footing than
foreign nations in their intercourse
with each other and with the Mother
Country. This is a point which
might be conceded very gracefully by
England, if not for her own advantage,
then out of consideration for the wel-
fare of the Empire. The only plan by
which England can hope to obtain
Canada's consent to contribute sub-
stantially towards Imperial Defence, is
by giving her, as well as the rest of
the Empire, a preference in English
markets.

Such a policy could be carried out by
all the members of the Empire, without
the slightest inconvenience, because it
produces everything which civilization
requires. Gortschakoff is reported to
have said that "Russia and America
are the only nations whose grand in-
ternal life is sufficient for them." What
these countries would do without
English markets is not very evident.

but if thej' are capable of standing
apart in lofty isolation and indepen-
dence, the same position could safely
be assumed by the British Empire if
her statesmen were guided by no
higher considerations than are dictated
by a policy of national selfishness. In
one of the publications of the Impei'ial
Federation League there occurs this
passage : " The mrtual trade between
the possessions of the British people
embraces every single article required
for food, clothing, education, com-
merce, manufacture or agriculture, and
for all the pursuits, avocations and
pleasui'es of every class of the people ;
and is capable of such limitless expan-
sion, by reason of the diversities of
climates and geological conditions, an
to make the British Empire— with a
due commercial understanding between
its local governments — absolutely inde-
pendent of the productions of every
other country in the world."

One great advantage of this proposal
for the establishment of British Com-
meTci.al union is, that it could be put in
practice without waiting for the feder-
ation of the Australian or any other
group of colonies, and entirely inde-
pendent of the discussion or adoption
of any scheme for consolidating the
Empire politically. A simple applica-
tion of the British Government to the
Colonial authorities, or vice versa, and
a second Colonial Conference to talk
over the details, might readily lead to
the desired result of simultaneously
establishing British Commercial Union
and providing an Imperial revenue.
No doubt the colonies would have to be
consulted as regards the disbursements
for Imperial purposes, but this might
take place through their agents general
until, in course of time, an Imperial
Senate and Ministry could be developed
and organized to deliberate and act in

such matters. It has lu'conio quite
customary of late for fcdcration-
ist'^arul men of liigli standing in
En;jCl'iiHl to declare that any step
in this direction must first be
taken by the colonies. But it is diffi-
cult to imagine that I''ngland would
thus consent to give up the hegemony [
of the British Empire, and wait until
urged to action by her colonies. It is, j
besides, verj' doubtful whether in all
such cases the coloniil tail would be
able to wag the English dog. There
seems, however, to be no good reason
why the colonies should not exert
themselves to advance the cause of
closer union at the same time as the
Mother Country. In the case of Can-
ada the same means might be taken
for inducing closer commercial union
with Great Britain, which have been
adopted in the case of the United States
Franceand Spain. At thismoment there ■
exist on our statute book standing ',
offers to these coimtries to modify our
import duties in r(>turn for like action
on their part. Similar offers to Great '
Britain and other parts of the Empire
would be much more in order, and are
just at present more loudly called for. I
It .vould seem reasonable and d\itifid
if our Domiuion Parliament woukl en- '
act an additional sectiim to the " Act i
respecting the Duties of Custon^s," i
somewhat in the following terms :
"Five per cent, ad valorem may
be le\ ied upon all goods imported
into Canada from foreign coiuitries, if j
such are free of duty, and five per cent.
ad valorem, in addition to the duties
imposed by this Act, may be levied
upon all dutiable foreign goods, upmi
proclamation by the Governor-in-Coun- :
oil, which may be issued whenever it ,
appears to his satisfaction, that the '

Government of the United Kingdom
or of any of its colonies or dependen-
cies has imposed or agreed to impose
on all its importjitions from foreign
countries, whether previously free or
dutiable, an additional duty of five per
cent, ad vnlorctu, over and al)ove the
duties imposed upon importations from
British possessions — the proceeds of
such duties to form a fund foi- the
naval defence of the Empire."

It is just possible that England
would not stand immoved if such
action were takei\ by Canada. It is
scarcely to be imagined that that old
Mother Land, which, since the time
she first gave birth to new communi-
ties in other quarters of the world, has
shewn so well how she co\dd spend and
be spent in nursing them up to matur-
ity, would remain deaf to the ajjpeal of
the eldest of her children. Tiieie is
good reason for believing that there
exists in Great Britain at present a
sensitiveness to colonial wishes. Both
political parties are ready to do .any-
thing in reason that the colonies want,
if those wants are expressed with suffi-
cient energy. If we want conunercial
imion with England and the rest of
the Empire, the (juiekest way to get it
may be, not to try by solitary effort to
educate the British iiublic up to it, but
to propose it. The voice of a single
speaker or writer is heard but very
faintly in the crowded arena at liome,
but the voice of Canada, speaking l)y
her Parliament, the sound of her
knocking at the gate might start an
echo from Coi-nwall to Caithness,
startle the British Islands from Unnv
present condition of inditferenct! to the
agricultural and industrial interests of
tlie Empire, and be listened to as never
before. ^

.!l.

CHAPTEll VI.

Fair Protection vs. Foul Trade.

Tn discussing tlie Ilofmoyr schcmp,
and the dcfcuice of British coninu'icial
interests wliich it would indirectly oc-
casion, it h(!coiues necessury to con-
sider liow the proposr.l, which has been
explained in the preceding duipters,
would aifect the ditl'erent parts of the
Empire.

If the Ilofineyer principle were
adopted for raising an Imperial r(;venut%
by far the greater part of the cost of
the naval defence of the Empire, and
of the institutions common to all its
peoples, would still have to be provided
by Great Britain and Ireland, for their
foreign imports amount to abo\it ninety
per cent of those of the whole Empire.
But instead of their share being raised
from the income and otluu- direct taxes,
it would be levied on goods from for-
eign countries. At present, as is well
known, customs duties are levied
principally on tobacco, snulf, wines
spirits, tea, coffee, chicory, cocoa,
currants, figs and raisins. On
what principle other articles escape
duty has never been very intelligibly
explained. Why raw materials should
be duty free one may comprehend, but
the argument in favor of this does not
apply to foreign manufactiu-ed goods.
It has been ascertained tliat foreign
silk, cotton, chemical and glass manu-
factures ; w(Jolens, carpets and rugs ;
clocks, watches, gloves, hats and bon-
nets ; copper, iron, steel, lead and zinc
manufactures ; machinery, leather.

paper, sugar, oils, oilcakes, etc., etc., to
the value of eighty millions of pounds
sterling are annually imported into the
United Kingdom. A duty of five pvv
cent, on this would produce four mil-
lions annually, an amount almost as
much as is raised from the duty on tea.
It is hard to adduce reasons in favor of
taxing tea which would not apply
ecpially well to silks, watches, paper,
sugar and musical instruments. It can
certainly be shewn that England would
suffer no disadvantage from having
customs duties levied on these, in place
of having a corresponding amoxiut of
revenue raised by duties on imports
from British Colonies or by direct taxa-
tion. The proposed duty of five per
cent, might be stiguiatised as an at-
tempt t(j raise the j)rices of grain for
the benefit of the English farmer.
That it would have this effect is very
doubtful. The food supplying capabili-
ties of Canada, India and Australia are
so enormous that the only effect of the
duty would be to give to the foodstuffs
of British Possessions a pi-ef erence over
those of Russia and the United States,
without raising their prices. But even
assuming that the prices of wheat and
flour woidd be increased by half tlie
amount of the duty, tliat only means
the addition of lO^d to the
price of a quarter of wheat at 35s.,
whicli could not materially affect the
price of bread. It might, perhaps, in
some quarters be characterised as fool-

f the
tuffs
over

tates,
even

it and
f the

iieans
the
35s.,
t the

ps, in
fool-

ish to tax th<> raw nintciiiils of Eng-
luinl's niauiirartures snch as raw
cotton, iron ori"-', tallow, oils and
ii'on pyrites. But c.itton would come
untaxed fi-oni India and lOgypt ; oils
and tallow from many of our
Colonies ami possessions and as
for iron |)yiites, which used to
he th'j found;'.! ion of all chemical
manufactures, it is no lonjjer of im-
portance. Half oi" our soda is now
made hy means of nnjmoiu.i, and the
other half will p(M)Ti he produced from
recovered sulphur.

Raw cotton ami iron ore have heeii
instanced more espeii.'illy as raw ma-
terials whose prices woidd be increased
hy this duty to such an extent as ma-
terially to affect, in foreign markets,
the price of goods manufactured from
them. It is assni'^ied that the whole of
the duty on American aiid Egyptian
cotton would i)e j)aid hy the importing
country. This is .scarcely warranted,
in the face of the statement made hy
.J. Stuart Mill (in his I'rinciples of
Political Economy, page 405) :— " It
" may be laid down as a jn'inciple that
" a tax on imported commodities al-
" most always falls in part on the
" fcu-eign consumers of the conunodi-
" ties exchanged for them, and that
" this is a mode in which a nation may
" appropriate to itself, at the expense
*' of foreigners, a larger share than
" would otherwise belong to it of the
" increase in the generiil productive-
" ness of the laboiu' and capital of the
" world whicli results from the inter-
" change of commodities among
" nations." But even granting that
the importing country pays the whole
of the five per cent, duty, the cost of
foreign raw cotton would he increased
fi'om say 6d. to G!\<\. per lb. Indian
and Colonial cotton would of course
remain unaffected. Suppose that the

last namediiualitiescr)uld hensed forthe
mamU'aclurc of cotton cloth to the ex-
tentof 5() per cent., and tliat fonryards
of tlie cloth (;('uld he pnulnred fio)ii 1
lb. cotton, it follows that the prict> jier
yard would be increased l)y 0'0;>;^il. or,
roughly, J of a farthing, an amount
too iiitinitesimal to have any cfTcct on
its sale in Foreign countries. Similarly
with iron ; it is only a small prf>p()rii(>n
of foreign ore that is used in Ihitish
blast furnaces, and the value of the
ii-on or steel produc("d lies mainly in
the labour and t'u<>l con^unl('d in its
pi'oduction, so thai the increase in cost
would be very ti-itling.

Even if it Is grantee], for the sake
of argument, that the cost of the
products of some Briiish factories
would, as in the case of cotton
cloths above mentioned, be in-
creased one per cent, it is to he
remembered that this loss would V)e
more than bahmced by gains in other
directions. A 5 per cent, duty on
foreign imports into (Jreat Britain
wovdd yield over fom-teen million
poimds, and direct taxation could be
fVcreased to that extent. It would
easily he possible for the English (Jov-
ernment to relieve in the first place,
and to an adequate degree, those in-
dustries that were found to have suf-
ferred from the [mpei-ial revenue durj-.
It has been calcxdated that the burden
of direct taxation resting upon I'nglish
factories amounts to twelve and a half
per cent, on the value of their pi'o<luct.s,
so that, if they were relieved to the ex-
tent of five per cent., they woidd still
be sufficiently taxed to satisfy the more
moderate nienibers of the Cobden (^lub.
There are other means which might be
employed to compensate the manufac-
turers of the United Kingdom in the
event of their really suffering, but it is
unnecessary to mention them. The

■•jl

. i

. ?

'■'•I

sixbstitufion of a tinifinni import duly
in place of fhu usual direct exactions
could only produce tlie most beneficial
results. Of course, as Mr. Ilofineyr
HUgKei^ts, the Imperial taii!!f "iniKbt be
" nrrarif^ed so that one dans of floods
" should pay more tlian another," and
there is iiothiiif^ to prevent excej)lions
beinfjf made in favour of certain raw
materials and allowinfj^ them to come
in from foreign sources duty fn'e ; but
these exceptit^ns ought to be made with
the greatest care, and not initil actual
experience had demonstrated their
necessity.

Over against tlie disadvantages of
this five per cent, duty to tlie United
Kingdom, if there i-eally shoidd be any
sudi, nnist be placed th(> preference
which her products would obtain in
her Colonies, India and other British
possessions. This is no slight consider-
ation in view of tlie inci-ease in tlie
duties levied by foreign countries on
English manufactures. This, and the
consequent loss of hei- foreign markets
is one of tlie causes of those frequent
trade depi'essions from which England
suffers. Such a i)reference would also
be of importance in view of the compe-
tition which English goods have to face
even in British markets, from the
bounty-fed and tariff-protected fac-
tories of foreign states. England does
not grumble, far less threaten, when
prohibitory duties close port after port
against her, and the few ports still
remaining open to her are mostly in
her own possessions. But even in these
the foreigner is most unjustly placed
on an even footing witli her. This in-
justice would be removed to a slight
extent by levying the five per cent,
duty on non-British goods, and foreign
nations would have to pay a Uttle for
access to British markets, although far
less than they charge for admission to

their own. This slight disciiniination
woidd turn the scale in favour of
English trade and an improvement
in it woidd at once he apparcMit,
The demand foi- British goods and
mainifactnres wouhl at once be in<'i-eas-
ed in Iiulian and Colonial markets,
because goods from France, flcrmany
and the United States would have to
pay more duty than those from the
Mother Country. The prospect which
such a policy opens up ex|>!m(ls and
brightens (m closer inspect ion, and
fully justifies its adoption. It is a safe
policy, one wlilch could not possibly
produce any bad conse(iueiices, and
Avould cause trade dejtressions to
disappear and woi-klessncss to
cease from among the com-
munities of the British Isles, while
uniting tliein, by tli*? strongest ties,
with their brother nations across the
oceans.

AVe have seen that under the five per
cent, scheme, nine-tenths of the Im-
perial reven\u? would be raised in Great
Britain and Ireland. Of th(( remaining
tenth aliout one-third wo\dd have to be
contributed by the Domlnicm of Canada.
Five per cent, upon her foreign imports
would amount to about i;6(H),(XH) or ,$3,-
000,000 annually, but the necessity of
supporting steamsliip and cable lines
would at the same time disappear.
When we consider that our neighbours
to the south have to pay mucli higlier
duties, we cannot suppose that five per
cent, additional on goods from the
United States and the continent of
Europe would be productive of much
inconvenience to us. Possibly, on some
articles, the ordinary rate of duty of
the Dominion tariff would have to be
modified. Importations from I'^ngland
would probably increase in (quantity.
Many descriptions of hardware, glass
and pigments would be bought in Eng-

e ]>ei'

Im-

Ti'eat

ining

to be

luda.

)oi'ts

$3,-

^ of

ines

)ear.

)urs

gher

per

tlU'

of
uch
oine
of
o be
and
ity.
lass
:ng-

1,111(1 insfcnd of (Jcnnniiy, and raw
siii^iii's would coMif fi'oiii the Hritish
\\'('.>t fndioa instoad of (/'iiba. On th»^
oth<'r hand CafiMdlan liiiib«'r would
have sonic advantaj^c in the markets
of Knj.^land over that fi-oni Norway
or Hussin, and nianufactiuvd
hnnber now supplied by the Ignited
States and Norway eoidd be furnished
from Canada. The trade in grain,
Hour, farm prodner, rattle, fish and
l)etroleum with Great Hritnin would be
stimulated, and very possilily it might
bo found that certain minerals now
supi>lied by other countries would be
supplied from Canada to England.

Sometimes tYnf opjK)nents of such a
plan as Mr. Hofmeyr's are good enough
to consider the nuitter as it would
affect Canada, and tell us that Canada
" in its own interest, wants a differen-
" tial duty on grain, meat and other so-
" called raw materials." Now, it can
safely be state^d that no such wish has
been expressed by the people or press
generally, or by any of the Govern-
ments. The country is perfectly well
satisfied with the power it at present
possessesofregulatingitsown tariff, and
the (piestio'i of differential duties has
been brought to the front principally
by the advocates of Imperial Federa-
tion, and with the design of interesting
Canadians in the movement. We re-
pudiate the idea that Canadian Federa-
tionists advocate differential duties or
an Imperial tariff exclusively in the in-
terest of Canada, and maintain that
these would be equally, if not far
more beneficial to England and the rest
of the Empire.

The proceeds of the Imperial revenue
duty in India would be aliout £400,000,
and being levied on her foreign im-
ports, which are now mostly free,
would hardly be felt. Here too, Eng-
lish manufacturers would be benefitted,

as conipared with thos»> fiom other
parts of KuiDpe, from Cliiiia or the
I'^nited States. With regard to rndiun
exports, moi-e cotton, rice, wlieat and
tea would lie gj-own, and perliaps m;iny
varieties of timlier 1h> sent to England
which are now obtained from Central
and South America.

As regards the W«'st Indies, there
cannot be any doubt that the extra
Imperial duty of five per cent, would
favoiu-ably affect the sugar plantjit ions
in .lamaica, liarbadoes, Trinidad and
Demarara, and siuvly this advantage
would not be grudged by anyone to an
inteiest which has suffered so severely
from luifair competition on the part of
foreign couiitri<>s. Many of us, indeed,
believ*' that <luties should be levied on
foreignsugars,e(iuivaleiit tot he amount
of botmty, of which they have the
benefit, and the proposetl duty \vould
tend slightly in this direct ion. It would
also favour the trade in colfee, cocom,
mahogany and dye-woods with IJi-itish
Honduras, British Guiana iind the
\Ve«t India Islands i-ather than with
Guatemala, Mexico, Ecuador, Brazil,
Venezuela and Hayti. Fruit, diugs
and India rubber from the British
tropics would also have the advantage.

Australasia's contribution towards
Imperial defence by means of the five
percent. Imperial j-evenue duty would
amount to £::{IS7,(HK) and take the plnce
of .£l2t5,(XK) which she has agreed to pay
for tlie protection of her tlo;iting trade.
It cannot be imagined that Australia
will make any objection to this increase,
seeing tiiat New South Wales was the
first British colony to send, at its own
cost and completely equipped, a con-
tingent of troops to aid the Imperial
forces, and that Victoi'ia was the only
colony that offered naval assistance
to the Admiralty under the Colonial
Naval Defence Act. If any induce-

i!-

rtW'tit wero ri>(|iiif(Hl it iniKlit \w
foitiul ill th(* conHidcratioii tliat
lu«r iiicntH, wiiu', wool and coitpfr,
to^cthtT with tile fl.'ix, ^iiiiih ami
pcenliar tiiiibfi's of New Zealand would
liav»' a pr«'f(M'(Mic(." In IJritish and
Indian port.s.

In what partiful.ir PianiH-r West
Africa, and other diHtaiit islands and
jxissf'ssions, would he atlVctcd it is not
Casv to siiy, hut w»> hiiw .Mr, Hofiii«>yr's
fiHsurancH that the burden would not
he felt in the Cnpe of (hhmI Hope.
Possibly there may be found )>eople
Nultlciently unjust and uiu-haritable to
Bay that Mi*. Hofnieyr made his pro-
posal in tlie interest of Houth Afriai,
and that its contribution of lijO.OCM)
nniiiially would be Kiven «)nly to obtain
ndvantaKes in other (luarters, but no
on«^ who reads Mr. Hofineyr's speech
will say that it savours of selfishness.

As to foreign countries, they have
thrown in the faces of British political
economists their advice to adopt free
trade principles, and cannot complain
of our imitatiiif;^ their jjolicy to the
limited extent of exacting some slight
ecpiivalent for permission to trade in
our markets. After all, even they
would derive some benefit from the
proposed tax, f«)r the British navy is
the marine police force of the wt)i'ld
and from it the commerce of all civilis-
ed rations derives unacknowledged,
perhaps unsuspected, but nevertheless
substantial, benefits.

The llofmeyer principle has been
before the public ff)r its consideration
ever since the meeting of the Colonial
Conference, and Imperial Federation-
ists have iiad it before them ever since
the publication of my paper in 1886, but
up to the present writing it has failed
to obtain the approval of the Imperial
Federation Jjeague. It is true that in
December, 1890, the cvgan of the

L(>ague expressed itself as follows : —
" The principle of the llofmeyr scheme
" is one which thoroughly commends
" itself to this Journal, and we believe
'* we may say t(t the league at large,"
but so far approval has not been ex-
pressed in a formal re8->lution of the
|>arent body. Even in the leading
article from which the foregoing tpiota-
t-ation is taken, the editor is very care-
ful to distinguish between approvjil of
the llofmeyr priiu^iple, and a'ccptance
of any thing lik(> ('ommercial rnion.
He says '* \Ve cannot too (»ften make
•' clear our position that we do i ♦, re-
*' gard Commercial Union as ii) any
•' way constituting a condition prece-
•' dent of Imperial Federation, or even
" as in any very direct way leading up
" to it. We shoidd Im' ratlu;r inclini'd
" to say that it is more likely to lollow
** Feileratioii than to precede it."

Sometimes an adherent of the League
ventures scpiarely to cxjiress disap-
proval, and the following (piotation
may be given in order to show what
means wouhl, in certain cpiarters, be
preferred to the llofmeyr plan for i-ais-
ing an Imperial Revenue :— " It would
" be much better for England to pay
" her quota to the Imperial Exchequer
•' direct, as c. y. by income tax, or out
" of the Consolidated Fund. Failing
" this, the Canadian suggestion made
" some time ago with regard to a tcu-
*' nage rate on all shipping entering
"any port throughout the Emp'
" would be a btitter plan than a ta
"raw materials. If, how r, ''
" decided to adopt the cipir

"direct taxation, how wo. i it be lo
" agree upon a universal tax on spii its
•' or tobacco, and allot that to Impi iiil
" purposes?"

It may be worth while to enquire
what this would i-eally amount to com-
pared with the taxation proposed by

Mr. Ilnfiiu'vr. Tli«^ vahic of fortMXn
iiuports iiitii (in>:i! Hritiiiii Miiioinits to
^2S(i,.'>(MMH)U Miiiiually, iiiul liin 2 per
c«'nt. duly iIhtj'oh would yield i'),~'.il,-
J«J(). To I'liisc an t'(j\ial aiuouiit by an
i'Xcim> tax on .-.pirits, fi-onj wliictli at
pnvsent tifatly tliiiti'cnniillion.sHtHilinK
uic dnivi'd in (ii-oat Britain, would
it'ipiirc that til.' present d\ities Ikmh-
ci-eased aliout I') per cent. With regard
to toJ>ac<'o, which at pi-esent prixluces
^9,l{tl7,()(K), the duty upon it would have
to he inci'ea.si'd (H pei' cent, in ordc'i' t<»
provi<le the i.'),7Ml,(H)(» obtainable by
Mr. Hofnieyr's Imperial tariff. That
the n*Mi-teetotallei*s or sn»)kei'H <)f tlie
I'^nited KiiiKdoui, who at present con-
tribute nioi-e tliiin one-thii-d of the
entire revenue of the country, would
mnsent t<» .sui-ii Iieavy additional tax-
ation, even for the sake of a United
Empire, does not seem likely. Beside.s
this waj' of providinj? a couinion
revenue would nut have the slii^htest
wffect in uniting; and encouraging the
counnercial interests of the Empire.
So far as theii- se\ <-i'al markets are con-
cerned, lOnf^lislnuiMi, Anglu-lndinnsand
colonists would l)e on the sanje footing
as aliens, and still continue to he as
foreigners to each other so far as con-
cerned their ti-ade interests.

The (luolations from English sourer ^
which have just lieen given will shevv
that tiiere is a certain class at home
which entertains notions antagonistic
to anything like drawing revenue from
customs, and who want free imi)orts,
as they frecpiently want peace, at
"any price." They admit the necessity
of obtaining an Imperial Revenue
from reliable sources, but the idea of
incitlentally beneiitting British com-
me ' is rigidly excluded from all their
pn sals. We are to raise the money
i- ny or every way, provided we do
Uc atteiupt to give each other any aid

or comfort in s«) doing. There are to
Im* no preferences to Mritish ctMnuiuni-
ties, and iJngland especially niu^t not
think of su(!h a thing as industrial self-
pi-otection. When Mr. Ilofnu-yer
brought forward his scheme he was
careful to explain that it did not n:<>an
protection, and in the foicgoing chap-
ters |>ains have been taken toelaboiate
this view, but it is to be feared that no
human effort is capable of removing
prejudice from the inindsof those who
have pronounced in favour of so-called
Free Trade. It is probably in vain to
attempt further to convince such
minds that oiu* ctintentions are well
founded, and it may be more profitable
to "carry the war intt> Africa," and
endeavour to shew that Free Trade
does not favour British luiity and tliat
England's present fiscal system is any-
thing but helpful to the cause of
Imperial defence.

It is often said that when peace pre-
vails thi'u is the time to i)rrpare for
war, and how can that be better done
than by strengthening our capitalists,
manufacturers and artisans, so that
wlien war does come they may be the
better able to stand the taxation which
it involves ? Why should not England
adopt the newest and best means f(tr
improving her commerce as well as her
army and navy ? Why should she not,
in times of peace, nxlopt the best plan
for retaining, within the borders of her
own territory, the brave men and
skilled workmen who are so indispens-
able in time of war ? All shades of
politicians in England seem to-day to
be of one mind as to the necessity of
providing for Imperial defence, and no
doubt it is of the greatest importance,
but it would seem possible to maintain
that the advantages of union and im-
proved tactics in defending agriculture,
manufactiu-es, trade and commerce, in

i-
I

> • <

if:'

a reasonable way, are just as tangible
as in the case of naval and military
defence. Without well considered
action for favouring home industries,
shortsighti^d nations may sometimes
suffer very severely. Even England
occasionally resembles an over-p]u(^ky
pugilist who pits himself against an
opponent clad in a mail shirt and
armed with a revolver. In times of
depression she sometimes suffers more
than if war were actually proclaimed.
She may be said to be at war in time
of peace, but fighting with her hands
tied, and with her lields and factories
open to the inroads of every foreign
enemy. For while England leaves her
agriculture and manufacturing entirely
defenceless, foreign nations establish
on their frontiers a series of forts
called customs-houses, behind which
their farmei's and artisans not only
live and labour securely, but wage un-
grateful and unecjual war on British
industry. And farther, while England
derives the sinews of war by direct
levy from her own people, other
countries, the United States, for in-
stance, contrive to (^xt^irt it to a large
extent from English maiui''acturers.
And still further, while the Chancellor
of the Exchequer has trouble enough
to provide for the interest on England's
huge national debt, mainly created in
fighting the battles of other naticms,
the United States manages to pay off
the principal of their d(>bt contracted in
putting down a rebellion. How astute
must that nation be which causes for-
eigners to pay the cost of her civil
war 1 How magnanimous that other
nation which takes money direct
from the pockets of her own people to
pay for foreign conflicts ! Foreigners
hav^e fred' access to English markets,
while home produces have heavy direct
taxes to pay. The interest on the

enormous national debt is taken out of
the pocketsofthe.English people, while
the German and the Spaniard, for the
defence of whose lil)erties it was con-
tracted, are not allowed to contribute
one shilling in the shape of diities on
the goods with which they flood the
markets of Great Britain. It is well
that our rulers should provide for the
protection of om* coasts and cities, but
it is dastardly to permit the bombard-
ment and desti-uction of British in-
dustries from behind the well protected
trade ramparts of foi-eign countries,
without so much as saying one diplo-
matic word in objection to the practice.
The following quotation from an
American writer expresses a similar
view : — " It is clear that the patriotism
which can sleep through this industrial
warfare, and suffer this trade spolia-
tion, and can only be roused into
activity by the danger and passion of
flagrant war ; which can vole the
public m(»ney to maintain rarely-used
armies" navies and forts, b\it cannot
give the slightest aid or comfort to the
real and constant defeders of its
country's independence — its industrial
soldiers, is a patriotism belonging to
periods long gone by, and is of little
more present use than a bow aiid
arrow."

Not only does England refuse to pro-
tect her own industries, but she actu-
ally encourages foreigners to make war
on them. It sometimes awakc^ns sur-
prise that she should supply ff)reign
nations with war ships, and lend them
money that may possibly be used
against herself. But that she shoidd
give aliens advantages, in her own
markets, over her own citizoui^ really
surpasses comprehension. Yei, that is
what some people in England are now
complaining of. Under her present sys-
tem this is what happens : — " The

its
atrial

g to
little

and

pr<i-
ictn-
wai-
siir-
eigii
hern
used
lould
own
eally
at in
now

The

" Commission recently appointed to
" exan'ine into the causes of Dcpres-
" si(^n of Trade is an evidence that
" depression exists, ^^'heat growers
" are ruined. Hop growers are luined.
" A.?riculturists generally are at
'' their wit's ends, and tliej- see no hope
" in the futui-e. Farms in good situa-
" tions are without tenants. The
" sugar - reftning indiistry, and the
" silk industry have all been ruined.
"Land and house projierty have
" gr»>atly decreased in value. The
" nund)er of uneniplf>yed is enormous,
" and the cry is for increased facilities
" for emigation." (British Agriculture
and Industries, hy Robert Boyd ; Man-
chester, 1SS8). Another author, in
jn'oposing a remedy for this state f)f
things, says :— '■ AVe ask for no i)i-ohi-
" bitive or absurd duties ; we simply
" ask that the foreigner shall be taxed
" in the same i>roj)ortion as our-
" selves." The people who demand a
change do not exclaim against "free
trade " because nothing of the sort is
now in existence. Under real Free
Trade the condition of p]nglish capital
and labour woidd not be so deplorable.
The system now prevaling is that of
free imports only, the exports of the
United Kingdom being taxed in foreign
ports as never before. " Free im])orts "
and "fettered ex])orts" cannot consti-
tute "free trade." On the contrary,
they combine to form a very unfaii-and
foolish system which has been called
"unrestricted importation," by Lord
Salisbury, and is in trutli a species of
Protection, i.e.. Protection to the for-
eigner. I\lr. Boyd, one of the .Mutliors
above cpioted, puts the matter in the
following shape : —

" E(inal incidence of taxation -that
" is, taxing imported gof)dsatthe same
" rate at which similar goods are taxed
" if produced in the country— is not

" Protection ; but the omission to im-
" pose e(iual incidcMice of taxation is
"Protection to the consumer and the
" foreign producer at tlie expense of
"the home producer, allliougii ei-ro-
" neonsly called Free Trade."

" To represent this in figures, on the
" basis of 12A per cent, being the
"average of taxation in England, it
" will be thus :—

" .V) percent. im{)oi-t duty woidd be
" Prote<'ti()n to Knglish industry to the

I " extent of Slh per cent.

" 2o per cent import duty would be

I " Protet^tion to English industry to the
" extent of 12A i)er cent.

" 12\ per ci'ut. import duty would be
" eipial incidence of taxation, and
" could not justly be called Protection.
" 5 per cent, import duty would be
" Protection to the foreigner to the
" extent of 7\ per cent.

" No import duty would be Protec-
" tion to the foreigner to the extent of
" 12.^ per cent.

" The last line represents the present
" position of the trade of England. It
"also gives a view well undei-stood
"already, 1 am afraid, by all foreigners
"of th(^ perspiracity of the British
"nation in granting to them, free of
" all cliarge, the use of a market whicli
" costs us a hundred and fifty millions
" sterling a year for its maintenance."
Not contfnit with refusing to protect
her own ind\istri(\s. and gratidtously

' sui'i'endei'ing her miii'kets to foreign

! producers, Great Britain goes fiu'tiier
and seems to constMit while the latter

i bribe her own peo})le to coniiiv*- at the
destruction of eei-tain industiies and
intei-ests long (•stabli>hed within the

I Empire. The bounties paid by France

' and Germany on the export of beet
root sugai' enable it to be sold to the
consumers in luigland under cost, and

■ for this bribe, say of a ]H'iuiy per

: V

i'X

poniul on the siijj^ar they use, tho iii-
hiihitants of the Uuited Kingdom
have U)oke(l cahnly on whihi their own
refineries were being destroyed, and
the cane i)lantations of theii' Colonial
fellow - siihjeets wi-re going out of
cultivation. Siieh bounties were long
ago coiidenuu'd by the greatest writers
on political econcwny, but the bribe
seems to have be'Mi powerful enough to
stiMe free trade principle. No
countervailing duties have been im-
posed, and so far as bounty-fed sugar
is concerned, the tratfic in it may well
be stigmatised as "Foul Trade." No
folder trad(i has ever been carried on
since the time when the (irand iNIon-
arch bribed thi^ Merry MonaiT-h to
undei-mine and desteoy the liberties of
Kngland. Help was found then, not
among her foremost statesmen, who
were all pursuing their own selfish

aims, but in thestrongwill ainl honesty
of piu'pose of Wiiliai.i >>l Orange.
And now it would seem a- if Iielp were
to come, in the Avay it did I hen. from
across the ocean; from thosf daughter
nations of l^^rigland wh.i have all ex-
perienced the benefits of • (".lir Tiod'c-
tion." AVilliam put an .nd to the
"fold trade" of two ceni mics ago and
prom])lly disnnsed IJarillon, tiie
French aftd)assador, the ag.-nt through
whom it had been amMnpiished.
■similarly, let us hope thai tln' intiuence
of the great Colonies and i ln' necessity
for providing an Imperial IN'vcmu' and
constituting a. Commercial I 'nion wit h-
in the Emi)ire will, in tin- neai' fiitui-e.
put an end to that system ol' national
bribery cal Km! " UnTestri<i<-d Importa-
tion," which has so long pifnailcd in
the Mother Country.

CHAPTER YIII.

A Parliament of Parliaments.

When Mr. Hofnieyer made his pro-
j)osal at the Colonial Confei'ence for
creating an Imperial revenue, one of
the reasons he gave for prefi'rring it to
a system of subsidies was that tlie
latter "would practically amount to a
tax, and where you have a tax the
people who bear the tax sooner or laU>r
ask to be I'epivsented." He was evi-
dently of opinion that the advantage
which would accrue to all parts of the
iMupiie. from a system of discrimina-
tion in fa vol- of British Trade, would be

sufficient com))ensation t'or ilieirvai-i-
! ous contributions by mean- of the Im-
perial revenue duty. It i^virydoubt-
! fill whether tliis view wnnld Se accept-
I ed generally. Duties on imports. e\ en
when the latter are foicign. ai'c taxes
nevertheless, and howevfc iinlirect tin'
I manner of conti-ibnting t"\\ards Im-
I perial purposes might be. ii would in-
I fallibly bring with it a drmand for
I i-epresentation. " Notaxai ion without
i-epresentation," is a poliiiial axiom
which seems at the j)ri'Sfiit day to be

iiiiiv('i>;ill\ ;i.'.('ptecl.

How to iHovido such rf'prest'iitiitioii
tortile vjirions pt'oplcs oF the British
iMiipiiu' is .1 pi-ohlem the disc-ussioii of
wliicli iiior-t |"'o])]e would gladly pt)st-
poiie, until ^oMK^ other pr(i)aratt)ry
step had l).<ii proposed and taken to-
wai'ds Iin|M rial Fedi'ration. lint it
wo\dd setni impossihlo to delay the
eonsiderat ion of this suhjeet in view of
the fact tiiat the first step nnist al-
ways he taxation ft)r imperial pur-
poses. ( '<iMi riliut ions towards the
coninion (Icr.-in-e or the improvement
of the meaii> of coninumication with-
in the lOnipii-'-. nuist heget a claim for
represent;!! ion in aji Imperial Parlia-
ment. Tin House of Lords and the
House of (Untnions in I'^nj^land are
loijjether trcpiently called the " Ini-
pt'iial Parliament," hut this is i>r()l)ahly
only hy ccvHrtesy. How can a i)arlia-
MUMit oi' ; ministiy he truly Imperial
which is t lie I reation exclusively of the
inhaltitjini-- of the I'liited Kiui^dom?
It is unjust that Colonists who may
have to siilli-r severely in time (jf war!
should ha\i' nothing to say :is regard.s
till' condmi of foreign affairs, ujion '
which till' iniit inuaiu-e of i)eace or the
out hi'ejik III' \\ ar de[)ends.

'i'liis consideration is one which re-
ceived a ,l;i <r(! share of attention at thi> !
time the Imp-'cial Federation League!
was formed in l']ngland, Jind tlu'lale
Ml". Forstci- cN pressed himself I'eganling
it in the full.iwing words: - " If we ;isk
the ("olonifs to tax themselvi's foi- (K'-
fence againsi possihle att.-.rk from
foi'(Mgn i)ON\ t-rs. if we remind tliem that
it is iu>t jn>t that we at home should
hear moi'i' than our fair share of the'
cost of proi t'.i lug them from invasion,
we must, coid'ess that theii- demand for '
some jiartii ipation in impeiial foreign j
policy will L.',itlier strcMigth, and there- |
fore again \\<" come to the conclusion

(that, if the Fmpire is not to he hroken
u|), there must he an organization for

jmuiual defi'uce, and for common con-

j trol of foreign policy."

.Mr. Forster alsoaddressed himself to
the discussicin of tlie proposals which

i had l)e(Mi madi' for the parliamentary

I representation of the whole J'hnpire,

! and his views should certainly he made
the starting point for considei'ing the
l)rohlcm of an Imperial Sejiate. He
says (for although dead he speaketh,)
"There are two proj)osals for parlia-
luentaiy ivpresentation. (1) The ad-

' mission into the House of Commons of
memhers for the Colonies.and prohahly
at the same tinu", an addition to the
House of Lords of Colonial Peers.
(L!) Tlie foiination of a new and jiar-

i amount represeatative assemhly, which
shall hear the same relation to oui' Par-
liament at home, atul also to the Par-
iir.ment of the Dominion and of tlu;
other Colonies, as that which ( 'ougress
heai's to the American State Legisla-
tures, or the (ierman Reichstag to the
Prussian or Ba;ai'ian Landtags."

" In the one case the Colonial i-epre-
sentatives wouM sit in a house which
would discuss andat lenii)t to solve, iiot
only all imperial (juestions. hut all
those affecting the imperial govei'ii-
ment of the United Kingdom ; and in
the other case they would he mendu-rs
of an assemhly which cnncerned itself
with im])eri;il (piestions oidy.

" Now th<' iii'st of t iiese jiroposals ap-
pears to me imi>ract icahle i ir at any
rate most ditticult to work. Tlii> col-
onial representatives nught he mem-
hei-s of the House of Connnoiis either
with or without the jxiwei- of taking
l)ai't in home legislation ; if tlu'y j>os-
sessed such power, their intei'ference
would he looked upon with jealousy: if
they did not poss(\-;s it, their exclusion
would h(> l)oth ditticult and ohnoxious ;

and it would not bp easy to dr.iw tlu'
lilies lu'twixt inijx'riiil and donn'stic
questions, or to deride wlu'ii tlu' Colon-
ial lueniher should be debarred from
voting or speaking. True, it would be
I)ossible in theory to avoid this anoma-
lous position ; the Jissembly represent-
ing both the rJnited Kingdom and the
Colonies might deal with the internal
all'airs of the Colonies as W(!ll as with
those f)f the I'uited Kingdom ; but it
will be admitted that in jjractice this
arrangement could not work. The
Colonies would n(}t accept it for a mo-
ment, and they would be right in their
refusal, for the large majority of the
governing i)ody would have neither the
knowledge nor thi' will t(» attend to
their aifairs. In conii)arison witli (pies-
tions airecting I'^ngland or Ireland or
Scotland, those relating to Canada,
Australia oi" the (^ape woidd be neglect- j
ed : the ]iarlianientary block would be j
intolerable. Neither the i)resent House
of Commons, nor any possible repre-
sentative assembly, with any |)()ssible
division of labour would be able to add
to the supervision of foieign policy,
and the provision for the army and
navy, not merely the multiform sub-
jects for legislation and discussion,
every day increasing in number, which
affect the relatit)ns of the inhabitants
of the United Kingdom to one another
and to their government, but also
similar questions in the colonies with
all their varied interests and condi-
tions.

" These objections Avould not api)b
to the Congress proposed. There is
nothing anomalous oi- in itself imprac-
ticable in an Iiu))erial Parliament with
suboi'dinate Parliaments ; but, though
it may be the ultimate form of fedei*a-
tion, I tliink at present any attempt
to establish it would be prematiu'e.
This proposal would, I fear, be regard-

ed with somesu.siiicion in the Colonies,
for ])opuIous and rich and powerful as
many of them already are, they are
yet aware that at present and for some
time to come, they would be dwarfed
individually, and even if combined
would be weak in comparison with
England ; and there is no denying that
the project would be startling, and at
first sight unacceptable to Britishpublic
opinion. Why, it would be said, force
ui)on us tlui difficulties of a paper Con-
stitution and State Rights, and the
necessity of some tribunal to decide
when tliese rights are infringed or un-
duly extended?"

From this(piotation it is evident that
Mr, Forster looketl upon a representa-
tion of the Empire in the House of
Commons as an impossibility, and in-
deed the peoi)l(M)f the Uniteil Kingdom
did decide, when appealed to, not
very long since, against Home
Rule, and that the House of
Commons should continue to be
the Parliament of Great Britain and
Ireland. To propose colonial lepresent-
ation in it would be as unreasonable as
to give the United Kingdom represent-
ation in the Dominion Parliament. An
Im))erial Senate should not be subject
to disruption and dissolution at the will
of any local political party in England
or elsewhere.

Ml'. Forster further regarded the
formation of an uppermost Imperial
House as an undertaking of the most
extreme dilticulty. This is a view
similar to that of Sir Charles Tiipper
who could not see much hope for Par-
liamentary Federation in our day, bv
cause it seemed to involve the creatit)n
of a Supreme Parliament over the pre-
sent Houses of Lords and Commons.
In a most able essay (one of those pre-
sented to the London Chamber of Com-
merce, and selected for pid^ication) it

h;is l)f>on shown by Mr. ('. V. Smitli, | tliis i(l(>;i points (»ut tlu> rifi^ht (Hn-ciion
tli.it to create ;m r)iflrc!i/ mic Federal in wliich to work for the rejilisntiou of
Hfii'liiiineiit would involve a ehango ! a scjieine of InijH'rial representation,
of the most ladieal :uid sweepiiifj; ^ This we are inelined to niaintaii', al-
desei'iption, and subject the Kng- | thouf;h Lord Hosehery is since reiioitcd
lish Constitution to too sevei'o a ; to have said that thoj-e is a f.ital ohjec-
sti'ain. If such anew creation were j tion lo tiie introduction of Colonial re-
indeeil indispensable tlie dii!icnlty pi'eseniatives into the House of liOi'ds,
would he veiy great, but it would be j which is "that the colonies do not
well to ask whether this is really the ] want them thei-e." This remai-k may
case. "Would not the necessity for the ^ bo true if aj)plied to the Cpper House
invention of .•! completely new upper- I as at present constituted, but it would
most House disappear if the present not apply if it were, with i)roi)ei de-
Hou.s«; of Lords could be utilised y liberation, transformed into a Parlia-

The idea of represent ing the Colonies ment for the Empire,
tliere has been put forv.aid l)y another | No doubt the House of Lords has
of the leaders of the Federation move- "already emjdial ically i-efused the ;i|)-
meiit. Lord liosebery, in the followinji: peal made by Lord Rosebery to in-
words :— " As regards attentative ex- i stit\ite an iiKiuiiy wheth<>r its constitu-
periment in the direction we are seek- | tion as a legislative and r(>pi'es(iitative
ing, I may he considered to be a person j body does not stand in some need of
of one idea on this subject ; but I do revision after the we.'ir and tear of
be!iev(! it might seriously be considered ! sev<'n himdred years." Hut the House
by the House of Lords, if delegates j of Lords has also given frequent proofs
from the ('olonies might not be ad- [ that it knows when to yield, and it
nutted to sit as do delegates in the | „iijrht perhaps be prevailed ujjon to le-
Senate of the United States. Of course form itself and become a usefid Im-
that would be a hirge change, but not j perial Institution. At the present time
so large as it at first appears. The there seems to be a class of people in
main objection always urged is that of ' England, who, littl(> though they real-
distance. I think that question has is^ it and little as they may desire it,
been conclusively dealt with by .Air. are pivpai-ing the minds of theEnglish
Smith," (the present leader of the people f,,r such a chang<' by their per-
House of Commons), "but I would sistency in lowering the tont> of the
point out an even more recent illustra- House of Connnons, while disparaging
tion. I i-efer to the State of California fh^ House of Lords. Wliy should th;it
which, when a territory and at a dis- Upper Ifcusc be gradually .leprive.l of
tance of weeks from the main seat of every sphere of usefulness-' Why
Government, sent delegates to the should it not rather become the Pailia-
Senate of the Cnited States without nuMit of tin- 15i-itish Federation ?
the slightest ditTiculty. I do not be- The dmiculties in the way of su.-h a
lieve in the di«icnlty of distance; and change weald soon disappear, if the
I believe a tentative experiment in the j House of Loi'ds would consent to re-
H(.use of Lords would not interfere construct itself, pi'ovide for the aboli-
with the financial conti'ol of the House tion of hereditary membeiship, the
<»f ('omnKms over the affairs of the ; election to it for life of English
Empire." There can be no doubt that j Peers, and the representation in it of

all i)ivi'ts of the Kiiipifo. Tliis sooms to
he the least (liilicult way in \vhic-!i to
CTJuate an Tini)(>rinl Senate. It may
may seem abstird to niake siwh a pro-
position in view ot" the fael tliat ihe
total aholition of the House of Lords
has been suKJ^ested. Still no one
<lreams that this can lie done without
their consent. The I^i»|)ei' House is not
likely to commit political suicide and
any other coni'se. would he revolution-
ary. To fpeak of abolition is therefore
worse than useless, but it woidd not he
impertinent to ask that tlietfouseof
Lords should so change its constitution
as to beconu* tlie hi^^diest legislative
body in, and bo i-eprcsentative of the
whole British Kmpii'e. Moreover the
reform of the House of TiOids is a sub-
ject which has of late seriously engafj:-
ed public attention, and leadinjj; Uritish
statesmen have expressed themselves
ref^arding it in such a manner as to
sIh'W that it is now within the sphere
of practical politics. It has heretofore

been considered maiidv from an Eiip-- '

I
lish point ot view, the L'pper House

being of course regarded as part of the
parliament of the I'nited Kmgdom. ]
The House of Ijords does not however
seem to be indisi)ensal)ly necessary for
the good government of the British
Isles, and sui'ely a legislative body of
such anti(juity. dignity and stability is
fitted for a higher i)m'posethan mi'rely
t^onfirming the decisions of tlie Lnglish
House of Commons. The "expansion
of England," and thi' miilli{)licat ion of
colonial communitii's, owning allegi-
ance ti the British Ct-owu are smely '
demonstrating the necessity of some I
Imperial re[)i'esentative body in which
their various sentiments and interests
might find expression and protection,
and it would jn-obably ultimately be
found to be matter for regret, slioidd a
reform of the House of Lords now be

attempted and cai-ried out without re-
ference tf» ("o^ouii'.l reipiii'enients.
H' seems, thei'el'ore, projx'r to discuss
the subject fr-oui a Colonial standpoint.
And to ascertain whether ihe Hon; t- of
Lords might not, with advantage to all
concerned, be so rt-constructed as to
become the PailianuMit of the British
Empire.

From I'ocent events i*- is j)lain that
the House of Commons is likely to
remain permanently rt'iti-esentat ive of
England, Scotland, Iicland and the
islands adjacent. Nor is tliei-c any
reason why, in matters concerning the
Bi itish Isles, it should not be relieved
from the necessity of having all its
measures expressly sanctioned by a
House of Lords. Although no such
conlirmation by any liighei- body wouhl
be necessary, the Crown would still
possess the right to vt'to any t)f its
measures Just as it has this right at pre-
sent, as well as the power to disallow
Colonial legislation. By removing the
consideration of Imperial affairs to an
Cppi'r House these woidd not escape
the control of the House of Connnons.
because it would no doubt have the
right to send a delegation to that
House if transformed into the Pai'-
liament of the fhnpirc, to express
its views, and influence legislaiiou and
action as regards Imjierial ad'aii's. By
this arrangement such a division of the
labour of legislation would be elVected
as would contribute very materially to
the usefulness of btitb Houses.

In the admirable essay of which
mention has already been made. Mi-.
C. V. Smith is of opinion that the ad-
missi(m of the Colonies (•.•in liest lye ac-
com]>lished by their incorporat i<»n iiito
the existing English Constitution as
contem|)lated by Adam Smith in the
following quotation, "There is not the
least i)robability that the British Con-

.-il it lit ion would be Iiiirl hyllic I'liioii
111' (ii'f.il i'.ritaiii with Ik v Colonios.
Thnt ( 'oiisl itiitioii. oil tin- (•(ititriiiy
WDiiltl he coiiiplctcd l)y it, and sctnisto
l)f imi>','rl'i'ct witlioiit it." The diflicul-
tic.s in tlif Way ai'c (Miuinci'alcd by
Mr. Siidili as (1) " the (b'stancc in
point of spaiT'. and Icn^jtli in point of
t iaio, wiiicl; have to Ix' ^,u^niounll'd in
t 111- tfan.sil of jxTsoiis and tlic trans-
ini.ssion of iiitclliKcncc from diil'ci'cnt
parts of the l'anpii'<' to tht- nu'troiu)lis ,
and (2) the iniprojji'iety as u«ll as ini-
I'ossibihtv of all tlii' mat ti-rs which at
jjit'st'iir cn^agi- the altrntion of iho
I'arliaincnt of West minstrr, as well as
ihc addit'onal a/Tails which the change
would inevitaiily bring under its con-
>idei'at ion, being dealt with by a J'ar-
liameut coniijosed of repi'csentatives
t'l'oni all i)arts of the I'ani)ii'e. We
shall lind upon consideration that the
first dilliculty is pui-ely diiniei-ical, and
that tlie second is in a fair [)i'ospect of
being speedily removed by thi> natural
devek)j)nient of I'vents."' Fuilher on
Mr. Smitli makes light of the objection
as to space and time, and tries to sliow
that "the natural devi'lopmeiit of
events" will lead to " the establish-
ment of .-subordinate legislative bodies
in the ditfi-ieiit parts of the United
Kingdom for the administration of
local alfairs," and make it possible for
the present House of Coinmons to i)ay
more attention to Imiierial affairs, and
to admit representatives from other
parts of llie p]mpii-e. Meie it is that
Pilr. Smith's conclusions seem quite un-
tenable. We are disposed to maintain
that the transfer mat ion of the House
of Loi'ds into an Imperial parliament
is a much easiei' task and would pro-
duce a far bettej- result than the r»'con-
slruction of the House of t'ommons
and the creation of several new legisla-
tures within the United Kingdom.

Without the latter bodies. Mi'. Smilh's
plan woiilil bea failure, forlie comes to
the same conclusion as did the late Mr.
Forstcr with rt'gard to Colonial repn -
seutation in the Houst> of ("ommons,
namely that "it would be impossiltle
to makeany substantial addil ion eithei-
to tht> business oi- the numbers of our
preseni House of Coimnons. without
entirely destroying its elTicieiicy.'" 'i'he
constitutional arguments which Mr.
Smith advances in favoiirof hisscheme,
are of course (Mpially ui)plicable to one
which proposes a I'econsti'uct ion of t lie
House of Lords.

When we come to CMUsider tlii' re-
pres(>iitation of the whole Hiitish I']m-
l)ire, and to attemjit an answer to Sir
Hectoi' liangirvin's question, '" Will our
representation be based iijion i)oi)uia-
tion?" it must s|)eedily be acknow-
ledged that the lattei' basis is utterly
out of the (piestion. India with its
250 millions woidd very (>tfectually pre-
vent th<' re;ilisation of anything of that
sort. It must also be admitted that
anything lik<' i-epresenta I ion by coun-
ties or divisions is impossible, A
much more concentrated system of ic-
presentation must be employed, other-
wise the Imperial Senate would be too
unwieldy ; and yet we must have
something broader than a Federal
Coimcil, such as that of Switzt-rland or
sudi as was the old CJerman Diet. It
would siM'iii most practicable to make
the Impeiial Senate repi-eseiitat ive of
parliaments rather than peoples; of
provinces rather than count ries, of gov-
ernments I'ather than of individual
electors. This is the idea which has
been put foi-ward by Mr. .las. Stanley
Little, and which h.as lu'tn tlescrilied
by Lady F!(»rence Dixie, as the treat ion
of "a Parliament of Parliaments," Mr.
Littles ])roposal is that "thepi'esent
Imperial l^arliameut, together with

I! :

evi'iy folimy, wlirthcr it have or huvf
not I'liH iT|»rc,s(Mit!iliv(' insliluiions,
shonkl Hcrul fi'om both its Houses cer-
tain ilfli-j^atcs dented by (liosr IIoust'H
to I'oi ID ail cntii-cly new Iinpc'iial Par-
liajiuMil." "Tliis scln'iiic Toi" the im-
pastatiou of llw Kiiipiro lias the
advanlaK*' of siiiiplifity. and it pro-
vides foi- ii kind of doiil)li' sifting pro-
cess, wIiorel)y the best and most ex-
perieiuied men from each portion of
the I<^inj)ir(? wonhl be detained for the
purposes of tlie Supreme ('oimeil of
tlie whole nation."

Althoui^h, for reas(ms already given,
it is not considered that an "entirely
new" parliament would be possible, it
seems quite practicable to apply Mr.
Little's idea of representing the parlia-
ments rather than the peoples of the
Empire. In an Imperial Senate, for
very good and sullieietit reasons which
need not be stated, the United King-
dom would requiit; to have the weighti-
est voice, but such as would not drown
those of theColonicHand Dependencies.
On the other hand, for the latter to ex-
pect such a number of votes as would
enable them to impose their will on the
peo})le of England would be highly
ridiculous. The most they coukl de-
mand would be such a representation
as would enable each colony to bi'ing
forward and urge its views on any
question in the hearing of the assembl-
ed wisdom of the Empire. Neither
could thej'^ reasonably ask an inliuence
out of all proportion to the amounts
they might contribute for Imperial
pur{)oses. In fact these amounts ought
to be the measure of such inlluence,
and the joint-stock principle might
very well be applied in constituting an
Imperial Senate. We shall make the
attempt to a})ply it and to reconstruct
the House of Lords at the same time,
although. this undertaking may appear

even more rash than the fi'amiiignf
an Imperial Budget.

Supposing that various divisions of
the Empire were to contribute towards
an Imperial revenue in the shape of
a certain amount of duty on their
foreign trade, as has been ]>ropos«'d by
Mr. Hofmeyer, they would probnitly
have to be represeiit"d in pi'ojior-
tion to about the following percent-
ages : —

United Kingdom .So.<5

India, etc 7.2

('anada I^.S

Australasia 2.0

West Indies, etc. . . . : . l.n

British Africa (1.4

It can be maintained that such a basis
as this would be perfectly fair, and
prefcj-able to any scheme of repre-
sentation according to population,
wealth or extent. If these ]ii'opor-
tions were adopted in transforming
the House of Lords into an Imperial
Senate, and assuming that the latter
were to consist of 500 members, then
the.se would l)e distributi'd in the follow-
ing manner : —

United Kingdom 42S

India, etc Hti

Canada, etc li*

Australasia 10

West Indies, etc .'>

British Africa 2

50(1

The Lords Spiritual and Temporal at
present number 510. Deducting the
Princes and Bishops thei-e remain 512.
of whom 16 are Scotch elective and 28
Irish life peers, besides St) Scotch and
Irish lords sitting and voting under
English titles. Deducting these also,
there remain 370 English Peers who are

2.0

l.ll

0.4

[•iinnwr

M'ri.il

liitt.'i-

then

)11<)\V-

42S
Hi)
li)
10

5()o

iral ;)t
g Itu-
in 512,
■iind 2S
h ami
umlt'i-
i also,
\o arc

mcinlu'is by lu'n'ditary liKHt, tho great
majority <>l" tlu'iii taking vciy lit tit-
part in tht' business of tin' llonsc. it
snrrly wonld not Ih' too nniclitoask
the Knglisli Peers to allnw tlieiiiselves
to l)e I'epresented, as tlie Irisii Peers
are, byaeertain niiinlier ol tiieniselvi's,
elected by themselves toi- lite. In this
way it woidd be i)ossible to make loom
for members fi-om the Colonies and
Dependenei's, jis well as from ihellonse
of (Jomnums and the various Colonial
pai'lianients. It would probably not
be too nnieh to provide; that the latter
parliamentary rei)iesentatives should
mak(; up one tifth of the Imperial
Senate, and that tlu'v should be nomi-
nated l)y tlie varit)us e.\ee\itives in
power from time to time in the differ-
ent parts of the Kmpire, or eleeted by
the Colonial Legislatures. In a Senate
of 500 members this would leave 400 to
represent the aristocracy of the United
Kingdom, the native princes of India,
and men who have attained distinction
in the ('olonies or Dependencies. In
the opinion of many people it woidd
be a great nusfoi'tuno if tin' utter
divorce of church from state were to
be consmnmated everywhere in the
British Empire, and therefore it would
only be wise to retiiin the rejiresenta-
tives of the Church in the Imperial
Senate. The projiortion of such in the
present House of Loi-ds is five per cent.,
l)ut in order to provide for the repre-
sentation of other religious bodies be-
sides the Church of Kngland, it would
probably be necessai-y to increase t his
to ten p(>i' cent. Theic would thus
remain 'M) life nieuil)ers whose distri-
bution according to the peiceiitages
just suggested would be as follows :-

United Kingdon liOS

India 27

C'anada VA

Australasia 7

West Indies 4

British Africa 1

3G0

Under this scheme the number of
Hritish Life Peets entitled to sit in the
new Imperial S( nate would be reduced
by about one-third. It might be con-
venient to appoiti«»n the ;{0S life repre-
sentatives of the United Kingdom
according to population, and, in this
case, the Knglisli Peers would be called
upon to elect 22S, the Scotch IM and the
iri.-li l() mend)ers. These would con-
stitute the permanent nucleus of tlie
hnperial Parliament, and it would
seem that in such a reconstruction of
the House of Lords, in order to increase
its inllueuce and usefulness to tlie
whole I'hnpire, the rights of its pres«'nt
niendiers woiUd not be unnecessarily
uc um-easonably interfered with. As
regards the .'iO members from India it
would pi-obably be right to leave to the
huliaii (ioverniiient their selection
from among the native Princes, or Kng-
lishnu^n versed in Indian affairs ; the
actual appointment to be by the Crown.
In a simihir manner it might becouje
the duty of each Colonial (lovernnu'nt
to reconunend to Her Majesty's repre-
sentat iv(i men of position and character
in th(! Colonies as Life Senators, regard
being at the same time had, to the re-
presentation of the Provinces constitut-
ing a Colony. For instance those from
Canada might pei-haps be ilistributed
as follows :-- Fron> (Ontario, 5 ; Qjjebec.
5; Lower Provinces, 2; Northwest
Territoritjs and British Colund)ia, 1.
It seems unnecessai'y further to discuss
the details of the composition of the
proposed Imperial Senate or indicate
the manner in which the Christian
Chiu'ch might bcreiiresentedin it. Siich
paiticulars could readily be adjusted if
the main features of the schenu' wei'e
a|>proved. It will be sufficient to re-
capitulate here the i)roportions of the
l)roposed representation : —
I Life Members —

I i

, V

KngliHli Vi'VVH 22K

Hrotcl) I'tM'iH :U

Irish I'eorH id

Senators from India -7

do ('aniula ... V-i

do AiistraliKsia . . 7

do British Africa . 1

do West Indies . . 4

Church nspresentatives. . . 10

4(K)
M(!nibers holding seats dui-iiiK the ex-
istence of the Parlimnents or Minis-
tries appointing them :—
From—

House of Connnons 80

India D

CJanada . • d

Australasia 3

West Indies 1

British Africa 1

100

Total members. . . . 500
Provision woidd possibly require to
be made for changing the composition
of this Highest Parliainent, from time
to tim(s just as variations took place in
the amounts of the contributions to the
Imperial Trea-sury. These contribu-
tion from the various Imperial Domin-
ions would increase in amount with
their population and wealth. They
woxild also increase wherever the local
customs duties on foreign imports were
lowered, and the more the expenditure
for local government was derived from
direct taxation. Higher protective
duties would tend to lessen ti'ade with

foreign countries, and decreas(> (h(^
amount of revi-iuu! coli«'('te<l for Im-
perial pni'pos(!s. The Colonies would
thus iiave an inducement to .uloi)! a
free trade policy, because of the increas-
ed representation wliich a more exten-
sive trade with foicign nations, and
conseciuent increase of the lmp(>rial
contribution, would entitle them to.

By giving the Federal Senate the
control of Imperial concerns, the l''ng-
lish Hoiise of Conimons, at present
overburdened with work, would be
able to give thorough attention tothi;
alfairs of Great Britain, and the neces-
sity would be avoided for instituting
local parliaments within the United
Kingdom.

There is probably a great deal more
which might with great titiu-ss be
brought forward with reference to the
constittition of an Imperial Senate, i)ut
it seems unnecessary at present to fol-
low the subject further. Enough has
been sai<l to gain for the pi'esent pro-
posal some consideration on the i)art of
thought^'ul nu'n, and to induce them to
believe that the establishment of a
truly Imperial Parliament on the lines
here indicated is pei'fectly practicable.
There is every reason for anticipat-
ing that this Parliament of Parlia-
ments, the lineal descendant of the
Witenagemote of twelve centuries ago,
would in course of time, surpass the old
Roman Senate, and every reprc^senta-
tive assembly which the world htis yet
seen, in dignity, influence, stability and
power.

CIIAITEU IX.

The Federal Executive; England's Hegemony.

In tiH> pi'occdini^ chnpter an attempt
has been made to set forth a plan of I'e-
pi'es(>ntatioii for the Empire, which, if
carried out, wcMild rivsiilt in transfoi-m-
ing tlie jiresent Kn^lish House of I^ords
into the hifj^hest liritish Parlianient or
Senate. Of course, this ])arliameiit,
although lepfislating for the whole Kni-
pire, (!ould not (•xer» 'se administrative
functions. FoUowinx the ordinary
constitutional method of the presi'ut
day an Imperial Ministry would have
to be created. This creation wouhl
necessai'iiy have to he the act of the
Sovei'eij^n, who is the visible soiuce of
all authority within the Empire. It
would probably involve the appoint-
ment of an lujperial first minister and
the formatifm of a Federal ministry
consisting of members of the recon-
structed House of Lords. This minis-
try would have the direction of Im-
perial alfairs and be entirely separate
from the Cabinet of the United King-
dom. From what has already been [
written it is hoped that some idea has !
beeji given of what the present writer
considers ought to be the spheie of Im-
])erial legislation. Some reference now
becomes necessary to the ])robable
number and possible functions of the
Imj)ei'ial ministers. These would in all
lik<>lihood include a First Loi-d of the
Inipei'ial Treasury, a Lord High (Jhan-

cellor, a First Lord of the Admiralty,
and t lie Secretaries of State for Foreign
afTairs, the Colonies and India.

The duties of the first three of the
oHUials just named are, for our pur-
poses, indicated with sufficient preci-
sion in their tithes. The judicnal com-
mit ti'(^ of the House of Lords would,
after the reconstruction of the latter,
still ccmtinue to be the highest law
coui't of the lOmpire. F«)reign affairs
being federal affairs it follows that the
ambassadors and ccmsuls would be Im-
perial offlcei's. Commercial treaties
would alHo be under the control of the
foreign office in order that the interests
of the colonies and India, as well as of
Great Britain might be properly con-
sidered. At present certain politicians
in ('anada are disposed to manufacture
a grievance out of the circumstance
that the Dominion does iu)t possess the
treaty making power. This, as the
lamented founder of the League wrote,
is "making a demand which implies
disunion," and the l)est answer to it is
that such treaties should be negotiated
l<y the higlu^st Imperial authority, and
for the whole Hiitish Empire.

Among other important duties the
S((cretary of Stat(i for the (Colonies
would have to devise means for trans
ferring syst(!matically the superabund-
ant labour of English cities to the wild,

^ .;

uncKTiipM'd nnd untiUccl IuikIh of the
coloiiics. The iiiicinployrd thdUMniids
of the United KiiiKdoiii lu'rutofni-c uf-
custoiiH'd to work in inin«>Mand factor-
ies, at fuinaccs and foi-^fcs woidd IiaAc
to be >xi'aduaily trained to aKiiiuilur-e.
To turn those tliousunds adrift in back-
woods, <)!• on i)i'airieH, or to attempt to
enjploy them to advantage' <>n bush
farms or sheep runs, unprepared for
and ignorant of the circumstances of
the life before them fnupu'iitly rc-ults
in hanlsbip and disappointment all
round. Hitherto the colonies have been
Buttled by people who paid theii- way,
and were possessed of stout hearts and
'* willing strong right hands." At pi-e-
sent the unemployed djisses of tlu^
mother country have neither thc^
means nor the ability to become sett-
lers, and have not the metth* of the
men who hewed farms out of our
forests thirty and fifty years ago. In
deed, if this country were now to he
settled over again it is d()ul)tful whether
it possesses or coidd obtain tiie men and
muscle that did it before. For the un-
employed of the Empire, and in the in-
terest of every part of it, a system of
state aided emigration should be in-
augurated. Than this no more benefi-
cent legislation covild occupy the atten-
tion of an Imperial Senate and no
better field could be found foi- the ex-
ercise of the administrative al)ility of
a Federal Secretary of State.

In general terms it may be supposed
that the Federal Ministry would man-
age the Imperial linauces, administer
naval affairs and control colonial and
Indian relations, as well as the diploma-
tic and consular service. The Clabiuet
of the United Kingdom would continue
to have charge of the revenue from
customs (excepting always the proceeds
of the Imperial import duty), excise, in-
Qorae aud other direct taxes, post ofHce,

etc., and manage the English military
and VI >lunt< I'!' systems, I Iw civil service*
administration of Justice, |uil)lic works,
education, and all alfairH alfecting ex-
clusively t lie riiiled Kiiigiliim.

The sanu* const it ut innal relations
whiili now exist in all well gov<'rn('(l
states bet»ween t he sovereign, I he rxecu-
tive and the legislat ure would no doubt
be established betwixt the the various
parts of the Oovernnu^nt of the United
British Empire. The Ciown would
have the power of choosing oi' dismiss-
ing the Federal Ministi-rs; and the
latter of resigning or appealing to the
constittu'ncies in tlu' invent of their de-
feat in Parliament. In the ciuse of a
dissolution, however, only about one
llfth of the nuimbers of the Imptuial
Senate would have to seek re-election
at the hands of their ccmstituencies or
constituting bodies. The great ma-
jority, being life members, wiudd re-
tiu-n and be entitled to sit in tlu' next
parliament. This feature in the pro-
positi constitution of the Imjierial
Senates will no doubt appear objection-
able to many. Hut it nnist be remem-
bered that the present House of Lords
is not subject to dissolution, and that
stability is a feature essentially reipus-
ite in the parliament and government
of a great empire. Indeed, one of the
great drawbacks of the existing system
is that, owing to freciuent charges of
the party in power, a consistent foreign
antl colonial policy becomes impossible.
This was ot)served by Cobden long ago.
In writing to Combe hi' said : " With a
change ot government every six or
twelve months it is impossible that we
can have a continuous plan or a real
responsibility. Since 1 have been in
London 1 have heard scarcely a word
about the best mode of governing the
millions of India. The only talk is
about the chance of turning out one

fii

-18

ministry and Itrinj^in^^ in nnotlu'i-."
Similar iM'niiirks niijs'lit with k''«'hI jus-
tice i)(« madf at tlu» prfsciit tinic. I''t»r
inslaM<'<N the f^iivcrnnicnt nftiu'diiy in
RnKl<tnd is wfll dispwj'd towards tlu'
colonics, and iiiis dune nultly in ciiiiinK
to^ftlirr tix' tirst Inipcrial Council, lait
who can he certain that these states-
mrn will not be sndderdy leplaced hy
others who may not cai-e to trouble
thtinjselvas abo\it ns ? A defeat of the
government in the House of (!onunons
on l{om(t llule, on a Licen. " Bill, or on
the liudget i'<^soluti(»ns, would cause
the removal from power of those states-
men who now HO satistmrtorily manaf^e
foreifjfu affaii's and those (tf India iind
other British possc^ssions. At present
the House of ('ommons does not do
justice to these, and indeed a debate
r<'><ardin)< them frecpiently finds its
benches empty. It is, further, rather
ciu'ious and surprising? to reflect that
the House of Connnons while I'Xercis-
ing its undoubted i'i<rht to tuin out an
Kn^lish Ministry when it thinks fit
may at the same time carry confusit)n
into colonial affairs. Federal ionists can-
not rest satisfied wliile sucli a statt; of
things exists. It should not be left in
the power of the eli'ctors of the Uniteil
Kingdom, when they choose to transfer
their confidence fiom tine political
party to another, to pi-oduce derange-
ment in the affairs of the colonies and
tlie Empire, and this can only be pre-
vented f)y completely separating the
management of the local affairs of the
United Kingdom from those of the
whole Empire, and by bringing into ex-
istence an Imperial I'arliament and
Government iidierently stable, and not
liable to be influenced by local political
conflicts in any pai-t of .he Empire.

lu this essay reference luis already
been mjwle to the H(jly Roman Empire
of German nations, as exemplifying to

a slight extent the natiye of the closj^r
union tn be established by lmp(>rial
I''ederation betwixt British nations
throughout the world. The example
does not affonl a just parallel, if only
those times ar'e considered when the
(ierman i<]nipir(> suffered so much
thi-ough its KouDinand Italian connec-
tions and entanglements. But if we
look back to the time when North and
South (iermany werelli-st united under
a common head, we find nmch to in-
str\ict and to guldens in oui efforts to-
wards Kederiition.

Welx'r, the historian, tells us that
Com-ad the Frank, tii-ed of his vain
efforts to control the turlndent nobles
of South (Jermany, and unable to pro-
tect his country from th(< im-oads of
the Ilimgarians, sent his brother Eber-
hard to Hemy of Saxony (the Fowler),
with his royal insignia and crown,
olfei-ing submission and friendship, and
expressing his conviction that the
futui'e of (jermany "lay with the
Saxons." Eberhard cari-ied the ines-
sagi', and to this day in Quedlinburg
the place is shewn where the Saxon
Duke received the Frankish nobles.
Henry, "a man full :)f (>nergy and old
{i(!rn)an simplicity," was then proclaim-
ed as king at Frit'/lar in Hesse, in !)1J),
by the secular and ec(;lesiastical princes
and loi'ds there assend)led. At thefli'st
he w;is ordy acknowledged i)y Saxony
and Franconia, but next year by his
brave, y and wisdom he succeeded in
causing the dukes of Swabia and
Bav.iria to become his vassals, and in-
duced them to content themselves with
the dtical dignity. Heiu'y refused
episcopal anointment, but called him-
self nevertheless "King, V)y the Giaco
of G(kI." He made use of his power
with great wisdom and moderation.
He did not wish to establish Imperial
rule by subjecting the various races,

i^n

and countries to tho powor of a single
master anil govern tlie whole of (Jer-
niany from one central point, but "as
tlu! golden circlet of the crown unites
the shining jewels and transforms them
into tiie most glorious symbol of earth-
ly rule," so he intended that the
royal power shoxdd bind the Ger-
man dominions togethei-, without
destroying the characteristic activity
and life of the several peoples. His
conception of govcj'uing ran thus:
" Let each race stand by itself in its
own affairs and ride itself accoi'ding to
its old rights and usagt s ; let it be led
and guided in jieacc and war by its
duke, whom the counts and gentlemen
in the countiy, in time of war, are
bound 1o f)l]o\v and obey, Lt't him in
his parliasx'jit sii;le all disi)utes and
feuds in the land ; let the poor and op-
pressed find in him helpandpiotection;
let him defend the chui-ches, preserve
the public peace, and ])rotect t\H\ fron-
tiers against the invading eiiejuy. But
just as \ be dukes rule ove!- the several
race's in thti J'hnjjire, so the King stands
above and over all of them ; he is the
highest judge and leader of the whole
people, the final lefuge of the oppress-
ed, the highest protector of the church,"
It was by the application of such prin-
cii)les that Henry avoided the rock
upon which his predecessor had vainly
expended his l)est energy and efforts in
ruling the Fath(>rland.

So long as Ilem-y's successors were
guided by his jirinciples and the sid)-
oi'dinate dukes and bishops were con-
tented with the jtowei's allotted them,
all weni well; fortune f.ivored the
(Ic ! 'nans, and sucli ep.)chs constituted
golden ages in the liistory of the Em-
pire. But when the just balance of
power was disturbed, and. by tiu'us.
imperial, ducal or ecclesiastical authori-
ty gained the predominance, conten-

tifius arose, wai-s prevailed, and Anally,
dm-ing a period of umisual violence,
the Imperial ship of state was wrecked
in the storm of the Thirty Years War.
The principles of fedeial government
propounded by Henry the Fowler, al-
though modelled on the feudal system,
were based on a just and wise founda-
tion, and have their application even
in the present day. Loyalty to these,
on the i)art of British comnmnities, is
still capable of building up happy and
prosperous nations and uniting them
into a powerful Empire. But, at the
prF lent moment, the principles in ques-
tion do not by any means meet with
general recognition in the various '.ri-
tish Dominions. In some of them the
churches are not content to jdace
themselves under the protection of the
local secidar authority, but rather seek
to rival and oppose it; and, further, the .
central p(^wer has been so lavish in con-
f(!ri'ing parliamentary powers and con-
stitutions on the growing colonies,
without exacting corresponding re-
sponsibilities, that some of the inhabit-
ants of the various Dominions of t\w
Empire have persuaded themselves that
they ai-e on the high road to indepjtul-
k^nce. Here and there we find short-
sighted minoj'ities who do not suffi-
ciently appreciate the advantages they
enjoy, and the favor's thi»y have receiv-
ed from an indulgent motherland.
There are shallow grundilers c^very
where; "Canada first" men and na-
ticmalists in Canada, "natives" in
Australia and Africanders in South
Africa, who dream of constructing in-
depeJident nations out of the fi'agments
of the British Enipiie. They do not
seem to have considered whether inde-
j)endent Canada could defend itself
against the Cnited States, republican
A>istralia against France, and tlif>
Afrikandei- Bond against the natives ot

the dark continont or oven iijj:fiiiist
petty Portugal. Even in those pjirts of
the Empire wliieh contain no secession-
ist elenuMit some riglits ot llie sovi'ro-
ign authority have heen invaded, and
others are in danger of heconiing oh-
solete. But nevertheh\ss. and fortun-
ately the " golden circlet of the crown"
is still in existence to indicate the unity
of the Enii)ii"e, and no douht in the
past it has heen most etlicaceous in
pievtMiting disintegration. Ihit for it
iuul the virtues of its August Wearer,
the ctMitrifugal forces favoiu-ed hy
former Jiritish CJovjrnments might
have sent many a colony fiying off into
foi 'Mgn space. Let us he thankful that
there is yet time to countt'i-act an>-
ti idencv towards separation hy ])lac-
ing at the service of the Crown an

uperial Senate and Executive, and
u;t us p'ay that Her Majesty may lot>g
he spared to w<?ar the Imperial Crown
and enjoy the title approved at the
Colonial Conference, "Victoria, hy the
Grace of God, Qui'cn of the United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
and of its Colonies and Dei)endencie>i,
and Empress r.f India."

The tendency to consider only their
own interests, and to act independent-
ly of England, which has heen exhihit-
ed hy certain of her colonies, is a na-
tural fruit of the commercial independ-
ence which was foi-ced upon them at
the time when the Manchester School
of ji)oliticians held sway in the old
country. Ahout the time Nvhen t hoy
were thus sowing the si'eds of ]K)litical
tlisintegration, German statesmen were
at work Inulding up the Zoll\»'rein, t)te
history of whose development contains
a lesson of the greatest iuiportance to
us. There ar(> a few count ries in <iur
day hotter ahle to appreciate the hlesn-
ings of unity than Germany. No na-
tion can i)oint to such a golden age m

its history as that of the early German
Emperors, as well as that of the HoVy
Koman Empir(> under the Hohensta<i-
fen. No nation sulfered so hittorly
from its fall, and from strife, disunion
and dismemherment. during the Thirty
Years' War as did the (Jermans. N»
people felt so keenly their feehlono.-*;,
not only after the jioace of Westphalia,
hut after that of Vienna. None sti-ovo
so long, so honestly, and so modeiately
to he reunited. How their efforts were
crowned with success is matter of i-e-
cent history, as is also the i)rominent
part which Prussia performed in the
unification of the Fatherland. Indeed,
without her initiativi' the re-estal)lish-
ment of the German Empire woukl
have heen impossihle. This was ac-
knowledged hy the patriots of 1S48,
wlicn the (lerman Parliament olVered
the Imperial (!rown to King Federi<'k
William IV. But the strong will to
\\('ai' the crown, and the firm hand to
grasp the sceptre, were not then ready,
and at last the great (luestion wa.s
settled — "not hy speeches and the
resolves of tl > majority, hut hy hlood
and ir(;n." Siiovdd not the inhahitants
of the British En)pire he wise enough
hy this time to profit hy the teachings
of history ? That closer union which
had to he accomplished in Germany at
the cost of millions of men and money
is now within our reach hy the use of
the simplest arul nK)st heneficent
means.

Compared with what the (iermans
had to accomplish, the consolidation of
th(» Bi'itisli Empire seems any easy
task. But still, if we considei' the
means hy which tlie Union of tlie
Fatherland was accomplished, we shall
learn some very useful lessons. If we
incpnre as to the heginnings of Prussia '.s
great influence in (Jei-man affairs we
must go hack to the origin of the Zoll-

7fi

vcrcin. lV(!vi<>iiK to 1h(! yciir 1S2S
ihcn^ were in (Jcrmiuiy as m;i?iy Ciis-
loiiis Ixiimdiiiy Iiii(%s as tlicic wcrti
liJiiitH I'or llic in<i('|»('iHltiit States corn-
po.siiiK tlii! (u'liiiaii liuiid. The first
Zollvcci^iii, or ("iisloiiis [.iiion, was iri-
stitulcd in t liut, year IxMwixt, I'nissia
aij(l Ht'Hso Dannstjult, and tlie (xovcrn-
incnt of Till' toniici' r((uiitry strove
(nci- alXi^i'uar-ds to incici.isn its iiicjn-
Ih'vh. Hi'ssc Joiiii'd in \Ki\, Havaria,
WiiitcinlH'iK, .Saxony, and 'I'lnir-in^ia
in l.Siti, Hadcn and Nassau in 1K{4, Uic
city of Frankfurt in IKH), and «''''<<lii!>lly
the Union gn^vv until it inrludod
twenty-seven million inlialiitants. 'l\u^
States hcUonging to it eanie t,o l»e in a
sense dependent upon Pi ussia, whose;
fJovernnient strove to defend tlieir
tradin>^ and uianufacturing interests.
Gradually, politieal and national ob-
jects V)ocame common to the Zollverein
initil, from being mei-ely amaehini! for
the convenient collection and appor-
tionment of ri^venuc!, it grew to be; re-
garded as the symbol of (jierman unity.
The inllueniM' of this i)ond of union in
the n'construct ion of the (iernian I'an-
pire was immense, as is evident from
the fact that the great German State
of Austria. whi(di had to l)e excluded
from it, never formed part of the Zoll-
verein.

We thus learn two things from ihr.
(^xperifuice of (uirmany • First, tliat
the pr»;ponderatinginllurnceandact ion
of one member of the Jiund was iiec((s-
sary to elfecl the elosei- union ; second,
that between the institution of the hrst
weak political tie and the substitution
for It of the North (ierman Bund, and
aftcrwarils of the(Jerman I'hnpire, the
foiniation of a (.Uistoms Union inl(?r-
vened, whidi had the most impoitant
Influence in unit ing the (ji^i-man people.
At the same time, we must r(?n>end)ef
that, in our own case, instead xjf liaving

one meml)er of our F<]m|)ir(! ever int<'nt
on strengt liening the connertion, and
caring lor t he ((iimnf'i'cial int<'rests of
thr' others, we lia\( b.id. imtil a. com-
parativi'ly reeejit date, jtrominerit
statesmen advocating its disnicmbei'-
ment, and i)i'ominent economists of the
Gradgrind school abolishingdifferential
duties, Jind treat ing(<'i'laiii jiarts of the
Fmi)ire a»s utterly foi-eign to it, from a
commercial point of view. ffa]if)ily, it
is not too late to pioht by ('X()erierice,
and to insist that an Irrjperial ("om-
mercial Fnion nmst b«f establishcid, iui-
fore the present loose tie betwixt, the
Hrit ish possessions ean be cronvei-ted
into a firm /ind lasting bond of union.

There is but fnie comitry thai c:<n
take tluileadin the direction indicated,
and exercis<! a jiolitical and commeniial
l)ieponderanre, a hegemony, wit bin the
British Kmi)ii'e, namely, the United
Kingdom of Great Jiritain and Jrelnnd.
It is sui'ely lii^h tirni^ foi' English
statesmen to abandon their alt itude of
indifference, ado|)l a i)ositive policy,
and no longei' allow ii to be said that
the first move towardsclosei' union must
come from the ( 'oloni(!S. Such a posi-
tion is unworthy of the prc^stig*;, pow(;r
and wealth of lOngland ; who, if she
(iesires a flourishing and enduring Km-
pire, must take theleml in creatingand
maintaiiung it.

This view is su|)|)oi'ted and I he ojv
posite notion, (that the ( 'olonies should
make the first mo\i') is condemmtd in
an admirable let ter from (iener.il Tot-
t(;nham of Tasmania, published in
Inijtcruil Ffilertiiioii for I'^ebruary,
1889. The (ieneral's contentions are
these : -1'he offer- of a substantial share
of influence in shaping the fiweign
policy of the Fmpire must come Irom
\An' mother coimlry ; the lerpiest for
representation will nevei- be formally
made by t he colonies ; we. cannot afford

he ()])-

llioiild

led in

11 T(.t-

•d in

I'liai-y,

]s are,

Ishan*

•,!pi>?ti

li-oin

1st tor

linally

iiiVoi'd

any lonK<''" to <"<>nt(Mit oiu'hoIvch with I as hint) ni.'- at ii'conipcnsc. Addod to
inert a<linii"il ion of tli* "idcai"of Ini- tiiii-: is t lie. si iijxiidons advantage which
pci'ial I*\'dcrat ion. A caicrid survey of the Colonial Knipiic enjoys, ahsohitely
the situation in ('anada leads to fhciwithou*^ cost, in the proteetion of its
same concUisions. It is true that new sliippin^and shores against spoliation
hranehesof t lie licatcue are heiuf^ form- ! and a<^j<ressioii from every (piai-ter.

«>d hens hut those whic h have heen in
existence two or moi-e years show no

Still, to common c-alculatinK natures
and sound, soi'did husinesslike men

signs of steady proj<ress. The federa- | there is nothinj^in all this to cause
tionists admiration of his •■ideal' is not I tiicm to wish for any change. Thev
contagious, and his ent liusiasni has no | ;iie very cond'ortahle and contented
eff«'(;t upon those whos(^ mental vision audit is evident that from aniaterial
is only f)pen to the i)rospe(;t of mat«'rial point of vi«'w there exists no reason
advantage. It seems plain to sutdi why the colojiies should make the iirst

peo])le that, \mder the existing ai'-
rangements Imtwc^en (Jreat lii-itain and
lier ("oloines, tlu' lattej' have the hest
of the hargain, and thend'ore it is not
to their interest to di.-tm-h it hy mak-
ing any "recpiest for iej)resentation."

Why in these days of "l)uying in th(!
cheapest mai'ket," should common col-
onists desire any change? They are
proud to he loyal sid)jeets()f the (iueeii,
although they do not pay one cent of
the household exJ)ens(^s of llei- .Maj-
esty, or towards the annuities of thc^
Royal Family. They enjoy the ad-
vantages of the diplomatic and con-
sular service as much as tlie inhabitants
of the Hi'itish Isles, and entirely with-
out cost. During the civil w in the
United States Canadians made al)uiid-
ant use of the good otTlces of the
Firitish F'Lnhassy at ^V'ashington, and
Canadian tourists in iOuiTt|)ean capitals
would, nodoul)t, in cases of difficulty
apply to Wv.v Majesty's representatives
there. It is also well known tliat in
negotiating tra<le licaties all the ex-
pensive macdiineiy of the Foreign
()fl[h;e is placed at our disposal gratis.
Even the Hrilish parliamenf is occa-
sionally called upon to legislate for us.
and the Colonial otTlce sometimes inter-
ests itself in om- Ix half, all out of pine
generosity and without even so imich

move tow.ai'ds a closet political mnon
of tlie Kmpire,

Similar aiguments migld he
hiought up if the trade (|uest ion is con-
sidered. KvcMi in that resju-ct the col-
onics are advantageously placed .seeing
that the conti'ol of their tarilTs is in
theirown hands. Besides, pi-oposals for
closei- commercial intercourse connng
from any of the Coloni(!s could not
conuii.ind sulTicient attention else-
where. \Vhen .1 Hi'itish ("(Jinmercial
L'nion is broached in ('anad;i, the Hrst
remark invai'iably is "What would
Fngland say to such a thing." N(;xt
'h(^ question isasked, " Do you imagine
she will ever abandon I"'ree 'I'rade r'
Indeed n<t jnogress towards ;i Mritish
Zollverein is possible iirdess underthc!
initiat ive and leadership of the Mother
('oun'.y. Ia'I her but first holdout her
iiand. and it will be at once ;nid fiiMuly
grasped by her daughter nations
throughout I he wnild.

One of the st longest arguments in
favor of such a<'t ion on (liep.nt of the
I'nited Kingilom i-^ the f.ul that no

olhei' pail o

f tlie l-;m|

)ire IS

•gaily

pabl<

)f iiiangiiral ing legislation

looking towards Imperial I'mon. That
power is in the possession of tlie jiarlia-

meii

t of (ireat Hritaii

Then

nothing to prevent thi' passage, at it8

noxt session of a measure to secui'c the
permanent unity of tiie Empire if Eng-
lish legislators really had tlie wclfarv
at hcjul of the various British nations
throughout the world. TIk^ j)arliiiuient
of Great Britain has thi' legal right to
ai)ply the remedy for the presc'iit loose
state of things, since it possesses
supreme legislative authority and can
make laws for all tlie colonies and de-
pendencies. In this matter it would,
howciver, without doidtt, legislate, sub-
ject to the approval of the other par-
liaments and governments intei-ested.
Tlu! remedy has already l)een mention-
ed in this essay, but it deserves fre-
quent repetition. Let tlu; English
parliament h^vy an Impei-ial ml niluniii
duty on all alien goods ari-iving in any
and ivery Bi'itish port overand above
tlu^ diiferent local tariffs there in force.
Let the proceeds of this particular duty
collected in England, be kept separate
from her other revenues and applied
only for naval defence and Tmi)erial
purposes. Let her r'e(|uire that the
same proceeds in British possessions
beyond the sea be remitted to the Gov-
ernment at honus and devoted <o the
same purpose. Let it also be enacted
that any pai't of the Empire declining
to agree to this arrangement should
have its products treated exactly like
those from foreign countries, and sub-
jected to the payment of the Imperial
duty. There cannot bi> a ny doubt as to
the maimer in which this action woidd
be received by the well disposed Col-
onies and the Crown dependencies.
They would Ik; only too willing to c on-
tribute in t his way to Imperial defence,
and obtain at this price a preference in
the markets of (Jreat Britain. A simi-
lar preference would await the manu-
factures ot the motlui count ly in
India and the colonies, while foreign
nations seeking these markets would

be obliged to pay for admission and
thus contribute to the Imperial de-
fence fvmd.

What would be t he i)osi';ion of any
colony which might refuse to comply
with England's requirements? It would
not cease to l)e part of the Empire, and
would, no doubt, continue to enjoy
gratuitously the sanie measui-e of pro-
tection which England so generously
at1"()rds it at i)re.sent. But its products
woidd be subject to the extra Imperial
duty when sent to England, while
similar goods from the loyal colonies
would be free from this tax. In course
of time the obntrejiercms colony would
find its t;ircinnstances quite intolerable,
and no doubt be glad to improve them
i)y accept lug the projxtsal of England
and making its conti-ibut/ion like the
rest of the Empire.

The practicability of this plan is un-
dcnibttd. It may be carried out by
England at any moraent, so great is the
l)ower she wields by reason of ner
enormous trade. Eve;'ything depends
on her willingness to vise this power
for ihe purpose of scciu-ing Imperial
unity, procuring an Imperial defence
fund, and incidentally (encouraging her
b.oaie and colonial trade. Alison ex-
presses hi nisf^lf as follows wiih regard
to the importance of the latter as com-
pared with foreign trade :— " These
facts illustrate the important, and to a
connnercial state vital distinction be-
tween the foreign and colonial trade as
they alfect the market for manufac-
tures and the means of national
security. It may safely be affirmed
that, on a «lueand gcueial appreciation
of this distinction, the existeiu'e of the
British Empire in futuie times will in
all probability depend. Inexperience luus
now abundantly provt'd that, even as a
trading and manufacturing state, we
are dependent on our colonies, if not

fortho largest, for tho most growing
part of o\ir exjiorts. and that it is in
these that both tlic most eventually
important and enduring market tor our
domestic industry is to be found."

A study of this subject for the last
six years has convinced the present
writer that there is no other way in
which a revenue for Imperial defence
can be so i-eadily obtained as the one
above outlined. Nor is there any
better plan for securing the permanent
and willing adhesion of the colonies to
the Kmpire. All that is necessary is
prompt action on the part of l<]t\gl.nid.
To borrow a simile from the game of
whist — she has the game in hei' own
hands, but, to win it, she nnist lead
trump.

The end has now been reached of the
argument in favor of the j)lan of im-
perial P^ederation laid down in ('hai)ter
I of tliis essay under the letters A B
and ('. As far as possible this plan has
been elaborated and details given in
the subsespient chapters although such
a ])roceeding is not looked upon with
favo r by our fellow federationists. It
is, however, gi-aiifying to find that
that distinguished .idvocate of the
ca\ise, the Ri-v. Principal Ciraiit of
Queen's ('ollege Kingston }■ >s also felt
himself obliged to desceiul to ^"partic-
ulars. Although in Ms earlier efforts
he disapi)roved of ])utting 1 )rwardany
definite jilan fortheact 'ie»)lishni"nt of
our object; yet, in his last lecture de-
livered in Toronto he formulates certain
proposals which, when examined, will be
found to approach ([uite closely lothe
scheme which has been propounded in
this essay, and stated more concisely
under the letters A. B and (' of its first
chaptei". Principal (iiant's ])roposals
are as follows :— " Let xis, at any rate,
<lo what Austi-alia has done- enter into
a treaty, according to which we shall

pay so much a year for a certain num-
ber of ships, to l)e on our coasts in
})eace. and in war at the disposal of the
Kiiipire. That woul.l be tantamount to
saying: 'Von have sliared our risks,
we will share yours ; we will pay part
of the insurance that is neces.-»aiy to
guarantf'e peace; we are educating
otHcers for the army, and we are will-
ing to give a much needed addition to
the fleet.' That would be a first step
towards the attainment of full citizen-
ship. What would be the next 'i W'e
could ask that oui' voice should be
lu'ard in some constitut ional way be-
fore any war was decided on, and we
woidd have the I'ight standing groiuid
fi'om which to urge a wise system of
preferential trade in the common inter-
est. These three things ai-e in my
o])inion connected, and I have ventured
to indicate the order in which they
should be taken." These three steps
are the same in essence, as my A IJ
of Impei'ial Federation. But they ar(>
placed in a different order, and Prin-
(•i]>al (iiant's third point is included in
the pi'o])osal A, wiiicn accom])lishes
two thiTigs at one strcjki' ; i. e. provides
an Imperial revenue and estaltlishes
pret'erenti.il trade-. The following stcate-
ni"nt conipai'cs the two jjlans:--
Pi'incipal (ii'ant proposes :

1. To ])ro\ide an auxiliary fleet.

2. That I lie colonies should have a
const it lit ional voic(> as to peace oi' war.

3. 'I'bat a wise system of pieferential
trade should be urged.

CorrespoiH^ing ,o these ari^ the pro-
])osals |)ut forward in this essay, if
))laced in the following older :

B. To contj'ibnte to itie cost of the
pi-esent n;!\ n'.

C. That the colonies should be repre-
sented in an Impei-ial .Senate.

A. That an Imperial revenu< duty
be levied on foi'eign impoits.

I shall not mlvaneo any additional
ai'fifiunents to show that, in first adopt-
ing and workitif? for tho, step doHiicd
und(!r A, Imperial Ffdcnitionists are
"putting their best foot foremost."
But I shall allow the editor of " Im-
perial Federation" to speak, who in
September, ISS7, penned the following
noteworthy passage on this point : —
" We freely assent to the proposition
that the colonies ought to be represent-
ed in the councils of the P^mpire, but
this, though true, is not the whole
truth. T\w shadow of representation
is useless without substantial identity
of interests among the people rei)resent-
ed. Take the most obvious case of a
question of })eace or wi\r. Would it be
any consolation to \'ictor'ia or Canada,

when their territc tries were invaded,
to have been represented at the Coun-
cil which decidi'd ujjon war, if their
own representatives had dissented, and
the vote had been carried against them
by a majority ? Upon such tpiestions,
something more than a majority,
' something more nearly approaching a
imaninious decision is recjuisite. But
this xinanimity can only be obtahied
when a whole nation, or every part of
a scattered Empire, has the same inter-
ests at stake, and ap{K)ints their repi-e-
sentatives in the same spirit. This
is the reason why ice aim first
at i(h'}itiJivatioii of interests, ttad
secomtarily <it eovstitittiirtinl readjust-
nienf."

("IIAPTEU X.

An Anglo-Saxon Common Wealth ; Conclusion.

It is not an uncomnum occurreiu-e,
when Imperial Federation is (he sub-
ject of discussion in Canada, to hear
the view expressed that the true object
to strive foi- is not Imperialism, but the
\uuon of all English-speaking y e..>p;es,
and it is frequently urged that the lirst
step to the establishment of such a
Greater Britain would be the union of
Canada with the American Kepid)lic.
Thosv: whf) entertain this view atted to
believe that such a first step would ul-

timately lead to a union with the self-
governing nations of th<^ British Em-
pire, and the formation of an Anglo-
Saxon Conunonwealth. so populous,
wealthy and powerful as lo be without
a rival in the world. This line of argu-
ment is usually adopted by those who
arc inclined to indulge in (pierulous op-
position to I be present Canadian Ciov-
ernment, and who have had opportuni-
ties of mingling \\ ith an<l appreciating
the excellent qualities of many of the

citizens of the Uniti'd States.

Ttie nearest iippi-oiuh to an expres-
sion, in print, of the idea entertained
by this class is given l)y Px-ofessor Gold-
win Smith in his recent Ijook "('anada
and the ('anadiau (jnestion." At pa^e
265 he says, "There is a federation
which is feasible, and, to tliose who do
not measure grandeur by physical force
or extension, at least as grand as that
of which the Imperialist dreaujs. It is
the moral federation of the whole Eng-
lish speaking race throughout the
world, including all thos<! millions of
men speaking the English languagt^
in the United States, and parteol from
the rest only a century ago by a wretch-
ed quari-el, whom Imperial F'ederation
would leave out of its pale. Nothing is
needed to bring this about but the vol-
untary retirement of England as a
political power fr<nn a shadowy domin-
icni in a sphere which is not hers.
There is no apparent r(»ason why,
among all the States of our race, there
should not be community of citizenship,
so that a citizen of any one of the na-
tions might take up the rights of a
citizen in any one of the others at once
iipon his change of domicile, and with-
out the pi'ocess of naturalisation. This
would be political union of no incon-
siderable kind without diplomatic
lial)ilities, or the strain, which surely
no one can think free from peril, of
political centralisation."

It v.ill probably oocm- to some reatl-
ers of this passage that " Imperialists "
are n(»t the only dreamers, and that
the feAsihle federation here spoken of is
of a nnu h U'ore I'theieai nature than
that which the Professor h»us been pleas-
ed t«)call the "airy fabric of Imperial
Federation." but it would be imgrate-
ful to criticise too closely such ;: niagni-
llcent ideal, and the present writer is
{inxious to accept it as the ultimate

goal of those who ari', at present
striving only for the permanent unity
of the British Empire, and do not con-
sider that a still wider federation may
now be mooted with advantage. It is
in regard to the practical measures pro-
posed for bringing about his "moral
federation," that we aie disposed to
differ froni Oi"- Smith. It is manifestly
inconsist^uit on his part to suggest, as
the first step towards the formation «f
an Anglo-Saxon Union, the disruption
of the British Empire, for that is what
the i)olicy of Connnercial Union which
he advocates really means. If the pro-
fessor is really sincere in his wish foi'
the realisation of his ideal, and at all
anxious about his reputation as a prac-
tical statesman, he ought to see the
wisdom of leaving the British Empire
in its present integrity, and of advocat-
ing the absorption into it of the United
States.

Noi- woidd this action on his part be
otherwise;than sensible in the highest
degree, "There is no apparent reason"
why all the States of t)iu' race should
not be amalgamated luuler a conuuon
sovereign. There is nothing to jn-event
the United States from applying for
admission into a consolidated British
Empire such as will, no doubt, be estab-
lished in the near future. Suppcjsing
that this consolidation should be effect-
ed by the adoption of the measvn-es ad-
vocated in this essay, it wovdd be pos-
sible for the United Stat«s to join the
British Empire without giving up the
policy of protecti(»n which, in the opin-
ion of tho majority of their citizens,
has contributed so nuah to their pros-
perity and greatness. To contribute
five per cent, on the value of their im-
ports from coiuitries outside of the
Anglo-Saxon Commonwealtb would be
but a triding price to pay U>v imnumity
from attack by foreign fleets, This

iminmiity they could securo by hfcom-
iiifjf part of a roconstructcd British Em-
pire, and the enormous expenditure
which they are now (•(mtemi)lntinK *'<»•
a fleet and coast ilefenees would he
saved. MoreovM'r, the United States
coiUd secure representati(jn in the Im-
perial Senate, although that would he
comparatively small on account of the
high duties they levy on foreign im-
]?ortations. Hn.ving secured this Im-
perial representation, they could prob-
ably dispense with their state govern-
ments and legislatures and thus etfect
another enormous saving. All this will,
of course, appear highly absurd to the
professor and his school, but it is sober-
ly maintained to be fifty times more
reasonable than the plan the professor
suggests for arriving at his " moral
federation." As well might he propose
to begin the construction of a railway
to the moon by sinking through the
centrt^ of the earth as think of estab-
lishing an Anglo-Snxrm Common-
wealth by first disnuunbering the Bri-
tish Empire.

It will, of course, be maintained by
Commercial Unionists that no such
dismemberment is intended ; that all
they are striving for is the establish-
ment of closer trade relations between
United States and Canada. If so, then
they will have to admit that the Ameri-
cans are now conuuitting the same
mistake which Dr. Smith tells us they
made a hundred yeai-s ago in driving
the U. E. Loyalists fnim their homes.
They refuse even to discuss terms of
reciprocal trading, in order to force
Canadians into ])()litical imion with
them, and they ai-range the terms of
their tariff evidently with the same ob-
ject in view. It would scarcely be cor-
rect to say that the McKinley Bill was
invented mainly for the purpose of in-
juring C'auadian commercial interests.

but, in point of fact and owing to her
situation, Caiuida will pi-objibly feel its
effects nioie than any other coyintry.
Many pcM'sons here i-cgard it as the
culmination of a long coui'se of »m-
friendly legislation and action, the ob-
ject of which is to induce Canada to
luiite lier fortunes with thos(» of the
United States. The Elgin Treaty of
1854, according to which the products
of mines, forests and fisheries passed
freely betwixt the two coimtries, was
abrogated by the United States in 18f«t,
because they thought that Canada had
not been sufllciently friendly to the
north during the civil war. Since that
tiuie the overtures wnich have been
made bv Canada to obtain some kind
of reci})rocity have been almost con-
tinuous. In October 1887, a letter ap-
peared in the New York Ti nies tvoin its
Washington correspondent, describing
the i-esult of these applications in the
following terms : "Canada was anxious
to continue the reciprocity, and was
willing to offer very consideraT)le in-
ducements tothateiul, but it would not
pay the price of a change t)f flag.
Canadian commissioners came here and
talked with Secretary Seward and the
leading men at both ends of the Capitol.
Mr. Morrill, of Vermont, now a Sena-
tor, was diairman of the Ways and
Means Committee of the House. He
said to the Canadians : ' If you want
these commercial priveleges that you
talk about, take your seat by the side
of lis and vote for them.' Mr. Banks
went further. In the first session of
the Thirty-ninth Congress, he intro-
duced a bill for the admission into the
Union of the States of Nova Scotia,
New Brunswick and Upper and Lower
Canada. The Canadians went home
convinced that nothing coidd be obtain-
ed from this country unless they
abandoned England."

Tn llicsi" efforts to obtiiin reciprocity
the leadcirK of liotli jiolitical pai'lies iu
the DoininioM stooil on the same pint -
form, and none of tht'in clivanieil of
di.scriniinatiiiK against the .Mother
Country. In 187 J, the lieforui or
Liberal Govcniuient sent the Hon.
•' eor^je Hrown to Washin^^ton to neK<»-
tiat.) a treaty, and ont; was framed
wiiich, liowovur, the U. S. Senate re-
fns»'d to ratify. This treaty had in-
chided natural products and certain
lines of manufactures, the latter how-
ever heiuK added on the distinct imder-
standiuK that the same products from
England would alh le admitted free
into Canada. Since i lien the (Janadian
liberal party has changed its political
platform, and now advocates measures
which seriously menace the unity of
the Empire. But all the elforts of
liberals and Commercial Unionists seem
to be lost on the American politicians,
the majority of whom expect direct
unconditional surrender from Canada,
and sooner or later, its political absorp-
tion into the United States.

All this proves that Dr. Smith begins
at the wrong end when he seeks to form
a feasible federation, a moral common-
wealth of English-speaking peoples by
advocating Commercial Union, what-
ever that may be. The Americans will
have none of it unless as a step t(j com-
plete political absorption, and they are
honest enough to say that the latter is
what they wish and expect. Eiulhei-
more, there is not the slightest ground
for supposing that, if the whole of North
America were imited under the Repub-
lic, there would be any desire for
Anglo-Saxon Confederation. The Uni-
ted States would be, even more
then than at present, the rival of the
British Empire and very far from be-
ing its friend or its ally. In the past
the sympathies of the Americans have

been exhibited for the enemies of Kng-
land on ev«'ry oca.sion of peril to the
Empire, and it is not likely that in-
crease of their tei-rit^ory and popula-
tion would etfect a change in their
traditional policy..

During the pjust few months, and
while the foregoing chapters were be-
ing written, events have transpired
which have directed the public atttMi-
tion more closely than ever be-
fore to the future of the I'^mpire,
and proved the necessity of taking
measures to secure its perman-
ent unity. Tiefore concluditig this
es.say it may be well to bring the his-
tory of the fcideration movement up to
date and to make some refer«ince to the
occurencas in question and to the pre-
sent sit,uation.

In spite of the refusal contained in
Lord Salisbury's letter of July, 1880,
the Imperial Federation League ha.s,
for the space of nearly two j'^ears' enter-
tained the plan of influencing the Eng-
lish Government tc call a second Con-
ference of Colonial delegates for the
purpose of evolving a scheme for the
future management of Imperial affairs.
To strengthen its position it endeavor-
ed to influence the Leagues in the Col-
onies toagitatefor the calling together
of such Conferences periodically, and
making them part of the governing
machincuy of the Empire. On the first
consideration of this matter the Coun-
cil of the League in Canada adopted
unanimously the following resolution :
"That in view of Lord Salisbury's de-
claration that his goverment will be
happy to receive and to consider any
suggestions which the League desires
to make for the purpose of modifying
the relations betwixt Great Britain and
its Colonies, this Ct)uncil is of opinion
that a meeting <>f delegates from the
various branche.- jf the League should

be calhul by the pairiit liCiifjfiU' <o do-
(•i(l<> tijion what siigK'''^<i<"i^ shouldbi-
made foi- thr considi'i-ation of Her
Miijcsty's ({ovcriunctit with a view to
to the callinj^ of a .second ( 'olonial Con-
fenrncc." This roHoliiMon was ciiibodi-
cd in an excellent explanatory letter
by i\Ir. Castell Ifopkins, Hon. Secretary
of the heaKwe in Canada on the I'ith
Nov(Mnber. IKX), and sent to London
bnt evident lydid not give satisfaction at
bea(l(iuarter>s. Fn conse(jnenc,e of repre-
s(Mitat ions from thence, the ('otmcil of
tho Leagne in ('anada passed another
resolution, on the l(»th I)e(!eniber, to
tlie following effect :-"Th(! resolution
proposed by Sir Frederick Weld upon
the resolution passed at the last meet-
ing of tills C'ouncil having been con-
sidered by this Council, it is re.S'olved
that, regard being had to the ditTicul
ties deemed insurmountable by the
Executive Coimcil of the Parent League
of holding a convention of delegates,
that the resolutinn passed at the sug-
gestion of Lord f'osebery for the estab-
lishment of Imperial Conferences be
and the same is hereby approved. But
this Council would regret that any con-
ference should be held at which the
question of inter-Imperial and ('olonial
trade would not be deemed a subject of
first-class importance."

Although its policy wfis thus endors-
ed by the League in Canada, the
League at home took no further steps
to carry it into effect, in consequence,
it is said, of the impossibility of getting
Australiffti stjitesmen to attend any
conference in London while proceed-
ings were being taken to fedei-ate the
colonies of the South Pacific. But time
and tide wait neither for man nor
league, and tlie course of other events
promises to lead to the consolidation of
the Empire in a manner altogether in-
dependent of the plans of orthodox

impei-ial federat ionisis, oi- in such a
way as to force them to action.

The first of thes<' events was the pas-
sage by the IT. H. Congress in Septem-
ber 1 MX), of the McKinley Tarilf Hill.
Althougli, in th(* following Novemi)er
(Sections, the people may be said to
havi^ disai)i)roved of stuh extremely
protective legislation, there is no do\il)t
that both political pnrties in the United
States are solenndy pledged to the
principb^ of jji'otection to Amei-ican in-
dustries. Mr. McKiidey liimself al-
though he failed of relection still sup-
])orts the snnie policy, which may he
said to be that of tlie l{epui)lican party,
and quite recently expressed himself
regarding it as follows :

"We mustjirotect ourselves iigainst
the people of other coimtries. This is
according to tiie dictates of patriotism
and the doctrine of the protective
tariff. The foreigner cannot i)e reach-
ed by your tax gatlierer. Why slicadd
we not make him pay for the privileg«f
I of coming? He iias nothing in conunon
witli us. Wiiy should we not
stop iiim at our (Justom House?
I tell you that we will never open our
markets to the products of European
laliour until the foreigners level up the
condition of their labour to ours. Then
we Avill meet them in the neutral
markets of the world— tlien, and never
till then. Why should we give up
these markets to foreigners ? They are
the best under tlie shining sun. We
consumer more than any other (12,(K)0,(XX)
people on the face of the globe. We
buy more because we have more of the
wherewithal to buy tlian others.
We have nore of the wherewithal
to buy than others because our
conditions give the rewards of trade
to the laborer. Old men may be
free traders, but in God's name let no
young man, who has hi?- career to

make, espouse Mie cause of H rev-
etuie taiill". We liave in t liis ( (»\uit ry
(ivt! per cent. vH tlie pt)i)ula) inn nl' llie
earth, and yet wo ci^ii.sunie twenty per
cent, of the sugar, thiity |»ei' cent, of
tliecollee, thirty-live per cent, of tlie
cotton, forty perci-nt. of tluM-oal. and
lifty per cent, of tiie tin. And we iu"e
jifoing to niaivu our own tin pails, too."
Not only does Mr. McKinley thus
plaiidy avow the ohject of his hill, hut
Mr. Andrew ('arncKie, in his article
concerning it, puhlislied in the Xinr-
ff'cntli Vvitturji for .June last, explains,
with*'hrutul frankness," that its pro-
visions wei(^ framed I'or the purpose of
l)reak.ing down the Colonial ilillerenl Lai
duties of sucli countries as Spain, atul
in ord(ir so gain the advantage ov<m'
England in her foreign markets. (Jne
of its soctit)nK provides for 1 he payment
of a drawh.'ick on the exportation of
articles mannfactin-ed or producr-d in
the United States, e(pial in amount to
the duties on the imported materials
which have hoen used in their mami-
facturt^ and anothei- section, the re-
ciprocity clause, empowtu's the Prc^si-
dent to suspend the provisions of the
McKinley Act regarding the free intro-
duction of sugar, molasses, cotriu", tea,
and hides into the Unitcnl States, as re-
gards any country whose government
imposes duties on the agricultiual (ti-
other products of thi' United St,a.t-es.
Mr. Carnegie claims that alr(;a(ly a
favorahle treaty has heen negotiated
with Brazil and that Spain has heen
ohliged to change her Colonial trade
policy. "Hereafter" sjiys Mr. Carnegie
"not a harrel (of floiir) can come frouj
the parent land. Spain up to this time
had not learned from Britain how a
fond mother, viore fond than ivlsc jjcr-
hapii, could favor her children, and pro-
tect her colonies not for her own, hut
for their welfaie, ujotherlike, demand-

ing in return. . . . Cnha will here-
after he of as little g<pod to Spain a.s
Canada is to liritain : nay, mav and
pi(ii)ahly will l)ccome th.i source of
serious troui)le and ilangcr to .Spain,
without the i>rohal)ilil y of hcing any
good to lu-r : and, again, I may add, as
Canatla is and prohahly will Itecome to
Ihitain."

XiitJiwithslanding such plain dedara-
tiiins of conuni-rcial war hy the United
States, it does not appear that the
people of Kngland have fully realised
the dangerous chaiacli-r of the ,Mc-
llinley Hill. Another of its prominent
features is the great increase in the
duty upon tinplates, the e\ident ohject
of which is to start the manufacture of
these in the United States. This is one
of the few manufactui'ing iuihist ries in
which (iri-at Hrilain still maintains her
pre-eniinence. In Septend)er, IHDt), the
Iron and St(;el Institute of (Jreat IJri-
tain was formally greeted in New ^'ork
with hearty words of welcome hy the
same Mr. Carnegie ahove n^ferred to,
and among the meinhi'rs were not a few
tinplate manufacturers, whose "curses
not loud hut deep" no douht formed
auapproi»riateruimingaccompaniment
to .Mr. Carnegieshigh sounding perioils.
It was my i)rivileg(^ to, listen to the
opinions of some of the men of She-
tlicld and (Unnherland and (Jlasgow
while comparing American and Ung-
lisli methoils, manufacturing and fin-
ance on the way from Niagara to Mon-
treal. Many of them, indeed, seemed
to have made up their minds that somi;
change in the character of England's
fiscal policy was necessary, hut not a
trace of this feeling was visible in any
of the ollicial speeches at the nu'ctings
of the Institute. In these no mention
is to he found of the follies of protec-
tion, no hint of the enormities of the
McKinley Act. The speakers frou\

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WEBSTER, NY. I4S80

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Kii^lond wt'vo of the cliariictri' thai lh«'
Anu'ricans call "(louj^lifaci's," and the
pr«>siil(>nt, iSir Jaiiirs Kitsoii, .spoke of
"winding? the silkmi chains of coiii-
incrcc round tlic woi'ld,'"as if tluil were
Ihcciiicf end and aim of thccomnifr-
ciai policy of tl\(' (Jrcat Kcpiihlic. Its
citi/cns c«)uld not possihiy lias c enjoy-
ed a belt cr sjH'cinu'n than this of the
sort of eloqnjMice which they ai-e ac-
custonu'd to cliaracterise as "bunk-
urn."

Thes«'cond event of conscMpience took
place in Fehuai-y of this year when the
Dominion Parliament was disolved,
and the political issu<> placed stpiarely
before the electoi's of the conn! ry by
Sir John Macdonald in these wor<is:
"The (pK^stion which you will shortly
be called upon t«) determine i-esolves it-
si'lf into this shnil we endanger our
possession of this j^reat heriJage be-
(pieathed to us by our fathers and sub-
mit oursi'Ives to direct taxation for tlie
privilege of having our tariff lixed at
Washington, with the pro.spect of
ultimat«>ly becomin}^ a portion of t1ie
American I'nion." The gravity of tlie
crisis was everywhere rec<i;j;nised, and
especially in the Mother Count ly. The
orj^an of the licague ejiiiu'stly hoped
for the success of the Conservatives
and declared that '"we must bestiioui'-
selves here at hoiue and there in
Canada, and take car«> that, so far as
lies in out" power, means m.-iy be de-
vised to briiiK idxtut such a sound and
final setttement of the Colonial (pies-
tion as shall render a crisis of the Km-
pire, like that we a i-e passing througli
to-day, imp«)ssible of recurrence in
the futiu-e." Nevertheless the League
it^self continued apathetic, iind made
no move towards r<mli/ing its pet policy
of periodical conferences.

The proceedings in the so-called Im-
perial parliament in reference to this

subject constituted anoth«M" of the
series of events to which reference haw
been made. On the 12th February last
Lord Dimraven moved the followed re-
solution in the House of Lords : **That,
ill the opiinon of this House, it is de-
sirable that the Colonial (Jovernnients
be invited to sen<l representatives to a
Conference to be held in LondtMi, to
I'onsider the advancement of trade
within Her Majesty's dominions, and
the formation of a fimd for cMrtain pur.
j)oses of Imperial defence." Lortl iSalis-
bury in a remarkable speech gave
reasons in support of the government's
opinion lint for the present "the sem-
monitig of a conference is not expedi-
ent." The sami' matter was brought
\ip bv Col. Howard Vincent in the
House of Connnons on the 17th Feb-
iiijiry. with a similar residt, Mr.
(loschen expressing himself as follows;
"But to invite a formal conference of
representatives of the colonies without
some basis or ground which would lead
us to believ«' that some progress would
be made, and to ask them to meet here
without Hi'st principles having been
setth'd, upon which any arrangement
couhl be come to, would seem to be a
course which nujst end in disappoint-
ment, and would be imlikely to lead to
any practical result." Thus, after a
delay of a yeai- and a half, another de-
clai'ation wiis elicited from the English
government, which showed that their
policy as n'gards colonial or Imperial
Conferences hiul imdergone no change,
and was (pute at variance with that
which had been adopt<>d by the man-
agers of the Imperial Federation
Lc^agiie. One nnght have been pardon-
ed for ihinking that these declarations
would have settled the matter, but this
was not the case. A month later the
Council of the Imperial federation
League returned to the charge and

;vis8«d a rcsolnlioii insisting upon im
Interview with Lord Salisbury to ur^t'
the convocation "of a conference of
thu self-governiuK countries of the Kni-
pire to cronsider the iiuestion of secur-
ing to them a real .lud etl'ective share
in the privile)i?es and i-esponsihilities of
an United Knipiiv, under conditions
which are consistent with the present
political constitution of the United
Kingdom, and with the self-govern-
ment possessed l»y the Colonie.'-." The
interview was granted and took place
on the 17th .June. ISJd. Lord Salisb\ny
fully recognized the importance of the
(ptestion, but concluded with the state-
ment that he could not summon a cg".-
ference of colonial statesmen luitil a
definite scheme of Imperial F«'deration
had been pri'pared.

Under these circumstances the colon-
ial mend)^^ of tlu' i^eague may very
fairly (piestion the motives of the
leaders, and di>ubt whethei- these were
really entei-tained with a single eye to
the advancement of the en use of
FedtTation, If contidence is to l)e re-
stored among the rank anil Hie, in the
singlemindedness and abilitv of tlu-
Executive Committee and Coimcil, it
will be necessary for the former to de-
.vise uieanu at once for making the
suggestions to Lord Salisbm-y whicli
his letter of July, 1SS9, still calls lor'
and his recent declaration almost de-
mands. It is not easy to see how this
can be done without a gathering of
Imperial Federationists from all parts
of the Kmpire, such a.s was propos(>d
by the Canadian League in 1SK5>.

On the 5th March, the elec-lions t<M)k
place in the Donunion with the result
of sustaining the government <»f Sir-
John Macdonald. although by a rt>duc-
ed majority. X'>^'''*' '•'* no doul»t that
large nundx'rs rtf liberals in the urban
COiistituencies, displeased with the

I trade polieyof their lenders, voted with
I the conservatives, ImiI it is just
as certain that many more of tht>
lattei- in the a''ricMltui'al distiicts
(listiiets must have v.ifed against the
govei'innent. most likely on account of
the hard times among the farmers, and
, reasoning that as these could not be
J worse it might be jus well to try a
j change of government as a pt»ssible
! cure. Other issues, such as those con-
nected with th(> K<|ual liights agitation,
may have com)>lica*ed the tpiestion
submitted to the electors, but on the
whoh' the conclusion seems justified
that the agricultural conununities are
getting more and more accustomi'd t(»
[ "look to Washington." That they
; would find coimnercial or political sal-
vation there is veiy much to be doubt-
«'d, but they may think tlu're is a
chance, and nothing in thesliape of a
chance is otVered ihem from any othei-
(|uart('r.

Sir ,lohn M.icdonahl, at the age of 7(5,
took part in the contest with his usual
energy, and as regardless of thecon-
se<pieiices to himself as any high soid-
ed (iinnnander on llic Held of battle.
No doubt like Wiilington at Waterloo
he was told by his aides, "This is no
place for you ; you had better move ;''
and no doubt he gave t he same rejily,
" I will, when I have seen tiiesc fellows
(►ft'." .\l)oul three months afterwards
onthe<>tli .June. 1S!)1. he may be said
have "dii'd of ids W(»iM'ds." reccivt'd in
his last great polili<al campaign, or, as
he himself called it his "last effort foi'
the lUiity of the Kmpiic and the {)re-
servafion of o\n' commercial and poli-
tical freedom." In the Dominion he
cannot be replaced and in Fngl.'ind the
Imperial Feder.-ition League will, no
doubt, now fully realize I liat, while they
have l>(>en fumbling and nnuniding in
refei-ence to a policy, theii' wisest ami

nioHt powerful ally in this comitry has |
pjiNsed away. I

TIk' recent electoral contest was i
fou^lil between a majority of loyal
Canadians, with little oi- no nioi-al oi-
material sn|)|)ort from the I'niled
Kingdom or the Kmpire, and a discoii- |
tt^nted or disloyal mini>rity enjoyiii};'
the sympathy of the great mass of the |
people (»f the United States, and j
and not a little substantial assist- 1
ance from certain active spirits ,
among them. Tlu- gi-avity (»f the
issutf wjus roc'ignized by many
of the statesmen and leading news-
papersof Great Britain, but expressions
of sympathy for or suggestions of aid
to those colonists who wei-e fighting
the battle of the Kmpire, as well as
their own, were few and far between.
Since the victory nmch of the interest
in the struggle of Canadian political
parties has subsided. The SntfsiiKtn
thinks that the Canadian conserva-
tives should see the ne^-issity of bi'-
connng fr«'e tradei-s : the Shtndard
admits that the pi-ospect for Canada
cannot be said to be moi'i' i-eassuring if
she turns from the south and looks east-
ward for relief, and it adds that the
project of creating an hnperial Zoll-
verein, into which Canada might ent<!r
with the rest of the Colonies, is indeed '
a visionary one. A crumb of comfoi-t
is perhaps aiTorded us in a leading
article in the T'nnrs of ."ith May, Irom
which we quote the following remark :
"Tlu' Canadians have proposed giving
tariff beni'ttts to the Americans and to
the West Indies -who by the way have
not shewn themselves appreciative of i
thefavor— but neverto thepeoi>leof the
mother country." The taiilT benetits
here referred to are of the nature of ^
preferences, or discrinunations, and
there is not the slightest doubt that
Canada would offer the same to Grout

Bi'itain. if there was the sliprht<»Kt
chaiure of their being reciprocated.

Hut through the cloud of English
blindness or indifference, not to men-
.ion hostility, a ray of suidight has
broken. l\'i'hai>s the most important
ev«'nl in the series which we are trying
to descril)e is the formation in thv Uni-
ted Kingdom of the United Empire
Trade League. In April a general in-
vitation was isHut>d by Mr. C. E. How-
ard Vincent to form "a strong associa-
tion having the great aim in view of
developing by all possible means the
connnercial relations between the
Mother (/0\mtry and the ('olonies, and
between the Colonies themselves."
Although the nudti|)lication of such
organisations is to be regretted, it
seems to be unavoidable in view of the
fact that the Council of the Imperial
Federation Lt'ague avoids the consider-
ation of the conuneirial (juesti<»n, an«l
busies itself al»out pi'oviding the colon-
ies with political '* privih'ges and re-
s))onsibilities." The new Ij<'ague will,
without doubt, earn a nmch wider
sympathy, and mow. rapidly achic've
its ((bject of establishiug " nmtually
advantageous trade relations among
all who shai-e allegiance to Her Majesty
the Queen." Alnnidy over seventy
membeis of the English House of Com-
m<»ns have signified their apni-obation
of its object, and in the corresponding
body of the Dominion nearly a hund-
red mi'nd)ers have declai'ed over their
own signatui'es their willingness to join
the new League. Lord Salisbury, how-
ever, pt)ints out that the League "nuist
work hard to convert their countrymen
to the Leagul^s way of thinking, for it
was impossible for England to give
preferential treatment to the Colonies
at the «'xpenseof tluiA'st of the world. '
His Lordship shomu be reminded
that eliarity begins at home and he

iniKht also \ie rocoininendtHl t« con-
HJdor an arKuiiient already nseni in
this twsay, according to which '* tht^ rest
of the world" iiiiKht very fairly be put
to expense for the stipport of the Bri-
tish navy, hccause it is, in reality, the
marine police force of the whole world.
By levyinj? a duty on foreign importa-
tions, not exclusively for the benefit of
inter-British trade, but primarily in
order to raise a Defence Fund, the fir-st
step would be taken for initiating the
*' Kriegsverein" of British peoples re-
garding which Lord Salisbury ha8 so
fre(iuently spoken.

Besides the encouraging fact of the
formation of the United Empire Tnule
League, and the recent favorable utter-
ances of Lord Salisbury and other Bri-
tish statesmen regarding the consolida-
tion of the E)mpire, other circumstan-
ces seem to justify the statement that
the ({uestion is gradually entering the
sphere of practical politics. It has not
yet become a bone of contention among
th(^ parties, but it has enjoyed favoi'-
able c>)nsideration by stutesuien of very
different political opinions. Ijord
Beac«)nsfield and Mr. Foster, Mr.Smith
and Mr. Gladstone, Mr. Stanhope and
Lond Rostbery, Sir .lohn Macdonald
and Oliver Mowat have all more or less
favored Imperial Federation. At the
present time old party lines arc being
obliterated, and there appear to be
grounds fnv thinking that in the near
future the party names now current of
Conservative, Liberal Unionist, (ilad-
stonian. Radical, Home Ruler, Liberal
Conservative, Iteformer, Nationalist,
and others will disappear, and that only
two parties, Unionists andSeces-sionists,
will stand opposed to each other
throughout the Empire; the one seek-
ing to preserve our inheritance undivid-
ed, as did our neighbours in the United
States, and the other striving to dis*

'•r«Klit anddismemlwrthe most glorious
Empire Miiich the worhi has ever seen.

I nuist now bring to a close this essay
in which, I have endeavoiu'ed to take
away the reproach of li'>perial Federa-
tionists. who are so often taunted with
having nothing but asi»iratio .s, with
having nothing tangible to pr< \iose in
the sha|>e of practical measuivs. I
have tried to sketch a plan for consoli-
dating the Empire, giving it an "un-
derpinning"^ of ccmunercial and mdus-
trial unity and pr(»sperity and sur-
mounting it by a Parlianu>nt of Parlia-
ments and the Imperial Crown. I have
• specially insisted upon the necessity
of encouraging and guarding the
material interests of tne Empire, in
l)i<'f('reiice to those of the rest of the
world. Love of country can no more
exist in a starving conununity than a
healthy human soul in a neglected
body. The solid foundation for patrio-
tism and indeed all other national vir-
tues is material prosperity and pro-
gress, well cared for and prom(»ted by
wise, far-seeing and practical legisla-
tion. This is admitted even by the re-
presentatives of the Manchester Scho<»l.
W(? are told by an emituMit liberal
authority that "doi 'stic conifort is
the object of all reforms," and the same
author (Morley) in his Life of Cobden
says that that great reformer maintain-
ed tint in material well being, "you
not only have the surest foundation
for a solid fabric of morality and en-
lightenment among your people, but,
in the case of one of our vast and popul-
ous modern societies of freemen, the
only sure bulwark against ceaseless
discoitl and violent convulsion."

I have been induced to write this
essay for the reas«)n, among others,
that other writers on the subject seem
t<J be unwilling to face the difficulties
of detail, with which the question

r
I*'

■4

abounds. I also desired to give a
reason for the faith, that is in me, an
Imperial Federal ion ist, a thorouKh l>e-
liever, not only in the practicability of
consolidating the Empire, but also in
the material advantages and still great-
er blessings, which closer union is sui-e
to confer upon the whole British (com-
monwealth.
There are higher considerations

connected with this subject, which
involve the welfare of the whole
huaian race, and the xpread of Cvhris-
tian civilisation. Bt t it is impos-
sible to do more, in concluding, than
mention one of these. The statement
that "the Empiric is peace" is one that
could be made regarding a consolidated
British Empire with absolute truth,
and it is one that has l)eei emphasised
by many of the advocates of Imperial
Federation. England, united with her
daughter nations, could have nothing to
fear from any power on earth, and, own-

ing, as they do, several of the earth's
continents they would have no reason
for undertiiking wai*s of conquest.
They could not afforil to engage in any
except just quarrels and for such the '
United Empire would be thrice armed.
It would in fact Iwccnne the arbiter
among the nations of the world, and,
by its instnuuentality, it might at last
become possible for a imiversal and
united Christendom to sing :—

"Praise, O Jerusalem! Praise the

Lord!
** He maketh strong the bars of thy

gateways,
'* He giveth peace within thy borders;
" He restraineth wars in all the world ;
" He breaketh the bow ; he knappeth

the spear and burneth the chariots

with fire."

Ottawa,

Dominion Day,

1801.

tie earth's
no reaM}n
conquest.
Kf in any
' such the '
e armed,
e arbiter
)rld, and,
ht at last
rsal and

ftlse the

■8 of thy

tJorders;
le world ;
mappeth
chariots