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 THE GOVERNANCE OF EMPIRE
 
 BY THE SAME AUTHOR. 
 
 THE COLONIES AND IMPERIAL 
 DEFENCE. 
 
 Crown 8vo, 6s. 
 
 LONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO., 
 London, New York, Bombay, and Calcutta.
 
 THE GOVERNANCE OF 
 EMPIRE 
 
 P. A. ISTLBURN... D.S.O. 
 
 (MEMBER OF THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OB' NATAL) 
 AUTHOR OF "THE COLONIES AND IMPERIAL DEFENCE 
 
 WITH A MAP 
 
 LONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO. 
 
 39 PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON 
 
 NEW YORK, BOMBAY, AND CALCUTTA 
 
 1910
 
 
 
 
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 THOSE CORNERSTONES OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 
 
 THE ANCIENT UNIVERSITIES OF 
 
 OXFORD AND CAMBRIDGE 
 
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 PREFACE. 
 
 The object of presenting this work to the public is 
 twofold. Firstly, as a colonial, my desire is to present 
 a colonial view of the imperial idea, and, secondly, 
 to endeavour to arouse among my countrymen, in the 
 United Kingdom especially, a greater interest and 
 pride in the Empire beyond the seas. 
 
 My critics may point to the number of able works 
 bearing directly or indirectly upon the British Empire 
 which have been published within recent years, and it 
 may even be said that I am repeating an oft-told tale, 
 that many of the suggestions which I now put forward, 
 with all due deference to these self-same critics, have 
 been made before. My reply is, "The thing that hath 
 been, is that which shall be ; and that which is done 
 is that which shall be done ; and there is no new thins 
 under the sun " (Eccles. I. 9). 
 
 I am well aware that much which appears between 
 these covers has at some time or another, in different 
 forms, appeared in print ; but the labour entailed to 
 bring the material together in such order as to bear 
 intelligently upon the vast subject this book barely 
 touches the fringe of, is more than time will allow the 
 average politician, or man of affairs, of the present 
 day. Moreover, the works to be consulted, the records 
 and articles to be compared to verify the statements 
 made and support the arguments advanced would in
 
 viii PKEFACE 
 
 themselves fill a small library. And there are those 
 whose means, opportunities, and time prevent them 
 from going first hand to many of the authorities it is 
 so necessary to consult to secure the requisite infor- 
 mation ; and it is as a slight endeavour to assist in a 
 small way such men that I have undertaken this work. 
 
 Some exception may be taken to the arrangement 
 of this book. It may be argued that the first three 
 chapters are irrelevant. To the average inhabitant of 
 Great Britain the insidious and dangerous growth of 
 Socialism in the colonies takes place unobserved. 
 There are many, too, who join its ranks ignorant of 
 the grave evils to a state and to their own descendants 
 which follow in the wake of its subtle doctrines. The 
 lessons to be found in the history of those nations of 
 the past with which these chapters treat actuated me 
 in abandoning my original idea of excising them from 
 the work. Moreover, it is necessary to understand 
 clearly what is meant by the term imperial federation 
 when used in connexion with the British Empire. And 
 it is as well to take the reader back to ancient times, 
 and starting thence to glance through the history of 
 previous federations of cities, provinces, or states until 
 he arrives at the history of our present time equipped 
 with a knowledge of the strong points in those federa- 
 tions or leagues of the past, or of thosethat are still 
 in existence, and armed with that which is still more 
 valuable, the many weak points, some or all of which 
 have been responsible for their disappearance or 
 decline. 
 
 Many valuable works have been written on federal 
 government of ancient, mediaeval, and modern times, 
 yet none of these have applied the lessons recorded to 
 the governance of the only world-empire known to 
 history.
 
 PKEFACE ix 
 
 It is hoped that this work will assist to refresh the 
 reader's memory on past federal systems of govern- 
 ment, to recall to mind those federal systems that are 
 now in existence, and to apply the lessons recited to 
 what is at present vaguely termed imperial federation, 
 but what might be more explicitly termed imperial 
 unity. 
 
 We find that previous federations were made be- 
 tween units claiming absolute independence of each 
 other. Prior to their federation they were independent 
 sovereign states ; then federations were brought about 
 mainly for defensive purposes and were in some cases 
 little more than defensive alliances. 
 
 The term federation is an elastic one. In the ancient 
 form of federal government it was applied in a wider 
 sense than in our recent federations of groups of 
 British colonies. And the term can hardly be applied 
 to a further tightening of the bonds between the units 
 of an empire, the loyal subjects of one sovereign, 
 existing by the supremacy of one Navy and liable to 
 attack by the same enemy. 
 
 Many able political writers confine themselves to 
 destructive criticism not from any inability to pro- 
 pound a constructive policy, but from a genuine fear 
 of being treated unmercifully by that ever-growing 
 army of critics, a few of whom consider it their duty 
 to condemn on sight ; this is more especially notice- 
 able when the work to be reviewed comes from one 
 of His Majesty's possessions beyond the seas. Much 
 of the work which emanates from the colonies is per- 
 force crude ; the difficulties under which many colonial 
 writers have to work are often considerable. Author- 
 ities to refer to are in many cases unobtainable ; agents 
 have to be employed to consult works in the British 
 Museum or manuscripts elsewhere in Europe, and
 
 x PEEFACE 
 
 often, after months have elapsed and the material 
 asked for has come to hand, it is discovered to be, 
 perhaps through a misunderstanding on the agent's 
 part, of no value. But these difficulties are being 
 overcome in the British colonies. In a very few years 
 our libraries of reference will be fairly complete. The 
 educational system is year by year becoming more 
 perfect and uniform, and the coming generation of 
 colonists should produce writers whose works will 
 justly receive greater consideration at the hands of 
 the British critics than it was possible under different 
 conditions for the work of their fathers to have 
 received. 
 
 It is my intention, in the course of this work, to 
 brave the criticisms of the critics at home, and 
 endeavour to deduce from certain lessons of the past 
 such material for a constructive policy for consoli- 
 dating the Empire as appears reasonably possible. 
 Chapters XVI and XVII are confined to construc- 
 tive policy, and are intended to submit, with all defer- 
 ence, to both political parties in Great Britain the 
 opinions of a certain section of colonial politicians on 
 imperial federation. 
 
 My sincere thanks are due to A. Milligan, Esq., 
 assistant-editor of the "Natal Mercury," for his kind 
 advice and able assistance in the production of a work 
 which, in spite of numerous defects and shortcomings, 
 has been undertaken for the purpose of endeavouring 
 to add some slight assistance towards furthering the 
 closer union of the component parts of our great 
 empire. 
 
 P. A. SILBURN. 
 
 Durban, Natal, 
 
 29 J ax. 1910.
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 I. Government under Ancient Federalism 
 II. Roman Government .... 
 
 III. Later Developments in Government 
 
 IV. Conditions affecting Government . 
 V. The Beginning of British Imperialism . 
 
 VI. The British Constitution and its Charters 
 VII. British Imperial Government 
 VIII. Responsible Government of Colonies . 
 IX. Colonial Commonwealths 
 X. The Subject Races of Africa and their Government 
 XI. The Influence of Sea Power upon Imperial Government 
 XII. Defence in Relation to Government of Empire 
 
 XIII. Imperial Communications 
 
 XIV. Imperial Commerce 
 XV. Empire and the Press . 
 
 XVI. The Call for Imperial Federation 
 XVII. An Imperial Constitution 
 
 PAGE 
 
 1 
 
 20 
 
 42 
 
 61 
 
 82 
 
 133 
 
 158 
 
 173 
 
 191 
 
 219 
 
 230 
 
 261 
 
 274 
 
 285 
 
 305 
 
 318 
 
 332 
 
 MAP. 
 
 Map illustrating Imperial communication by Wireless Telegraphy 
 
 Facing page 280
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 GOVERNMENT UNDER ANCIENT FEDERALISM. 
 
 During the last half century the British Empire has experi- Federation in 
 
 the Britif" 
 colonies, 
 
 enced the joining together in separate federations or unions th 
 
 of three sets of her colonies. In three different quarters of the 
 globe British colonies, geographically one but politically 
 independent of each other, have more or less sunk their 
 individuality and have joined together under federal or union 
 constitutions. It is one of the objects of this work to show 
 to what extent these federations or unions differ from or re- 
 semble each other and other constitutions that have gone 
 before. To those who have followed the negotiations leading 
 up to and bringing about these latter-day colonial unions 
 there must come the conviction that whilst mankind has pro- 
 gressed to a very high state of civilization in all else, yet in 
 political science we have advanced but little from those who 
 lived two thousand years ago. As we examine the negotia- 
 tions which led to the federal unions of the past we note with 
 interest that then as now the same obstacles had to be faced. 
 Where the union of two or more previously independent states 
 was attempted, the same controversy took place, and the same 
 arguments were advanced for and against a loose system of 
 federal union ; there were advocates for a close unitary form 
 of government and the extinction of state borders, and on the 
 other hand there were those who were jealous for the reten- 
 tion of boundaries and the protection of state rights. Thus and in 
 we find that compromises were effected, and although as in all"; ncient 
 compromises there were weak points, yet a system which has 
 since served as a model for later federations was uncon- 
 sciously created ; and to-day the political student looks back to 
 / *f ancient Greece for precedents in federal government, and more 
 especially to the constitutions of the Achaian and .ZEtolian 
 
 1
 
 2 THE GOVERNANCE OF EMPIRE 
 
 Leagues as the origin of that political system which recognizes 
 state or provincial rights and practical independence in 
 domestic legislation, and which yet invests a central body with 
 certain superior governing functions. Serious endeavours 
 have been made in later times to improve upon this system, 
 but without success. A notable instance in recent years of 
 failure overtaking a too close form of union between separate 
 states was that of the Union of the Canadas under the Act 
 of 1840 and its subsequent repeal in 1863 and the adoption of 
 a federal constitution recognizing state rights. 
 
 A departure from the tried system of federal union has 
 just been made by the four South African colonies. There a 
 very close unitary system has been adopted, a description of 
 which will be found under Chapter IX. To the historian of 
 to-day this case is of little value except to demonstrate that 
 the tendency of the age is to break the fetters of precedent. 
 To the historian of the future it will undoubtedly afford rich 
 material for the study of the constitutional development of 
 the science of governance. 
 Absence of It has already been remarked that whilst the twentieth 
 
 progress in ce nturv has brought with it a remarkable state of efficiency 
 
 the science of . ..,■», />, -, •. it ,, , 
 
 government, m most of the arts, crafts and sciences, it would appear that 
 no corresponding advance has been made in a period of two 
 thousand years in that science which is responsible for the good 
 government of a country. It will be noted that two republican 
 constitutions drafted with a period of two thousand years 
 between them and at a distance of seven thousand miles from 
 each other are remarkable in their similarity ; and the modern 
 one of the U.S.A. does not show that improvement upon the 
 ancient one of Achaia that the advance in civilization would 
 lead us to expect. Whilst education is common to the people 
 of this age and reaches all classes of society from the peer to 
 the pauper, we find that the philosophical training of thought 
 prevalent in classical and mediaeval times is rapidly falling into 
 neglect and disuse ; this is partly explained by the materialism 
 and individualism of the age, the tendency to move ever 
 more quickly, and the desire to master that which will only give 
 immediate benefit and to reject the more solid though less 
 easily acquired doctrines. Hence we find that but little 
 advance has taken place in the science of government. But
 
 GOVEENMENT UNDER ANCIENT FEDERALISM 3 
 
 rather on the contrary, we find certain nations showing distinct 
 signs of retrogression in this respect. We have seen empires 
 decay into subject provinces, kingdoms revert to republics, 
 and then accept the yoke of a tyrant and eventually disappear 
 from the pages of history. Political science, to be sound and 
 effective, has to be founded upon practical philosophy, that 
 branch of knowledge taught by Plato and Aristotle and certain 
 schools that followed them, but which in this twentieth century 
 of materialism has fallen into neglect among the European 
 races. We may yet find it, if we care to seek, among those 
 nations appearing on the horizon of the East. It was this 
 neglected branch of knowledge (that which teaches the sub- 
 ordination of self), that laid the foundations upon which all 
 good government has been built. The statesmen of Achaia, 
 Athens, and .ZEtolia were invariably men of philosophical train- 
 ing, and their learning was applied to the making of laws for 
 their compatriots and for posterity, many of the fundamentals 
 of which exist to the present day. 
 
 The ideal sought after by political philosophers of all ages Ideal of 
 is a form of government which will result in a contented, g° vernment - 
 prosperous, self-reliant, and peaceful people. This ideal has 
 been approached in history by but one or two, numerically 
 speaking small nations ; one example before us to-day is 
 Switzerland ; and an example in our own empire of an 
 approach to this ideal is New Zealand, a colony which has 
 imposed upon itself the duty of experimenting in domestic 
 legislation, much of which has proved efficient and effective. 
 We find, however, that many of these experiments are but 
 unconscious plagiarisms of ancient or mediaeval legislation, 
 just as in the same way we discover that the draftsmen of the 
 American Constitution unwittingly adopted much of the creation of 
 Constitution of Achaia. There is every reason for believing the American 
 that the similarity between the American Constitution and 
 that of the Achaian League was mere coincidence, and was 
 brought about merely by similar circumstances and agencies. 
 The history of the federal movement in America indicates that 
 Washington, Hamilton, Jefferson and the two Adamses were 
 but slightly conversant with the classics. In their day the 
 translations were imperfect, and the exigencies of their daily 
 life and their every environment denied to those hardy 
 
 1*
 
 THE GOVEKNANCE OF EMPIRE 
 
 Mere size is 
 not the true 
 criterion of 
 national 
 greatness. 
 
 Achaian 
 League. 
 
 colonists the advantages of that higher education which 
 would have made them acquainted with the labours of their 
 prototypes of twenty centuries before. But yet, gifted with 
 sound reasoning powers and by nature of philosophical minds, 
 they arrived at conclusions similar to those reached by the 
 ancient Greeks. 
 
 At first sight one is inclined to measure the importance 
 of a nation either by the territorial area it occupies, by the 
 numerical strength of its population or by its martial powers ; 
 further inquiry, however, will satisfy one that the true 
 measure of a nation's greatness is its national character and 
 the standard of its political education. The comparison of 
 Switzerland with Russia, for instance, or Norway with 
 Turkey, shows how fallacious it is to judge the importance 
 of a country by any other standard than that of political in- 
 tegrity and intelligence. 
 
 We now arrive at the starting-point of our investigations 
 in those various forms of government which have been 
 adopted where two or more states have agreed to accept 
 a superior governing instrument common to all contracting 
 parties. We will start with the Achaian League and the very 
 important part occupied in the political history of the world 
 by this confederacy. The political integrity displayed by the 
 Achaians won for them the great respect of their more 
 powerfully martial and numerically stronger neighbours and 
 enabled them to take the lead in political science among the 
 nations of the then known world, and it gained for them the 
 regard of later generations. It was to the political leaders 
 of those small states of ancient Greece that Providence 
 ordained the duty of laying out the beacons that indicate the 
 road along which the ideal of perfect government might be 
 reached. 
 
 Although history records among the minor Greek states 
 instances of federalism earlier than those of Achaia and .ZEtolia, 
 little benefit will be derived from a study of these ; for we shall 
 find the principles more clearly defined and the working of 
 the constitutions accurately recorded by Polybius and 
 Plutarch in the cases of the two outstanding confederacies of 
 ancient Greece. 
 
 It is to be regretted that the most useful and beneficial
 
 GOVERNMENT UNDER ANCIENT FEDERALISM 5 
 
 section of Grecian history is neglected by English students. 
 The martial achievements, the oratory, mythology and litera- 
 ture, verse and prose, of ancient Greece are closely studied ; 
 but little or no attention is given by English writers and 
 students to the political history of federal Greece. Mr. 
 Freeman in his invaluable work on federal government 
 rightly deplores the scant attention given in England to the 
 writings of Polybius, and he correctly compares the attention 
 and close study given by German students to this branch of 
 Grecian history with the ignorance displayed in England on 
 the subject. The average English student's knowledge of 
 the history of Greece does not extend much beyond Athens, 
 and centres around the writings of Aristotle, Thucydides 
 and Demosthenes, full of interest, no doubt, but the lessons 
 of real value to the present day lie between the covers of 
 Polybius and Plutarch. Here we learn of a different Greece 
 from that pictured by Livy or Thucydides. In recording the 
 political activity of ancient Greece, in searching for and 
 extracting political precedents of value, it is somewhat re- 
 markable that we seldom meet with any of the old familiar 
 names of Greek history. Somewhat strange names are 
 continually moving across the political stage, names not often 
 met with in the picturesque accounts of the Hellenic struggles, 
 but names just as worthy of immortality. 
 
 For practical purposes the history of the Achaian League 
 commences with its revival in 281 B.C., although long prior to 
 that date the federation had existed, and to the time of 
 Philip of Macedon had succeeded in preserving its liberty ; but 
 under Philip and his son Alexander and those who succeeded 
 them it was held in subjection. The confederacy, or league 
 as most historians term it, consisted of ten cities, viz. Patrai, 
 Tritaea, Pharai, Leontion, Dyme, Aigion, Pellene, Aigeira, 
 Keryneia and Boura. With the death of Alexander this 
 little confederacy suffered from the state of confusion which 
 then ensued, and the cities assumed independence of each 
 other ; for a period of forty-three years the confederacy ceased 
 to exist. Each city and its surrounding territory submitted 
 to the rule of a tyrant and the former policy of democracy 
 gave place to that of tyranny ; the spirit of the people was 
 broken and might took the place of right. The confederacy
 
 6 THE GOVEENANCE OF EMPIKE 
 
 had lost its long-cherished solidity, but only for a time ; for 
 out of the ruins of the former republican government there 
 was built the federal constitution that was to serve as the 
 model for future democracies. In the year 280 B.C., the 
 inhabitants of Dyme and Patrai laid the foundations of the 
 more lasting federal union, for in that year they expelled 
 their tyrants, and elected magistrates to execute the will of 
 the Assembly, which consisted of all men of thirty years of 
 age and upwards. This action was followed by the other 
 eight cities and the old bond of union was renewed. The 
 energies and abilities of the leaders of the ten contracting 
 parties were concentrated upon forging a strong instrument 
 for the good administration of the federal union ; and so suc- 
 cessful were they in this that within the short period of 
 twenty-five years the reputation of the government of the 
 Achaian League was spread throughout Greece. In the year 
 252 B.C., the powerful city of Sicyon threw over its tyrant 
 and joined the confederacy under the leadership of Aratos, 
 a man destined to play an important part in its history. 
 Success of ^ was now ^ a ^ ^ ne Achaians came under the notice of 
 
 the League, the other states of Greece, not by reason of their numerical 
 strength or martial powers or acts of valour, but by virtue of 
 their laws and form of government. So great indeed became 
 the reputation of the confederacy for wisdom and justice 
 that the disputes of their more powerful neighbours were re- 
 ferred to the statesmen of Achaia for arbitration. One case 
 in particular may be cited. After the battle of Leuctra a 
 dispute arose among the people of Greece as to the con- 
 queror ; the Thebans claimed the victory, as also did the 
 Lacedaemonians, and both claimed the sovereignty of Greece. 
 Instead of resuming the war it was agreed to submit the 
 question to the Achaians, though a much weaker state ; all 
 the points in dispute were referred to the League for judg- 
 ment, and the verdict when given was most loyally abided by. 
 Thus it was that their form of government became re- 
 cognized as a model, and their strength was augmented from 
 year to year by the inclusion of city after city. It now be- 
 came the ambition of the Achaians to extend their political 
 system throughout Greece or at least to absorb all the Pelo- 
 ponnesus into a free and equal democratic confederation.
 
 GOVEKNMENT UNDER ANCIENT FEDERALISM 7 
 
 The most democratic of people at some time or another Iseas. 
 of their history have to acknowledge their indebtedness to 
 individual genius for national advancement, and so it was 
 with the Achaian League, for had it not been for the genius 
 of one or two of its citizens it would not have risen above 
 the other federal unions which divided Greece among them 
 about this time. The first name we meet with in the account 
 given by Polybius of the revival of the League is that of Iseas, 
 tyrant of Carynia or Keryneia. This man set the example 
 of divesting himself of his royalty and acknowledging the 
 people to be the sovereign power. He strengthened the 
 League by joining it with his city and taking his place in it 
 as a private citizen, though later we find him occupying an 
 important office in the confederacy. The one outstanding 
 name in the Achaian League is that of Aratos, and it was 
 mainly due to this leader that the confederacy won such a 
 high reputation among its contemporaries. 
 
 Although the constitution is under our consideration, Aratos. 
 historical reference to individuals is unavoidable, for we find 
 that every constitution is stamped with the characteristics 
 of one or more individuals. The unwritten constitution is 
 the biography of statesmen of different periods, as the written 
 constitution of the United States is the monument of 
 Washington, Hamilton and their colleagues, and the character 
 of those men is written in that document. With the Achaian 
 Constitution the personality of Aratos appears more in its 
 administration, though there is little doubt that he instituted 
 or improved upon many of its provisions ; this much at least 
 we gather from Polybius and Plutarch. 
 
 The constitution of the Achaian cities, united under a Franchise, 
 strictly federal union, was essentially a democratic one ; it 
 was based upon a liberal franchise as regards qualification, 
 though reasonably debarred to men under the age of thirty 
 years. The Achaians, though true democrats, were not be- 
 lievers in the twentieth century Socialistic doctrine of repre- 
 sentation going with taxation ; experience and wisdom were 
 more essential for the voter than wealth or social status. 
 We find that there was no differentiation in the franchise as 
 is the case in the British Empire itself, and even in the 
 dominions or unions of the Empire. The man of Dyme
 
 8 THE GOVERNANCE OF EMPIRE 
 
 having reached the age of thirty voted in the confederacy as 
 did the man of Patrai. In the British Empire there is not 
 that liberality, for we find that a man has to reside two 
 years in the British colony of the Cape of Good Hope, or 
 else rent property of a certain value before he can vote in the 
 South African Union, while his fellow citizen in the Union 
 residing in the Transvaal or Orange Free State has only to 
 reside six months in the country to qualify for the same 
 rights. The age of qualification for the Achaian franchise 
 being fixed at thirty will, in this age of young men, appear 
 somewhat harsh and unreasonable. Yet on the other hand 
 we find that the tendency to-day is to proceed to the other 
 extreme. Throughout the British Empire the age of qualifica- 
 tion is twenty-one years, providing certain other varying 
 qualifications have been fulfilled. This age is, to most minds, 
 an irresponsible one. A youth of twenty-one is liable to be 
 swayed by extraneous influences, and a very small minority 
 of voters of that age are able to understand adequately the 
 political conditions and requirements of the place and moment. 
 It is an age, too, easily excited by passion and prejudice, and 
 is therefore more liable to be the instrument of the corrupt 
 methods of political expediency. But it must be borne in 
 mind that the duties required of the Achaian voter were quite 
 different from and of a far more responsible nature than those 
 called for from the voter in any part of the British Empire 
 or in any constitutionally governed country of to-day. He 
 had the right to appear not only in the open council of his 
 state but in the Federal Assembly ; to voice his opinion in 
 both, to record his vote on the question at issue, to vote for 
 the state as well as for the federal Ministers. It may be 
 argued that this was an approach to mob law, and no doubt 
 under the conditions which exist to-day the Achaian Con- 
 stitution would rapidly resolve itself into government by 
 the mob ; but there were certain indirect restrictions which 
 effectually limited the attendance of the Assembly when in 
 session. The federal session was held twice a year in the 
 sacred grove of Zeus Hamaggrius near Aigion. The distance 
 to be travelled from the populous cities and the time taken 
 in so doing made it extremely difficult for the lower classes 
 to attend these federal sessions. Dyme, the most western
 
 GOVERNMENT UNDER ANCIENT FEDERALISM 9 
 
 town, was fifty miles distant from the federal capital, and 
 there were still more remote and mountainous parts. 
 
 The Constitution. — Owing to each of the cities — which Constitution. 
 in a more widely accepted sense of the term might be cited 
 as tribes, although Polybius and Plutarch prefer the more re- 
 stricted name and both Mr. Freeman and Mr. J. D. Woolsey 
 follow them in terminology — insisting upon retaining its 
 own rights of internal and domestic government the League 
 was constituted a federal union, that is, each city retained 
 its city assemblies and officers, and those units joining the 
 federal union at later dates were admitted upon the same 
 conditions as bound the original states. 
 
 The questions of policy reserved for the Federal Assembly 
 and magistrates were : — 
 
 1. Declaration of war. 
 
 2. The conduct of war. 
 
 3. Declaration of peace. 
 
 4. Forming of offensive and defensive alliances. 
 
 5. Diplomatic relations with foreign states. 
 
 6. Coinage, weights and measures throughout the union. 
 
 The Federal Assembly. — Every citizen having reached Federal 
 the age of thirty years was entitled to attend the Federal As8embly- 
 Assembly in session, to speak and to vote. While the con- 
 ditions under which the sessions were held restricted the 
 meetings to the more sage section of the population, the 
 business of the parliament was transacted with advantage to 
 the federation and with decorum, but in later years extra- 
 ordinary sessions were held in or near some of the populous 
 towns, and then it was that the disadvantages of public 
 assemblies were felt, for the irresponsible element displayed 
 itself. At an extraordinary session of the Federal Assembly 
 held at Corinth in 146 B.C. to listen to the Roman ambassadors 
 the Assembly broke up in disorder, and according to Polybius, 
 " there were gathered together a crowd of operatives and 
 artificers such as had never been present before," and the 
 measures taken at this Assembly led to a war with Rome 
 which resulted in the destruction of Corinth and the final 
 dissolution of the League soon afterwards. 
 
 The sessions of the Federal Assembly seldom lasted more 
 than three days. This indicates that the procedure of debate
 
 10 THE GOVEBNANCE OF EMPIEE 
 
 must have been strict and that parliamentary discipline was 
 good. The voting went by cities and not per capita. 
 
 Senate. The Fedeeal Senate. — Although Polybius gives certain 
 
 information regarding the Senate he fails to tell us of what 
 number it consisted. Compared with what is now understood 
 by the term Senate the Achaian Senate was more in the nature 
 of a Government, very similar indeed to the Government of 
 Great Britain, for we find that it was a standing body always 
 in session. Questions of minor importance were decided by it 
 though questions of greater importance had to be referred to 
 the Assembly either at the ordinary session, or at an extra- 
 ordinary session specially called. That the position of senator 
 was a highly honourable one is proved by the fact that, unlike 
 the Athenians, they were unpaid. 
 
 The senators were appointed by the vote of the Assembly x 
 but for what period is not made clear. 
 
 Cabinet. The Cabinet. — The archontes or demiurgi, by some 
 
 authorities termed the magistrates, were the Ministers ap- 
 pointed annually by the Assembly to assist the Head of the 
 Government, and were ten in number. The General (Head of 
 the Government), selected from these ten Ministers a Secretary 
 whose functions were similar to those of our Secretary of 
 State for Foreign Affairs, a Master of Horse and an Assistant 
 General. The functions of the latter were similar to those 
 exercised by the Vice-President of the United States except- 
 ing that in the case of the death of the General he did not 
 succeed to the position for the completion of the term of 
 office. 
 
 Constitutional The Constitutional Head. — This office was held by an 
 
 Head. officer under the title of General. He was the head of the 
 
 federal union, and in addition was in supreme command of 
 the federal army. The office was only tenable for one year 
 and was attained by a direct vote of the Federal Assembly. 
 Although the office could not be held for two successive years 
 the same individual was eligible for re-election after he had 
 been out of office for one clear year. We find, however, that 
 Aratos held office for seventeen periods of twelve months, 
 
 1 Curiously enough, after an interval of over twenty centuries this 
 system of electing senators has been adopted by the South African- 
 Union.
 
 GOVERNMENT UNDER ANCIENT FEDERALISM 11 
 
 twelve of which were spread over so short a period that it 
 
 was impossible for the rule to have been strictly adhered to. 
 
 Droysen contends that the law was departed from in favour of 
 
 Aratos, and Mr. Freeman seems to believe that this was so. 
 
 According to Plutarch, Aratos held office for seventeen periods 
 
 of one year each ; he was first elected to the premier position 
 
 in the League 245 B.C. and he died 213 B.C. Lydiadas and 
 
 Timoxenos were also honoured with re-election. 
 
 A source of weakness to the Achaian League sprang up Unwilling 
 
 from those states that had joined the federation against P artner f m 
 
 . J ° the confedera- 
 
 their will. Sparta and Messene had become members of the tion. 
 
 confederation by compulsion ; and therefore, they never lost 
 a pretext of unconstitutionally appealing to Rome by direct 
 embassy. It was to the interests of Rome to encourage 
 these unconstitutional methods on the part of certain 
 members of the confederacy, and every endeavour was made 
 by the Romans to promote strife between the members of 
 the federal union. It was due to the personal influence 
 and ability of Aratos that Roman intrigue was success- 
 fully checkmated and the confederacy kept together. 
 This is one of the many illustrations which history gives, 
 that unwilling members to a federal union are only a source 
 of weakness to what otherwise might become a powerful 
 federation, and in the light of what eventually transpired it 
 is questionable whether Aratos did not err in retaining 
 within the League Sparta and Messene. 
 
 In all federal matters each state, large or small, had an equal state rights, 
 voice. It was truly federal. The voting in the Assembly 
 went by states, and not, as is the case in the federal unions 
 of to-day, per capita. Each state, irrespective of size or 
 importance, exercised but one vote in the Assembly. Mr. 
 Freeman takes exception to this and says: "It was clearly 
 unjust that such cities as those of Sikyon, Corinth, Megalo- 
 polis, Argos, Sparta and Messene " should have no greater 
 weight in the National Congress than the petty towns of the 
 old Achaia, 1 and he adds : " the most effectual remedy would, 
 of course, have been to let the vote of each town count as in 
 the Lykian League for one, two, three or more according to 
 
 1 E. A. Freeman, " History of Federal Government," p. 212.
 
 12 THE GOVEBNANCE OF EMPIEE 
 
 their several sizes ". It must, however, be borne in mind 
 that when differentiation in voting among the units of a 
 federal union is once recognized there is always the ten- 
 dency of the stronger to absorb the weaker units and thus by 
 a gradual process the federal system develops into such a 
 close unitary form that the individual units become merged 
 into one. Then it is that either the tyranny of democracy 
 or the other extreme of autocracy reveals itself. This very 
 question of the manner of voting was discussed at the outset 
 of the American Convention of 1774. " A little colony," said 
 John Sullivan of New Hampshire, " has its all at stake as 
 well as a great one." It was therefore decided to vote by 
 colonies. It took eighty years of union and a great civil 
 war to alter this, and the alteration has resulted in the power 
 of government being theoretically in the hands of the masses 
 but in practice being wielded by those able to exploit them. 
 Even to-day the American Constitution recognizes the equality 
 of the states in certain matters. Each state sends two represen- 
 tatives to the Senate. Should the duty of electing a President 
 fall to the House of Representatives the vote is taken by States ; 
 and this is also the case when the Senate is voting on the 
 admission of new States. We also see the Achaian principle 
 of recognizing the equality of states big or small adopted in 
 a lesser degree by two of the British confederacies, viz. 
 Australia and South Africa. In these colonial unions each 
 state, irrespective of size or importance, has an equal number 
 of representatives in the Senate. This is but a scientific 
 improvement upon the Achaian system of voting by states 
 and was instituted for the same reason, viz. to afford some 
 measure of protection to the minority. If, therefore, a federal 
 union is to stand, all suspicion of selfish ambition on the part 
 of one or other of the contracting parties must be eliminated, 
 and this can only be done effectually by giving equality in one 
 of the Chambers ; if in the popular Chamber it must follow 
 in the Senate also ; but as it is only required as a safeguard, 
 it is only really necessary in that Chamber which has the 
 power of veto. In the Achaian League the power of veto 
 was in the hands of the popular Assembly, the Senate holding 
 the same relationship to the Assembly as the British Ministry 
 does to the House of Commons, excepting in this important
 
 GOVERNMENT UNDER ANCIENT FEDERALISM 13 
 
 respect that the Senate was elected by the vote of the 
 Assembly every alternate session. 
 
 Owing to the indirect methods already described, the Character of 
 Assembly was not as democratic in practice as it appears to t e Assembl y- 
 have been in theory, and again in this respect it somewhat 
 resembled the British House of Commons. The more demo- 
 cratic element described by Polybius as " the operatives and 
 artificers " (Polyb. VI, xxxviii. 4), possibly found a more con- 
 venient outlet and one less expensive in time and money, 
 for their political ambitions in the meetings of their state 
 assemblies. It would therefore rest with the more leisured 
 class, and those able to afford the expense of so doing, 
 to attend the Federal Assembly. The sessions of the As- 
 sembly seldom extended over more than three days, and we 
 must infer that the debates were not conducted on party lines ; 
 indeed, we must give the Achaians credit for satisfactorily 
 solving the problem of party government, as we can quite 
 understand how impossible it would be to hold together an 
 Opposition under a constitution which provided for the 
 members of the Government being elected by vote of the 
 Assembly each year. This procedure is also responsible for 
 the rapid dispatch of business, for twelve months is a very 
 short period in which to lose confidence in a Minister. As 
 the position of senator was unremunerative it follows that 
 only men of means and of leisure were eligible. The tend- 
 ency therefore was to make the Senate aristocratic, and for 
 the reason that the senators had a stake in the country 
 they naturally enjoyed the confidence of the Assembly. The 
 question of selecting the capital always appears to have 
 been, and still to be, a difficult one in a federal union. 
 Naturally there is a certain dignity and material advantage 
 to be derived by the town selected. In at least two in- 
 stances of modern federations it was found necessary to 
 create a capital apart from any of the old towns, and in the 
 case of the South African Union the novel expedient of 
 dividing the capital into a legislative capital and an ad- 
 ministrative capital and placing a distance of twelve hundred 
 miles between them has been adopted, but there is little doubt 
 that this expedient will prove to be unworkable and prob- 
 ably only a short time is required to prove its inefficiency
 
 14 THE GOVERNANCE OF EMPIRE 
 
 The Achaian League selected Aigion because it was recog- 
 nized as the most important of the old towns after the 
 destruction of Helike. But in later years as larger and more 
 important cities joined the confederation, Aigion dwindled 
 in comparison into quite an insignificant town. This had 
 its advantages, one of which has already been stated, namely 
 that of restricting the attendances at the Federal Assembly 
 to the more responsible class ; yet it appears to have created 
 a certain amount of jealousy among the other towns, and 
 eventually resulted in the federal capital being created a 
 movable one. Federal Assemblies were thereafter held in 
 every city in the League in turn. 
 Personal It is a noteworthy fact that human ingenuity has as yet 
 
 element. failed to contrive a form of government in which the personal 
 element is not the most important factor. No constitution 
 has yet been found which has successfully eliminated the 
 personal equation. That of the Achaian League was a 
 bold attempt at this, but it failed as those of Great Britain 
 and of the United States have failed. We find that for a 
 period of thirty-three years the strong personality of Aratos 
 dominated the Achaian confederacy, and stood out even above 
 the Constitution itself, although he conformed most loyally to 
 all its dictates. It was due to this remarkable man's 
 championship of the Constitution that he and it achieved a 
 lasting distinction. The influence of Aratos was sufficient 
 for him to have torn the Constitution to shreds, or to have 
 made it a dead letter and to have created himself tyrant of 
 Achaia. When out of office the influence of Aratos was 
 almost as strong as when in office. As proof that this federal 
 constitutioD, though admittedly a strong one, was yet not 
 strong enough to withstand a weak Administration we find 
 Polybius protesting against the inefficiency of the General 
 Eperatos who held office 218 B.C. This year of office was 
 noted for the weakness of its Administration. According to 
 Polybius this General was obeyed by nobody. " Everybody 
 despised him, nothing was ready." 
 Summary of The sum total of this, one of the first authentic federal 
 Constitution. cons titutions of the working of which we know anything, 
 is then, 1st, that the sovereign power was vested in the 
 people ; 2nd, that the Constitutional Head was an officer
 
 GOVERNMENT UNDER ANCIENT FEDERALISM 15 
 
 elected annually by a direct vote of the people. In this 
 respect his position more closely resembled that of the 
 Prime Minister of Great Britain than that of either the 
 President of France or of the United States, inasmuch as 
 he held a seat and had a voice in the legislature, whereas 
 they do not ; 3rd, the Ministers, ten in number, were also 
 appointed by a direct vote of the people for a like period. 
 The nearest approach to this custom in existing constitutions 
 is the practice in Great Britain of a member of the House of 
 Commons being raised to Ministerial rank, having to seek 
 re-election at the hands of the constituency ; 4th, the Senate, 
 whose functions approximated more to those of the British 
 Government than to either those of the Senates of France 
 or of the United States, was elected by a direct vote of the 
 people at a session of the Federal Assembly ; 5th, the Federal 
 Assembly consisted in theory of the male population of thirty 
 years of age and over residing within the confederacy ; 6th, 
 the Federal Parliament, consisting of the General (President), 
 Ministers, Senators (Government), and Assembly, whilst 
 having supreme authority in all federal matters, had no 
 authority or jurisdiction in state affairs. Each city (state) 
 was ruled by magistrates elected annually by the city (state) 
 assembly which consisted of the male inhabitants who had 
 reached the age of thirty years. This assembly legislated 
 on all matters appertaining to the city (state) but had no 
 power in federal questions. 
 
 It is doubtful in what manner federal revenue was raised, Taxation, 
 whether by direct federal taxation or by a levy upon each city. 
 There are certain passages in Polybius which infer that the 
 latter means was employed. The only heavy federal expen- 
 diture would be during war. The preparation for war in the 
 days of the Achaian League was comparatively an inexpensive 
 matter. 
 
 The only reference made to a federal judiciary, which Judiciary, 
 confirms the opinion that such existed for the benefit of the 
 federal union, is the following passage in Polybius (n. 37) : 
 " So great a unity was effected here that not only the com- 
 munity of allies and friends was brought about, but they made 
 use also of the same laws, and weights and measures and coins, 
 and besides all this, of the same magistrates, senators and
 
 16 THE GOVEKNANCE OF EMPIEE 
 
 judges, and in fact Peloponnesus as a whole differed from 
 a single city only in this, that its inhabitants were not 
 included in the same surrounding wall, while all things else 
 were the same and similar both in a public respect and for 
 individuals in their different cities ". The father of the his- 
 torian who penned that passage was one of the statesmen of 
 the confederacy, and Polybius himself was contemporary with 
 its last days. 
 Dissolution The League was dissolved 146 B.C. having lasted for a 
 
 of the League. p er j d of one hundred and thirty-five years. The dissolution 
 of this confederacy was due to both external and internal 
 agencies. Owing to the character of her people, and also per- 
 haps to her seaboard being commanded by other states, the 
 confederacy was unable to become a sea power, as Phoenicia 
 Athens, Carthage, and Rome had been or were. The city of 
 Corinth, more strongly democratic than the other units of the 
 confederacy, seceded in the year 223 B.C. Yet this was 
 only thirty years after the federal union began to act an im- 
 portant part and seventy-five years before its dissolution. 
 With the growth of the Socialistic movement and the elimina- 
 tion of the aristocratic element we can trace the decay of the 
 confederacy. Whilst the Federal Assembly retained by in- 
 direct means, allowed under the Constitution, a strong element 
 of aristocracy, it prospered and gained strength, but this 
 element was doomed to disappear and a resolution finally 
 eliminating it from the Assembly was carried by Philopoimen 
 when President for the fifth time in the year 189 B.C. This 
 resolution created the capital a movable one. The half-yearly 
 session of the Federal Assembly was held thereafter in each 
 city in turn. The legislation now assumed a more Socialistic 
 nature. Demagogues were elected to the Senate. In this 
 year Sparta seceded from the confederacy and six years 
 later Messene followed. Now it was that Rome at her zenith, 
 exercising a vigorous foreign policy and having the command 
 of the sea, completed her conquest of the Peloponnesus and 
 reduced Achaia to a mere Roman province. It was Roman 
 policy to dissolve a federal union which might at an inoppor- 
 tune moment regain its old vigour. Romans realized clearly 
 that a constitution which had governed well for over a century 
 was a dangerous instrument when compared with their own
 
 GOVEENMENT UNDER ANCIENT FEDERALISM 17 
 
 system of government. Thus the Achaian federal union 
 passed away but its constitution remained as a beacon light 
 for political students of the future. 
 
 The next step in advance of the Achaian Constitution, Lykian con- 
 and an approach to representative government, was made federacy " 
 by a federal union of twenty-three Asiatic cities of Lykia. 
 The Constitution appears to have been devised by statesmen 
 who had carefully studied the Grecian federal constitutions 
 about the year 168 B.C., the year that Lykia and Karia 
 secured their freedom from Rhodes. The Lykian Constitu- 
 tion has some interest for British statesmen by reason of a 
 strong resemblance existing between the relationship of Lykia 
 to Rome and that of Canada, Australia, and South Africa to 
 Great Britain, for although Lykia claimed a nominal independ- 
 ence there is no doubt that it looked to Rome as the mistress 
 of the seas to maintain that nominal independence. Accord- 
 ing to Strabo (xiv. pp. 664, 665): " the confederation of the 
 Lykians consists of twenty-three cities which come together 
 in a common council through their delegates at any city 
 which they see fit to make their place of meeting. The 
 largest cities have three votes each, those next to them in 
 population two, those in the third rank one. There were 
 six cities mentioned as the largest. The contributions and 
 other services are in the same ratio as the votes. In a 
 Council a Lyciarch is first chosen, then the other magistrates 
 of the confederation. Courts of justice also are appointed 
 by common vote. Formerly they consulted on war, peace, 
 and alliance, but, naturally, now they are under the Romans, 
 they can do this no longer. In like manner also judges and 
 magistrates are chosen in proportion to the votes from each 
 city." Strabo goes on to make it quite clear that the offices 
 were distributed in such manner that every town should have 
 its share according to its scale of population. This interest- 
 ing confederacy continued down to the reign of Claudius, 
 when owing to internal discord it was constituted, in the 
 year a.d. 43, a Roman province. 
 
 Some slight reference to the iEtolian confederacy is .Etoiian 
 necessary as an illustration of the influence that environment con e eracy- 
 has upon the political morality of a people. The iEtolian 
 league was contemporary with that of the neighbouring 
 
 2
 
 18 THE GOVERNANCE OF EMPIRE 
 
 confederacy of Achaia. It is difficult to fix the date of its 
 inception, but as Xenophon in writing of the Achaians (391 
 B.C.) does not make mention of the iEtolian confederacy we 
 must infer that at that date it was of little importance ; but 
 we know that they took part in the Lamian War 323-2 B.C. 
 as a nation. The constitution of the iEtolian confederacy 
 was similar in most respects to that of Achaia. It was a 
 federal union of states, it was democratic, it also had its 
 popular Assembly with a smaller Senate. With functions 
 similar to that of the British Government, the Constitutional 
 Head held the title of General. He was likewise Commander- 
 in-Chief of the Forces and commanded in the field in time of 
 war. There were but minor differences in detail between this 
 constitution and that of Achaia ; both contained an element of 
 aristocracy, yet in the working of the constitutions we find a 
 marked difference. The reputation gained by the Achaians 
 through the administration of their constitution, was highly 
 honourable, yet we find that the working of the iEtolian 
 Constitution was directed to mere plunder and selfish political 
 aggrandizement. Whilst the confederacy of Achaia was 
 made up of cities, that is of states each of which had a 
 popular capital entitled to the name of city, the iEtolian 
 confederacy consisted of a federation of mountain tribes 
 or clans. We can well understand that the tribal discipline 
 would be stronger than that exercised within the federation, 
 and as Mr. Freeman correctly states " a freebooting chief at 
 whose call many warriors had enriched themselves with 
 plunder would command a deference blinder, and more de- 
 voted, than was paid in Achaia or at Athens to the wisest 
 and most eloquent statesmen". The environment of the 
 iEtolians militated against individualism as that of the 
 Achaians was conducive to individual independence. Hence 
 we find that the iEtolian tribesmen were subordinate in all 
 things to their hereditary tribal chiefs. But the Achaian citizen 
 knew no superior other than those he elected in open council 
 annually. In theory the tribal chief had no greater say or 
 influence in the state or federal assemblies of iEtolia than 
 one of his tribesmen, but in practice it was impossible for the 
 tribesman to divest himself, at an assembly which met but 
 once a year, of his innate awe for the chief whom he was accus-
 
 GOVEENMENT UNDER ANCIENT FEDERALISM 19 
 
 tomed to obey daily. Therefore, as the federal assemblies of 
 zEtolia, theoretically supposed to consist of the manhood of 
 iEtolia, in practice were constituted of the tribal chiefs, the 
 tribal custom of plunder would sway their federal policy. As 
 a federal union was created for defensive and offensive 
 purposes their administration never went beyond those two 
 questions. 
 
 We find in these two unions an object-lesson of some Contrast 
 value in applying principles for future government. Here ^{0^^ aa(J 
 were two confederacies running concurrently, geographical Achaim^. 
 neighbours employing constitutions similar even to detail : 
 the one gained a lasting reputation for its wisdom in govern- 
 ment and its excellence of administration whilst the other 
 has only left behind it a name for ineptness and disunion. 
 The lesson taught is that a people must first be moulded to 
 the constitution that is to govern them. Had the .ZEtolians 
 been first of all prepared for their Federal Assembly by an 
 exercise of individual liberty within their local assemblies, 
 thus breaking away from the tyranny of their tribal chieftain- 
 ships, there is no reason why their federal constitution should 
 not have attained a success similar to that of their neighbours. 
 It follows then that a people must be judiciously prepared 
 for the constitution that is to govern them. The most 
 excellent, enlightened, and liberal of constitutions given to 
 unenlightened and unprepared people can only work ill, as 
 will be further demonstrated as we proceed with this work.
 
 CHAPTEE II. 
 ROMAN GOVERNMENT. 
 
 Rome. As the object of this work is to review those constitutions 
 
 originally framed by peoples for their own government but 
 who, by force of circumstances, were compelled to extend their 
 provisions to embrace the government of allied or subject 
 peoples, it will be obviously incorrect to limit the survey to 
 the few federal systems which history records. As Rome 
 held the proud position of being for a period of over 600 years 
 undisputed mistress of the then known world, as her ad- 
 ministration and garrisons were spread over Europe, were 
 found in portions of Asia and Africa, and as in her zenith 
 these governed a population of over one hundred and twenty 
 millions of people, it may not prove unprofitable to examine 
 a system of governance which held together from 188 B.C. 
 (the battle of Zama) to A.D. 476 these extensive possessions 
 and varied peoples. 
 
 For 250 years, from the founding of Eome in the year 
 753 B.C., the progress of the Romans was slow ; their character 
 was being formed by adversity for the great and wonderful 
 part they were to play in the history of the world. They 
 struggled around their mother city against the neighbouring 
 nations. This continued strife was productive of two things : 
 firstly, it made this growing nation expert in the use of arms 
 and in warfare, strong and self-reliant ; and secondly, it 
 made the nation homogeneous and patriotic. This world 
 power to be, like others that followed it, was born and reared 
 in adversity. 
 
 The second period of 250 years bore the fruit of the seed 
 sown during the preceding two and a half centuries, for during 
 this time some of her greatest men flourished ; her realm was 
 extended throughout Italy and she was now in a position to 
 
 20
 
 KOMAN GOVEBNMENT 21 
 
 extend her boundaries abroad. The third and last stage of 
 the commonwealth, a period of 200 years, was filled with 
 victories and conquests. It was now that she contended in a 
 life and death struggle with Carthage, a nation as ambitious 
 and as stubborn as herself, for the mastery of the world. 
 The duration and bitterness of the Punic Wars were due 
 to each power believing that the destruction of its adversary 
 was necessary for its own safety. Rome on more than one 
 occasion was ready to sink, but she was supported by the 
 steadiness and wisdom of her Government, and this re- 
 acted upon the people and the fighting forces. Carthage was 
 eventually subdued, and Rome became the mistress of the 
 world and turned the current of history from the East to the 
 West. 
 
 The early form of government adopted by the Romans Early 
 was an elective monarchy, the electors being a patriarchal monarchy ; 
 aristocracy. After the invasion of the Sabines there was a 
 union with that people, the sovereignty being held by rulers 
 chosen from each, but it was not long before Rome became 
 the head of a federal state. The Tarquins established a 
 monarchy which, rapidly degenerating into an oppressive 
 tyranny, led to rebellion and brought into being the republic, 
 508 B.C. At this time Rome was still in her infancy, the 
 territory ruled being but forty miles long by thirty broad. 
 Under a monarchical form of government the character of 
 the people was moulded and those institutions were created, 
 which under a commonwealth constitution were to expand her 
 power. With the banishment of Tarquin and his regal power 
 from Rome a new government was established. It was unanim- and republic 
 ously agreed to create, in the place of kings, two consuls whose 
 term of office should be for twelve months only, according to 
 a suggestion discovered among the memoirs of Servius 
 Tullius ; they were, however, to be chosen from among the 
 patricians. These two officers had for some time a power almost 
 equal to royalty itself. They were the head of the Senate, 
 and the people and all other officers were subordinate to them. 
 They administered justice and disposed of the public money ; 
 they convened the Senate and assembled the people as they 
 pleased ; the military forces of the commonwealth were levied 
 by them and they appointed the officers or dismissed them at
 
 22 THE GOVERNANCE OF EMPIRE 
 
 will ; and they treated directly with foreign princes and their 
 ambassadors. 
 
 Coneule. The title of Consul, however, reminded them that they were 
 
 not so much the sovereigns of the commonwealth as the 
 councillors. Their insignia of dignity was that worn by the 
 late monarchs, except the gold crown and sceptre ; their oath 
 of office was that the Romans never more should be governed 
 by kings ; royalty itself was proscribed. The newly appointed 
 consuls completed the Senate, which had been reduced by 
 Tarquin from its original number of 300 to 160 ; new 
 senators were created from among the plebeians with, how- 
 ever, the precaution of raising them to the dignity of 
 patricians. 
 
 Constitution. Shortly after the fall of the monarchy Tarquin sent am- 
 bassadors requesting the Roman people to restore to him his 
 effects at Rome. The two consuls disagreed over this. Brutus 
 was averse to the restoration whilst Callatinus was strongly in 
 favour of it. It was therefore referred to the Senate where, 
 after several days' debate, no decision could be arrived at. It 
 therefore had to be referred to the Assembly which consisted 
 of the adult freed men of Rome assembled and voting by 
 centuries. At this session of the Assembly both consuls 
 strongly supported their respective opinions. Callatinus at 
 last prevailed and his resolutions were carried by the vote of 
 one century. 
 
 The Constitution at this date (509 B.C.) was as follows : — 
 Two consuls or " prsetores " elected annually by the free- 
 holders voting by their classes and centuries (comitia 
 centuriata). These officers were regarded as joint heirs of 
 the kingly authority and as holding the " imperium" and the 
 correlative right of auspices by direct transmission from the 
 founder of the city. 
 
 Senate. The Senate consisted of 300 persons appointed by the 
 
 consuls for life. It had been under the monarchy an 
 aristocratic body, but as we have seen, 160 plebeians were, 
 on the creation of the republic, elevated to patrician rank 
 and called to the Senate. In this respect there is a close 
 parallel in Great Britain to-day of calling commoners to the 
 House of Peers. 
 
 Assembly. The Assembly consisted of every adult freed man of Rome
 
 ROMAN GOVERNMENT 23 
 
 and met under the summons and the joint presidency of 
 the consuls. By the senior consul the question was put and 
 the voting took place " curiatim." the curiae being called up 
 in turn. The vote of each curia was decided by the majority 
 of individual votes, and a majority of the votes of the curiae 
 determined the final result. 
 
 But as we have seen from the power vested in the 
 consuls there remained practically no legislation reserved for 
 either Assembly or Senate ; as legislative bodies they were 
 mere shams, except at the annual election of the consuls. 
 Then only could either body make itself felt and heard. 
 
 The Constitution, as the outcome of a compromise between struggle 
 patricians and plebeians, was both aristocratic and demo-j^^" ns 
 cratic ; that is, it contained the elements of both; but whilst and plebeians, 
 the former was in the substance the latter was but of the 
 shadow. This resulted in that trouble which, according to 
 Mommsen, lasted for two centuries. It was not a struggle 
 between a conquering and a conquered class, or between an 
 exclusive citizen body and an unenfranchised mass outside 
 its pale. Patricians and plebeians were equally citizens of 
 Rome, sprung of the same race and speaking the same 
 tongue. The former were the members of those ancient 
 " gentes" which had been the principal families in the small 
 communities which preceded the united states and which 
 claimed by hereditary right a privileged position in the 
 community. 
 
 Only patricians could sit in the Senate. This difficulty was 
 overcome, as it is in Great Britain to-day, by raising the 
 plebeian to patrician rank ; but, as is often experienced in 
 England under similar circumstances, the newly elevated 
 peers displayed greater arrogance towards the class they had 
 sprung from than those with centuries of ancestry behind 
 them. Still, this judicious and occasional strengthening of the 
 nobility, especially when selected from among the leaders of the 
 democratic party, had the effect of keeping that section in 
 the weaker position just as patents of nobility will always 
 keep Socialistic and republican parties within safe bounds in 
 the British Empire. 
 
 Within the first fifty years of the consulate certain con- 
 cessions were made to the plebeians, the most important
 
 24 THE GOVERNANCE OF EMPIRE 
 
 Domestic being the appointment of tribuni plcbes, that is magistrates 
 tinuedfarin e ^ ecte( ^ annually from among the plebeians and authorized to 
 the wars, protect them against the consuls. These were at first two 
 in number, then increased to five, and by 449 B.C. we find 
 ten. Some such concession would appear to have been 
 essential, for the consuls, always drawn from among the 
 patricians, naturally favoured that class in their governance. 
 It is during this struggle between the two classes, a struggle 
 which lasted for two centuries, that we meet with a property 
 qualification for the Eoman franchise. In 471 B.C. the plebeian 
 law was passed which formally recognized the plebeian 
 concilia and established the right of tribunes to propose and 
 carry resolutions in these assemblies. But these assemblies 
 differed from the Eoman Assembly of the People already 
 referred to, inasmuch as the voting took place by tribes 
 (" tribute ") and not by curias or centuries ; membership of a 
 tribe was only allowed to freeholders. It was, therefore, the 
 policy of the plebeians to increase the number of freeholders 
 if they were to have any influence in the governance of the 
 country. To do this they endeavoured to create freeholds on 
 the common lands. In this they were bitterly opposed by the 
 patricians who up to now had enjoyed a monopoly of these 
 lands, and thus we see that a dispute which is common in 
 many of the self-governing colonies of the British Empire 
 to-day was being waged in ancient Rome two thousand four 
 hundred years ago. The dispute between these two classes 
 continued down to 287 B.C. when the legislative independ- 
 ence of the plebeian Assembly was secured. But whilst 
 Rome suffered from internal political strife her territorial ex- 
 pansion was in no way neglected. If anything, the domestic 
 strife left the generals free to lead their legions into such 
 countries as it paid them to conquer, and we hear of at least 
 one general, Q. Fabius Rullianus, not awaiting orders from 
 Rome but plunging through the wilds of the Ciminian forest 
 and sweeping with fire and sword the rich lands to the North. 
 The Roman army by being continually in the field and 
 moving further away from Rome lost touch with the govern- 
 ing power ; it was able to live upon the country and to pay 
 and enhanced itself from its conquests. The generals began to realize that 
 the generals! the P ower °f Rome was centred in their own hands and not
 
 KOMAN GOVEKNMENT 25 
 
 in that of Parliament. Domestic strife between the political 
 parties at home blinded the statesmen of Eome to the grave 
 danger which was threatening the republican Constitution ; 
 in the excitement of party politics the generals had been 
 allowed to usurp power which should have been retained. 
 We will now see how imperceptibly this transfer of power 
 came about. The citizen soldiers of early Eome were com- 
 manded in the field by the men whom they had chosen to be 
 their chief magistrates at home and under the republic. 
 Except when a dictator was appointed, the chief command 
 of the legions was in the hands of the consuls of the year. 
 But as the military operations increased in area and in dis- 
 tance from Borne a larger staff became necessary and the in- 
 convenience of summoning home a consul in the field from 
 an unfinished campaign became intolerable. It was therefore 
 decided to prolong for a further period the term of office of 
 the consul. It was this very amendment of the Constitution 
 which gave the ascendancy to the Caesars and proved their 
 chief prop. During the period of war and conquest 265 B.C. 
 to 146 B.C. the Senate had been gaining the ascendancy, 
 although in theory the Assembly was the governing power. 
 Certain causes, both internal and external, had been at work 
 which gave the actual power into the hands of the aristocratic 
 party. The voters in the Assembly, a numerous and widely 
 scattered body, many of whom were always away with the 
 legions abroad, could not be readily assembled. The Senate, 
 on the other hand, could be called together at short notice, 
 and it was constituted of all the skilled statesmen and 
 soldiers of the commonwealth. Then the severe contest 
 with Carthage made the populace agree to innovations they Unconstitu- 
 otherwise would not have sanctioned. The subordination of t , lonal aggran- 
 
 •ii to- p dizement of 
 
 the magistrates was equally the result of circumstances, for the Senate, 
 as the number of magistrates and the area of government 
 increased, some central controlling power became absolutely 
 necessary to prevent collisions between rival authorities, and 
 to secure a proper division of labour, as well as to enforce the 
 necessary concert and co-operation. Under the republican 
 system it was only possible to find such a power in the 
 Senate. But legally the Senate was not the governing power. 
 The new functions taken over by that body were in reality
 
 26 
 
 THE GOVERNANCE OF EMPIEE 
 
 The Con- 
 stitution 
 restored 
 under 
 Augustus. 
 
 His reforms. 
 
 unconstitutional, and like all usurped powers they were, being 
 unconstitutional, inherently weak. With the overthrow of 
 Carthage at Zama there disappeared the shadow which had 
 overhung Kome for so long and which had made all domestic 
 differences appear so trivial that the Senate could do no 
 wrong. But from 146 B.C. down to the dictatorship of Caesar 
 we find one long record of internal strife between the people 
 and the Senate. The small freeholders had been ruined by con- 
 tinuous war, and peace had brought no revival of prosperity. 
 The heavy burden of military service still pressed upon them. 
 The fiscal policy too was detrimental to the people, for they 
 were called upon to compete with the foreign corn and pro- 
 duce imported from beyond the seas free of duty. Farming, 
 the one industry which had bred the men for the legions that 
 had expelled the invader, now became unprofitable, and there- 
 fore the small farmers left their holdings to waste and went 
 into the cities to swell the growing mass of malcontents. But 
 Rome was to be saved from herself. Under wise government 
 a ruinous policy was to be abandoned. 
 
 The dictatorship of Csesar, brought about by unconstitu- 
 tional government, began with his victory over the senatorial 
 forces at Munda, 45 B.C. Under Caesar the old Constitution 
 was repeatedly disregarded or suspended. The interregnum 
 between the death of Caesar and the formation of the Empire 
 by Octavian was a period of anarchy and bloodshed. 
 
 In the year 27 B.C., by the general consent of Kome, 
 Octavian was entrusted with the task of establishing a govern- 
 ment which should, as far as possible, respect the forms and 
 taxation of the republic without sacrificing that centraliza- 
 tion of authority which experience had shown to be necessary 
 for the integrity and stability of the Empire. At the early 
 age of thirty-five this man undertook the immense reorganiza- 
 tion, not alone of Rome herself and of Italy, but of those vast 
 possessions her arms had acquired in the previous two and a 
 half centuries. 
 
 He realized that not only was a strong home policy 
 essential but a personal and intimate system of government 
 necessary in the colonies if the Empire was to be kept 
 together. There were already many signs of its imminent 
 disruption unless something was immediately done. The
 
 ROMAN GOVERNMENT 27 
 
 cities of Rome and Italy were overcrowded, the freeholds once 
 so productive were now neglected and overgrown owing to a 
 fiscal policy which gave an advantage to a more favourably 
 situated foreign competitor. So the overcrowded cities were 
 drawn upon for men who were sent out to form colonies. An 
 alteration in the fiscal policy was effected by the imposition 
 of the portorium (quinquagesima), a customs duty of 2 -per 
 cent on all goods imported. Octavian assumed control of the 
 Empire under the title of Prince of the Senate and as such 
 was given the name of Augustus. His position with relation 
 to the Senate had been made difficult by Caesar having 
 tampered with it for his own ends. Augustus realized that 
 to make his reforms effective he must begin with the Senate 
 itself. Caesar, to weaken and degrade the governing power of 
 this body had increased it to 1000 persons, he had admitted 
 Gallic soldiers and sons of freed men. Augustus worked 
 judiciously and he succeeded in making three successive re- 
 visions 28 B.C., 18 B.C., a.d. 14, ultimately reducing it to 600. 
 By his first revision he reduced it by 200 and instituted a 
 property qualification for a senator of £10,000. 
 
 Augustus began his long and prosperous reign by im- 
 mediately making a bold bid for the confidence of Senate and 
 people. He gave back to the Senate and the Roman people 
 the armies and provinces, and formally resigned the arbitrary 
 powers of the triumvirate, restoring the republic. But he was 
 persuaded to retain half of the provinces under his own direct 
 rule, leaving the remainder to be administered by the Senate. 
 Those of the Senate were the older and more settled, viz. 
 Africa and Numidia, Asia, Achaia and Epirus, Illyricum 
 (which at this period meant Dalmatia), Macedonia, Sicily, 
 Crete and Cyrenaica, Bithynia and Pontus, Sardinia (with 
 Corsica) and Baetica. Those retained by Augustus as im- 
 perial provinces and for whose defence he was responsible 
 were Tarraconensis, Lusitania, Narbonensis, Lugdunensis, 
 Aquitania, Belgica, Germania Superior, Germania Inferior, 
 Syria, Cilicia, Cyprus, and Egypt. In this division of the 
 states or colonies we have a parallel in the British Empire 
 to-day which will become more apparent as the administra- 
 tion of the senatorial and imperial colonies is considered. 
 The imperial provinces called for the continual presence of 
 troops ; the Rhine frontier alone took 80,000 soldiers to guard
 
 28 THE GOVERNANCE OF EMPIRE 
 
 and hold ; but we shall also see that in practice the Emperor 
 had the same absolute power over the senatorial provinces as 
 he had over those which were constitutionally acknowledged 
 to be his. We find that by this time certain powers had 
 crept into the Emperor's constitutional position which it is 
 difficult to trace to their precise origin. Decision as to war or 
 peace lay exclusively with him ; he alone had the right to 
 make treaties with independent states, to found colonies or 
 alter the status from Latin to Roman or from municipum to 
 colony ; and the authority for bestowing the franchise upon in- 
 dividuals was vested in him alone. In the earlier days of the 
 republic a law had to be passed in the Assembly and ratified 
 by the Senate to deal with any of these matters, but as the 
 legislative functions of these bodies became atrophied the 
 powers were usurped by the dictators and assumed as a matter 
 of course by the Emperor. 
 His scheme Augustus founded a separate imperial treasury into which 
 
 of taxation. a ji taxes ra j se( j m the imperial provinces were paid. There 
 were also certain monies derived from the senatorial provinces 
 which went into this treasury. A large revenue was derived 
 from the mines — gold, silver, copper, and cinnabar — all of 
 which were State owned. As most of these were situated 
 within the imperial provinces the revenue went into that 
 treasury. All expenditure upon the army and the ad- 
 ministration of these provinces was borne by this treasury. 
 The exchequer was under the control of the Senate but 
 was entirely separate from the imperial treasury, and its 
 revenue was derived from such State-owned mines as were 
 within the senatorial provinces and by such taxation as was 
 levied in those provinces. 
 
 Both exchequer and imperial treasury derived revenue from 
 the following taxations, each from their respective provinces: — 
 
 Per Cent. 
 
 Vicesima libertatis — franchise tax ... 5 
 
 Vicesima hereditatium — legacy duty . . 5 
 
 Centesima rerurn venalium — sales by auction . 1 
 
 Stipendium — the fixed tribute paid by a district 
 
 raised by poll tax. 
 Tributum capitis — poll tax, this varied. 
 Tributum soli — land tax, this varied. 
 Portorium — customs duty . . . 2 to 11
 
 ROMAN GOVERNMENT 29 
 
 During the reign of Augustus and during those of many of 
 his successors the revenue derived from the State-owned mines 
 must have been considerable. What Peru and Mexico were 
 to Spain in the sixteenth century, Spain herself was to the 
 Romans ; she was the source of luxury which eventually 
 brought about the decay of Rome. The lesson she inad- 
 vertently taught was not, however, taken to heart by her sons 
 centuries later, for she followed the same road. 
 
 It has been noticed that in questions of finance the two 
 orders of colonies were kept distinct, and this also applied to 
 judicial appeals, for whilst appeals from senatorial provinces 
 were dealt with by the Senate, all appeals from imperial 
 provinces went direct to the Emperor and were dealt with 
 exclusively by him without any reference to the Senate. 
 
 The governors of the senatorial provinces were appointed Provincial 
 by the Senate, but the term of office was restricted to the governorB - 
 short period of one year, the object being to preclude the 
 danger of a governor securing sufficient influence within his 
 province to proclaim a dictatorship and secede. These 
 governors enjoyed no military authority whatever nor any 
 jurisdiction over the military forces within their provinces. 
 The governors of the imperial provinces were appointed by 
 the Emperor and retained their office during his pleasure. 
 Very great power was given them, but right of appeal, in the 
 case of the subject, direct to the Emperor was recognized. 
 The imperial governors were in supreme command of such 
 military forces as were stationed within their provinces. 
 
 The Senate under Augustus differed somewhat in its Senate, 
 working from what it had been under the republic. It now 
 became the legislature and the high court of justice. We 
 find that as a judicial body it was not restricted to the trial 
 of senators or high officials, but ordinary criminal cases were 
 occasionally taken before it, and it also heard civil appeals. 
 
 Augustus introduced the Cabinet system into the Senate. Cabinet. 
 The first arrangement was that this Cabinet or Council 
 (Concilium) should consist of the two annually elected con- 
 suls, a member of each magistracy and fifteen senators 
 selected by ballot. This Cabinet was renewable every six 
 months, but as this period was found by experience to be too 
 short and proved inconvenient, the period was extended to a
 
 30 THE GOVEKNANCE OF EMPIEE 
 
 year and the senatorial representatives were increased from 
 seventeen to twenty. The duties of this Cabinet were to 
 examine and prepare questions for the Senate. 
 
 In the earlier years of Augustus's reign he was in the 
 habit of attending the Senate in person and there he occupied 
 a seat between the two consuls, although his voice was but 
 that of a senator. We can well understand that his presence 
 influenced the proceedings, but in later years, as his power 
 became more permanent, he made it a rule to transmit his 
 wishes or opinions in writing in the form of messages from 
 the throne. 
 Civil Service. Upon the formation of the Empire, Augustus, himself a 
 capable man of affairs, was greatly handicapped in the or- 
 ganization of imperial machinery by the absence of any 
 official class upon which he could draw for capable instru- 
 ments to carry into effect his policy of imperial government, 
 and it was many years before, greatly due to his tuition, 
 this class came into being. He was, therefore, thrown back 
 upon the Senate. All the important posts were given to the 
 senators, but Augustus had even these men trained, and they 
 had to go through an official career in which promotion was 
 gradual. A senator anxious for official rank and honour 
 would commence as a junior magistrate, then would pass 
 through several grades of magistrates. He had then qualified 
 for a provincial governorship, after which followed a curator- 
 ship, until finally he reached the prefecture of the city. As 
 is sometimes the case in the British Empire the governor 
 of an imperial province would be transferred to a senatorial 
 province and vice versa. 
 
 Having reorganized the constitutional institutions at 
 home Augustus now set himself to prepare the machinery 
 for the smooth working of the diverse countries which went to 
 make up his empire. His policy was to keep his empire 
 within its bounds and this was the policy he recommended to 
 his successors. Unlike the British Empire of to-day the 
 Koman Empire was a geographical whole, its population of 
 120,000,000 were congregated round the Mediterranean with 
 that great inland sea to form the interior line of communication 
 and a regular army of 400,000 men augmented at short notice 
 by 6,000,000 of auxiliaries in case of need, to secure the sub-
 
 ROMAN GOVERNMENT 31 
 
 mission of its multifarious inhabitants. Being an empire of 
 pure conquest it allowed no independent state to remain in 
 its path : it expanded on all sides. 
 
 Augustus first set himself the task of organizing the Gauls. Government 
 He commenced with the taking of a census and upon this he oC Gftul - 
 apportioned the taxes, both poll and land, upon an effective 
 and just principle. He bore in mind the fact that the 
 conquest of some of the tribes within this province was 
 but recent and that their Romanization to be successful must 
 be gradual. He therefore retained their old and long-cherished 
 institutions, or at all events those which would not make for 
 secession, and made use of them for his own ends. He did not 
 in any way interfere with the tribes ; on the contrary he created 
 them the units for taxing purposes. But federated tribes he 
 judiciously separated so as to render national combinations all 
 but impossible. For taxing purposes the quota of a tribe was 
 fixed at so much and this was handed over to the Roman 
 officials. That portion of Gaul between the Alps and the 
 Apennines Augustus organized on the tribal system, and he 
 fixed the number of Gallic civitates at sixty, each civites being 
 subdivided into four or five pagi or cantons. Augustus 
 appears to have, wisely as the result shows, encouraged a 
 certain amount of local autonomy ; the governing body of the 
 tribe was authorized to appoint a prefect in each canton, 
 Three Roman colonies were formed in this portion of Gaul, 
 two in Belgica (Nyon, and Augst near Basle) and one in 
 Lugdunensis (Lyons). We must admire the diplomacy dis- 
 played by Augustus in the policy laid down for the pacification 
 of these sixty peoples. Their tribal susceptibilities were even 
 turned to good account. Unlike other portions of the Empire 
 they were not called upon to supply soldiers for the legions, 
 but their manhood was not neglected as fighting material, for 
 Augustus founded an auxiliary forces system, the units of 
 which were recruited from among the Sixty Peoples, as the 
 inhabitants of this portion were now officially termed. 
 
 That portion of Gaul which bordered on Italy was treated 
 somewhat differently. It was very quickly Romanized for it 
 was more easy of access from Rome and colonies were there 
 founded in some numbers. 
 
 The policy of pacification, so energetically applied by
 
 32 THE GOVERNANCE OF EMPIRE 
 
 Augustus, altered the whole aspect of Gaul ; the very face of 
 the country underwent a rapid change. By relieving the 
 manhood of military service at some extremity or other of the 
 Empire, the energies of the people were converted into mak- 
 ing a naturally rich country truly prosperous. Centuries of 
 war, internal when at peace with neighbours, or combined 
 against a would-be invader, had made the people neglect their 
 very fine waterways. Under Augustus these were now 
 utilized. Villages built on mountain sides or hilltops for 
 defensive purposes now climbed down to the river sides and 
 rapidly grew into towns. Under British imperial government 
 the railway is recognized as the most effective civilizing 
 agency ; where it runs sloth disappears. Roman government 
 estimated the Roman road of value in the same respect and 
 an equally valuable result was achieved. Roads were made 
 across the country in every direction, with Lyons as a centre. 
 This policy developed the inland towns of Gaul and revolu- 
 tionized the economic conditions of the country, just as to-day 
 we see how the railway-building policy in Canada has altered 
 the economic condition of that part of the British Empire. 
 
 The administration of Augustus developed such river ports 
 as Paris and Lyons and these became great emporiums of trade. 
 The rivers developed into waterways for fleets of commerce 
 bearing cargoes, and we find that within a few years under this 
 wise imperial government the country of a subjected people 
 became under a conqueror a hive of activity, stimulated to 
 production. Their Roman masters protected the producer by 
 an import duty of 2J per cent on all goods imported into 
 Gaul. The attitude of Augustus towards his new subjects 
 was not unlike in certain respects that originally followed by 
 British statesmen in India, but the policy of Augustus and 
 his successors grew with the people to be ruled. The in- 
 stitutions and customs of the Gauls were not interfered with; 
 changes calculated to make the work of assimilation too 
 obvious, were at first avoided ; and as with British government 
 in India, the only interference with the national religion of 
 the Gauls on the part of the Romans was the abolition of 
 human sacrifice. 
 Latin towns, It will be necessary here to describe the difference between 
 Latin towns and Roman colonies. We have already re-
 
 ROMAN GOVEENMENT 33 
 
 marked that imperial authority was required to raise the 
 status of a Latin town to that of Roman colony. The ladder 
 of status existing to-day in the imperial government of the 
 British Empire is but an unconscious imitation of the imperial 
 government of Rome. In the latter case it was systematized 
 and was part of a well-conceived organization. The Roman 
 grades of colonies were provincial, Latin, and Roman colonies. 
 The provincial colonies were governed very much as the crown 
 colonies of Great Britain are to-day, and they had but few 
 privileges except in local matters. The next step for the pro- 
 vincial colony would be to obtain Latin rights, which consisted 
 in this, that every magistrate, and later on every member, of its 
 provincial council became ipso facto a Roman citizen as soon as 
 his term of office expired. The next step would be to that of 
 Roman colony, which was in theory and in law another Rome, 
 except that its inhabitants paid both poll tax and land tax. 
 The full Roman franchise was then enjoyed, and every citizen and the 
 of a Roman colony was eligible for office at Rome, and could f^^htee 
 not be executed or flogged without appeal. Here we see the 
 value of an imperial franchise. It was looked upon with 
 a pride which extended to the conquered races ; the grandsons 
 of the Gauls who had besieged Julius Caesar in Alesia, through 
 the judicious application of this imperial franchise commanded 
 Roman legions as Romans, governed provinces, and were ad- 
 mitted into the Senate. Their ambition was directed into 
 qualifying for this imperial franchise, and therefore instead of 
 disturbing the tranquillity of the Empire they were intimately 
 connected with its safety and greatness. A parallel to-day 
 may be seen in the commander-in-chief of an army at war but 
 ten years ago with the British Empire sitting in His Majesty's 
 Privy Council, and a number of those who besieged the British 
 imperial troops at Ladysmith now sitting in the imperial 
 colonial parliaments. But the lesson taught us by Augustus 
 in placing great value upon an imperial franchise has not yet 
 been taken sufficient heed of ; that will be dealt with at a 
 later stage. 
 
 A provincial or Latin did not possess the power of appeal, 
 nor could he hold land in full quiritian ownership, and was 
 not eligible for Roman office. We therefore see how the 
 process of Romanization under Augustus was spread over 
 
 3
 
 34 
 
 THE GOVERNANCE OF EMPIRE 
 
 Pacification 
 of Spain. 
 
 Baafcica. 
 
 Gaul. But this much-coveted imperial franchise was also 
 given as reward for good service, and a man from a provincial 
 or Latin colony could obtain it by entering a legion. The 
 status of the army was thereby raised. Under British im- 
 perial government the reverse is the case ; a soldier is dis- 
 franchised. In the Roman auxiliary forces twenty years 
 of service brought with it the imperial franchise to an 
 individual whose colony was not enfranchised. 
 
 It took but five j'ears of imperial government under 
 Augustus to Romanize Narbonensis, that portion of Gaul 
 bordering Italy, and in 22 B.C. it was handed over to the 
 Senate. 
 
 Having organized the imperial government of Gaul and 
 laid down that machinery which would Romanize these 
 provinces in a smooth, pacific, and efficient manner, Augustus 
 now turned his attention to the provinces of Spain, but here 
 his task was more difficult for these provinces were yet the 
 scene of strife ; the subjugation of the wild mountain tribes 
 was not yet complete, and Augustus had to take the field at 
 the head of his legions against the Cantabrian and Asturian 
 highland tribes. He at the same time pushed on his policy 
 of road making which had the twofold effect of lightening the 
 burden of his campaign and of pacifying the country behind 
 him. Augustus kept the field for eighteen months, at the 
 end of which time he considered the country peaceful enough 
 to leave it to the provincial governors to Romanize under his 
 policy. He disbanded certain of his legions, the soldiers of 
 which were given holdings of land ; these formed Roman 
 colonies and acted as centres of civilization from which his 
 policy radiated. The military (afterwards commercial) roads 
 diverged in various directions from these colonies and carried 
 along with them the policy of production and progress. 
 
 The Romans had been engaged for two hundred years in 
 conquering Spain and made but slow progress. Augustus 
 completed the conquest in six years, more by means of his 
 military roads than by the prowess of his legions. 
 
 The Spanish provinces were three in number, Baetica, 
 Lusitania, and Tarraconensis. Baetica had been free from 
 serious military operations for well over a century and had 
 become Romanized ; it was the one senatorial province in
 
 ROMAN GOVERNMENT 35 
 
 Spain. At the time of Augustus's visit to Spain, 24 B.C., this 
 province was carrying on a large and increasing trade with 
 Italy in corn, wine, ores, oil, wool, and woollens. Augustus, 
 ever versatile, turned his attention to developing this com- 
 merce, and it was not long before he had a regular fleet of 
 merchantmen of the largest size plying between Ostia and 
 Pieteoli. Pliny tells us that there were no fewer than one 
 hundred and seventy-five cities in the province of Baetica ; 
 nine of these held the status of Roman colonies, eight were 
 graded as Roman municipalities, and twenty-ninei as Latin 
 municipalities. For judicial purposes this province was 
 divided into four conventus or circuits. 
 
 The province of Lusitania at this time had not progressed Lusitania. 
 to the extent that the more favourably situated Baetica had. 
 It was divided into forty -nine communities of which five held 
 the enviable status of Roman colonies, one Roman and three 
 Latin municipalities. For judicial purposes this province 
 was divided into three conventus. The province of Tarra- and Tarra- 
 conensis comprised considerably more than half of the Pen- conensi8 - 
 insula. The governor of this province held consular rank, 
 in the same way as the governor of British India to-day 
 holds the vice-regal rank as representing the Emperor in 
 India. As governing an imperial province he was in supreme 
 command of the legions. There were three legates (district 
 governors) under him, each of whose districts was as large as 
 an ordinary province. The Viceroy (as we will call him) 
 besides being responsible for the general administration of 
 this huge province administered justice at Tarraco and New 
 Carthage and was also responsible for the whole eastern 
 coast from the Ebro southwards. For judicial purposes this 
 province was divided into seven conventus or circuits, each 
 with an assize town at which justice was administered to 
 the surrounding district. Of the one hundred and seventy- 
 nine towns within this province (of which many were but 
 villages), twelve held the status of Roman colony, thirteen 
 Roman and eighteen Latin municipalities. 
 
 As in Gaul, Augustus's policy of pacification by ridding 
 the inhabitants of Spain of war and protecting them even 
 against each other stimulated trade and production, and the 
 process of assimilation progressed successfully, while inter- 
 
 o *
 
 36 THE GOVEENANCE OF EMPIRE 
 
 marriage of the disbanded Roman soldiers with Spanish 
 women hastened the Romanization of these provinces. But 
 language was recognised as one, if not the most important, 
 agent in the assimilation of the subject races. Augustus was 
 sensible of the influence of language over national manners ; 
 it became the most serious care of the imperial governors to 
 extend, with the progress of their imperial master's arms, 
 the use of the Latin tongue, and so successful were they in 
 this by both direct and indirect methods that the native 
 tongue of the subject races sank into oblivion. 
 Success of The secret of the success of Augustus's imperial govern- 
 
 the Roman ment lay in the fact that it adapted itself in the first instance 
 and Spain.' *o the conditions the subject races were found to have in- 
 herited ; it respected the customs and institutions of the 
 people it purposed governing as an empire and therefore the 
 people were at the outset made aiders and abetters in this 
 great policy, and eventually, by aiming for the coveted re- 
 ward of the imperial franchise, they became missionaries of 
 empire and guardians of the imperial constitution. 
 Policy in By a brief survey of the imperial government of the 
 
 Greece. three Gauls and the Spanish provinces we have seen how 
 
 this colonial policy rapidly and efficiently wedded to the 
 Empire peoples who were more or less in a state of barbarism. 
 We will now see how the elasticity and efficiency of this 
 form of imperial government enabled the Constitution to 
 extend to a people even more highly civilized than the 
 Romans themselves and whose martial traditions were more 
 brilliant than those of their conquerors. In extending his 
 reorganized constitution to Greece Augustus realized — that is 
 evident from the policy he adopted here — that he was dealing 
 with a decaying nation. He and those who followed him 
 made little or no endeavour to Romanize this portion of the 
 Empire. Greece from the very first appears to have received 
 exceptional treatment at the hands of her Roman masters. 
 Its two leading cities, Athens and Sparta, were given the 
 status of free cities, and many of the town states, such as 
 Delphi, Abae, and Tangara, were allowed to retain their own 
 constitutions, but Augustus stipulated that there should be 
 anti-democratic provisions in these constitutions. In Athens 
 this took the form of a revival of the powers of the Areo-
 
 ROMAN GOVERNMENT 37 
 
 pagus. All those city states made and administered their 
 own laws and were as near as it is possible to be parallels to 
 the responsibly governed colonies of the British Empire of 
 to-day. There were, however, certain cities and states in 
 Greece which were not free or tax free, but which paid their 
 quotas like other portions of the Empire. This was only 
 consistent with the policy of imperial government to differ- 
 entiate between units and to create a rivalry between them 
 which prevented a dangerous homogeneity. Nothing proved 
 more effective in this than a difference in status and an am- 
 bition to improve that status. 
 
 Achaia, the once proud pioneer of federalism, was now a 
 separate province of the Roman Empire. Internal strife had 
 kept her for a time an imperial province, but later she was 
 given over to the Senate. 
 
 There were but three Roman colonies in Greece : Corinth, 
 Patrae, and Nicopolis. The two latter were founded by 
 Augustus after Actium, and were settled with the discharged 
 soldiers of the tenth and twelfth legions. 
 
 It must be borne in mind that the occupation of Greece Decay of 
 by the Romans occurred when that country was in a state of 
 decay, and that the Roman colonization was at first an at- 
 tempt to stay that decay. Augustus, however, realized the im- 
 possibility of this, and therefore there was an absence of those 
 agencies which assisted in the successful colonization of Gaul 
 and Spain. We see a somewhat similar parallel in the British 
 occupation of India and Egypt to-day. There were, however, 
 recrudescences such as the rise of Nicopolis and Patrae, 
 but these were not lasting. They rose as Delos fell, just 
 as we have seen Bombay and Calcutta take the place of 
 Delhi and Agra. The glory of ancient Greece had disappeared 
 and even the governing genius of Augustus could not stay the 
 decay that had long set in — set in prior to her loss of indepen- 
 dence by the desertion of her own sons ; the history of that 
 decay has been repeated in India. The intellectual pride of 
 Greece reached a pitch at which the ambition of every young 
 man was to follow either a profession or one of the arts ; the 
 ranks of architects, painters, sculptors, and schoolmasters 
 were rilled to overflowing, till there was no demand for the 
 excessive production of these professions. Therefore, the 

 
 38 THE GOVERNANCE OF EMPIRE 
 
 men deserted their country to seek fortunes elsewhere ; the 
 profession of arms, the callings of production and trade were 
 correspondingly deserted, and the country was laid bare to 
 the invader. Greece died by neglecting to be ever prepared 
 for war ; from one extreme she relapsed to the other. 
 Komans in When we come to review Augustus's Eastern policy we 
 
 Egypt, cannot but be surprised at the striking likeness between the 
 
 motives which actuated that policy and the motives which so 
 long after actuated a similar policy of British statesmen in 
 the same quarter of the globe. Egypt was annexed by 
 Augustus after the battle of Actium and was created an 
 imperial province. Augustus undoubtedly had in view the 
 converting of Egypt into a direct trade route between India 
 and Alexandria, via Myos Hormos and the Nile. In this he 
 succeeded, and for over two centuries this route was held in 
 preference to the old Euphrates route. Augustus's policy here 
 was to kill the Arabian markets and ports of call in order 
 to benefit his own Red Sea ports. He totally destroyed the 
 Arabian city of Endaeman (Aden). Exploring expeditions 
 were sent by orders of the Emperor into Arabia and to the 
 south along the Nile ; the object of the former was mainly to 
 injure the Indian trade route, thus compelling merchandise 
 to pass through Egypt. The Nile expedition was for the 
 purpose of exploring the country and of protecting the 
 frontier. This fixed a southern outpost at Assouan where 
 three cohorts (1200 men) were quartered. A year later this 
 post was attacked by the Soudanese and captured. We find 
 here that the British occupation of Egypt is but a repetition of 
 the Roman occupation of the same country. The Romans 
 immediately fitted out an expedition of 10,000 men and de- 
 spatched it under Petronius to punish the Soudanese for their 
 attack on Assouan. This expedition, like one nearly two 
 thousand years later, marched by land and water up the 
 Nile to Marawee, captured and destroyed that town and left 
 a garrison at Ibrim to guard the Nile. This post was attacked 
 by the Soudanese 21 B.C. but it was relieved by Petronius 
 who made a forced march from Cairo of nearly 1200 miles. 
 In the year 20 B.C. peace was declared between the Romans 
 and the Soudanese, and the Roman outposts were withdrawn 
 as far back as Assouan.
 
 ROMAN GOVERNMENT 39 
 
 Egypt under Rome, as it is under Great Britain, was held 
 by military occupation. For two centuries Roman soldiers 
 were stationed there, though towards the end of the second 
 century one legion was considered sufficient. Under a settled 
 form of government Egypt rapidly became one of the more 
 important provinces of the Empire. We find her spoken of as 
 the Roman granary of corn. Pliny the younger says " that the 
 people of that country were proud to find that the conquerors 
 of the world depended on them for their daily maintenance." 1 
 
 It has been remarked that a large measure of Augustus's 
 success in imperial government was due to his wise policy of 
 taking every advantage of local material. The institutions 
 which he found already existing in Gaul, Spain, and Greece, 
 were all turned to good account in the future government of 
 those provinces, but he found no such institutions in Egypt. 
 It had long been a land of despotism and the people were not 
 fitted for a more liberal form of rule. The imperial governor 
 was therefore vested with all the powers of the ancient kings. 
 In a minor way we meet with a similar state of affairs in the 
 government of British African colonies to-day, where the 
 British governors administer certain coded native laws as 
 supreme chiefs over the natives. But the colonial policy of 
 Augustus lived after him, for in a.d. 69 one Tiberius Alex- 
 ander, a native of Egypt, was appointed governor of Egypt. 
 To qualify him for the office he was made a Roman knight. 
 
 Augustus did not neglect any one part of the Empire for and in 
 another in his scheme of reorganization, and he personally a> 
 supervised the installing of his machinery for imperial 
 government. In the year 20 B.C. we hear of him in Syria 
 reorganizing from there the administration of Asia Minor. 
 He withdrew the three legions that had been stationed along 
 the frontier, preferring to hold that eastern boundary by a 
 line of vassal or buffer states. The eastern half of Cilicia was 
 added to the government of Syria and was garrisoned by 
 Syrian troops. Augustus re-apportioned the taxes among 
 the Asian cities, some of which had paid too little and others 
 too much, and he also established a Roman colony in 
 Alexandria Troads. At this time he extended the Roman 
 influence by dispatching an army into Armenia and asserting 
 'Pliny's " Panegyric/' s. 31.
 
 40 THE GOVERNANCE OF EMPIRE 
 
 suzerainty over that country, thus securing his eastern 
 frontier. He likewise secured the northern frontier of Asia 
 Minor by securing a vassal prince and declaring suzerainty 
 over the Crimea. To this prince was delegated the duty of 
 guarding the southern coast of the Black Sea on behalf of 
 his imperial master. Syria was the base of operations for 
 the Romanization of Asia Minor. In the year 15 B.C. the 
 Roman colony of Berytus was founded and was formed 
 mostly from time-expired men of the legions. The in- 
 fluence of this colony was spread far and wide. It became 
 the seat of a famous Roman law university. We cannot help 
 noticing how sparingly the imperial franchise was given in 
 Asia Minor ; only two towns had the dignity of Roman 
 colony conferred upon them, viz. Alexandria in the Troad and 
 Parium on the Propontis. There were no Latin towns or 
 municipalities. 
 Prosperity of During the century and a half after the death of Augustus 
 the Empire. ^ e steady and gradual consolidation of the Empire pro- 
 ceeded. The client states had one by one been recon- 
 structed as provinces. The municipal system had spread 
 widely. Throughout the Empire the extension of the 
 imperial franchise prepared the way for the final act by which 
 Caracalla assimilated the legal status of all free-born inhabit- 
 ants of the Empire. The burden of military service was now 
 transferred to the frontier provinces, and the legions were 
 recruited from the erstwhile enemies of the Empire. The 
 Romans themselves fell back into peaceful pursuits and 
 gradually neglected the training of arms ; they were content 
 to enjoy the riches brought to them from the regions conquered 
 for them by their forefathers, and only the echoes of the border 
 wars reached the Mediterranean territories. 
 an d its Whilst strong and able men occupied the position of Con- 
 
 decline, stitutional Head the Constitution worked as its designer had 
 
 originally intended, but the flaw lay in the fact that there 
 was no corrective in the Constitution itself for the faults and 
 errors of a weak or corrupt ruler. The immediate successors 
 of Augustus proved strong and able rulers, but each acquired 
 additional power, and by the time Nero occupied the throne 
 the Constitutional Head had evolved into a despot. The posi- 
 tion therefore became the goal of every ambitious general in the
 
 EOMAN GOVERNMENT 41 
 
 Empire. Between a.d. 211 and 284 twenty-three Emperors 
 occupied the throne and twenty of these died violent deaths 
 at the hands of mutinous soldiers mostly recruited from con- 
 quered nations. While rival generals were contending for 
 the imperial throne the very existence of the Empire which 
 they aspired to rule was threatened by foreign invasion. In 
 a.d. 238 the Goths had appeared on the banks of the Danube. 
 Seventeen years later they crossed into the Empire and over- 
 ran Mcesia, Thrace, and Macedonia. Their fleets ravaged 
 the seaboard of Asia Minor. During the century and a half 
 of peace that followed the creation of the Empire, the Romans 
 had been content to draw their corn and other necessaries of 
 life from Egypt and Gaul. The lands nearer home had been 
 thrown to waste, the freeholder, the tiller of the soil, the 
 farmer had been encouraged to congregate in the towns, and 
 what had once been a prosperous farming class developed into 
 a citizen class. Rome had become more and more dependent 
 upon her late enemies not alone for the necessaries of life, 
 but for the material to man her legions and fleets. A long 
 peace had brought with it the evil of over-confidence and the 
 belief that war was a thing of the past. Excessive ease and 
 luxury enfeebled the people and made them an easy prey for 
 a less civilized but more hardy race, as the more highly 
 civilized Greeks had been an easy prey under exactly similar 
 conditions. In the third century we rind that war — for which 
 they were now unsuited — famine, brought about by unpre- 
 paredness, and plague had thinned the population. The 
 several invasions of the barbarians between the third and 
 fifth centuries were checked not by the legions of the Empire 
 but by the inglorious method of bribing the invaders' leaders. 
 In the year a.d. 476, the Roman Empire formally ceased 
 to exist. Its fall was veiled, like its rise under Augustus, by 
 constitutional forms. The Senate by resolution resolved 
 that Rome no longer needed a separate emperor. All that 
 is useful for the purpose before us ends with the cessation of 
 Rome as an empire. The Empire was born and was reared 
 under war and adversity, it rose to its greatest height by a 
 wise combination of military skill and statecraft. Its decay 
 commenced by the decline of its statecraft, excessive peace 
 and neglect of its military system.
 
 CHAPTEK III. 
 
 LATER DEVELOPMENTS IN GOVERNMENT. 
 
 Analogies 
 between 
 Greek and 
 Roman 
 Constitutions 
 
 History of 
 Venice. 
 
 Venetians 
 reared in 
 adversity. 
 
 In the preceding chapters we have made a rough survey of 
 the rise and decline of two ancient powers, governed by con- 
 stitutions theoretically opposite, though it will have been 
 noted that in practice there were many interesting analogies 
 between them, and close parallels to many points in modern 
 constitutions. In this chapter we will briefly describe certain 
 systems of government developed after the decay of the two 
 nations already discussed, but prior to the creation of any of 
 those constitutions in practice to-day. As the object before 
 us is to lead up to the government of the British Empire, we 
 will cite as the first example of a distinct advance on the 
 Constitutions of Achaia and Rome, that of a people whose 
 geographical surroundings, whose place among their neigh- 
 bours, and whose rise to power were analogous to those of the 
 inhabitants of the British Empire. In a brief review of their 
 rise and of their system of government, it is believed that 
 some profitable points for future guidance will be made. 
 
 The early history of Venice is enveloped in mystery. It 
 is sufficient for our purpose, however, to know that certain 
 people from the mainland of Italy took refuge from Attila 
 and his Huns among the isles and estuaries of the Adriatic 
 Sea. This was in the year a.d. 452. 
 
 The physical conditions with which these pioneers had to 
 contend were such as called for singular fortitude and re- 
 sourcefulness. The soil was barren, salt-encrusted, and 
 devoid of any mineral ; there was neither timber nor shrub, 
 and even drinking water was most difficult to obtain. Yet in 
 this case, as in the history of other successful and masterful 
 nations that have since risen to power, the very difficulties 
 to be mastered and obstacles to be overcome developed the 
 
 42
 
 LATER DEVELOPMENTS IN GOVERNMENT 43 
 
 character that was to make them (dwellers on a few bare 
 rocks) for a time a world power. 
 
 The early Venetians succeeded, by industry, genius for 
 commerce, and maritime skill developed by their environ- 
 ment, in laying the foundation of an edifice which towered 
 above their neighbours ; they made many of these neighbours 
 their tributaries ; they explored, by means of their fleets, 
 distant shores ; they consolidated a naval power which was 
 unique in the history of the world, and they even controlled 
 the destiny of empires. 
 
 The islets and lagoons which go to make up the Venetian Their 
 archipelago were at first inhabited by refugees from the and^ocial 
 mainland. The legislative and executive power was delegated life, 
 to elective magistrates holding the title of marine tribunes, 
 but later the government developed into autocratic republican- 
 ism. In the year 697 it was agreed to give greater strength to 
 the supreme power and more unity to popular representation, 
 therefore a constitutional head was chosen under the title of 
 Doge or Duke. The assembly at which the Doge was elected 
 consisted of the whole of the populace. Although all the 
 people enjoyed equal political privileges there were gradations 
 of social rank, namely, maggiori, mediocri, and minori. 
 
 In the year 737 the popular assembly resolved upon the 
 abolition of ducal power and substituted for it that of a pre- 
 sident whose term of office lasted for one year : but the 
 inefficiency of the system and the inconvenience of an annual 
 election soon became apparent, and in 742 the restoration of 
 the office of Doge with life tenure took place. In the year 
 810 the people finally abandoned the mainland and made 
 Rivo Alto with its surrounding islets the permanent seat of 
 government. It was in this year that the town of Venice is 
 said to have been founded. 
 
 From the year 811 to 1026, out of eighteen Doges fifteen system of 
 were selected from the three leading families, the political p 1 ^ 1118 tbe 
 power thus tending to become hereditary. Elaborate attempts 
 to eliminate all private agreements and to secure an impar- 
 tial vote for a competent person by a combination of the lot 
 and ballot were continually made. At first all the adult males 
 cast their votes in the election of this constitutional head, but 
 this custom appears to have given dissatisfaction to the people.
 
 44 
 
 THE GOVERNANCE OF EMPIRE 
 
 Machinery 
 of govern- 
 ment. 
 The Grand 
 Council. 
 
 Apparently caucuses were formed ; at all events another 
 system was tried. In 1172 the election of the Doge was left in 
 the hands of the Grand Council. Here again it was discovered 
 that party and family influence were being brought into play, 
 so a further alteration in the system of election was made. 
 An electoral college was formed consisting of forty members 
 elected by four men, presumably members of the Grand Coun- 
 cil ; this college elected the Doge. 
 
 In 1229 this college was divided into two equal parts and 
 the lot was used to decide between the persons chosen by the 
 parties. Twenty years later the college was increased to 
 forty-one to avoid using the lot. In 1268 still another 
 method was adopted and this appears to have given satisfac- 
 tion, as with slight alterations it continued. The members of 
 the Grand Council over thirty years of age drew from a bag 
 balls some of which were gilded and the rest plated. The thirty 
 who drew the gilded balls cast the lot for nine of their number, 
 and these nine appointed forty men of different families, seven 
 of the nine voices being needed for a choice. These forty 
 drew lots for twelve of their number, and these twelve chose 
 twenty-five, each of whom needed to have nine votes for his 
 election. The twenty-five cast lots for nine, the nine selected 
 forty-five, each of whom needed seven voices for his election. 
 This body of forty-five, after an oath to make choice according 
 to their conscience, threw the names of the persons whom 
 they wished for Doge into a vessel. The process was repeated 
 until twenty-five votes were cast for one person. 
 
 The power of the Doge was restricted by the Grand 
 Council, by his personal council, by the Quarantia, and later 
 by the Council of Ten and by the Constitution. 
 
 He was debarred from leaving the republic except by 
 authority of the two councils. He could not marry a foreign 
 woman, and he could not appoint any relative of his own to 
 a civil or ecclesiastical office. 
 
 The Grand Council. — This institution appears to have 
 enjoyed legislative and executive powers, but like the 
 procedure of electing the Doge, it underwent several changes 
 in its evolution. 
 
 Originally the Grand Council was elected in this manner. 
 The people were divided into six districts (sestieri). The
 
 LATER DEVELOPMENTS IN GOVERNMENT 45 
 
 male adults of those districts elected twelve persons, each of 
 these twelve selected forty men from his district as repre- 
 sentatives in the Grand Council. The electoral college of 
 twelve were not members of the parliament. 
 
 The life of this curiously elected parliament was for one 
 year only, but the members were eligible for re-election. No 
 elector could choose more than four of his kinsmen. This 
 system of election was amended later. Instead of twelve 
 electors they were reduced in number to four, but these four 
 were allowed seats in the Grand Council. 
 
 The Ministry. — In the beginning of the eleventh century The Ministry, 
 the doge was required to have two councillors associated with 
 him ; these were increased to six appointed by the Grand 
 Council. 
 
 At a later date this council was augmented by the addi- 
 tion of three heads of the Quarantia. This first Council of Ten, 
 including the Doge as president, was termed the signoria, and 
 had the executive power in its hands. At a still later date a 
 further development was made, this smaller council being in- 
 creased to twenty-eight by the addition of six " savi grandi " 
 who represented the Senate or Council of Pregadi, six " savi 
 di terra formia," the Home Department and War Office of 
 the republic, and six " savi di ordinini," the Board of Ad- 
 miralty. This is an important advance in constitutional 
 history, and the position, with regard to the Doge and the 
 Grand Council, is not unlike that existing between King, 
 Ministry, and Parliament in Great Britain to-day. 
 
 The Senate or Pregadi. — This was a council originally The Senate, 
 small but which gradually developed into a Senate not unlike 
 the British House of Lords. At first it was made up of persons 
 invited by the Doge to assist him with their advice. They 
 enjoyed no official power, and were selected from among the 
 citizens ; but as the aristocratic tendency grew the senators 
 were selected from among the principal families. The Senate 
 was again increased to sixty in number, and was chosen by 
 electors nominated by the Grand Council. A still further 
 development increased it to 300 of whom 120 were elected by 
 the Grand Council ; the remainder had their seats by virtue 
 of office held in the state. Six of their number represented 
 the Senate in the Ministry. 
 
 The Privy Council. — A board of forty persons entitled
 
 46 
 
 THE GOVEENANCE OF EMPIRE 
 
 The " Quar- 
 antia ". 
 
 Council of 
 Ten. 
 
 Its remark- 
 able powers. 
 
 the Quarantia. It was at first invested with higher criminal 
 jurisdiction and also with appellate jurisdiction in civil and 
 smaller criminal cases. Three chief justices presided over 
 this council. Its functions gradually increased until they 
 included advisory powers of various kinds. Propositions 
 coming from the Ministry or signoria to the Grand Council 
 were submitted to it for deliberation and advice. 
 
 The Council of Ten. — Yet another institution of this 
 system of government was the Council of Ten, perhaps the 
 constitutional body of Venice best known to history. This 
 small council was instituted in 1308 and was originally an 
 extraordinary commission appointed by the Grand Council 
 to sit for two months to investigate certain conspiracies that 
 were then on foot. Its life was continued by periods of two 
 months until in 1335 it was confirmed as a standing institu- 
 tion by resolution of the Grand Council. Its functions might 
 well be described as those of a high criminal court and a 
 political detective department combined. 
 
 The members were chosen for one year and could have no 
 family connexion with the Doge, nor could more than one 
 belong to the same house. The powers developed by this 
 small council were of such an extraordinary nature that, 
 apparently through fear, they were enabled to usurp the 
 powers of Doge, Ministry, and Grand Council : and while the 
 Council of Ten existed the Doge was but a figurehead, and 
 although in theory the constitution of this council, like the 
 other institutions of government described, was strictly demo- 
 cratic, in reality it was formed on strictly aristocratic lines. 
 Aristocratic tendencies had crept into the Constitution at its 
 conception, this being due no doubt to the fact that many of 
 the original refugees from the mainland were of noble families. 
 These prospered on the seaborne commerce of Venice, and, 
 other families springing into prominence, a commercial aristo- 
 cracy was created which for the purpose of furthering the 
 cause of its own class had all the attributes and characteristics 
 that had furthered the cause of the country, and as can be 
 seen by the Constitution, it met with no small measure of suc- 
 cess. Yet here, as in the case of Rome, bitter strife existed 
 for centuries between the aristocracy and the democracy, and 
 this strife and incipient rebellion was the cause of the Council
 
 LATER DEVELOPMENTS IN GOVERNMENT 47 
 
 of Ten. This council was the outcome of a revolutionary 
 rising caused by an arbitrary measure which openly aimed 
 at making the Grand Council an aristocratic and hereditary 
 Chamber. Up to the year 1297 the aristocracy had been stead- Triumph of 
 ily gaining power. The trade with the East which the Vene- the & ri Bto- 
 tians had developed had practically become a monopoly and 
 was controlled by the aristocrats. The slight control of annual 
 election which the people had was shaken off bit by bit. The 
 twelve electors had fallen into the hands of a few families and 
 these reserved to themselves the right of re-election, hence the 
 Grand Council became in practice permanent or hereditary, 
 though there still remained the possibility under the Constitu- 
 tion for any citizen of ability, however low his origin or humble 
 his condition, to find his way into this assembly. This 
 possibility was to be done away with for ever. The aristo- 
 cratic party increased in wealth, in power, and in importance 
 so gradually but so surely that they were able to form laws 
 to their liking and execute them in their own fashion. It was 
 now resolved to admit into the Grand Council only those 
 whose fathers or grandfathers had been members of that 
 council. As a concession to the democratic party certain 
 persons who could not conform with the new measure were 
 admitted by favour and on sufferance, but this concession 
 gradually died away. The powers of the Doge were again re- 
 duced and the people were completely dispossessed of the say 
 they had had in the choice of their constitutional head. This 
 measure, creating an absolute oligarchy, was brought forward 
 and carried by the Doge Gradenigo in the year 1297, and was 
 known as the "closing of the Grand Council". The result 
 of this measure was to divide the citizens into three orders : — 
 
 1. Those who had never been in, nor had had any ancestors 
 in, the Grand Council. 
 
 2. Those whose ancestors had belonged to it. 
 
 3. Those who had been in, and whose ancestors also had 
 belonged to it. 
 
 The first were called " new men " and were only admitted to 
 the council by favour. The second were admitted occasionally. 
 The third had every right to be admitted. With this radical 
 alteration in the Constitution the period of democracy passed 
 away. It had lasted for nearly four centuries and under that
 
 48 
 
 THE GOVERNANCE OF EMPIRE 
 
 the State. 
 
 form of government Venice had seen her grandest epoch. In 
 the year 1310 a revolution broke out, the object being the 
 overthrow of the aristocratic party and the resuscitation of the 
 democratic Constitution. This was successfully dealt with by 
 the Government. A tribunal of ten judges appointed to in- 
 quire into the conspiracy evolved into the permanent council 
 to which we have referred. 
 Followed by Under the amended Constitution the administration was 
 
 enlargement divided into ten departments : — Justice, legislation, worship, 
 functions of finance, commerce, education, war, marine, public health, and 
 city administration. The responsibilities of the State had 
 grown to be very considerable and called for this reorganiza- 
 tion, which was a distinct development in government and re- 
 flected imperial responsibilities. This development of a small 
 state and its rise to be a world power had not occurred without 
 creating the jealousy of rivals. The influence exercised by 
 the sea-power of Venice will be referred to elsewhere, but 
 as an illustration of the enmity and jealousy commercial 
 progress and maritime supremacy bring against the power 
 enjoying them, we may here refer to a crisis in the career of 
 this state. 
 
 The maritime republic of Genoa had been a commercial 
 rival of Venice. The Genoese had frustrated the Venetian 
 ambition of establishing a Latin Empire on the ruins of the 
 Byzantine Empire by re-establishing the Greeks in Constanti- 
 nople in 1261. The quarrel between these two maritime re- 
 publics had its origin through their commercial interests 
 clashing in the East, and in 1376 war broke out between them. 
 It is interesting to note that in anticipation of this war Venice 
 succeeded in equipping a galley each day and that her arsenal 
 employed 12,000 workmen. Genoa entered into an alliance 
 with the King of Hungary, the Patriarch of Aquileja and the 
 Lords of Verona and Padua, the community of Ancona, the 
 Queen of Naples, and the Duke of Austria. Against this for- 
 midable league Venice called upon every citizen capable of 
 bearing arms. In May 1378 the first battle was fought off An- 
 terim, and was a victory for the Venetian fleet, but in the fol- 
 lowing year the Genoese fleet sailed up the Adriatic Gulf and 
 inflicted a crushing defeat upon the Venetians. Venice now 
 lay exposed, for the second fleet under Carlo Zeno was away 
 
 War with 
 Genoa.
 
 LATEE DEVELOPMENTS IN GOVERNMENT 49 
 
 off Negropont. The Genoese sailed into the port of Lido and 
 Sugid, a suburb of Chioggia, and proceeded to besiege Chioggia. 
 On the mainland the Hungarian and Paduan troops attacked 
 all the towns dependent on Venice. It now appeared as if the 
 power of Venice was doomed, for by the end of the year 
 Chioggia fell and with it 6000 Venetians were killed and 4000 
 captured. All the forts along the coast, with one exception, 
 surrendered. The town of Venice was strongly fortified and 
 whilst the Genoese were kept at bay the Venetians strained 
 every nerve in building and equipping another fleet. Ten 
 weeks after the fall of Chioggia this small fleet put to sea and 
 succeeded in blocking all the canals leading to Chioggia, and 
 now besieged the Genoese in their lately captured town. Carlo 
 Zeno's fleets arrived and the Genoese were at last driven from 
 the isles and lagoons of Venice, but the war dragged on until 
 August 1381, by which time the resources and strength of both 
 republics were well-nigh exhausted. Peace was declared, but 
 Genoa never recovered and Venice did so with difficulty. In 
 recognition of the services rendered by the citizens during 
 this war the aristocratic party sanctioned the selection of 
 thirty new members for the Grand Council from among those 
 who had most distinguished themselves. New life was thus 
 put into the Constitution. 
 
 With her recovery from this exhausting war Venice re- Territorial 
 newed her policy of territorial expansion on the mainland, succeeded the 
 In 1388 she occupied Vicenza, Feltre, Bassano, and Gatta-war. 
 molta ; in 1405 Alviano, Calleoni, Padua, and Verona ; in 1420 
 Udine and Friuli ; in 1426 Brescia, and the following year 
 Bergamo ; in 1449 Crema, in 1484 Rivogo, and in 1499 Cre- 
 mona. Each of these provinces was administered by an 
 administrator with a provincial council regulated by a sub- 
 constitution granted from Venice. This policy of territorial 
 expansion added to the enterprise of her merchants but in- 
 creased the envy and jealousy of her neighbours and of those 
 European powers which were forestalled in the acquisition 
 either of possessions or of markets. The Venetian statesmen 
 were wise enough to realize that that which had been obtained 
 by the sword, directly or indirectly, must be held by the 
 sword ; and the naval programme of Venice was regulated by 
 her responsibilities to her citizens, both those residing at 
 
 4
 
 50 
 
 THE GOVERNANCE OF EMPIRE 
 
 Venetian 
 prosperity 
 excited the 
 jealousy of 
 Other powers 
 
 home and those dwelling in the possessions she had ac- 
 quired. 
 
 She had supported her armies at the expense of others, 
 or had obtained a compensation for their labours in her con- 
 quests ; but as she had risen to power by her navy and lived 
 by a seaborne commerce that was dependent upon her naval 
 supremacy, so did that navy have her first and direct care. 
 At this time her naval arsenal was the envy of all Europe. 
 
 Venice was now at peace with all the European powers on 
 both sides of the Alps, but the cloud was gathering which was 
 to burst over this world power and which, when the storm 
 eventually cleared away, was to discover her on the decline. 
 
 The motives and effects of her conduct had been too obvi- 
 ous not to excite the jealousy of all the surrounding states. 
 To Maximilian, the Emperor elect, her increasing power 
 rendered her a dangerous rival. Louis XII felt himself in- 
 debted for his Milanese dominions rather to her forbearance 
 than to her inability to deprive him of them. The King of 
 Spain regarded her as a future enemy. Louis XII entered 
 into negotiations with the other states of Europe for the 
 purpose of forming an offensive league against Venice, and 
 the plenipotentiaries met in October 1508 in the city of 
 Cambray. On December 10th a treaty was concluded for the 
 attack on and dismemberment of the territories of Venice. 
 Under this treaty Maximilian was to receive the cities and 
 districts of Roveretta, Verona, Padua, Vicenza, Trevigi, and 
 Friuli, with the patriarchate of Aquileja and all those places 
 he had been divested of by the Venetians. The King of 
 France was to receive the cities of Brescia, Crema, Bergamo, 
 and Cremona, and the whole district of Ghiaradadda. Ferdi- 
 nand of Spain was to have for his share the restitution of the 
 maritime cities of Naples, and the Pope was to recover the 
 territories in Romagna, including the cities of Ravenna, 
 Cervia, Faenza, and Rimini, also Iinola and Cesena. A 
 power was reserved for the Duke of Savoy, as King of 
 Cyprus, the Duke of Ferrara, and the Marquis Mantua, to 
 become parties in the league to which they afterwards ac- 
 ceded. The Kings of England and Hungary were also in- 
 vited to assist in the attack and destruction of a power 
 considered to be dangerous to Europe.
 
 LATER DEVELOPMENTS IN GOVERNMENT 51 
 
 As soon, however, as the Venetians were aware of the Venetians 
 magnitude of the danger with which they were threatened, f b r g Pftred f ° r 
 they began to make every preparation for a vigorous defence, threatened 
 They endeavoured by diplomacy to weaken the league. They w 
 tried to persuade the King of England to attack the dominions 
 of France whilst the French army was beyond the Alps, and 
 they called upon the Turkish Emperor, Bajazet, for his assist- 
 ance. But to whichever quarter they turned for aid they 
 met with disappointment, and the republic was left, without 
 a single ally, to oppose itself to a combination more powerful 
 than any that Europe had known since the time of the 
 crusades. Their spirit, however, rose to meet the occasion, 
 and their resources were such as might be expected from the 
 wealthiest people in Europe. An army of 40,000 men was 
 quickly put in the field. Their powerful navy was at the 
 same time directed to co-operate with the army ; but when 
 every effort was being made to increase the naval armament, 
 the arsenal, the admiration of Europe, was treacherously set 
 on fire and a considerable quantity of ammunition, naval 
 stores, and twelve galleys of war were destroyed. 
 
 The command of the army was given to two generals but were 
 with equal authority but different views. One of the first over P° wered ; 
 measures of the Government was to confer with these two 
 commanders with regard to the policy to be adopted in the 
 campaign. The one commander advised immediate offen- 
 sive operations and carrying the war into the states of Milan, 
 thus terminating hostilities by a single effort. The other 
 commander recommended a defensive policy, and the fortifica- 
 tion of the continental cities ; he proposed waiting until events 
 occurred which might weaken or destroy a league that had 
 within itself the principles of dissolution. The Government 
 took a middle course which, as events proved, was disastrous. 
 Several of the cities were seized by the confederacy. In May 
 1509 a decisive battle was fought in the district of Ghiarad- 
 adda in which the Venetian army was defeated. 
 
 The chief parties in the league now set about appropriat- 
 ing their shares of the spoil of the Venetian possessions ; nor 
 were the inferior allies idle. Alfonso, Duke of Ferrara, annexed 
 Polesine and the districts of Este Montagnana and Monfelice, 
 
 Christoforo Frangipani seized several fortresses in Istria, the 
 
 4 *
 
 52 THE GOVEKNANCE OF EMPIEE 
 
 Duke of Brunswick took Feltre and Belluno and several parts 
 of Friuli. 
 
 Even in this their darkest hour the Venetians had some 
 peculiar advantages. The situation of their capital, sur- 
 rounded by the Adriatic, secured them from the fear of total 
 destruction. Whatever the limbs might suffer the head was 
 sound, and in their powerful and well-appointed fleet they 
 had a bulwark which defied the utmost malice of their enemies. 
 So far their enemies had declined a naval battle. The rapidity 
 with which the misfortunes fell upon their land campaign 
 evidently made the Government timorous of sending the navy 
 far from Venice. It, therefore, did not lend that aid to the 
 army which it might so successfully have done. Upon the 
 division of the cities and provinces taken from Venice among 
 the league there appeared signs of dissolution. The first power 
 to break away from the league was the Pope : this gave heart 
 to the Venetians, and they attacked and regained the important 
 town of Padua. Then war broke out between the two most 
 powerful members of the league, France and Spain. Venice 
 continued, however, to be the opponent of France and the 
 remaining members of the league for the next eleven years. 
 In 1521 peace was declared, and with it the position of Venice 
 was changed. The protracted war had exhausted her strength, 
 she was shorn of most of her possessions, and the brilliancy and 
 boldness that formerly distinguished her actions were replaced 
 by a policy of statecraft and strategy which impeded every 
 movement of government and betrayed her weakness. This 
 was a striking contrast to the energy and resolution of the 
 past. She still retained colonies, but their retention became 
 more difficult with the declining resources of the state, 
 and then The people themselves began to show all the unmistakable 
 
 decayed. signs of a decaying nation. They began to degenerate into 
 indolence and luxury and were becoming less fit to compete 
 in arms or commerce with their rivals. In 1537 she was at 
 war with Turkey and only secured peace in 1540 upon most 
 disastrous terms, including the surrender of the towns of 
 Nauplia and Malvasia. In 1566 war again broke out and the 
 Turks captured Cyprus. By a treaty of peace signed in 1573 
 Cyprus was ceded to Turkey and the fortress of Sopoto, her last 
 possession in Albania, was also given up to Turkey by Venice.
 
 LATER DEVELOPMENTS IN GOVERNMENT 53 
 
 The peace which followed appears to have been more 
 disastrous for Venice than the war, for we find that the 
 people now entered upon a life of degeneracy which very 
 quickly annihilated all the characteristics so necessary for 
 the holding together of a nation by the ever-preparedness for 
 war. The subsequent history of Venice and its ultimate dis- 
 appearance from the map as an independent state do not 
 concern us. Venice has been cited as an interesting develop- 
 ment in government, as a distinct advance upon that of 
 Achaia and Rome ; and also for the very good reason that 
 the history of its rise, under its peculiar political system, its 
 territorial expansion, its geographical situation, and its naval 
 supremacy make it a valuable object-lesson where the study 
 of the British Empire is concerned. The fact that Venice 
 was stopped in her progress and then thrust backward by 
 a combination of powers brought together out of jealousy 
 and envy created by the remarkable commercial energy, the 
 acquisition of possessions and the maritime power of this 
 republic is a lesson that must be taken to heart by every 
 student of imperial legislation and by every statesman in the 
 British Empire. But whilst Venice was beginning to tread 
 hesitatingly her downward path, the people of another tiny 
 portion of Europe were awakening into an activity that was 
 to carry them far, and that was destined to leave records 
 behind as glorious as those of the people w T e have, just left. 
 
 Holland, like Venice, had little to thank nature for. Rise of 
 Motley describes it as a "region, outcast of ocean and Holland - 
 earth " and the early inhabitants as a " race of wretched 
 ichthyophagi who dwelt upon the terpen, or mounds, which 
 they had raised, like beavers, above the almost fluid soil ". 
 
 Napoleon the First laid claim to Holland on the ground 
 that its surface was a deposit from the hinterland taken 
 along by the rapid river and then dropped by the sluggish 
 watercourses into which the Rhine divided itself, his con- 
 tention being that as the hinterland was his by right of 
 conquest, therefore the lowlands which owed their existence 
 to the river which he had appropriated were also his by 
 devolution. 
 
 This claim serves to illustrate the insignificance of 
 the land from which sprung a world power and a people
 
 54 
 
 THE GOVEKNANCE OF EMPIRE 
 
 Early in- 
 habitants of 
 the Nether- 
 lands. 
 
 Their 
 
 democratic 
 
 goYernment. 
 
 responsible for some of the most important developments in 
 government and who created precedents of the greatest 
 value in political action to-day. 
 
 We are indebted to Caesar for the earliest account of the 
 people of this region. He found the territory on the left of 
 the Rhine inhabited by tribes of the Celtic family. According to 
 Tacitus the Netherlander were the bravest of all the Germans. 
 The Romans appear to have held the early inhabitants of 
 what is now the land of Holland in great respect, for whilst 
 they conquered the Belgians, and took tribute from the 
 Frisians, they called the Batavians their friends and entered 
 into an honourable alliance with them. The Zuyder Zee and 
 the Dollart, brought into being by the inundations of the 
 thirteenth century and not existing at this period, did not then 
 interpose boundaries between kindred tribes. All formed a 
 homogeneous nation of pure Germanic origin. We therefore 
 find the population to be partly Celtic and partly Germanic. 
 Now of those two elements, dissimilar in their tendencies and 
 always difficult to blend, the Netherlands people have been 
 compounded. 
 
 A certain fatality of history has continually assisted to 
 separate still more widely these constituents instead of de- 
 tecting and stimulating the elective affinities which existed. 
 
 We find too that religion upon all great historical occasions 
 has acted as the most powerful dissolvent. 
 
 The policy of these early people was republican. The 
 sovereignty resided in the great assembly of the people. 
 There were slaves among them but these were either prisoners 
 of war or those who had forfeited their liberty by gambling. 
 Their chiefs, called by the Romans princes and kings, were in 
 reality leaders chosen by universal suffrage, elected in the 
 great assembly to preside in war. The army consisted en- 
 tirely of volunteers, but the man who did not volunteer for 
 war was considered as infamous as the man who deserted the 
 field while his chief remained alive. The same popular 
 assembly elected the village magistrates and decided upon all 
 important matters both of peace and war. All State affairs 
 were in the hands of this democracy, for the elected chiefs 
 had rather authority to persuade than power to command. 
 
 Local autonomy, or the municipal institutions of the
 
 LATER DEVELOPMENTS IN GOVERNMENT 55 
 
 various towns and districts of Europe, can bo traced back to Towns ol the 
 
 the wise system of imperial government which was inaugu- Netherlan<Js ' 
 
 rated by Augustus and has survived the downfall of ' 
 
 Roman Empire. This local government of a city has in 
 
 many cases grown into the national freedom of a people, but; 
 
 the modern towns of the Netherlands cannot be traced back 
 
 to the Roman Empire. The rise of the chartered town was 
 
 later in the Netherlands than it was in the rest of Western 
 
 Europe. 
 
 But it is in the rise of the chartered towns and their 
 subsequent history that the material of value to us is to be 
 found. The period of feudalism during which there is little 
 acknowledgment of human right, no obedience to divine 
 reason, contains but a few negative lessons for the political 
 student of to-day. 
 
 In 912 the seventeen provinces of the Netherlands ruled over Charters 
 by dukes or counts accepted Charles the Simple of France as^^^^ 
 overlord. In this year Charles granted a charter to one 
 Count Dirk. His son, Count Dirk II, received in 083 a very 
 large portion of what is now Northern Holland. The history 
 of Holland for useful purposes commences with the third Dirk, 
 for he extended his sway and became lord of Holland. "With 
 the fourth Dirk began the naval history of Holland, for it was 
 this count who in 1047 with his light boats captured the fleet of 
 Henry III of France, ruined the imperial army, and dictated his 
 own terms. In 1213 William the First granted the first civie 
 charter ; this was to the town of Geertruidenberg, and a second 
 was granted in 1217 to Middelburg in 2eeland. " To all 
 Middelburgers," ran the charter, " one kind of law is guaran- 
 teed. Every man must go to law before the Schepens. If 
 any one being summoned and present in Walcheren does not 
 appear or refuses submission to sentence he shall be banished, 
 with confiscation of property. Schont or Schepen denying 
 justice to a complainant shall until reparation hold no tri- 
 bunal again. A burgher having a dispute with an outsider 
 (buitenmann) must summon him before the Schepens. An 
 appeal lies from the Schepen to the Count. No one can testify 
 but a householder. All alienation of real estate must take 
 place before the Schepens. If any outsider has a complaint 
 against a burgher the Schepens and Schont must arrange it.
 
 56 
 
 THE GOVERNANCE OF EMPIRE 
 
 Their 
 prosperity. 
 
 Progress in 
 
 municipal 
 
 government. 
 
 If either party refuses submission to them they must ring the 
 town bell and summon an assembly of all the burghers to com- 
 pel him. Anyone ringing the town bell except by general 
 consent, and anyone not appearing when it tolls, is liable to 
 a fine. No Middelburger can be arrested or held in durance 
 within Flanders or Holland except for crime." This charter, 
 granted to each of these towns, was the model upon which 
 many other communities, cradles of great cities in the Nether- 
 lands, were afterwards created ; but we also see here a 
 distinct advance in legislation beyond everything that had been 
 attempted before. These charters created, not for all inhabit- 
 ants but for a great number of them, the right, not to govern 
 themselves, but to be governed by law. They furnished a 
 local administration of justice. They provided against arbit- 
 rary imprisonment. They set up tribunals upon which men 
 of the burgher class were to sit in judgment. 
 
 In the first instance we find that the chief magistrate 
 (Schont) and the aldermen (Schepens) were appointed by the 
 Sovereign, but at a later date the right of electing those muni- 
 cipal authorities was given to the communities. Now that 
 life and property were assured of a certain measure of security 
 through the institution of law and order, the communities of 
 Flanders and Holland began to prosper. The attention previ- 
 ously given to domestic feuds or internal wars was now 
 given to commerce and trade and to manufactures, especially 
 of wool. 
 
 With the extension of the charters to the towns of Dort, 
 Delft, Haarlem, Alkmaar, Leyden, and Schiedam, there arose 
 in the chartered towns themselves a worthy ambition to 
 develop and improve their local system of government. 
 Under the charters each city was ruled by the Schont and 
 Schepens supported by councillors, one from each quarter 
 of the town ; whilst the Schepens administered justice the 
 councillors or burghermasters, as they became known, attended 
 to civil affairs, and as these developed the importance of the 
 office exceeded that of the justices. Each town organized its 
 own defence in the form of local militia. In 1326 a national 
 assembly was formed to which the towns sent representatives. 
 All the nobles were, by hereditary right, members of this 
 assembly of provincial estates, but it was not until March
 
 LATER DEVELOPMENTS IN GOVERNMENT 57 
 
 1477 that this assembly was acknowledged by the Sovereign. 
 In that year the "Great Privilege" was granted which "Great 
 affirmed the power of the cities and provinces to hold diets Pnvilege " - 
 and reserved to the estates a voice in the declaration of war. 
 It was provided in this national charter that natives alone 
 should hold high office and that no new taxes should be 
 levied without the approval of the estates ; that one high 
 court of justice was to be established for Holland, Zeeland, 
 and Friesland, and that the Dutch language was to be the 
 official language of the State ; that the seat of government 
 should be at the Hague, and that the Sovereign should appear 
 in person before the estates when supply was required. In 
 this assembly the nobles sat in person but they only had one 
 collective vote. At first all the towns large and small sent 
 representatives, each town having but one vote irrespective 
 of size or importance. In 1494 Philip repealed the " Great 
 Privilege" and thus commenced a period full of strife for 
 political freedom between the burghers, who by this time 
 had grown powerful, and the aristocracy headed by Philip 
 King of France, who had usurped the crown of the Nether- 
 lands. It was destined to be some years before the people 
 again secured their full liberty, though by means of their 
 chty charters they were able to prepare themselves for the 
 more complete measure of freedom. Charles V united the Charles V. 
 provinces in his person as Emperor, but as provinces of a 
 great empire of which Germany and Spain were also parts 
 they were bound to suffer ; the regency of the Netherlands was 
 entrusted by Charles to near relatives who governed in the 
 interests of his house, not of the country. We now find the 
 Netherlands system of government to be that of despotism, 
 although many of the cities had refused to surrender their 
 individual liberty. The city of Ghent is a case in point, which Ghent. 
 by its jurisdiction over many large but subordinate towns 
 legislated for more than its own immediate population, esti- 
 mated at 200,000. At this time its streets and squares were 
 spacious and well kept. This city was a small republic in 
 all but name. The population was divided into fifty-two 
 guilds of manufacturers, and into thirty-two tribes of 
 weavers ; each fraternity elected annually or biannually its own 
 deans and subordinate officers. The legislative, judicial, and
 
 58 THE GOVEKNANCE OF EMPIEE 
 
 administrative functions were centred in the Senate, subject, 
 however, to the grand council of Mechlin and the sovereign 
 authority. This body consisted of twenty-six members, and 
 they were appointed partly from the manufacturers in general 
 and partly from the weavers. These representatives were 
 chosen by a college of eight electors, who were appointed 
 by the sovereign on nomination by the citizens. The whole 
 city in its collective capacity constituted one of the four 
 estates of Flanders. This free city, as yet not interfered 
 with, claimed the general provisions under the " Great 
 Privilege". Charles now turned his attention towards cur- 
 tailing those liberties under the repeal of the charter. 
 
 In 1539 the city of Ghent refused certain monetary tributes 
 demanded of it by the regent. This produced the struggle 
 between the court and Ghent which ended in the severe 
 punishment of the rebellious citizens. In 1540 the Emperor, 
 against the acknowleged rights of the provinces, appointed 
 the Prince of Orange as Stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, and 
 Utrecht. 
 Ecclesiastical In 1559 the Church began to assume an important part 
 aggression. - n ^e government of the provinces, an event destined to 
 lead to the big struggle with Spain. The first step was the 
 reorganization of the bishoprics of the Netherlands. It was 
 believed that this would strengthen the old episcopal inquisi- 
 tion. The Netherlander regarded this ecclesiastical re- 
 organization without consideration for their feelings, rights, 
 and privileges as part of a general plan for the subjection of 
 the provinces by means of foreign troops. All classes, nobles, 
 clergy, burghers, and peasants disliked and regarded with 
 grave suspicion the new ecclesiastical system. The leading 
 men, including William of Orange, were driven into opposi- 
 tion. The newly appointed Archbishop Granvella usurped 
 the powers of regent and was regarded with detestation. In 
 War declared. 1567 war actually broke out. The Duke of Alva at the head 
 of the Spanish troops devastated the provinces and to all 
 appearances the fortunes of Orange and the Netherlands were 
 desperate. For five years the fortunes of war were against 
 them, but the great vicissitudes they were now undergoing 
 proved but an education for the great things they were yet 
 to achieve. The Hollanders had long had to fight the en-
 
 LATER DEVELOPMENTS IN GOVERNMENT 59 
 
 croachinents of the sea, they had indeed wrested this very 
 land from her, and as they had mastered her before, so now 
 were they to make use of her in the repulsion of the invader. 
 One, William de la Marck, got together a small navy of 
 twenty-five vessels : with this he seized the important port 
 of Brill, and next captured Flushing. These two successes 
 heartened the chief cities of Holland and Zeeland to throw 
 off the Spanish yoke and declare for the government of 
 Orange. Alva now withdrew from Zeeland, leaving the 
 provinces practically free from the Spaniards, though Amster- 
 dam was still held. In 1572 the estates of Holland were 
 convened at Dort under the authority of Orange as Stadt- 
 holder for the purpose of raising funds for the prosecution of 
 the war. The Hollanders unanimously resolved to dedicate 
 themselves and their fortunes to the expulsion of the enemy 
 and to the cause of Orange. In 1575 the states of Holland 
 and Zeeland were united. This was brought about with 
 some difficulty, for the municipal principle had developed 
 to an extent which made it difficult to sink any strong 
 individuality. 
 
 In this year the states formally discarded the sovereignty Success of 
 of Philip and declared their independence. In January 1579, * he United 
 
 t rovinc66. 
 
 the United Provinces came definitely into being under the 
 " Union of Utrecht," and the States General elected William 
 of Orange as Stadtholder. In 1584, William of Orange was 
 assassinated and he was succeeded by his son, Maurice. In 
 1584, England undertook to appoint a governor-general and 
 to pay five thousand foot and one thousand horse. In 1607, 
 a twelve years' truce was signed between Spain and Holland. 
 During this protracted war the Dutch had secured those 
 liberties granted them by the " Great Privilege," and they had 
 become the lords of the sea and the chief traders of the world. 
 In 1621, the truce with Spain expired and Holland now took 
 part in the Thirty Years' War. This had been in progress for 
 nearly three years. During this war, the naval prestige of 
 Holland was greatly enhanced. In 1648, in spite of opposi- 
 tion from the Prince of Orange, the deputies of the United 
 Provinces (with the exception of Zeeland and Utrecht) signed 
 a separate treaty of peace with Spain. The United Provinces 
 were recognized as free and independent and Spain dropped
 
 60 THE GOVEKNANCE OF EMPIRE 
 
 all her claims. The two contracting parties agreed to respect 
 and keep clear of each other's trading grounds, and that each 
 should pay in the ports of the other only such tolls as were 
 exacted by the other. This saw the termination of what is 
 known as the Eighty Years' War. In 1651 a convention of 
 the provinces was held for the purpose of securing an aristo- 
 Their form of cratic government in which the liberty of the subject was 
 government. p reserve d. There were four cardinal principles accepted in 
 this federation : (1) the terms of the Union of Utrecht, (2) the 
 claims and position of the House of Orange, (3) the sove- 
 reignty within its own borders of each province, (4) the 
 liberties and power of the cities. The union was governed 
 in theory by the States General of the provinces which met 
 at the Hague. This consisted of a fluctuating number of 
 deputies, sometimes as many as 800. This was supplemented 
 by a permanent Council of State or Cabinet composed of 
 twelve deputies from the provinces. In addition to this 
 federal parliament each province had its own estates and 
 each great city its own Senate ; Amsterdam, for instance, was 
 governed by a Senate of thirty-six burghers, which was re- 
 sponsible for law and order, and which raised local taxes. 
 The office of senator was for life, originally by election of 
 the whole body of freemen, but from the sixteenth century by 
 co-optation so that the government of the self-governed cities 
 became a close oligarchy. The Senates elected the deputies 
 of the cities to the States General of Holland. Each pro- 
 vince had its own Stadtholder and each town had its own 
 Pensionary or chief Minister. But after the death of William II, 
 the office of Stadtholder of Holland was suspended and 
 the Grand Pensionary of Holland, first Minister of State, be- 
 came virtual president of the republic. The continual wars 
 in which the states were engaged during the sixteenth and 
 seventeenth centuries did not impede their commercial pros- 
 perity. Each town had its own special share : Flushing had 
 the West India trade ; Middelburg received French wines ; 
 Terveer received the Scottish and Dort the English staple ; 
 Leyden manufactured ; Haarlem made linen and mixed stuffs ; 
 Zaandam built ships, whilst the East India trade, with that 
 of Spain, went to Amsterdam.
 
 CHAPTEE IV. 
 CONDITIONS AFFECTING GOVERNMENT. 
 
 The principal conditions affecting the government of a nation Conditions 
 are: (1) geographical situation, (2) physical conformation, effecting 
 (3) extent of territory, (4) population, (5) religion, (6) edu- 
 cation. These six conditions might be considered under the 
 character of the people, for the government of a country is 
 what its people make it and the character of a people is 
 moulded by these conditions. 
 
 1. Geographical Situation. — This is the condition Geographical 
 which will have its effect, primarily, upon the character of 81tuatl0n - 
 the people and then upon the form of government they will 
 adopt for the ruling of themselves. The Greeks were apt to 
 consider that if a newly settled town or colony was situated 
 on a fine harbour with productive lands behind, that sooner 
 or later the place would have a democratical government on 
 account of the influence of the commercial class, and on the 
 other hand they considered that an interior town might be 
 kept from the predominance of a democracy, and this would 
 be a motive for planting a colony in such a position. 
 
 We have seen in the review of those nations selected as Effect of 
 illustrations how each began its career in a very humble conditions 
 manner both as regards its size of territory and strength of 
 population. In each case at the beginning law and order 
 were practically unknown, the people were thrown upon 
 their own personal resources and then upon mutual support, 
 either by the aggression of hostile neighbours or by the harsh- 
 ness of the natural conditions. In each case we have seen 
 that the geographical situations of the countries cited 
 brought the people into conflict either with their neighbours 
 or with nature ; the effect was to engender in their character 
 a contempt of physical danger and for human life, patience 
 
 61
 
 62 THE GOVEENANCE OF EMPIEE 
 
 under adversity, and determination to overcome difficulties ; 
 this latter brought in its train, by repeated effort, the physical 
 and mental ability to succeed, 
 and of w e have but to compare a country blessed by nature with 
 
 climate. . 
 
 a geographical situation which does not bring it into immedi- 
 ate conflict with a neighbour, where too the climate is mild, 
 the soil fertile and the elements peaceful, with countries like 
 Holland, Venice, or even Great Britain to realize at once 
 what an effect this condition has upon the inhabitants. 
 Undoubtedly the greatest extreme of cold prevents any 
 marked development of the political instinct, for in such 
 climates there can be little property and little new knowledge 
 to stimulate to better methods of labour ; as with the Eskimos 
 there may be family life and small communities, but the 
 difficulties of finding subsistence scatter men over a wide area. 
 In the other extreme of torrid climate we find scarcely 
 any political capacity, and in most of those countries where 
 the heat is great throughout the year only despotic states are 
 found and little or no political activity. The climate mili- 
 tates against any resolute assertion of the free spirit, and 
 even where civilizing and elevating influences are imported from 
 abroad, they flourish but for a time and then the people 
 deteriorate to the level of the surrounding conditions. This is 
 particularly noticeable in the Dutch Indies, and in some of the 
 British possessions such as Natal, Jamaica, and Mauritius. 
 
 But between these extremes there is a great variety of 
 temperate climates or of such as by the alternations of heat 
 and cold stimulate the inhabitants to industry and produc- 
 tion, and it is here that we find the political forms of the 
 higher races developed. 
 Case of It was not until adversity, caused by science annihilating 
 
 Japan. distance, touched the people of Japan, that they quickened into 
 
 true national life. Secure from anything more serious than 
 predatory raids from their neighbours, blessed with a benign 
 climate, able at the expense of little labour to live in com- 
 parative comfort, the nation lay dormant ; but with the anni- 
 hilation of distance by science their position with regard to 
 their neighbours was altered ; these were brought closer to 
 them, and they found themselves called upon either to defend 
 their possessions by force of arms or to become a subject race.
 
 CONDITIONS AFFECTING GOVEKNMENT 63 
 
 This need developed their character, and out of this grew the 
 greatness of national life which promises to carry them as 
 far as any nation has yet travelled. 
 
 If the geographical situation of a country is such as denies Effect of 
 it a seaboard or grants one of such an inhospitable nature as maritime 
 to preclude a section of its people from following the sea as a 
 calling, then that country can never attain to the forefront of 
 nations. It was not until the Romans had secured for them- 
 selves a seaboard that their career as an imperial people 
 started, and that career dwindled when the sea was abandoned 
 by the Romans themselves. In the case of Rome the geo- 
 graphical condition of a seaboard was achieved by them- 
 selves. The sea did not play the important part upon the 
 character of the people that it did in the cases of Venice, 
 Holland, Spain, Portugal, and Great Britain. In each of 
 these countries it was responsible for bringing into existence 
 a hardy, self-reliant people. Venice, practically created by 
 the hands of her citizens from out of the sea, stamped the 
 character of her people with the restless temper of the ocean 
 difficult of control. Their constitution was evidence of this. 
 
 Holland, in the same way, by her geographical position on Holland 
 was dependent upon the sea for sustenance, her citizens with 
 infinite labour won from the sea the mud banks they ulti- 
 mately cultivated ; to save the little land that had been de- 
 posited by the rivers and what they had reclaimed called for 
 continual labour and warfare with the ocean. This together 
 with a rigorous climate bred a rough but hardy and physic- 
 ally, mentally, and morally healthy people whose influence is 
 felt to the present day and whose precedents in law and 
 government are still used with gratitude. 
 
 In the case of Great Britain this condition of geographi- on Great 
 cal position has played an even more important part than in n ain ' 
 any other instance we can discover. A very extensive sea- 
 board with a limited area of territory necessitated a very 
 large proportion of her inhabitants being familiar with the 
 sea. Her proximity to powerful neighbours with whom she 
 was continually at war, created the enterprising and inde- 
 pendent, if somewhat truculent character, of her people. Her 
 shores called for defence at sea, therefore the qualities of 
 sailor and soldier were combined with that of trader. But
 
 64 THE GOVERNANCE OF EMPIRE 
 
 the sea carries with it the germ of adventure, so we find our 
 militant trader going further afield and returning with valu- 
 able proof of his enterprise and daring, until we have the 
 nation emulating the Venetians. The rigour of the climate, 
 the stormy seas that had to be faced in craft, and with appli- 
 ances, but ill suited for the dangerous calling, created a nation 
 of men well suited to found a world-wide empire. The 
 reward of enterprise, labour, and danger to the individual was 
 wealth, carrying with it a desire for rank. Hence we find that 
 this nation of traders, like that of Venice, adopted an aristo- 
 cratic constitution. In the cases of Venice, Holland, and 
 Great Britain the people were compelled to take to the sea, and 
 their development as world powers took place via the sea as 
 a natural consequence. Their geographical positions at first 
 sight would appear to be a hindrance to expansion when 
 compared, for instance, with France or Italy, yet we find the 
 contrary to have occurred. The obstacles to be overcome, the 
 difficulties to be contended with, so developed the character 
 of the people by quickening their perception, inuring them to 
 physical suffering, increasing their physical and mental 
 energy, and developing the inventive faculty that these nations 
 Counteracting rose superior to an apparent handicap by nature. France, 
 effect of the on the other hand, whilst possessing a naturally fine sea- 
 France, board was doubly blessed with a richly arable hinterland ; 
 her people were neither driven to the sea to find sustenance 
 nor to defend her shores ; enjoying a climate more mild than 
 that of England or Holland, her people w r ere not called upon 
 for the same exertion to provide a living ; they were therefore 
 physically less hardy, more attached to the soil from which 
 they drew their sustenance, and less inclined to roam far 
 afield. To them the only wealth obtainable was from the 
 land ; competition for wealth took place in the possession of 
 land. The hereditary landlord, the aristocrat, and royalty 
 itself were regarded first with fear, then with hatred, by the 
 peasant whose sphere of enterprise was restricted by the vast 
 holdings of a minority. The germ of Socialistic democracy, 
 never allowed to live in England or Holland through its 
 natural enemy, sea power, was ever present in France ; but 
 owing to the successive wars with her neighbours it was un- 
 able to spread, until with a long enough peace, it triumphed.
 
 CONDITIONS AFFECTING GOVERNMENT 65 
 
 "With all the requirements of a comfortable existence at home 
 the inhabitants of France were not called upon to seek a 
 livelihood away from their own land, but as the land became 
 more closely occupied the quality of thrift became a char- 
 acteristic of the people. While this has resulted in making 
 France one of the wealthiest of nations, yet appearing in an 
 another relation of life it has checked the production of 
 children with the result that to-day we find the population 
 of France nearly stationary. 
 
 The importance of the geographical position of a country Effects of the 
 in the career of a nation is well illustrated in the case of ri s° rouB 
 Switzerland. Cut off from the sea and surrounded by power- Switzerland 
 ful neighbours, we here find a race possessing many of the char- u P° n itB 
 acteristics of a great people, yet unable to exercise them in 
 national expansion. One of the earliest of European peoples 
 to adopt constitutional government, owing to their isolation 
 and the continual danger of invasion from without, this took 
 the form of federal union. We have here one of the few true 
 democracies to be found; the geographical position of this 
 small country precludes the acquisition of great wealth either 
 by the community or the individual, hence the adjunct of 
 wealth, aristocratic rank, is absent. Originally the dread of 
 absorption or annexation by a more powerful neighbour drove 
 the small separate states or cantons into a federal union 
 which recognized state rights and independence in local con- 
 trol, and established the sovereignty of the people ; the Con- 
 stitution is a replica of that of ancient Achaia. We see here, 
 as we must have noted in the earlier stages of the Achaian 
 Constitution, one great achievement possible under this form 
 of government, the absence of internal strife. Whether 
 federal union be found among the component parts of an 
 empire, a limited monarchy, an aristocratic democracy, or a 
 republic, it has the inestimable advantage of eradicating inter- 
 nal strife by the abolition of the causes. The geographical 
 situation of Switzerland has produced, through similar causes, 
 effects like those found among the peoples of Holland, Great 
 Britain, and Scandinavia. The rigour of the climate, the 
 limited arability of the land, and its mountainous character 
 have produced a hardy and independent race of men whose 
 character is reflected in their form of government. The 
 
 5
 
 66 THE GOVEENANCE OF EMPIEE 
 
 geographical position of a country determines the system of 
 its government first by being primarily responsible for mould- 
 ing the character of its people, and secondly by the country's 
 position with regard to neighbours. 
 
 Other conditions began to manifest their influence on the 
 political forms at a yet later period than this. 
 Effects of 2. Physical Conformation. — This condition, together 
 
 graphical " with the l as ^> was responsible for the forms of government 
 features of a which have been inherited, though it bears but little influ- 
 country. eQce ^ determining such changes as are daily taking place 
 in constitutional procedure. But in the past, that is in the 
 beginning of constitutional government, the influence of the 
 physical conformation of a country was great. We have 
 seen how the people of Achaia, inhabiting a comparatively 
 flat country, congregated in cities ; how in communion they 
 were able to subordinate self sufficiently to conceive and to 
 bring into being the best of government for the good of the 
 community. Yet we find their neighbours using a similar 
 system and failing to make it effective, and the cause of 
 success on the one part and failure on the other is the physical 
 conformation of the countries, differing to the same extent 
 as Scotland and England. We know that the Lykians 
 were divided into numerous hill tribes which were separated 
 from each other by broken country. The nature of the 
 country called for wide distribution to obtain the most from the 
 soil ; they were, too, a pastoral people. Should a tribe be- 
 come too big and unwieldy it was split up and a tribal head 
 appointed, preferably the son or near relation of the chief of 
 the parent tribe. In this way hereditary aristocracy was 
 ingrained in the national character and kept well before 
 them by the exclusiveness and smallness of the tribe. Had 
 the country been flat, making communication between the 
 tribes more frequent, a reverse system would have taken 
 place ; the tribes would have united and congregated in centres ; 
 the stock would have fallen into the hands of those whose 
 natural ability in that calling was greatest ; those whose stock 
 had passed from them through natural inability to keep it would 
 have, by necessity, discovered some quality in themselves not 
 shared in common and would have proceeded to exercise it 
 for the purpose of securing a livelihood. In this way the
 
 CONDITIONS AFFECTING GOVEKNMENT 67 
 
 close ties between chief and tribesmen would have gradually 
 disappeared as it did with the Achaians and as it has since 
 done with the Scotch and the Welsh. But the configuration 
 of the country forbade this, hence we see even to the present 
 day the influence of this condition in certain systems of 
 government. It is one of the conditions responsible for the 
 state rights so jealously retained in the Swiss Constitution. 
 It has played an important part in our own constitution, and 
 is mainly responsible for its elasticity. No hard and fast 
 instrument of government such as the written constitution 
 of France or of the United States of America could have 
 successfully brought together under constitutional govern- 
 ment the Highlanders of Scotland and the inhabitants of 
 Middlesex ; the physical conformation of the territory occupied 
 by each had moulded different characters. 
 
 To understand adequately the importance that this con- Well ex- 
 dition exercised at the dawn of constitutional government in ^ m P llfied m 
 
 & _ India. 
 
 Europe we have but to turn to India of to-day and examine 
 the effect that the physical conformation of the country has 
 upon the people of that country. In the flat, hot regions of 
 Bengal, and on the banks of the Ganges and its tributary 
 streams we find a timid, gentle, pacific race of men, educated 
 but superstitious, and extremely suspicious ; servile to their 
 superiors but tyrannical to their inferiors ; obsequious, yet 
 treacherous, still retaining the arts of Eastern adulation 
 accentuated by occidental education, mild and inoffensive in 
 their intercourse with each other. Congregated together in 
 bazaars they become the willing and servile instruments of 
 the demagogue. On the other hand, in the higher regions, 
 where the mountainous nature of the country makes inter- 
 course and living more difficult and necessitates greater 
 physical energy, we find the inhabitants brave, daring, im- 
 petuous, self-reliant, and full of initiative ; they are chivalrous 
 to women, courteous to strangers, glorying in deeds of hero- 
 ism, faithful in friendship but vehement in hatred. With 
 these elevated qualities are mingled others which belong to 
 the same natural character : a fierce and revengeful temper, 
 a disposition uncultivated and impatient of discipline ; prone 
 to violence and inured to crime by ages of uncontrolled licen- 
 tiousness. It is in these nations, the roving Mahrattas, 
 
 5*
 
 68 
 
 THE GOVERNANCE OF EMPIRE 
 
 Effects of 
 great 
 
 geographical 
 urea. 
 
 Rnseia. 
 
 the proud Rajpoots, the heroic Sikhs, the daring Afghans, and 
 the fierce Pathans that the restraints of regular government 
 are with most difficulty introduced, and its blessings most 
 sensibly felt. This description of the varied characteristics 
 of a people inhabiting the same land illustrates the influence 
 that climate and physical conformation bear upon the system 
 their government will take, and it is proof of the wisdom 
 displayed by Augustus in the government of subject races 
 that he made the Roman Constitution sufficiently elastic to 
 govern successfully people who might be similarly described. 
 It is furthermore a tribute to the British Constitution when 
 it is remembered that the varied races of India are ruled 
 under it together with the plainsmen of Canada, the fisher- 
 men of Newfoundland, the Highlander of Scotland and the 
 citizen of London. 
 
 3. Extent of Territory. — The political theorist of 
 to-day is somewhat prone to quote the democratic federal 
 Constitution of Switzerland as the ideal of government, and 
 it must be admitted that Switzerland is a small republic 
 enjoying to the full the blessing of good government ; but it 
 must be borne in mind that the country so governed is a 
 small self-contained one. This has enabled a concentration 
 of political and administrative effort almost impossible in the 
 case of a country like Russia, or an amalgamation of countries 
 like the British Empire. It would therefore be misleading 
 to quote the Swiss Constitution as an example for a country 
 whose extent of territory and size of population is much 
 greater than that for which that constitution was framed. 
 There are, however, several principles and many provisions 
 contained in that instrument which might with great ad- 
 vantage be adopted in the government of other countries. 
 Russia, the most extensive geographical unit in the world, 
 comprises a territory ten times larger than that of the state 
 which was formed after the overthrow of the Tartars ; and 
 which then had an area of about 800,000 square miles. The 
 vast territory since acquired is measured by the meridians 
 and parallels of latitude. It is impossible for any military 
 operation to strike the heart of so extensive a territory with 
 relatively so few towns and such thin and scattered com- 
 munities. Its inert power of resistance was proved by the
 
 CONDITIONS AFFECTING GOVERNMENT 69 
 
 disaster that overtook the French invasion in 1812 led by the 
 greatest military genius known to history. The Empire has 
 no centre, for St. Petersburg or Moscow cannot be regarded 
 as such. The Slav domain is defended by its very immensity. 
 Yet despite her power and extent Russia enjoys less advan- 
 tages for easy communication with the seaboard than many 
 small states such as Holland and Denmark. With a coast- 
 line equal to half the circumference of the globe, she has, as 
 yet, no free outlets to the ocean. The port of Archangel is 
 blocked by ice for a great part of the year and vessels fre- 
 quenting it are obliged to coast the whole of the Scandinavian 
 Peninsula before reaching the trade routes. St. Petersburg 
 and the other Russian ports on the Baltic are also closed 
 during the winter, and the outlets of that inland sea are 
 commanded by foreigners ; the same applies to the approaches 
 of the seas of Azov and Euxine. It will therefore be seen 
 that extensive territory does not necessarily carry with it 
 those geographical advantages sometimes found in very small 
 states, and which yet play such an important part in 
 national life and expansion. Russia is the only European 
 state governed by autocracy. Here we find the sovereign 
 absolute master. The " Emperor of all the Russias " is an 
 autocratic ruler to whom, according to the divine ordinance 
 itself, " all owe fealty," not through fear alone, but also "for 
 conscience sake ". This theory of absolute autocratic power 
 has been gradually developed, made possible by the vast ex- 
 tent of the territory with relatively few towns and scattered 
 communities. 
 
 Legislative, administrative, and judicial power flows from Powers of the 
 the Czar, who is bound to respect only the old laws guaran- Czar - 
 teeing the predominance of the National Church and the 
 order of succession to the throne. In theory the Empire 
 moves only at the pleasure of the Czar. As in France the 
 royal authority ended by prevailing over that of the vassal 
 states and the great nobles, so in Muscovy, autocracy re- 
 placed the old institutions of the communes and free orders, 
 and assumed a special form under the influence of the Mon- 
 golians and of the ecclesiastical and legal usages inherited from 
 Byzantium. This autocracy was strengthened by the bureau- 
 cratic institutions introduced from Germany and from the
 
 70 
 
 THE GOVERNANCE OF EMPIRE 
 
 absolute ideas of legitimacy elevated by Joseph de Maistre 
 into State dogmas. It can thus be seen that in theory at 
 least the autocratic power of the Czar is to some extent due 
 to the reaction from the French Revolution, consolidated by 
 the dissensions of the various nationalities occupying this 
 vast extent of territory. But since the reign of Peter the 
 Great the autocracy has not always been absolute. Peter 
 drew up reports for a Senate which he had created himself, 
 and in 1730 the Empress Anne signed the charter limiting 
 the autocracy by a council of the chief officials. This 
 charter was destroyed, and later we find Alexander I en- 
 deavouring to found a " Committee of Public Safety " for the 
 purpose of studying the means of "bridling the despotism of 
 his government ". 
 Peter the In 1711 Peter the Great, anxious to divest himself of the 
 
 a Senate e council of boyards (duma boiarskaya), or the States General, 
 created an assembly which still continues but whose functions 
 have been frequently changed. This was called the pravilel- 
 stvoyushchiy Senat, or " Directing Senate " which he desired 
 to assimilate to the Dutch States-General, To this body 
 "everything was to be entrusted," "all were to obey it as 
 the Czar himself ". But the weakness of this body lay in 
 the fact that its members were appointed by the Emperor, 
 and some four years after its creation the Czar selected every 
 month an officer of the guard to watch over the legislators 
 and conduct them to prison if they failed in their duty. He 
 bullied them with threats of death, or disgrace, or forfeiture. 
 To-day there are eleven Ministerial departments — Im- 
 perial Household, Foreign Office, War, Navy, Home Office, 
 Public Instruction, Finance, Justice, Crown Lands, Public 
 Works, General Control — yet each of these Ministries depends 
 directly on the Sovereign, and the Ministerial functions are, 
 moreover, confided to the secret police, or, as it is termed, the 
 third section of the imperial chancery. 
 
 The autocratic system of government exercised in an 
 extended territory deputes absolute authority on the direct 
 representatives, Ministers, provincial governors, ispravink or 
 heads of districts, cantonal provosts {stanovoi pristev), agents 
 of local safety (uriadink). In no other state in Europe have 
 similar officers such extensive powers. Prior to the emanci- 
 
 Modern 
 RuBBian 
 administra 
 tion.
 
 CONDITIONS AFFECTING GOVERNMENT 71 
 
 pation of the serfs the governor was a real " master of his 
 province," possessing the right of intervening in all matters 
 and of personally controlling the tribunals and finances of his 
 territory. But the Zemstvo, judicial reforms, and the creation 
 of chambers of control, curtailed this authority for a time, 
 until the right was given him of vetoing appointments to the 
 Zemstvo and municipalities. 
 
 In 1864 the increasing extent of the territory called for Zemstvo. 
 some system of local government. Poland and the Baltic 
 provinces already possessed feudal diets, and the Zemstvo or 
 provincial parliaments were therefore created throughout the 
 Empire. The deputies to these parliaments belong to all 
 classes — nobles, citizens, traders, peasants — and they hold 
 their sittings in three distinct chambers or curiae. The first 
 or assembly of landed proprietors, consists of owners of 
 estates averaging from 550 to 1780 acres according to the 
 provinces, of delegates of proprietors with at least 55 acres, 
 and of representatives of the clergy as holders of ecclesiastical 
 lands. The second, or assembly of burgesses, comprises 
 merchants, traders or manufacturers doing a trade of at least 
 6000 roubles, house owners, and representatives of industrial 
 associations disposing of a fixed capital. The third assembly, 
 that of the rural communes, includes the delegates of the 
 peasantry elected at second-hand — that is, by the members 
 of the bailiwicks who are themselves named by the peasantry, 
 at the rate of one for every group of ten families. The first 
 assembly is presided over by the marshal of the nobles, the 
 second by the mayors of the towns, and the third by the 
 officials employed in the administration of rural affairs. 
 The president in chief of the Zemstvo is always the marshal 
 of the nobles except where specially appointed by the Czar. 
 The first two bodies are selected from their respective classes, 
 but the peasantry may elect nobles or priests to represent 
 them, and the number of deputies is everywhere calculated 
 in such a way as to ensure the rural classes always being in 
 a minority. 
 
 The district Zemstvo sits for ten days in each year, the 
 delegates chosen by it for the provincial Zemstvo sit for 
 twenty days. Every three years the assemblies nominate an 
 uprava or administrative committee, whose president must
 
 72 THE GOVEENANCE OF EMPIKE 
 
 be approved by the governor or Minister, who has also the 
 power of suspending all decisions of the Zemstvo. The legis- 
 lative functions, such as they were, of these bodies, have, since 
 1905, been to a great extent absorbed by the elective State 
 Council (Gosudarstvennaya Duma). On 17 October, 1905, 
 a law was promulgated granting to the people the firm founda- 
 tions of public liberty, based on the principles of the real in- 
 violability of the person and of freedom of conscience, speech, 
 assembly, and association, and establishing as an unalterable 
 rule, that no law shall come into effect without the approval 
 of the Duma. This Duma consists of members elected for 
 five years and representing the governments or provinces and 
 the greatest cities : St. Petersburg, Moscow, Warsaw, Kiev, 
 Lodz, Odessa, and Eiga. The election of deputies to this 
 parliament is indirect and is made by electoral bodies of the 
 chief towns, of governments or provinces and of the greatest 
 cities, composed of delegates chosen by the district or town 
 elected assemblies. In towns all lodgers (of twelve months 
 standing) may vote in these assemblies, also salaried clerks of 
 state, municipal or railway administration ; in the rural 
 districts, all owners of a determinate area of land, differing in 
 different districts, or of non-industrial estate more than 50,000 
 roubles in value, are electors. 
 Council of On 6 March, 1906, a manifesto was published that the 
 
 the Empire. Council of the Empire consist of an equal number of elected 
 members and members nominated by the Emperor, to be 
 convoked or prorogued annually by imperial ukase. The 
 elective members of the Council will be eligible for nine years, 
 a third of the number being elected every three years. Each 
 assembly of the Zemstvo of each government will elect one 
 member. Six members will be returned by the synod of the 
 Orthodox Church, six by the representatives of the academy 
 of sciences and the universities, twelve by the representatives 
 of the bourses of commerce and industry, eighteen by the 
 representatives of the nobility, and six by the representatives 
 of the landed proprietors of Poland. All members of this 
 Council must have attained the age of forty years and have 
 an academical degree. 
 
 The Council of the Empire and the Duma have equal 
 legislative powers and the same right of initiative in legisla-
 
 CONDITIONS AFFECTING GOVERNMENT 73 
 
 tion and of addressing questions to Ministers. Laws voted 
 by the two Houses are submitted for the imperial sanction by 
 the president of the Council of the Empire. 
 
 By the constitutional changes of 1905 and 1906 a serious Progress 
 endeavour has been made to lay the foundations of a limited i™^ 
 monarchy, made so necessary by the extent of the territory to monarchy, 
 be governed. In theory this has already been brought about, 
 but the change from absolute autocracy to democratic 
 monarchy is so revolutionary that it cannot be achieved 
 successfully by the simple expedient of the proclamation of a 
 decree. The sudden uprooting of old institutions, the 
 abolition of old traditions, would only have the effect of 
 defeating the very ends so much .desired. Although the 
 written instrument now exists and the altering conditions of 
 the people and of the age call for the change, yet to be lasting 
 and efficient some time must elapse before the new constitu- 
 tion is in working order. 
 
 The efficient government of a territory so extensive in Need for some 
 area as Russia is only possible by liberal local responsibility. measu re of 
 Had this principle been recognized a century ago, had some in Russia, 
 of the genius of Augustus been displayed in the organization 
 and government of this extensive territory, the history of 
 Europe would have been different. 
 
 4. Population. — A condition which has an important Effects of 
 influence upon the government of a country is the density or clens ^y o£ 
 
 r ° J J population. 
 
 sparseness of the population. It has already been observed 
 that this condition is to a large extent dependent upon the 
 character and soil of the country. A rich and fertile soil 
 supplies motives to industry where exchange with neighbours 
 can be carried on, this in turn calling for marts which attract 
 a trading people. Thus large communities arise. The close 
 congregation of people determines in great part the political 
 condition. 
 
 A less fertile soil may necessitate a nomadic life for the 
 people, which is then generally composed of tribes with no 
 compact union and with little incitement to a higher system 
 of civilization. Such people are inclined to show impatience 
 at governmental control, the love of freedom becomes a 
 national characteristic, and any constitutional change made 
 is in the direction of greater liberty.
 
 74 
 
 THE GOVERNANCE OF EMPIRE 
 
 Case of the 
 Transvaal. 
 
 Influence of 
 
 As the population of a country increases and congregates 
 in centres, so does the tendency to centralize in government 
 increase. 
 
 The late South African republics may be cited here as 
 an example of a sparsely populated country pursuing a policy 
 of decentralization. In the case of the Transvaal the popu- 
 lation was barely one hundred thousand occupying some one 
 hundred and twenty thousand square miles of territory, yet 
 at one time four different republican governments were set 
 up in different parts of the country independent of the parent 
 state and of each other ; as the population increased these 
 minor governments disappeared or gave way to municipal 
 government. 
 
 As people gravitate towards centres and become closely 
 congregated, their wants increase and then it is that the 
 machinery of government is brought into active operation. It 
 has to be regulated both in form and power by the amount of 
 work expected of it, and this is dependent upon the density or 
 sparseness of the population. 
 
 5. Religion. — That which gives this condition great im- 
 rehgion upon p rtance is the great power religious belief has held in the 
 State and in the life of man and the attachment multitudes 
 of people feel for their religion. The Heathen valued their 
 religion because the stability of earthly interests was found 
 in the protection of spiritual powers ; State, family, and 
 individual alike feeling need of such protection. Nor was it 
 divine power to protect and fear of divine wrath, if unpro- 
 pitiated, that alone led to worship ; for worship was natural, 
 a natural want as necessary as human society. The State 
 reaches its highest aims only by something that lies out of 
 itself and thus seeks to get all the aid possible for itself from 
 this source. Among the ancients religion was intimately 
 connected with the State and influenced to a considerable 
 extent State policy. The ideals of God and of divine things 
 held by the independent states and communities of the ancient 
 world received a character strictly local. Deities of the most 
 diversified attributes divided the worship of the world, and 
 the law by which their votaries were governed became in- 
 separably united with .that of the State. We may with safety 
 declare that this intimate union of Church and State, this
 
 CONDITIONS AFFECTING GOVEKNMENT 75 
 
 two-fold freedom, limited only by the light obligations arising 
 from identity of race, had a most important share in the 
 civilization of the early ages. Each community was sur- 
 rounded by narrow limits, but within those limits the world's 
 vigorous youth found space to develop itself according to its 
 own unfettered impulse. 
 
 In later times empires have been shaken because religion Many local 
 had lost its power of control. In those days the subjugation g^ 1 ™^" 6 
 of the state necessarily involved the downfall of the national the Roman 
 religion. The imperial rule of Koine was mainly responsible Empue ' 
 for the abolition of many of the independent religions, for, 
 impelled by the political power, believers in every creed would 
 draw near Rome. But what significance could remain to 
 these peculiar forms of belief once torn from the soil whence 
 they had derived their birth ? The worship of Isis was in- 
 telligible in Egypt, where it deified the powers of nature as 
 manifested in that country, whereas in Rome this worship 
 became a senseless idolatry. No sooner did the various 
 mythologies come in contact than their mutual extinction 
 ensued. When we cast a retrospective glance over the annals 
 of the Middle Ages we are struck with the number of sanguin- 
 ary wars undertaken and carried on in the name of a religion 
 of peace, wars which have left their impress upon the system 
 of government followed by many nations to-day. Yet we can 
 hardly find an example of a religious war among the ancients Religious 
 and under the laws of Paganism. The sacred war among wars rare 
 the Greeks for the lands which belonged to the temple of Pagans. 
 Delphos was not fought for a dogma or a religious opinion, 
 as in the wars which among the moderns have had religion 
 for a motive or at least for a pretence. Undoubtedly modern 
 nations and those of antiquity have and had the same pas- 
 sions ; but amongst the ancients religion entered less deeply 
 into the heart of man or into the spirit of social institutions. 
 The worship of idols had no positive dogma, it added nothing 
 to morality, it prescribed no duties to the citizen ; it was not 
 bound up with the maxims of legislation, and existed only 
 upon the surface of society. When Paganism was attacked, 
 or when a change was effected in the worship of its gods, the 
 affections, morals, and interests of Pagan society were not 
 deeply wounded. This was not the case either with Chris-
 
 have had. 
 
 76 THE GOVEKNANCE OF EMPIEE 
 
 tianity or with Mohammedanism, for these religions, particu- 
 larly in the Middle Ages, mixed themselves up with civil wars, 
 recalled men to the duties due to their country, and were united 
 with all the principles of social order. Amidst the growing 
 civilization of Europe, the Christian religion was blended 
 with the other interests of nations ; it was, in fact, the founda- 
 tion of all society. Those who rejected the laws of the Church 
 ceased to acknowledge the laws of their country. 
 Religions of The religions which had no vital connexion with political 
 
 had less 611 institutions were those made up chiefly of worship, external 
 influence on forms, and mythology, and expressing a part of the truths of 
 Monotheistic natural religion in a Polytheistic form. This describes most 
 religions^ of the Heathen religions. Then there are natural religions 
 which are organically connected with the State by means of 
 institutions of sacred origin. These are religions of caste or 
 of hereditary classes such as Brahma, Isis, Druid, the old 
 Mexican and Peruvian ; and then we have the three great 
 Monotheistic religions, Judaism, Christianity, and Moham- 
 medanism. The Polytheistic religions took their respective 
 forms in the mythological age in the countries where they 
 grew up ; or else they were borrowed from surrounding 
 nations. These mythologies contained very little of which 
 the State could make use for its purposes of political train- 
 ing. The religions of caste were, and still are, of greater 
 importance in political life, for they moulded or transformed 
 the states where they flourished by means of religious institu- 
 tions. We may still study the process in Asia and parts of 
 Africa. These have the most intimate connexion with the 
 State. but are on that account essentially local. Brahmanism, 
 for instance, cannot spread much beyond India, because to 
 introduce its institutions elsewhere would require a complete 
 remodelling of society. 
 
 The three principal Monotheistic religions have spread 
 chiefly by ideas of the spiritual world and can be combined 
 with any political form. We find that Judaism in the course 
 of time has had several political forms and could propagate 
 itself in various parts of the earth. But we also find that 
 these three religions differ widely in their diffusive nature 
 and powers of associating with different political ideas. 
 Mohammedanism is capable of combining with various politics
 
 CONDITIONS AFFECTING GOVERNMENT 77 
 
 but it has an inclination towards despotical government. Its 
 influence upon government where it is the religion of the 
 masses is greater than that of any other religion. 
 
 Christianity, with almost no philosophy, gives birth to 
 manifold philosophies and theologies. With the simplest 
 possible dogmas it can be incorporated with a great variety 
 of institutions. Being intensely moral, by its hold on the 
 conscience it leads men to withstand wrong laws, to oppose 
 conditions that are contrary to its spirit, and to contend with 
 firmness for whatever is true or believed to be true. 
 
 Whilst a pure religious belief with moral tenets adds great Theocratic 
 strength to any constitution, to do so effectually the religious f g °^practic- 
 leaders must remain separate from the political leaders. The able, 
 two offices are incompatible when vested in one person, and 
 one must suffer for the other. The fall of the one great 
 theocracy, the Hebrew nation, is perhaps the best illustration 
 of the impracticability of assimilating too closely mundane 
 polity with divine religion. 
 
 When the Hebrews came out of Egypt they were not Divine 
 bound by the law and right of any other nation, but were at ^ s 1 e e rity of 
 liberty to institute any new rites at their pleasure. After 
 their liberation from the intolerable bondage of the Egyptians, 
 they were bound by no covenant, therefore every man entered 
 into his natural right, and was free to retain it or to give it 
 up and transfer it to another. Being then in a state of 
 nature, they followed the advice of Moses, in whom they 
 trusted, and decided to transfer their right to no human being 
 but only to God ; they therefore promised with unanimity to 
 obey all the commands of the Deity, and to acknowledge no 
 right that He did not proclaim as such by prophetic revelation. 
 God alone, therefore, had dominion over the Hebrews whose 
 state was in virtue of the covenant called God's kingdom, and 
 God was said to be their king. The enemies of the Jews 
 were said to be the enemies of God, and the citizens who 
 tried to seize the dominion were guilty of treason against 
 God. The laws of the State were called the laws and 
 commandments of God. Thus we find that in the Hebrew 
 state the civil and religious authority, each consisting solely 
 of obedience to God, were one and the same. The dogmas of 
 religion were not precepts but laws and ordinances ; piety
 
 78 
 
 THE GOVERNANCE OF EMPIRE 
 
 Inferior 
 authority 
 of his 
 successors. 
 
 was regarded as the same as loyalty, impiety as the same as 
 disaffection ; between civil and religious laws and rights there 
 was no distinction whatever. Since the Hebrews did not 
 transfer their rights to any person but as a democracy 
 surrendered all their rights equally, it follows that all were 
 equally bound to the covenant, and that all had an equal 
 right to consult the Deity, to accept and interpret His laws ; 
 so that all had an exactly equal share in the government. 
 Later they transferred their rights to consult God to Moses, 
 and they abrogated their former covenant and promised 
 obedience to all that God should tell Moses. 1 Moses there- 
 fore remained the sole promulgator and interpreter of the 
 divine laws : he held the sovereign kingship. Though the 
 people had elected Moses, they could not rightfully elect 
 his successors ; for having transferred to him their right 
 of consulting God, they were bound to accept as chosen by 
 God any one proclaimed by Moses as his successor. Had 
 he done so the state would have become simply a monarchy, 
 only differing from other monarchies in the fact that the 
 latter are or would be carried on in accordance with God's 
 decree unknown even to the monarch, whereas the Hebrew 
 monarch would have been the only person to whom the 
 decree was revealed. However, Moses left the dominion to 
 those who came after him in a condition which was not a 
 popular government, nor an aristocracy, nor a monarchy, but 
 a theocracy. The right of interpreting laws was vested in one 
 man, while the right and power of administering the state 
 according to the laws thus interpreted, was vested in 
 another. 2 
 
 The main principles of this theocratic constitution on the 
 death of Moses were : first, a tabernacle, the dwelling of 
 God, was built. Here was the sovereign authority of the 
 state. It was erected at the cost of the whole people in order 
 that the place where God was consulted might be public 
 property. Second, the Levites were chosen as courtiers and 
 administrators of this regal abode. Third, Aaron, the brother 
 of Moses, was chosen to be their chief, second only to God 
 their king. Fourth, this chief was to be succeeded by his 
 
 J Deut. v. after the Decalogue, and xvm. 15, 16. 
 2 Numb. xxvu. 21.
 
 CONDITIONS AFFECTING GOVERNMENT 79 
 
 legitimate sons. Fifth, all men between the ages of twenty 
 and sixty were ordered to bear arms and form a citizen army, 
 owing allegiance, not to its general in chief, nor to the high 
 priest, but to religion and to God. From these instructions 
 we can see that Moses desired administrators rather than des- 
 pots as his successors, for he invested no one with the power 
 of consulting God ; consequently no one had the power 
 possessed by himself of originating and abrogating laws, of 
 deciding upon war or peace, or of choosing officials either 
 religious or secular. The high priest had the right of inter- 
 preting laws and communicating the answer of God, but only 
 when he was required to do so by the general in chief of the 
 army, the council, or some similar authority. The general 
 in chief and the council could consult God when they liked, 
 but could only receive His answers through the high, priest. 
 However, as time went on, we find the high priest usurping 
 the rights of the secular chiefs and thus obtaining absolute 
 dominion. These priests were influenced by an intense 
 desire to wield the powers of the sovereignty and the high 
 priesthood at the same time. 
 
 Now such a form of government as this could only be Theocracy is 
 suitable for those who desired to have no foreign relations, but to^ated" 17 
 to shut themselves up within their own frontiers and to live communities, 
 apart from the rest of the world. It would be useless for men 
 who have dealings with other nations. We find a parallel 
 system of government existing to-day in the case of Tibet, Tibet, 
 whose happiness is but of the negative type and whose politi- 
 cal, social, and intellectual status would appear to have been 
 stationary for centuries. 
 
 6. Education. — We find that every constitutional govern- statesmen 
 ment from ancient to modern has recognized that the training ^0^2^ 
 of the young may be such as to be a danger to the State or to the import- 
 be its greatest support. The ancients in their best systems education, 
 of education did far better service to child nature, considering 
 what they knew and what they did not know, than we do under 
 the modern dispensation. They aimed, by a public training 
 of children, at improving the habits and character of the people, 
 at making the young obedient to the law and good citizens 
 when they grew up. Then, too, we find that they called in 
 religion, poor as it was, to add its sanctions to morality.
 
 80 THE GOVERNANCE OF EMPIRE 
 
 The practical reason actuating the governments of ancient 
 states in the education of children was to train up a body of 
 freemen who by their strength and skill would be serviceable 
 to the nation and by their intelligence would be fit for the 
 higher work of the citizen in official posts or public councils. 
 In arriving at this a certain idea of what was becoming for 
 the free citizen — the cultivation of a manly, liberal, harmon- 
 ious, and dignified character — the opposite of the spirit of the 
 slave — was the guide and standard. 
 Yet education But it was recognized that a section of the population 
 dancers must labour ; there was the same need for manual as for in- 
 
 tellectual work, and therefore education, although obtainable, 
 was not easily within the reach of the serfs or slaves ; and yet 
 this class was a contented one. It was held that the educa- 
 tion of the mass of the people would have violated the imagined 
 rights of property and endangered the stability of the re- 
 publics. The ancients guarded against that very evil which is 
 becoming so active in India to-day, the creation of an educated 
 class sprung from the masses and for whom there is no employ- 
 ment. By removing these people from their natural sphere, 
 a national danger has been brought into existence which must 
 increase as this class swells. We find that those nations who 
 regarded the children as an asset of the State and made pro- 
 vision by legislation for their training, occupied a more im- 
 portant and lasting position in the world than those states 
 which neglected their youth. But here we are dealing with 
 a condition affecting the government of states which is of a 
 controversial nature. In dealing with it as affecting the 
 future government of the British Empire, many varying 
 factors have to be considered, but even so it makes the 
 lessons of the past of great value. We have seen how 
 Greece, by carrying its State-aided aesthetic culture to an 
 extreme, denuded herself of the very material so urgently 
 required to keep herself intact ; over-education of any one 
 particular class will kill that class, and as a nation must be 
 made up of many classes the loss of one may destroy the whole. 
 The outcry against class legislation becomes a danger to 
 the State when it embraces the denunciation of class educa- 
 tion. 
 
 We have now considered some of the main conditions
 
 CONDITIONS AFFECTING GOVERNMENT 81 
 
 affecting the government of the State. Collectively they be- 
 come the character of the people, and the nation, to be truly 
 great, must stand by the character of its people ; as this 
 fluctuates so will the expansion or contraction of the nation 
 be observed. The Japanese, a nation of exotic growth, Japanese are 
 evidently destined to go far in history, are well preparing ^"n* 10 ? 0l 
 themselves for a long and glorious journey by moulding the promise, 
 character of the people, and that upon scientific lines. The 
 lessons of the past are there no more neglected than are those 
 of the present. All the natural conditions requisite for im- 
 perial expansion belong to Japan. The genius of her people 
 will do the rest. The most emcient system of government 
 for her future career has been adopted. Her statesmen have 
 realized that a necessary adjunct to emcient government is a 
 religious belief, that intangible something which when morally 
 pure is a stimulant to character and is the most powerful ally 
 of good government.
 
 CHAPTEK V. 
 
 THE BEGINNING OF BRITISH IMPERIALISM. 
 
 British The preceding chapters have served to remind us of nations 
 
 Imperialism. ^^ £ aye s i ione j n ^ e p as ^ either by virtue of their wisdom 
 
 in government or by reason of those martial exploits which 
 brought them into the front rank. We have seen how, even 
 in ancient times, political questions considered to-day of a 
 burning nature were controversial then. 
 
 The review, though necessarily brief, of the history of 
 some of the principal constitutionally governed states of the 
 past, has been made with the object of impressing on the 
 memory points of resemblance to and of difference from many 
 that will be found in a survey of the history and government 
 of the British Empire. 
 
 But before discussing the system by which the Empire is 
 governed it will be necessary to become well acquainted with 
 the material of which it is composed and with the manner in 
 which it has been brought together into that structure the 
 management of which it is proposed to consider and, it is 
 trusted not impertinently, to discuss critically. 
 
 Imperialism is often erroneously denned as " the predomi- 
 nance of race ". A great British Imperialist somewhat thought- 
 lessly gave this definition on an important occasion l and this 
 has been distorted by enemies to mean the rule of one race 
 or people involving the subjection and actual or potential co- 
 ercion of others. But British imperial rule means nothing 
 of the kind. Like the policy of Augustus it aims at the as- 
 similation of many races under the beneficent rule of one 
 .sovereign. 
 Growth oi Up to the middle of the sixteenth century England, like 
 
 England. 
 
 1 " Inaugural Address of Lord Rosebery as Lord Rector of Glasgow- 
 University," 1900. 
 
 82
 
 THE BEGINNING OF BKITISH IMPEBIALISM 83 
 
 Rome and Venice before her, was acquiring that internal 
 strength so necessary for use in her expansion ; her geo- 
 graphical situation, physical conformation, and climate tended 
 towards moulding the character of the people into that of a 
 great sea-faring nation and a colonizing power. 
 
 For five centuries prior to Elizabeth ascending the throne, Loss of 
 England had a foothold on the continent. This had varied continentH - 1 
 
 G . possessions. 
 
 in extent, but with the loss of Calais the English sovereignty 
 ceased to exist beyond the shores of the British Isles. It 
 even appeared then as if the English as a nation were on the 
 decline. When Elizabeth began her reign at the age of 
 twenty-five, she found her realm shorn of its last continental 
 possession, wrested from it by force of arms ; the state of the 
 country and the condition of her people were deplorable, the 
 nobility were poor and decayed, the mass of the people had 
 fallen into a state of disorder, the towns and villages were 
 filled with tramps and vagabonds, and crime was everywhere 
 rife. Religious disputes had contributed largely to this state 
 of affairs. The Wars of the Roses had resulted in the dissolu- 
 tion of the monasteries, and in the disappearance of the old 
 nobility. 
 
 Elizabeth and her Ministers realized that the peculiar Queen 
 isolation of England at this time demanded the reorganiza- p ii Z c a y bettl s 
 tion of the Navy, that instrument responsible for the future 
 creation of the Empire. The Queen directed a survey of the 
 Navy to be made, with a strict inquiry into the causes of its 
 decay and the means by which it might be made efficient. 
 She issued orders for preserving timber fit for shipbuilding, 
 directed the casting of new cannon and encouraged the manu- 
 facture of gunpowder at home. Hitherto this had been 
 imported from abroad at great expense. For the security of 
 the fleet, which generally lay in the Medway, the fortress of 
 Upnore Castle was built. The number of seamen was in- 
 creased and their pay raised, and foreigners, rnostty Vene- 
 tians, were encouraged to come to England to give instruc- 
 tion in navigation. The example set by the Queen and 
 Government excited a spirit of emulation among the people, 
 and they exerted themselves in a like manner by repairing 
 ports and building vessels of all sizes, especially ships fit for 
 war as well as commerce. According to Camden, " the 
 
 6 *
 
 84 THE GOVERNANCE OF EMPIRE 
 
 Queen justly acquired the glorious title of the restorer of 
 naval power and sovereign of the northern seas insomuch 
 that foreign nations were struck with awe at the Queen's 
 proceedings and were now content respectfully to court a 
 power which had been so lately the object of contempt "- 1 
 Elizabethan In 1562 the Queen issued a proclamation making all 
 
 French shipping prize-worthy. This had the effect of bring- 
 ing into being that class of adventurer, the privateer, respon- 
 sible for many of our early colonial conquests. Privateering 
 was a year later extended to Spanish shipping. The wealth 
 to be thus obtained drew a very large proportion of English- 
 men to the sea. But whilst the instrument by which the 
 Empire was to be acquired was being made efficient around 
 the shores of England, the foundations upon which a 
 prosperous Empire was to be built were being laid in some 
 of the chief towns. The refugees of all nations who fled to 
 England for protection on account of religious beliefs, were 
 not only received with hospitality, but were granted various 
 privileges in order to induce them to stay and to set up those 
 manufactures at which they had laboured in their respective 
 countries. This policy succeeded so well that Colchester, 
 Norwich, Yarmouth, Canterbury, and many other places were 
 filled with industrious foreigners who taught the weaving of 
 silk and worsted stuffs. Many refugees from Germany w r ere 
 sent into the northern counties, where they were employed 
 in mining, smelting iron, forging tools, and making saltpetre, 
 all industries unknown in England prior to the arrival of 
 these foreign refugees. The sudden growth of England's sea 
 power and her commerce threatened to interfere with the 
 ambitious schemes of Philip of Spain. He therefore made 
 elaborate preparations for the crushing of this rising pow T er. 
 In the meantime our own privateers were sent to operate in 
 the West Indies, where they carried on a flourishing trade to 
 their own profit and to the public benefit, for they became 
 familiar with the ports, rivers, and fortifications of these 
 islands, destined by the knowledge thus gained to come into 
 the possession of England. As traders, they became ac- 
 quainted with the nature of the commerce carried on there, 
 which proved of future benefit. 
 
 1 Camden, " Annal," Vol. I, p. 85.
 
 THE BEGINNING OF BRITISH IMPERIALISM 85 
 
 That a Spanish descent upon England was fully antici- 
 pated by the Queen and her Ministers is made evident by the 
 extraordinary precautions taken. In 1574 and onwards we 
 find frequent instructions for inspecting fortifications, exam- 
 ining the condition of the ports, and for the holding of frequent 
 musters of the militia. Therefore for fourteen years prepara- 
 tion was made to repulse a Spanish invasion. During that 
 period our seamen gained a certain amount of contempt for 
 the fighting qualities of the Spaniards and had themselves 
 established a reputation as fighters. 
 
 On 21 July, 1588, the great fleet known as the Spanish Defeat of the 
 Armada approached England, but by the 29th, partly by^ P mada 
 defeat and partly by storms, it was destroyed. With the 
 destruction of the Armada, the road was cleared for the steady 
 expansion of the British Empire. It is from this date that 
 we must also reckon the rise of Great Britain's sea power. 
 The odds against which the English fleet won this great vic- 
 tory created a standard of naval efficiency so high that in 
 striving to keep up to it British seamen have ever remained 
 efficient. The ideal set by the victors over the Armada has been 
 mainly responsible for many of our subsequent naval victories. 
 Having cleared them from our shores, the Navy was at liberty 
 to carry the war into the enemy's waters. Drake and Norris 
 attacked Corunna, Lisbon, and Vigo. Cumberland took Fayal 
 in the Azores. In 1596, Howard, Essex, and Raleigh entered 
 Cadiz harbour, took the city and destroyed sixty large new 
 galleons lying under the guns of the forts. The Azores were 
 again attacked and Fayal captured for a second time. Cum- 
 berland sailed to Puerto Rico and pillaged that place. 
 
 Two names conspicuous during this reign as builders of Sir 
 the foundation of our empire, are those of the two half- 2".^? ip ! irey J 
 
 *■ Gilbert and 
 
 brothers Sir Humphrey Gilbert and Sir Walter Raleigh ; Sir Walter 
 but whilst both of these great seamen had the courage and Ralei 8 h - 
 ability to undertake successfully schemes of discovery and 
 colonization, had it not been for the material and practical 
 encouragement given them by Queen Elizabeth and her 
 Ministers, they would not have achieved such results. 
 
 In 1578 Sir Humphrey Gilbert secured from the Queen an 
 ample patent, wherein he secured full power to undertake the 
 western discovery of America and to inhabit and possess any
 
 86 
 
 THE GOVEBNANCE OF EMPIKE 
 
 Firet 
 
 attempt at 
 colonization. 
 
 Raleigh's 
 expeditions. 
 
 lands hitherto unsettled by Christian princes or their subjects. 
 Sir Humphrey raised the money among his friends to fit out 
 an expedition of discovery and settlement, and in the spring 
 of 1583 his small fleet consisting of five vessels set out on its 
 voyage of discovery. Here was the beginning of that career 
 of colonization which has since been the envy of other nations. 
 Here was the genesis of those Anglo-Saxon nations which 
 have sprung up in the lands settled by this small band of 
 adventurers or by those, filled with the spirit of emulation, 
 following their example. 
 
 The small fleet consisted of the " Delight," of 120 tons, 
 with Sir Humphrey Gilbert and Captain William Winter, 
 the " Raleigh," 200 tons, built, manned, and victualled at the 
 expense of Sir Walter Ealeigh, under the command of Captain 
 Butler, the " Golden Hinde," 40 tons, commanded by Captain 
 Edward Hayes who was also her owner, the " Swallow," 
 40 tons, commanded by Captain Maurice Brown, and lastly 
 the " Squirrel, "of 10 tons, commanded by Captain William 
 Andrews. In August 1583 this small fleet of pigmy vessels 
 (as compared with the ocean mail steamers of to-day) arrived 
 in the harbour of St. John's, Newfoundland. Sir Humphrey 
 took possession in the name of the Queen of England, 
 and granted as her patentee certain leases to those who were 
 willing to take them. On 20 August the " Swallow " 
 was sent to England with the sick, and the 'four remaining 
 vessels continued their voyage to the American continent, but 
 a few days later the "Delight " was lost with all but twelve men. 
 Although the weather was tempestuous Sir Humphrey took his 
 post in the " Squirrel ". This boat was too small to weather the 
 seas, and on 3 September she foundered with Sir Humphrey 
 Gilbert and her crew. Thus England paid in gallant lives 
 her first toll for colonization. Sir Humphrey Gilbert was the 
 first Englishman to introduce a legal and regular method of 
 settlement in our colonies, and he it was who gave to us our 
 oldest colony. 
 
 The loss of his half-brother in no way deterred Sir Walter 
 Baleigh from continuing his projects of colonization, and in 
 1584 he obtained Her Majesty's Letters Patent in terms 
 similar to those previously granted to Sir Humphrey Gilbert. 
 Under this patent he, at his own expense, fitted out two
 
 THE BEGINNING OF BRITISH IMPERIALISM 87 
 
 vessels and dispatched them, under the command of Captains 
 Philip Amados and Arthur Barlow, to the coast of North 
 America. In July 1584 this expedition took possession, in 
 the name of the Queen of England, of a portion of the 
 American continent and named it Virginia. Between 1584 Virginia, 
 and 1588 five expeditions were dispatched at Sir Walter 
 Raleigh's expense to the newly acquired colony of Virginia 
 with the object of creating settlements there. After the fifth 
 expedition he assigned all his rights, titles, and interests 
 in this territory to a company of gentlemen-merchants in 
 London in hopes that they might be more successful than he 
 had been in the settlement of the country. Sir Walter 
 Raleigh had up to now expended some £40,000 upon this 
 project of settling colonies on the American coast. His main 
 object in renouncing his rights in favour of a company was 
 to strengthen this infant colony by interesting a number of 
 joint adventurers in the settlement. But the times were far 
 from propitious for colonization, the adventurous spirits who 
 alone could be expected to settle in strange lands, in days 
 when communication was slow and tedious, were mostly 
 employed in the more exciting and profitable work of despoil- 
 ing their national foe, the Spaniard. Yet even in doing this 
 they were unconsciously making firm the foundations of 
 British imperialism, for they were establishing those tradi- 
 tions of seamanship that have been largely responsible for 
 carrying their descendants so far. It was now that Richard Hakiuyt's 
 Hakluyt added his energies towards the colonization of pu 
 America. In order to excite his countrymen to naval enter- 
 prise he appealed to their patriotism and national vanity. 
 In 1589 he published a collection of voyages and discoveries 
 made by Englishmen and he also translated some of the best 
 accounts of the progress of the Portuguese and Spaniards in 
 their voyages both in the East and West Indies. He was 
 consulted with regard to many of the attempts towards dis- 
 covery and colonization during the latter part of Elizabeth's 
 reign. In 1606 the holders of Raleigh's charter formed a 
 joint stock company for the purpose of exploiting their 
 territory, but James I, who prided himself on his pro- 
 found skill in government, and who had begun to consider the 
 advantages to be derived from colonies, was of opinion that
 
 88 
 
 THE GOVEENANCE OF EMPIEE 
 
 New 
 England. 
 
 Government 
 of the 
 colonies. 
 
 Infringement 
 of the 
 coloniBt8' 
 rights by 
 George Ill's 
 Ministers. 
 
 the territory held under the Kaleigh charter was too vast for 
 any one body of men, however respectable, to control. He 
 therefore divided the territory between two branches of a 
 company ; one was the London branch, and the other the 
 Plymouth branch. The former took the coast strip from 
 Cape Fear to the Hudson and the latter took the lands from 
 the Delaware to the Bay of Fundy. Neither the sovereign 
 who granted this charter nor his subjects who received it had 
 any conception that here were laid the foundations of a mighty 
 nation that within three centuries would number a population 
 exactly double that of the mother country. Yet even at this 
 time King James began to realize that his realm was evolv- 
 ing into an empire, for on 31 March, 1607, he concluded his 
 speech to the Lords and the Commons with these words : 
 " When you meet again remember, I pray you, the truth and 
 sincerity of my meaning, which, in seeking union, is only to 
 advance the greatness of your empire seated here in England, 
 and yet with such caution I wish it as may stand with the 
 weal of both states ". 
 
 These two branches of one company were at first organ- 
 ized under a single charter, each to be governed by a council 
 appointed by the King, and those councils were to appoint 
 councils consisting of thirteen members to reside in the 
 colonies with powers practically unlimited. Nevertheless the 
 King covenanted with his colonists as follows: "Also we do, 
 for us, our heirs and successors declare by these presents that 
 all and every, the persons being our subjects which shall go 
 and inhabit within the said colony and plantation, and every 
 their children and posterity which shall happen to be born 
 within any of the limits thereof shall have and enjoy all 
 liberties, franchises, and immunities of free denizens and 
 natural subjects within any of our other dominions to all in- 
 tents and purposes as if they had been abiding and born with- 
 in this our realm of England or in any other of our dominions ". 
 
 This principle that British subjects born in America should 
 be entitled to the same political freedom as if born in Eng- 
 land was one upon which the colonists always insisted, and 
 it was the repeated and persistent attempts of the British 
 Government, during the reign of George III, to infringe it 
 that led the American colonies to revolt and declare their in-
 
 THE BEGINNING OF BEITISH IMPERIALISM 89 
 
 dependence. Here in this charter, granted three centuries 
 ago, we find the true spirit of Imperialism and one of the 
 principles that must be recognized before imperial govern- 
 ment can be efficient and successful. The imperial franchise 
 instituted by Augustus for the Empire of Borne is imitated 
 by James I in one of the first charters granted for the 
 founding of British colonies ; the departure from the principle 
 resulted in the loss of the States, just as the strict adherence 
 to it by the successors of Augustus retained to Rome her 
 colonies. 
 
 The council resident in England for the government of 
 these colonies was nominated by the King ; it was to govern 
 the colonies according to such laws and ordinances as should 
 be given under his sign-manual. Yet the executive authority 
 was vested in the councils of thirteen, resident in the colonies. 
 Owing to the very considerable time which would elapse in 
 communication between the home and the colonial councils 
 this meant that the latter were supreme. The charter per- 
 mitted whatever was necessary for the sustenance or commerce 
 of the new colonies to be exported from England during the 
 space of seven years without payment of any duty ; and as a 
 further inducement to industry the King granted them liberty 
 of trade with other nations and the right of appropriating the 
 duty levied on foreign commodities for twenty-one years, as 
 a fund for the benefit of the colony. 
 
 Under this charter the progress of the two colonies, the 
 provinces of Virginia and New England, form a regular and 
 connected story. Virginia in the south and New England in 
 the north may be considered as the parent colonies, in imita- 
 tion of which all the others have been successively planted 
 and reared. 
 
 In 1607 the first party of settlers sent out under the new Settlement of 
 charter arrived in Virginia and formed the first colonial Jamestown - 
 town, that of Jamestown, named in honour of the reigning 
 sovereign. The history of the first party of settlers is un- 
 fortunate ; they had been badly selected, and violent ani- 
 mosities arose between the leaders. The first action of the 
 council which assumed the government in virtue of a com- 
 mission brought from England under the seal of the com- 
 pany, and opened on the day after they landed, was an act
 
 90 THE GOVEENANCE OF EMPIEE 
 
 of injustice. Captain Smith, who had been appointed a 
 member of the council, was excluded from his seat at the 
 board, by the mean jealousy of his colleagues. Then soon 
 after they began to settle, the colonists became involved in a 
 war with the natives, partly by their own indiscretion. 
 Within six months one half of their number died of disease 
 and privation. It was now that Captain Smith was called 
 upon by the dejected colonists to assume the leadership. 
 This man's undaunted spirit, characteristic of military ad- 
 venturers in that age, was peculiarly fitted for the position 
 he was now called upon to assume. His first care was to 
 fortify Jamestown and then with the few able-bodied men at 
 his disposal he marched out against the natives and drove 
 them from the vicinity of the settlement. A year later the 
 small settlement was augmented by another party of one 
 hundred settlers from England. But now that fact respon- 
 sible for the downfall of the Spanish colonies, the lust of gold, 
 showed itself in this small settlement and very nearly resulted 
 in the extinction of the colonists. In a stream near the town 
 some enterprising individual discovered a shining mineral sub- 
 stance which was immediately pronounced to be gold, and the 
 implements for the cultivation of the soil were at once con- 
 verted into mining tools. Smith tells us "There was now 
 no talk, no hope, no work, but dig gold, wash gold, refine 
 gold ". The cultivation of crops and every other useful 
 occupation were totally neglected. The season was lost and 
 a famine set in through this neglect of the colonists. Fatal 
 consequences were only averted by the energies of Captain 
 Smith. He opened up negotiations with some of the more 
 remote tribes and by means of barter secured relief for the 
 immediate wants of the settlers. 
 Progress of Whilst the small band of colonists were braving the 
 
 Virginia. dangers of native wars, disease, and privation, the directors 
 of the company in England were endeavouring to attract 
 people to these possessions. But the supreme direction of all 
 the company's operations by the King — a right he had reserved 
 to himself under the charter — discouraged persons of rank and 
 property from becoming members of a society so dependent 
 on the despotic will of the Crown. This was represented 
 to the King and he thereupon granted a new charter, in
 
 THE BEGINNING OF BRITISH IMPERIALISM 91 
 
 which he enlarged the boundaries of the colonies. He 
 rendered the powers of the company, as a corporation, more 
 explicit and complete. He abolished the jurisdiction of local 
 councils ; he vested the government entirely in a council 
 resident in London ; he granted to the company the right of 
 electing the persons who were to compose this council by a 
 majority of voices ; he authorised this council to establish 
 such laws, orders, and forms of government and magistracy 
 for the colony and plantation as they in their discretion should 
 consider to be for the good of the inhabitants there ; and he 
 empowered them to nominate a governor to have the adminis- 
 tration of affairs in the colony and to carry their orders into 
 execution. 1 These concessions put new life into the company, 
 for having acquired the power of regulating its own transac- 
 tions the number of shareholders increased and among them 
 were some of the best names in England. 
 
 The first governor to be appointed by the council under Lord 
 the new charter was Lord Delaware. He displayed that Dekware 'f. 
 
 . . r j governorship. 
 
 spirit which has been one of the best factors in successful 
 colonization by Great Britain, the spirit of self-sacrifice on 
 the part of the aristocracy ; a spirit of which a republic, pos- 
 sessing no aristocracy, can never find an equivalent. Here we 
 find a man, and hosts have come forward since, willing to re- 
 linquish all the comforts of an honourable station, to under- 
 take a long voyage, and to settle in an uncultivated region, 
 destitute of every accommodation to which he had been ac- 
 customed and where he anticipated trouble, toil, and danger. 
 Prior to the departure of Lord Delaware, nine ships conveying 
 500 new settlers were dispatched to the colonies. These were 
 under two lieutenant-governors, Gates and Summers. During 
 the passage the fleet was dispersed by a storm and a portion 
 of it with the two commanders was stranded on the Bermuda 
 Islands. The remaining vessels reached Jamestown only to 
 find the few settlers there in a state of anarchy. Captain 
 Smith, owing to an accident, returned to England. This 
 left the colony without a leader. Faction and discontent 
 now rose so high among the colonists that they could not be 
 kept within bounds. Many of the new-comers were young 
 
 1 Stith, Append. VIII.
 
 92 THE GOVERNANCE OF EMPIRE 
 
 men of rank, but of such dissipated character that they were 
 a danger to the 'community. These persons were incapable 
 of the regular subordination, strict economy, and persevering 
 industry that their situation required. Owing to the incom- 
 petency of these men and the anarchy that now prevailed, 
 the colony was again overtaken by famine and reduced to 
 such extremities that in less than six months only sixty sur- 
 vived out of 500, and this remnant was only saved by the 
 timely arrival of Gates' and Summers's party from Bermuda. 
 It was now decided to abandon the colony, and the exodus had 
 actually begun when Lord Delaware arrived, with three 
 ships conveying new settlers. Under the wise rule of the 
 new governor the colony once more assumed a promising 
 appearance. 
 
 By 1612 the colony had taken a regular form. Owing to 
 the state of discontent in which Lord Delaware found the 
 settlers he considered it necessary to rule by martial law, and 
 this was followed by his two successors, Mr. Percy and Sir 
 Thomas Dale. The severe discipline exercised with prudence 
 and moderation had forced the activity of the colonists into 
 a proper direction ; by their industry they soon produced 
 more than was requisite for their own sustenance. In this 
 year, 1612, a new charter was granted by which all the 
 former privileges were confirmed and the term prolonged for 
 the exemption from payment of duties on the commodities 
 exported by them, more extensive property was granted as 
 well as more ample jurisdiction. All the islands lying within 
 three leagues of the coast were annexed to the province of 
 Virginia. The company took possession of the Bermudas 
 and the other small islands. 
 Relationship We now conie to the first step in a policy which has ever 
 
 since made Great Britain conspicuous in the eyes of other 
 nations, that is, her peculiar relationship with her subject 
 races which means so much in the successful governance of 
 Empire. Sir Thomas Dale, now governor, concluded a treaty 
 with one of the most powerful and warlike tribes of Indians 
 in the province. By this treaty they consented to acknow- 
 ledge themselves subjects of the King of Great Britain, to 
 assume henceforth the name of Englishmen, to provide a 
 force of warriors to the assistance of the English as often as 
 
 with the 
 natives
 
 THE BEGINNING OF BRITISH IMPERIALISM 93 
 
 they took the field against any enemy, and to deposit annually 
 a stipulated quantity of corn in the storehouses of the 
 colony. 
 
 Hitherto the colony had worked in community of interests. Some 
 No right of private property in land had been established, ^godiuism 
 cultivation had been by joint labour and the product had at first existed 
 been distributed weekly to every family according to its in the colony - 
 number and requirements. This had long been the cause 
 for grave discontent, for it was an encouragement to the idle 
 and improvident. In order to remove this grievance a 
 portion of the land was divided into small holdings and one 
 was granted to each individual in freehold. 
 
 We now arrive at the time when Great Britain success- Extension of 
 fully attempted a departure from previous and contemporary B u 0n f overn " 
 systems of colonial governance. Hitherto colonies had been 
 governed under the constitution of the parent state, powers 
 of government had been delegated to individuals or to local 
 bodies, as has already been cited in the case of Rome, but 
 such powers were either temporary or restricted. A vast 
 improvement on the most efficient and liberal form of local 
 government hitherto attempted was made in the case of the 
 American colonies on 17 July, 1619, by the granting of what 
 I will term a sub-constitution. I use this term to describe 
 an instrument for the government of the colony by the 
 people of the colony modelled upon the English Constitution. 
 This sub-constitution gave a legal and permanent form to the 
 government of the colony. The supreme legislative authority 
 in Virginia, in imitation of that in Great Britain, was divided 
 and vested partly in the governor, who held the place of the 
 Sovereign ; partly in a Council of State nominated by the 
 company, and possessing some of the distinctions and exercis- 
 ing some of the functions belonging to the House of Lords; 
 and partly in a general council or assembly, composed of the re- 
 presentatives of the people. In the latter assembly were vested 
 powers and privileges similar to those of the House of Com- 
 mons. In both these councils all questions were to be deter- 
 mined by the majority of voices, the governor reserving the 
 power of veto ; but no law or ordinance, though approved of by 
 all the three members of the legislature, was to be of force, until 
 it was ratified in England by a general court of the company
 
 94 THE GOVEENANCE OF EMPIEE 
 
 and returned under its seal. We find here the model of all 
 those sub-constitutions since given to many of the larger 
 colonies of the Empire ; and we see too that the introduction 
 of responsible government for the colonies was made not by 
 the statesmen of the mother country but by the directors of 
 a commercial trading company, for this sub-constitution was 
 granted by the company by virtue of the powers vested in it 
 under its own charter. 
 
 The colony was now a free community of citizens, who 
 as electors sent their representatives to their own parliament 
 to make laws for their government. The company's 
 interests were safeguarded by the legislative council, whilst 
 the Crown was represented in the person of the governor. 
 To the genius of some company director must be given the 
 credit of originating that policy of responsible government 
 which has given freedom to the colonies when they have 
 grown strong enough to bear it. This freedom has been the 
 strongest bond between the mother country and her self- 
 governing colonies. 
 Disputes with Under a settled policy of government the colony began to 
 Great Britain increase rapidly. There was an immediate increase in the 
 
 0V6F txlC 
 
 tobacco trade, industry of the people. The staple product of the colony had 
 for some time been tobacco. The company opened a trade 
 in this commodity with Holland, as there was a considerable 
 surplus left after the requirements of Great Britain had been 
 supplied. Here we find the first political difference between 
 mother country and colony, the grounds for which remain to 
 the present day. The Imperial Government — and by this 
 title I will in future refer to the Home Government — alarmed 
 at seeing the commerce of a commodity for which the demand 
 was daily increasing turned into a channel that tended to the 
 diminution of revenue by depriving it of a considerable duty 
 imposed on the importation of tobacco, interposed to check 
 its export to foreign countries. The Imperial Government 
 claimed that the trade of the colony should be confined to 
 England and all its productions be landed there. The 
 colonial Government contended for the general privilege of 
 Englishmen to carry their commodities to the best market, 
 and cited the particular provision in their charter by which 
 an unlimited freedom of commerce seemed to be granted to
 
 THE BEGINNING OF BRITISH IMPERIALISM 95 
 
 them. The Imperial Government ended in allowing the 
 matter to stand in abeyance. 
 
 How often we find that whilst settled government brings Prosperity 
 prosperity and progress, the people are lulled by it into a en , ge 1 nde ^ e n d H 
 false and dangerous sense of security, and the all-important of security. 
 policy of home defence and the training that belongs to it are 
 neglected. Our first colony is a regrettable example of this. 
 Under settled government and local freedom the colony 
 prospered and rapidly increased, settlements were scattered 
 along the banks of the James and York rivers and had been 
 extended to the Rappahannock and the Potomac. In their 
 growing prosperity the settlers lost sight of the question of 
 their defence from hostile natives. Like the peaceful in- 
 habitants of a society completely established, they were no 
 longer soldiers but citizens, and were so engrossed in what 
 was subservient to the comfort and embellishment of civil 
 life that every martial exercise and training was laid aside 
 as unnecessary. The colonists paid dearly for this neglect Massaore by 
 of the very first duty of citizenship, for the natives attacked the natlves - 
 the scattered settlements without warning and massacred 
 men, women, and children. Jamestown was only saved by 
 timely warning. It is estimated that over one-fourth of the 
 settlers were murdered. The lesson was costly but it had its 
 effect, and this was shown in the revenge meted out to the 
 Indians. This massacre of the colonists and the war carried 
 on by the survivors against the Indians drew the attention 
 of the Imperial Government to the colony. King James and its 
 and his Government, eager to resume full control over a results - 
 colony that appeared by its increasing commerce with foreign 
 countries to be growing independent, seized this as a pretext 
 for cancelling the charter and dissolving the company. On 
 8 October, 1623, the King signified to the company his in- 
 tention of vesting the supreme government of the company 
 in a governor and twelve assistants resident in England, 
 and the executive power in a council of twelve, which should 
 reside in Virginia. The governor and assistants were to be 
 originally appointed by the King. Future vacancies were to 
 be supplied by the governor and his assistants, but their nomina- 
 tion was not to take effect until it should be ratified by the 
 Privy Council. The twelve councillors in Virginia were to
 
 96 
 
 THE GOVERNANCE OF EMPIRE 
 
 Lose of 
 colonial 
 liberties. 
 
 Despotic 
 governors. 
 
 be chosen by the governor and assistants. This choice was 
 also subject to the review of the Privy Council. In view of 
 these changes the company was required to surrender its 
 charter immediately ; but this the company was not prepared 
 to do tamely. They were not willing to relinquish rights of 
 franchises granted with such legal formality, and upon the 
 faith of which they had expended large sums of money ; and 
 they were still further averse to the abolition of that policy of 
 colonial government which they had so successfully inaugurated 
 — a popular form of government, in which every proprietor 
 had a voice — in order to subject a colony, in which they were 
 so materially interested, to the domination of a small junto 
 absolutely dependent on the Crown. A lawsuit was brought 
 in the King's Bench and was decided, as was natural in that 
 reign, against the company. The charter was forfeited, the 
 company dissolved, and the rights and privileges conferred 
 upon it returned to the King. Before the King could frame 
 a policy of colonial government to take the place of that which 
 he had so rudely uprooted, he died, and Charles I contented 
 himself with the appointment of a governor, a council of 
 twelve, and a secretary resident in Virginia to exercise the 
 supreme authority there. During a great part of this reign 
 Virginia knew no other law than the will of the Sovereign. Not 
 only were the colonists deprived of political rights which 
 they deemed essential to freemen and citizens, but their 
 private property was violently invaded. They were also pro- 
 hibited by proclamation from selling tobacco to any persons 
 but certain commissioners appointed by the King. 
 
 We now arrive at an incident in the history of the colony 
 which carries with it special value, as it serves to illustrate 
 how much depends in successful government on the indi- 
 viduals selected as officials, particularly when great powers 
 have to be exercised. In this case, as in many that have 
 happened since, the personal equation was responsible to a very 
 great extent for successful and efficient government. Under 
 the scheme of Charles I for the government of Virginia, Sir 
 George Yardley was appointed governor. This official and 
 his council appear to have been fit instruments for carrying 
 out the policy of arbitrary rule, and they placed such a 
 construction on the words of their commission as was most
 
 THE BEGINNING OF BKITISH IMPERIALISM 97 
 
 favourable to their own Jurisdiction. Yardley was succeeded 
 by an even more despotic governor in the person of Sir John 
 Harvey. He is described as being rapacious, unfeeling, and 
 haughty, and as adding insolence to oppression, and neither 
 regarding the sentiments nor listening to the remonstrances 
 of the people under his command. The colonists being 
 scattered in small communities and being far from the seat 
 of government, and overawed by authority derived from a 
 royal commission, submitted for some time to his tyranny. 
 But at last their patience was exhausted, and in a transport of 
 popular rage and indignation they seized the governor and 
 sent him a prisoner to England. They also sent a deputation 
 of two colonists to prefer certain accusations against him to 
 the King. But as is only to be supposed, a proceeding so 
 irregular and violent was altogether repugnant to every 
 notion which the King held with respect to the loyalty and 
 obedience of subjects, and he could only regard such summary 
 and undignified treatment of his representative as an act of 
 rebellion against his authority. The King refused to hear the 
 delegates and sent Harvey back to the colony with all the 
 powers he had previously enjoyed, but this was only done as 
 a sign of his disapproval of the methods employed by the 
 colonists in bringing their grievances to his notice, for he 
 shortly afterwards removed Harvey and sent as a successor 
 Sir William Barkley, a person superior to Harvey in rank 
 and ability, and possessing all the tact and qualifications so 
 necessary in guiding the destinies of a young and growing 
 community. The new governor carried with him the royal 
 instructions which empowered him to govern in all its con- 
 cerns, civil as well as ecclesiastical, according to the laws of 
 England. He was directed to issue writs for electing re- 
 presentatives of the people, who, in conjunction with the 
 governor and council, were to form a general assembly, and 
 to possess supreme legislative authority in the community. 
 These royal instructions provided for the establishment of 
 courts of justice, in which all questions, whether civil or 
 criminal, were to be decided agreeably to the forms of judicial 
 procedure in the mother country. 
 
 The governor of a colony is the representative of royalty 
 — to the loyal colonists he is royalty ; it is therefore impossible 
 
 7
 
 98 
 
 THE GOVEENANCE OF EMPIKE 
 
 Loyalty of v „ « TW . w .»**«-«« ^^ g 
 
 to e the rginianSselection 0f this ° mcial 
 monarchy 
 during the 
 Civil War 
 and the 
 Common- 
 wealth. 
 
 Act of 
 Navigation. 
 
 to overestimate the great care that should be exercised in the 
 
 A governor can, by his behaviour, 
 represent his royal master either as a wise and beneficent 
 ruler or as a personage who calls for no respect. Sir William 
 Barkley's governorship is a vivid illustration of this ; his 
 personality won the colonists' affection, not alone for himself 
 but for the Throne. After monarchy was abolished, Charles I 
 beheaded, and Charles II driven into exile, the authority 
 of the Crown continued to be acknowledged and revered, in 
 Virginia. This strenuous loyalty of the colonists so irritated 
 the Commonwealth Parliament that a proclamation was 
 issued in which the colonists of Virginia were declared traitors, 
 and in 1651 a squadron of warships with a considerable body 
 of land forces was dispatched against the colonists of the West 
 Indies and Virginia. Barbados and the other islands sub- 
 mitted without resistance, but not so Virginia. Barkley 
 organized the colonists and they took up arms for the King 
 against their own countrymen, but they were unable to main- 
 tain such an unequal contest. Their gallant defence, however, 
 procured them favourable terms. A general indemnity for all 
 past offences was granted, they acknowledged the Common- 
 wealth and were admitted to a participation of all the rights 
 enjoyed by the citizens of the Empire. For eight years 
 Virginia remained in perfect tranquillity under governors 
 appointed by the Commonwealth. During this time the ranks 
 of the colonists were considerably strengthened by numerous 
 adherents to the Royalist party who escaped from England. 
 On the death of the last governor appointed by Cromwell and 
 before a successor could be appointed, the colonists, no longer 
 under the control of authority, forced Sir William Barkley, 
 who had remained in the colony as a private citizen, to quit 
 his retirement and assume the governorship. They erected 
 the royal standard and declared Charles II their lawful 
 sovereign. Thus we see that Virginian colonists were the 
 last of the King's subjects to renounce their allegiance and 
 the first to return to it. 
 
 Shortly after this incident Charles II was seated on the 
 throne of England much to the joy and exultation of a 
 colony expecting punishment from the Commonwealth. 
 Unfortunately the loyalty of the Virginians was ill requited
 
 THE BEGINNING OF BRITISH IMPERIALISM 99 
 
 by the new Sovereign and his Ministers, for one of the first 
 Acts passed was one of repression of the colonists. This 
 was the Act of Navigation, an Act brought into being with 
 the laudable object of creating an inter-imperial trade, and 
 to us of the twentieth century it appears strange to find 
 the Imperial Government forcing trade between herself 
 and the colonies and to discover the strongest opposition 
 on the part of the colonies to a fiscal policy which many 
 of us consider will yet be one of the strongest links in 
 imperial federation. But the Act of Navigation went too 
 far in the direction of compulsion. It stipulated that no 
 commodities should be imported into any settlement in Asia, 
 Africa, or America, or exported from them, " but in vessels of 
 English or colonial build, whereof the master and three- 
 fourths of the mariners shall be English subjects, under pain 
 of forfeiting ship and goods ; but none but natural-born 
 subjects or such as have been naturalized, shall exercise the 
 occupation of merchant or factor in any English settlement, 
 under pain of forfeiting their goods and chattels ; that no 
 sugar, tobacco, cotton, wool, indigo, ginger or woods used 
 in dyeing of the growth or manufacture of the colonies, 
 shall be shipped from them to any other country but England, 
 and in order to secure the performance of this, a sufficient 
 bond with one surety, shall be given before sailing by the 
 owners, for a specific sum proportional to the rate of the 
 vessel employed by them ". By an amendment to the Act, 
 the importation was prohibited of any European commodity 
 into the colonies but what was laden in England in vessels 
 navigated and manned as the Act of Navigation provided. 
 The principles of policy on which this Act and the amending 
 Act were founded were avowed in a declaration, " that as the 
 plantations beyond the seas are inhabited and peopled by 
 subjects of England, they may be kept in a firmer dependence 
 upon it, and rendered yet more beneficial and advantageous 
 unto it, in the farther employment and increase of English 
 shipping and seamen as well as in the vent of English 
 woollen and other manufactures and commodities of those 
 plantations, and in making England a staple, not only of the 
 commodities of those plantations, but also of the commodities 
 of other countries and places, for the supplying of them ; and 
 
 7 *
 
 100 
 
 THE GOVERNANCE OF EMPIRE 
 
 Trade 
 
 restrictions 
 
 caused 
 
 discontent. 
 
 Colonization 
 of New 
 England. 
 
 it being the usage of other nations to keep the trade of their 
 plantation to themselves ". 1 The Act of Navigation passed 
 by the Imperial Government without in any way consulting 
 them, created the gravest discontent in the colonies. The 
 Virginians, seeing no prospect of having it repealed, set them- 
 selves to evade it. This created a strained relationship 
 between officials and colonists which remained to the last. 
 
 In 1663, a project for secession from the Crown was only 
 defeated by the vigilance of the governor. But this spirit of 
 discontent was not extinguished ; daily some fresh incident 
 occurred to revive and to nourish it. The staple product, 
 tobacco, declined in value, confined as it was to one market, 
 causing depression which but added to the growing discon- 
 tent. In 1676, an insurrection led by one Nathaniel Bacon 
 broke out. The capital, Jamestown, was burnt to the ground 
 by the insurgents, and the governor and council sought safety 
 in flight. Bacon, however, died before he could achieve his 
 purpose of organized secession, and for want of a capable 
 leader to succeed him the insurrection came to an end. Here 
 we have an illustration of the evils which are bound to attend 
 repressive legislation for the colonies by the Imperial Govern- 
 ment. The history of this colony from then until 1754 con- 
 tains few incidents worthy of note. 
 
 We will now glance at the progress made by the Plymouth 
 branch of the American company in the colonization of New 
 England. At the beginning of the seventeenth century, the 
 Netherlands were renowned for religious independence and 
 colonial enterprise. This liberal policy had drawn to the Low 
 Countries a number of English families. The Puritans had 
 domiciled themselves in Leyden. This community had long 
 chafed under the disability of being denied a voice in the 
 political government of their growing community. Learning 
 then of the need of emigrants for the Plymouth company's 
 lands in the West, they believed that where others would not 
 go, they could enjoy freedom of worship unmolested, and at 
 the same time remain loyal to the flag and race of their fore- 
 fathers. After some delay in negotiations the Plymouth 
 company granted this community a concession of lands. In 
 
 1 13 Car. II, c. 7.
 
 THE BEGINNING OF BRITISH IMPERIALISM 101 
 
 August 1620, the first party embarked at Southampton on board 
 the " Speedwell " and the " Mayflower," two small ships which 
 put back twice for repairs. Finally the " Mayflower " alone 
 sailed, and after many mishaps and misfortunes cast anchor off 
 the coast of New England on 9 November, 1620. One month 
 was spent by those on board in selecting a place for landing. 
 Finally they went ashore at Plymouth on 11 December, 1620. 
 It was on the voyage to their new settlement that the colonists 
 drew up the constitution which was to govern the colony. 
 This constitution recognized the sovereignty of England, it 
 provided for a "body politic" for defence, and the enactment 
 of laws and the maintenance of government. The freemen 
 chose the governor, and all male members of the Church were 
 permitted to take part in public affairs. The assemblies 
 of the people were more in the nature of vestry meetings at 
 which the elders introduced and discussed such few legis- 
 lative questions as arose. In 1637 a House of Represen- 
 tatives was introduced and all colonial officers were annually 
 elected. 
 
 In the meantime John Endicott formed the colony ofMassa- 
 Massachusetts. The colonists here were organized as a cor- cnusetts - 
 poration. A governor, a deputy, and eighteen councillors 
 elected by vote were entrusted with the administration. 
 Four general assemblies of freemen were held every year for 
 the purpose of legislation and the election of members and 
 officers. Once a month the governor, his deputy, and at least 
 seven of the delegated representatives met to transact execu- 
 tive business. 
 
 Many of the settlers being dissatisfied with the situation 
 of Salem explored the country in quest of some better situation, 
 and settling in different places around the bay according to 
 their fancies, laid the foundations of Boston, Charlestown, 
 Dorchester, Roxborough, and other towns which have since 
 become considerable in the province. In the year 1622 a 
 grant of land was given to one Georges, governor of Plymouth 
 in England. This grant was situated on the American coast Maine, 
 from the Merrimac northward. Emigrants were sent out and 
 the colonies of Maine and New Hampshire were born. In New 
 this year some New England settlers, intent on the fur trade, Ham P shire - 
 met the Dutch on the Connecticut River and drove them back
 
 102 
 
 THE GOVEENANCE OF EMPIEE 
 
 Rhode 
 Island 
 
 Federation 
 of the New 
 England 
 colonies. 
 
 Connecticut, westwards, thus saving for England the colony to which that 
 river has given its name. 
 
 But religion continued to play its part in colonization. 
 Those very Puritans who left the land of their birth, because 
 of the intolerance towards their religion, to found and settle 
 a new colony, became just as intolerant, and certain religious 
 disturbances arising in Massachusetts in 1636, drove two 
 small parties of religious innovators to found the tiny colony 
 of Rhode Island and Province. 
 
 Thus in a period of sixteen years we see the rise of five 
 settlements side by side, each governing itself by means of an 
 electoral assembly ; but as their religion was their politics, 
 the latter business was usually dispatched at vestry meetings 
 and the elders of the Puritan Church were always recognized 
 as the political leaders. 
 
 These five settlements were cut off from the north by the 
 French, and from their fellow countrymen in Newfoundland 
 and Virginia by the Dutch. This isolation naturally drew 
 the five states closer together, and relying on the indulgent 
 partiality with which all their proceedings had been viewed 
 by their countrymen in England, the people of New England 
 ventured on a measure which not only increased their security 
 and power, but may also be regarded as a considerable step 
 towards independence. Making the danger to which they 
 were continually exposed from the surrounding tribes of 
 Indians the pretext, the four colonies of Massachusetts, 
 Plymouth, Connecticut, and New Haven entered into a union 
 of perpetual confederacy, offensive and defensive, an idea 
 familiar to several leading men in the colonies, as it was 
 framed in imitation of the famous bond of union among the 
 Dutch provinces, whence many of the leading colonists had 
 but lately come. This Act of Union stipulated, that "the 
 confederacies should henceforth be distinguished by the name 
 of the United Colonies of New England ; that each colony 
 should remain separate and distinct and have exclusive juris- 
 diction within its own territory ; and that in every war, 
 offensive or defensive, each of the confederacies shall furnish 
 its quota of men, provisions, and money, at a rate to be fixed 
 from time to time, in proportion to the number of people in 
 each settlement ; that an assembly composed of two com-
 
 THE BEGINNING OF BKITISH IMPERIALISM 103 
 
 missioners from each colony shall be held annually with power 
 to deliberate ; every determination in which six of their number 
 concur shall be binding on the whole". 1 This, the first 
 federal Act passed within the British Empire, came into force 
 on 10 May, 1643. The Imperial Government sanctioned this 
 Act of Union. In 1675, and 1676, the federation suffered 
 considerably from war with the Indians ; half of the towns 
 were completely destroyed and a great number of their best 
 fighting men were killed. Yet the spirit of independence had 
 so grown that they resolutely declined to seek help from the 
 mother country. This war called for the intervention of the 
 Imperial Government, and in 1687 the charters of these 
 colonies were cancelled and an imperial governor was installed 
 at Boston with absolute power over the whole country from 
 Acadia to Delaware. Thus a despotic government ruled 
 until the Revolution. Then it was that William III arranged 
 the divisions of New England as they stood thenceforth to the 
 days of independence. But an unfortunate principle in im- 
 perial government had been established : the mostdndependent 
 and stubborn of colonies had submitted once to the repeal of 
 their charters ; the precedent having been once established 
 there would be no legal excuse for not submitting again. 
 
 Before leaving the examination of the system of govern- Importance 
 ment ruling the American colonies during the first century New England. 
 of their existence, it is as well to emphasize one peculiarity 
 in the Constitution of New England. Here we find that 
 the religious belief of the people influenced their form of 
 government to a very great extent. They deviated from the 
 charter in this matter, and this ,deeply affected all the future 
 operations of the colony, and contributed greatly to form that 
 peculiar character by which the people of New England have 
 been distinguished. One of their early franchise laws declared 
 that " none shall hereafter be admitted freemen, or be en- 
 titled to any share in the government, or be capable of being 
 chosen magistrates, or even of serving as jurymen but such 
 as have been received into the Church as members ". 2 This 
 resulted in the clergy rising gradually to a high degree of influ- 
 
 1 Hutchinson, p. 124 ; Neal, i. 202. 
 
 2 Hutchinson, p. 26 ; also Chalmers, p. 153.
 
 104 
 
 THE GOVEENANCE OF EMPIRE 
 
 Constitution 
 of Rhode 
 Island : 
 
 and of 
 Connecticut. 
 
 The French 
 in Canada. 
 
 ence and authority, as by their determination and authority 
 the political condition of every citizen was fixed. In conse- 
 quence of this ascendancy, which was acquired chiefly by the 
 extreme enthusiasts among the clergy, their opinions became 
 a standard to which all studied to conform. 
 
 We have referred to the origin of the small colony of 
 Rhode Island in 1636. Roger Williams, a religious enthusiast, 
 led a band of followers into this unexplored wilderness in 
 consequence of their doctrine that the civil authorities have 
 not any right to regulate matters of creed. In 1663, one 
 John Clark was appointed a delegate to proceed to England 
 to apply for a charter ; this was granted, and it remained in 
 force as the Constitution of Rhode Island until 1842, a period 
 of 179 years. 
 
 Connecticut is said to have possessed the first written 
 constitution ; this was enacted by popular vote of 4 January, 
 1639, and according to Fiske's " New England," it was the 
 first written constitution known to history that created a 
 government. The government of the United States to-day 
 is in lineal descent more nearly related to that of Connecticut 
 than to that of any other of the thirteen colonies. 1 Under 
 this constitution only one legislative Chamber was provided, 
 but in 1698, this was amended and an Upper Chamber was 
 created. Up to 1711 the executive and the judiciary formed 
 a part of the legislature, but in that year the judiciary was 
 made a separate system. 
 
 Whilst England was spending money and sending forth 
 her sons to found colonies which were destined to sever from 
 the parent country and develop into a free nation, France, 
 England's ancient enemy, was also at work in settling 
 colonies on the same continent, the result of which expense 
 and labour was to be reaped by England. In the year 
 1608, Quebec was founded by Champlain. This great man's 
 name will ever stand out in the history of colonization. It 
 had been his dream to found a New France in these regions, 
 but the character of his countrymen militated against ex- 
 tensive colonization. Quebec was taken by an English fleet 
 in 1628, but Charles gave it back together with Acadia to 
 
 1 Fiske, "New England," p. 127.
 
 THE BEGINNING OF BRITISH IMPERIALISM 105 
 
 secure the payment of his wife's dower. In 1670 the Hudson Hudson Bay 
 Bay Company was formed. It was granted a charter as free om P an y- 
 as that given to Massachusetts conveying unlimited powers 
 of colonial government. The region which this charter 
 covered was " all lands and territories upon the countries, 
 coasts and confines of the seas, bays, lakes, rivers, creeks, 
 and sounds, in whatsoever latitude they shall be that lie 
 within the entrance of the straits, commonly called Hudson's 
 Straits, that are not already possessed by the subjects of any 
 other Christian prince or state ". At first the company had 
 but a single settlement, situated on Rupert's River ; but 
 stations and factories were gradually pushed out in all direc- 
 tions. The settlers were mostly the company's servants and 
 were naturally selected for their hardihood and adventurous 
 spirit. These men had to reckon with the active hostility of 
 the French established firmly in Canada, and who laid claim 
 to these regions. Between 1682 and 1697 several expeditions 
 were sent out from Quebec against the company's forts but 
 seldom did they meet with any success, and from the Treaty 
 of Utrecht to the outbreak of the Seven Years' War (1755) 
 the company's territories progressed. During the peace 
 which followed the wars of Anne and preceded the Seven 
 Years' War, Great Britain had that breathing space necessary 
 to take count of her territorial acquisitions and set them in 
 order. During this peaceful interregnum her exports had 
 grown to £12,000, 000. x The colonial trade was largely re- Growth of 
 
 sponsible for this, for it had developed enormously, causing British 
 
 . . comni6rc6. 
 
 Liverpool to rise from a small town to the rank of third port 
 
 in the kingdom. The early stages of the Seven Years' War Seven Years' 
 
 did not promise the great triumphs for England that eventu- War - 
 
 ally resulted from it, for upon its outbreak something like a 
 
 panic took place. During peace, Great Britain had neglected 
 
 the very first duty of a nation, preparedness for war, so that 
 
 when it did break out and France threatened her she was 
 
 forced to the ignoble policy of bringing over Hessian and 
 
 Hanoverian mercenaries to protect the kingdom. In America 
 
 France appeared to be having it all her own way, for her 
 
 troops drove the English garrisons from the forts which com- 
 
 1 Green.
 
 106 
 
 THE GOVEKNANCE OF EMPIKE 
 
 manded lakes Ontario and Champlain, and Montcalm cap- 
 tured Oswego including a park of British artillery. It was 
 now that England produced the man for her hour of need : 
 William Pitt assumed the reins of government. General 
 Abercrombie was appointed to command the forces in America,, 
 and the sympathy of the colonials was won by an order con- 
 ferring on provincial officers equal rank with those of the 
 Army while in the field. Twenty thousand colonials took 
 the field, 12,000 of these being from Massachusetts and 
 Connecticut ; the imperial troops made the army up to 50,000. 
 A British squadron sailed for Halifax to co-operate with the 
 army. Louisburg was first taken, as it had been a serious 
 menace to British commerce. It is outside the scope of this 
 work to recapitulate the operations of the war which won for 
 the Empire her premier colony. Sufficient to relate that on 
 13 December, 1759, Wolfe captured Quebec by the battle of 
 the heights of Abraham. Here both Wolfe and Montcalm, 
 the French general, lost their lives. The French bravely 
 contested the issue for another year, but at last, surrounded 
 by the British at Montreal, they signed the capitulation, 
 (8 September, 1760) by which the whole of Canada became 
 an integral part of the British Empire. 
 
 In view of recent events in South Africa, it is instructive 
 
 magnanimity £ reca n the comment made by the author of the "Political 
 
 to the . 
 
 Annals of Canada " on the British Government's policy follow- 
 ing the expulsion of the French from Canada. He says that,, 
 " previous history affords no example of such forbearance and 
 generosity on the part of the conquerors towards the conquered, 
 forming such a new era in civilized warfare that an admiring 
 world admitted the claim of Great Britain to the glory of con- 
 quering a people less from the views of ambition and the se- 
 curity of her other colonies, than from the hope of improving 
 their situation, and endowing them with the privileges of 
 freedom ". 
 
 The government of Canada, after its occupation by the 
 British, will be dealt with in its proper place. 
 
 We must now turn to a small colony whose settlement 
 and government afford one or two interesting lessons, the 
 neglect of some of which cost the Empire her American 
 colonies — lessons which must be taken into account in any 
 
 Conquest of 
 Canada. 
 
 British 
 
 Canadians.
 
 THE BEGINNING OF BRITISH IMPERIALISM 107 
 
 constructive policy which may be advocated in imperial 
 governance. 
 
 The West Indies. — For the purpose of this work it is Value of a 
 necessary to make a short survey of the early settlement of \vesf indies 
 these possessions, mainly to emphasize the fact that the 
 principle of the self-government of the colonies was recognized 
 in the beginning of imperial government and to demonstrate 
 the fact that among the early builders of our empire there 
 were those who foresaw many of the difficulties that have 
 grown into prominence to-day. These early settlers realized 
 that the time would come when the bonds between the mother 
 country must be drawn closer or they would become so loose 
 as to break asunder. But the study of the settlement of the 
 American colonies and West Indian islands is of value to the 
 political student owing to their being the cradle of our colon- 
 ial expansion, by reason too, that here are to be met many of 
 the racial problems, economic difficulties, and illustrations in 
 imperial defence calling for attention to-day. We have an 
 example in the West Indian settlements of two peoples re- 
 presenting the highest and the lowest types of humanity being 
 confined in a limited territorial area for a period of three cen- 
 turies, and we are able to judge by the results as seen to-day 
 the wisdom of the close admixture of the European and the 
 African. In this respect we may find some material that will 
 be of value in guiding us towards our conclusions as to the 
 government of a heterogeneous people occupying ocean-divided 
 lands. 
 
 As in the case of the American colonies, the West Indies Settlement of 
 owe their original settlement to Sir Walter Raleigh. In 1595, 
 on his personally commanded expedition to Guiana he touched 
 first at Trinidad and took possession of this island in the name 
 of Queen Elizabeth. But the earliest of these West Indian 
 colonies to flourish was Barbados. A patent giving pro- 
 prietary rights over this island was granted by James I to the 
 Earl of Marlborough in 1624, and in the following year the 
 first ship reached there with settlers from England. In 1627, 
 the patent was transferred to Lord Carlisle, from whom the 
 society of London merchants obtained an interest. The 
 following year (1628) Charles Wolferstone, a native of Ber- 
 muda the first colonial to hold such an office, was appointed
 
 108 THE GOVERNANCE OF EMPIRE 
 
 governor. * One of Wolferstone's first acts was to create a 
 council from among the leading colonists to advise and assist 
 him in framing laws for the government of the colony. In 
 1645, a judicial system was elaborated and an improved consti- 
 tution promulgated. This provided for a legislative assembly 
 of twenty-two members, representing eleven districts, the two 
 representatives from each district being elected by a majority 
 of freeholders. The council created in 1628 remained as the 
 Their form of Upper Chamber. This constitution, with but slight amend- 
 government. ments, remains in force to the present day, and is therefore 
 the oldest sub-constitution in the Empire. In 1646 a resolu- 
 tion was passed by this legislature, and conveyed to His 
 Majesty's Government, to the effect that in the interests of 
 Empire it was desirable that the colonies should have direct 
 representation in the Imperial Parliament, and upon this re- 
 solution receiving unsympathetic treatment by the Imperial 
 Government, in 1651 this colonial legislature boldly declared 
 that it was not bound by the decrees of a parliament in which 
 it was not represented. 
 
 In 1640 the sugar industry was founded in the island, and 
 within ten years the population had increased to 50,000 
 Europeans and 100,000 Negroes engaged directly or indirectly 
 in this industry. 
 Constant war In 1650 Barbados, now a prosperous colony, drew 
 in * he West Cromwell's attention to the West Indies by proclaiming 
 Charles II King and openly defying the Commonwealth. 
 The English fleet which subdued the loyalists of Virginia 
 bombarded and burnt the capital, Bridgetown. In 1655 
 Cromwell openly invaded the Spanish possessions of America ; 
 a British fleet attacked Hispaniola, but being beaten off, at- 
 tacked and took Jamaica. To this island the Imperial Govern- 
 ment sent settlers from home, and from Virginia, Barbados, 
 and Bermuda. It now superseded Barbados as the centre of 
 the West Indian trade. From now the West Indies experi- 
 enced a period of war which lasted for forty years, and the 
 islands, with the exception of Barbados, continually changed 
 hands. Either France and England were attacking Spain 
 
 1 lb is a noteworthy fact that during the three centuries that have 
 followed Wolferstone's appointment only three colonials have held similar 
 appointments within the Empire.
 
 THE BEGINNING OF BRITISH IMPERIALISM 109 
 
 or France and Holland were attacking England ; then Spain 
 and Holland fought France and England, again England 
 and Holland fought France, and these islands were the scene 
 of much of the strife. In addition to this fighting between 
 nations, the islands and the surrounding seas were the resort 
 of buccaneers, who carried on war on almost as large a scale, 
 the warfare waged by these sea-rovers being conducted for 
 private gain. Yet this played an important part in the build- 
 ing of the British Empire. To-day from our armchairs, with 
 blood grown cold and thin, we may judge their deeds ignoble 
 and wish to repudiate such an action as the raid on Panama 
 for instance. Let us remember, however, that along with 
 royal seamen and merchant seamen there were buccaneers 
 who made the name of the British dreaded on the high seas, 
 and this was a necessary evil if the Empire was ever to be 
 built. It was buccaneers who founded the British colony of 
 Honduras in 1638, and it has remained British ever since. 
 In these peace-loving days those who daily murder the 
 reputation of their fellows at no danger to themselves look 
 with unctuous horror upon the action of those who were 
 men enough at least to risk their all, including their lives. 
 
 In 1663 the proprietary rights over Barbados held by 
 the Earl of Carlisle, and under which the island was governed, 
 were abolished and the Crown assumed the nomination of 
 the council, the only alteration in the Constitution being that 
 all laws were thenceforward made subject to confirmation by 
 the King. 
 
 Up to 1651, the West Indies, in common with the Effects of the 
 American colonies, had been doing most of their trade with ^ s lgatlon 
 Holland. This astute nation had monopolized the trade of 
 her own colonies through her State-aided companies whose 
 charters carried the full force of law. Spain, Portugal, and 
 France likewise controlled the commerce between their re- 
 spective colonies and themselves. The British colonies, rich 
 in the production of tobacco and sugar — commodities largely 
 sought by Europe — were as open to the foreigner as to the 
 Britisher. The Long Parliament in 1651 altered all this by 
 the Navigation Act. The influence of this Act upon British 
 sea power will be dealt with later. It had the effect of making 
 the Empire a single commercial organization, and it finally
 
 110 
 
 THE GOVERNANCE OF EMPIRE 
 
 Taxation of 
 Barbados. 
 
 Power of the 
 governor. 
 
 ruined the Dutch trade. But it had the same injurious effect 
 upon commerce in the West Indies, as we have seen in the 
 colonies on the mainland, for let it be remembered that 
 London was not the world's emporium in those days, and its 
 consumption of certain commodities was restricted. The 
 Navigation Act of the Long Parliament, and the later ones 
 of Charles II, were premature as far as the colonies and 
 commerce were concerned. 
 
 In 1663 a cause for grievance was created which lasted 
 for 175 years. This was the passing by the Imperial Parlia- 
 ment of a taxing measure of 4^ per cent upon the produce 
 of the island of Barbados to satisfy claims and defray the 
 expenses of the government of this island. The colonists 
 contended that less than 1 per cent of this was expended 
 upon their government and that a considerable amount of the 
 revenue was devoted to pensions to persons unconnected with 
 the colony. The legislature again protested to the Imperial 
 Government and to the Crown denouncing the injustice of 
 taxation by a parliament in which the taxed had no repre- 
 sentation. This was ineffectual, for English statesmen as yet 
 regarded the colonies as of value to the Crown only so long 
 as they were a source of monetary gain or profit to the 
 mother country. 
 
 During the war between England and France which 
 commenced in 1756 the West Indies were again the scene of 
 much fighting, and Barbados expended £24,000 in raising 
 her proportion of men in the attacking force against Mar- 
 tinique. 
 
 In 1805 Napoleon dispatched a squadron with 4000 
 soldiers for the purpose of regaining the French ascendancy 
 in the Archipelago, but although successful in obtaining large 
 sums of money from some of the island colonies the expedi- 
 tion failed in its object. It was due to this threatened in- 
 vasion that an interesting point in government arose. Upon 
 the intelligence reaching Barbados that ■ the French fleet 
 had sailed for the West Indies the governor declared martial 
 law over the island. The legislature considered this an 
 infringement of the colonial constitution and refused to 
 recognize the governor's authority to supersede the civil law 
 until the enemy was within sight. The controversy was only
 
 THE BEGINNING OF BEITISH IMPEKIALISM 111 
 
 ended by the Imperial Government insisting upon the full 
 prerogative of the Crown to impose martial law whenever 
 necessary for the safety of the island. 
 
 In 1812 another attempt was made by the colonial legis- 
 lature to have the 4| per cent tax abolished, but it was not 
 until 1838 that it was at last removed. 
 
 By Act of Parliament, 6. Geo. IV, c. 114, 1825, foreign Taxation 
 commodities were admitted into British possessions at moder- j y the . , 
 ate rates of duty if the countries sending those articles gave Parliament, 
 similar privilege to British ships. As the United States of 
 America refused reciprocity the West Indian ports were closed 
 •against their shipping, upon which the United States retali- 
 ated by prohibiting all intercourse with British colonies. 
 This raised an important constitutional question, for these 
 duties levied in the name of His Majesty were to be paid into 
 the local treasury for the uses of the colony, but the customs 
 officers, all of whom were appointed by the Imperial Govern- 
 ment, received instructions to retain their own salaries from 
 the revenue. This was denounced by the colonial legislature 
 as illegal. After a long controversy it was agreed, in 1832, 
 that 10 per cent should be deducted to defray the expense of 
 collecting the tax. And yet another instance of the tactless 
 interference on the part of the Imperial Government may 
 be recorded. By a colonial Act of 1773 a tonnage duty of 
 2s. 6d. was imposed, but small vessels belonging to colonists 
 were only to pay on three voyages a year ; however, by an 
 Act of the Imperial Parliament passed in 1832, this exemption 
 was abolished. Again the colonial legislature protested, and 
 went so far as to deny the right of Parliament to tax colonies 
 which had representative institutions. Lord Stanley in 1833 
 ruled that this right existed, although its exercise was a 
 matter of expediency. 
 
 The colonies were now becoming of sufficient monetary Interference 
 importance to the mother country to attract the closer and j^!^ ial 
 somewhat irritating attention of her statesmen to what should Ministry 
 have been considered purely local affairs, and the fall of Lord J aniaica 
 Melbourne's Ministry was directly attributable to such un- 
 due interference in Jamaica. The planters of this island, who 
 like those of the other colonies had sullenly accepted the 
 abolition of slavery, were further irritated at the passage of
 
 112 THE GOVEKNANCE OF EMPIEE 
 
 an Act of Parliament intended to remedy certain grave abuses 
 in the management of the prisons of the island. The colonial 
 legislature denounced this Act as a violation of its rights, 
 and determined to desist from its legislative functions. The 
 governor thereupon dissolved the assembly, but again there 
 was a deadlock for the new parliament reaffirmed the decision 
 of its predecessor. The Imperial Ministry asked Parliament 
 in 1839 for authority to suspend the Constitution of the colony 
 for a period of five years, but although the Bill for this pur- 
 pose was introduced, the Ministry found that they were not 
 strong enough to carry it and they therefore resigned. As 
 Sir Kobert Peel, who was called to form a Ministry, would 
 only do so upon conditions unacceptable to Her Majesty, the 
 Whig Ministry returned to office, but they did not venture to 
 proceed with their Jamaica Bill. 
 Results of the The product upon which the prosperity of the West 
 Slavery 00 ° Indian colonies had been built was, under altered conditions, 
 the cause of their commercial decay. The economic culti- 
 vation of the staple crop, sugar cane, called for plentiful and 
 cheap labour. This was introduced in the form of slaves from 
 Africa. As this supply increased and became more certain so 
 did the industry expand ; wealth was created and the import- 
 ance of the islands grew. When slave trading was suppressed 
 in 1806, in the island of Barbados alone, there were 60,000 
 slaves. From the time of emancipation the Negroes multi- 
 plied rapidly, and in 1844 we find that Barbados had 90,000 
 Negroes as against 32,000 Whites and half-castes, and this 
 same island in 1908 had a population of 196,287 of whom 
 less than 20,000 were pure Whites. It may be said that it is 
 vain to speculate upon what would now be the condition of 
 these colonies had the Act of Abolition provided for the com- 
 pulsory repatriation of the Negroes to Africa. But it can 
 with safety be stated that such a measure would have had 
 the effect of preventing the growth (in these colonies) of a 
 mixed race. In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries 
 drastic legislative measures were attempted to prevent the 
 intercourse between Europeans and Negroes, but without suc- 
 cess. In the undesirable condition of slaves the Negroes were 
 responsible for the prosperity of these colonies, but as free 
 and independent subjects they became indolent, and were
 
 THE BEGINNING OF BRITISH IMPERIALISM 113 
 
 quick to add to their own vices many of the worse ones of 
 the Europeans. Like many other well-intentioned Acts of the 
 Imperial Parliament the Abolition Act did not go far enough ; 
 its framers looked to the immediate effect upon the indivi- 
 dual and failed to see the ultimate effect upon posterity. 
 The lessons that certain results due to omissions in that 
 Act convey to those concerned with the government of Em- 
 pire are of the greatest moment, for there exist to-day prob- 
 lems bearing very close resemblance to those which owed their 
 existence to the results of the cheap imported labour of the 
 American and West Indian colonies. But the discussion of 
 these will be dealt with in the proper place. 
 
 While the colonization of America by British statesmen Great trading 
 and more particularly by British companies was slowly taking com P ameB - 
 effect, other parts of the world were attracting the attention 
 of Englishmen. The tendency of the sixteenth and seven- 
 teenth centuries was towards public monopolies, and England 
 in this respect appears to have adopted the policy followed for 
 many years both by Holland and France, although in the 
 case of Holland companies of trading corporations for colon- 
 ization purposes were to all intents and purposes governmental 
 bodies. During Elizabeth's reign there were numerous cor- 
 porations created, such as the African, the Levant and the Rus- 
 sian companies, but perhaps the most important was the ori- 
 ginal East India Company. This company, destined to play East India 
 such a conspicuous part in the expansion of the British Empire, Com P an y- 
 received its charter on the last day of 1600. It constituted 
 the adventurers a body politic and corporate, by the name of 
 " The Governor and Company of Merchants of London, 
 trading to the East Indies," and vested them with the usual 
 privileges and powers. The charter provided that the man- 
 agement of the company's affairs should be in the hands of 
 a committee of twenty-four persons and a chairman to be 
 chosen annually. This company was chartered two years 
 before the Dutch India Company. In May, 1601, the first 
 fleet of five ships belonging to the company sailed for India. 
 But we find that at this time the British were slower than 
 the Dutch in the development of their power in the East. 
 The latter nation rapidly rose to first place in the Eastern 
 trade whilst the British were destined to be for a long period
 
 114 THE GOVEENANCE OF EMPIEE 
 
 their rivals before they succeeded in becoming their superiors. 
 At this time these two nations were upon friendly terms, 
 together opposing the common enemy, Spain. At one time 
 the advisability of federating the English and Dutch com- 
 panies was seriously discussed, and a formal alliance (under 
 which the English company was to receive one-third of the 
 profits from the Spice Islands) was made in 1619, but this 
 was never put into effect. 
 
 The company's first fleet under Lancaster arrived at 
 Acheen, in Sumatra, in January, 1602. From here they 
 sailed to Java where they installed their agents. This step 
 constituted the first beginning of the company's factories. 
 The company's first voyage was both financially and politic- 
 ally a great success and smoothed the way for their future 
 operations. The privileges which were granted them appear 
 to have caused the greatest irritation amongst merchants, and 
 attempts were made to infringe the company's rights though 
 without success. The original charter was for a period of 
 fifteen years. Upon the expiration of this term James I. re- 
 newed it " for ever ". Up to 1611 the company had confined 
 itself to trading with the islands of Java, Sumatra, and 
 Amboyna. Several attempts had been made to open up 
 trade with the mainland, but these had been frustrated at 
 Battles Aden and Mocha by the Turks and by the Portuguese on the 
 
 with the coast of India. In 1611, however, a fleet of the company's 
 ships under Captain Best was attacked off Surat by a Por- 
 tuguese fleet, but the latter was defeated and Captain Best 
 was favourably received by the Indians. Whilst establishing 
 a foothold for his company upon the mainland, this com- 
 mander fought five different engagements with the Portuguese 
 and gained a complete victory over superior forces. Early 
 in 1612, the Mogul Emperor issued a firman granting the 
 company permission to trade in his dominions, and under 
 this authority they established factories at Ahmedabad, 
 Cambaya, Gogo, and Surat. It was stipulated, however, that 
 in payment for the defence of these factories the company 
 should pay a duty of 3i per cent. 
 
 The Portuguese, by open hostility and by intrigues, 
 succeeded in a great measure in thwarting the policy of 
 the English, and the latter in retaliation had no scruple
 
 THE BEGINNING OF BEITISH IMPERIALISM 115 
 
 in attacking their ships whenever and wherever encoun- 
 tered. 
 
 The first official representative of the Crown to set foot in 
 India was Sir Thomas Roe, who was sent by James I as 
 ambassador to Jehangire who then occupied the Delhi throne. 
 Sir Thomas Roe landed at Surat in September, 1615. He 
 was received by the Mogul Emperor with unusual honours. 
 Sir Thomas succeeded in obtaining redress of some of the 
 grievances of which the English merchants complained, and 
 concluded, though with difficulty, a sort of treaty, in which 
 liberty was promised them of trading and establishing fac- 
 tories in any part of the Mogul dominions, Surat, Bengal, 
 and Seinde being particularly named. 1 
 
 Up to the year 1618, the British had only to contend with Hostility of 
 the open hostility of the Portuguese, although serious opposi- Dutch - 
 tion had been met with through the jealousy of the Dutch. 
 In this year, however, this opposition developed into open 
 hostility. They attacked the British in the Moluccas and 
 seized two of their ships. The British were now faced with 
 the open hostility of two powerful sea-powers. At this 
 time, let it be remembered, England's sea-power was in its 
 infancy. According to Hume the total number of seamen 
 engaged in the British Merchant Service amounted to ten 
 thousand, whilst the Dutch possessed three times as much 
 shipping. 2 This action of the Dutch drove the British to 
 develop their trade with the mainland of India, where they 
 were more than a match for the Portuguese. 
 
 In 1641 a fort was built and trading stations opened at Growth of 
 Fort St. George. This is where Madras now stands. The* 1 ";. 15 *** 
 
 & India Com- 
 
 company secured its first foothold in Bengal in the year 1652. pany's trade 
 This took the form of a concession for a settlement at Hugli, 
 and a licence for an unlimited trade, without payment of cus- 
 toms. Two years later the company took another step for- 
 ward in the direction of that gradual strengthening of the 
 British foothold on the continent. This was the elevation 
 of Fort St. George into a presidency, thus concentrating the 
 business of the Coromandel coast which had up to now been 
 worked from the distant settlement at Bantam. 
 
 1 Bruce, I. 171 ; Mills, i. 32. 2 Hume. 
 
 Q *
 
 116 THE GOVEBNANCE OF EMPIEE 
 
 The war between England and Holland was seriously 
 injurious to the company's interests in India, for in 1654 a 
 Dutch squadron of eight ships appeared off Swally and 
 stopped all British trade on the coast of India. This was 
 solely in consequence of the superior naval power of the 
 Dutch in those seas. 
 
 In 1661 a new and more ample charter was granted the 
 company by Charles II, by which the company was vested 
 with the power to make peace and war with any prince and 
 people, not being Christian, and to seize unlicensed persons 
 within their limits and send them to England. 1 The right of 
 administering justice was also conferred upon the directors 
 and their servants ; to all intents and purposes the company 
 was given all the powers of government. 
 French While the ground was being cleared in this continent for 
 
 rivalry m British Imperialism by a chartered company and its servants, 
 the rival power of France was likewise making secure a foot- 
 hold from which it intended to extend its power so as to em- 
 brace the whole of India. As far back as 1503 France had 
 endeavoured to open up trade with the Orient, but for one 
 cause or another had failed ; between 1604 and 1664 several 
 companies had been chartered by France and each after a 
 short life terminated. But the French Minister Colbert, a 
 man before his time, undaunted by the inability of his prede- 
 cessors to grapple successfully with the difficulties, founded 
 the East India Company of France. The charter was given 
 for fifty years. But Colbert overlooked the fact that the one 
 characteristic so necessary in successful colonization, settle- 
 ment or government of over-sea possessions — the force of 
 vitality — was constitutionally lacking, and this no state could 
 provide at command. In 1668 the French company suc- 
 ceeded in expelling the Dutch from Surat, but they were in 
 turn driven out four years later. In 1679 they retired to 
 Pondicherry on the coast of Coromandel. Here they made 
 themselves secure, and this was where ultimately their nation 
 was to have its main centre of influence in the Orient. 2 
 From this date down to 1745 the French company expanded 
 its power over the Karnatik. In this year war broke out 
 
 1 Bruce. 2 Raynal, n. 339-42.
 
 THE BEGINNING OF BRITISH IMPERIALISM 117 
 
 between England and France. The French admiral, La 
 Bourdonnais, attacked and captured Madras, which at the 
 time was only garrisoned by 300 British. At this time the 
 French governor of Pondi cherry was Dupleix, a man since 
 renowned for his tenacity of purpose, skill, and finesse. He 
 at once occupied Madras and sent the British garrison in 
 captivity to Pondicherry. The natives now awakened to the 
 fact that the Europeans had come to India with the intention 
 of staying and not as a subject people. The Nawab of the 
 Karnatik thereupon demanded Dupleix to surrender to him 
 Madras, and upon the latter refusing he marched against 
 Madras with 9000 troops. These were defeated by Dupleix 
 at the head of 400 soldiers. It now appeared as if there was 
 nothing to stay the advancing tide of French supremacy in 
 this part of India, for Admiral Boscawen's fleet was repulsed 
 in its five weeks' investment of Pondicherry. However, by 
 the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, Madras was restored to Eng- 
 land in exchange for Cape Breton. 
 
 The Imperial Government now began to display interest Relations 
 in the doings of the company in India, but of a nature C onTpany and 
 which hampered its progress. In 1767 the Government the Govern- 
 secured from the company an annual payment of £400,000, 
 as rental for the East Indian customs, and in 1774 it secured 
 an obligatory advance of £1,000,000 at the low rate of 3 per 
 cent. 1 By these repeated and compulsory financial accom- 
 modations the enterprise and progress of the company 
 directly benefited the State. 
 
 The peace of Aix-la-Chapelle found the prestige of the Defeat of the 
 French greater, in India, than that of the British. The latter renc ' 
 had been submissive to native rulers ; they had fought badly, 
 had been defeated, and disgraced as prisoners. Dupleix had 
 mastered the British and the natives alike. He had fought 
 with trained and seasoned troops. But for a European na- 
 tion to gain the imperial rule of India it was necessary to 
 control the highway to that continent. Now it was that 
 both the British and the French companies threw themselves 
 into native politics as a means of securing the supremacy of 
 India, and from 1749 to 1761 native wars were waged with 
 
 1 Mills, i. 115.
 
 118 THE GOVERNANCE OF EMPIRE 
 
 British and French troops ranged against each other. It is 
 outside the scope of this work to describe in detail how 
 Clive rose to power, how Dupleix, Bussy and Lally were 
 defeated. It is sufficient to note that on 17 January, 1761, 
 Pondicherry was surrendered to Coote and a month later 
 no spot of Indian soil remained to the French. 
 Establish- But by the Peace of Paris in 1763 the actual French 
 
 British trading settlements were restored on condition that no troops 
 
 India. should be kept, no forts erected in Bengal and no relations 
 
 of any kind entered into with the native rulers. It was this 
 peace which determined the supremacy in India, and to 
 Lord Clive, more than to any other man, the result was due. 
 By it the East India Company found itself transformed from 
 a mercantile association into the owner and sovereign power 
 of an empire. This necessarily called for a radical change 
 in administration. In the early days of the company rule 
 was very similar to that of the Dutch and French companies, 
 by an army of officials. Then during the period covering 
 the military operations the government assumed more and 
 more a military character, evolving into military despotism, 
 under which system Clive obtained the obedience of native 
 princes and ruled in their name. The first step taken for 
 the institution of civil government was the partition of India 
 into four presidencies. This was accomplished in 1771. 
 Each presidency was independent of the other and ruled over 
 by a governor invested with full discretion, being responsible 
 only to the directorate of the company. Two years later 
 Lord North's Eegulating Act (13 Geo. Ill, c. 16) was 
 passed. It was entitled "An Act for establishing certain 
 regulations for the better management of the affairs of the 
 East India Company ". It created the office of Governor- 
 General, defined the qualifications and terms of directors and 
 provided for the appointment of a supreme council of four 
 members to assist the Governor-General. This council had 
 the sole right of declaring war and negotiating with the 
 native princes, differences of opinion in the council being 
 decided by a majority. A judiciary consisting of a high 
 court, the judges of which were chosen by the Crown, was 
 also created. Bengal was made the chief seat of the com- 
 pany's authority, the governor of Bengal being Governor-
 
 THE BEGINNING OF BRITISH IMPERIALISM 119 
 
 General over all the British settlements in India. Under 
 this Act the King reserved unto himself the veto power over 
 all resolutions passed by the organization. In 1774 Warren 
 Hastings was appointed first Governor-General. For a period 
 of eleven years he held this important and despotic office, and 
 although at times seriously hampered by the members of the 
 council in his great policy of subjugation, yet he succeeded 
 in completely establishing the supremacy of the British in 
 India. The material he had to mould into subject races and 
 the conditions of the times called for methods which under 
 the altered conditions of to-day would be judged as harsh. 
 
 For the purpose of this work it will be necessary to return 
 to British rule in India, as revised by Pitt's Act of 1784, the 
 main provisions of which remain in force to the present day. 
 
 We will now make a brief survey of those British pos- South Africa, 
 sessions which occupy an important strategic position in re- 
 gard to the mother country and her Eastern empire. The 
 first fleet of vessels fitted out by the English East India 
 Company for India in 1601 put in at Table Bay and remained 
 there for seven weeks, but they neglected to take formal pos- 
 session of this important part of South Africa. However, 
 Great Britain has a prior claim to that set up by another 
 power to this portion of the sub-continent, for in 1620 two 
 English captains formally took possession of the Cape in the 
 name of James I. 1 
 
 1 Their proclamation was to the effect that Andrew Shillinge and 
 Humphrey Fitzherbert, chief commanders of the fleets, after a consulta- 
 tion holden on shore on 3 July, 1620, in the Bay of Saldanha (the name 
 by which Table Bay was known to English navigators), in the name of 
 the High and Mighty Prince James, took possession of the coast and the 
 whole continent near adjoining, " so far to be extended as that at present 
 no Christian king or potentate have any fort or garrison within the limits 
 aforesaid ; and," they added, " our Sovereign Lord the King to be there- 
 unto entitled Lord or Prince, or by any other name or title whatsoever 
 that shall seem best unto his gracious wisdom ". 
 
 The reasons for the formal occupation of this territory assigned by 
 these English captains are contained in a document preserved in the 
 archives of the East India Company. Among other things they set forth 
 that on arrival in the Bay they found nine ships of the States whose 
 officers declared plainly that the States intended to make a plantation in 
 the Cape of Good Hope in the next year. They proceed to say : " This
 
 120 THE GOVEKNANCE OF EMPIKE 
 
 Early Dutch The enterprising directors of the Dutch East India Com- 
 
 36 emen ' pany early realized the strategic value of the Cape of Good 
 Hope in relation to their East Indian possessions, and there- 
 fore in 1652 they erected a fort and laid out the adjoining 
 lands for victualling purposes. In 1657 a small number of 
 soldiers and sailors with their families were settled on farms 
 surrounding the settlement. In 1688 the first party of French 
 Huguenots arrived in the colony. At first all extension of 
 territory, beyond the mere wants of the refreshment station, 
 had met with opposition from the East India Company. But 
 in 1684 the Dutch governor, Simon van der Stell, parcelled 
 out farms to the French refugees. After this step of appor- 
 tioning farms had once been taken there was no further 
 affectation of a desire on the part of the Dutch authorities 
 that native claims to land should be respected. Possession 
 was taken from time to time of the lands in the north and 
 the east, the authorities sometimes preceding the inhabitants, 
 but more frequently the colonists preceding the authorities. 
 The slow progress made in the settlement of this territory, 
 favoured by Nature as it undoubtedly is, is solely due to the 
 early form of government it was subject to. According to 
 Watermeyer, the Dutch colonial system as exemplified at the 
 Cape of Good Hope, or rather the system of the Dutch East 
 India Company (for the nation should not wholly suffer under 
 the condemnation justly incurred by a trading association 
 that sought only pecuniary profit) was almost without one 
 redeeming feature and was a dishonour to the national name 
 of the Netherlands. In all things political it was purely 
 despotic ; in all things commercial it was purely monopolist. 
 The Dutch East India Company cared nought for the progress 
 of the colony — provided only that they had a refreshment 
 station for their richly-laden fleets, and that the English, 
 French, Danes and Portuguese had not — and whatever tended 
 to infringe in the slightest degree on their monopoly was 
 visited with the severest penalties. 1 
 
 The effect of this system of tyrannical rule was inevitable. 
 
 great country, if it were well discovered, would be kept in subjection 
 with a few men and little charge ". 
 
 1 " Writings of E. B. Watermeyer," p. 54.
 
 THE BEGINNING OF BEITISH IMPEEIALISM 121 
 
 It drove the settlers to desperation. Their petition setting Discontent 
 forth their grievances was intercepted by the governor's orders. of the 
 They therefore fled from oppression, and thus began those 
 treks which spread the Boer over South Africa ; nearly a cen- 
 tury and a half before the great trek of 1837 small treks had 
 almost annually occurred. Politics being forbidden, the people 
 adopted religion as an essential feature of their conduct, a 
 characteristic which still marks their descendants. By the year 
 
 1795 the dissatisfaction had spread throughout the scattered 
 settlements. The burghers of Swellendam took the law into 
 their own hands, expelled the landdrost and proclaimed the 
 district a free republic. A national assembly was constituted 
 of which one, Hermanus Steyn, was the president. Events 
 were tending towards the creation of a republican nation, but 
 the revolutions of Europe changed the future fortunes of this 
 colony and saved it from being hurried into premature re- 
 publicanism. 
 
 In June, 1795, Admiral Elphinstone and General Craig Annexation 
 arrived at the Cape with eight ships and 4000 men. After g^ 1 ^* 
 a very feeble resistance the colony was surrendered to the 
 British. General Craig was installed as governor and the 
 oath of allegiance to the King of Great Britain was demanded 
 of all who continued to hold office. The sole question, at 
 the date of the arrival of the British fleet, was whether the 
 colony should be surrendered to the leadership of those who 
 had raised the standard of rebellion, or should pass into the 
 hands of a European power by whom, at the declaration of 
 peace, it might be restored. 1 The domination of the East 
 India Company at the Cape of Good Hope fell with the British 
 occupation. It had held despotic sway here for 143 years and 
 had seriously retarded the colonization and progress of one 
 of the fairest portions of the globe. 
 
 The colony had been seized by the British Government 
 under the plea of keeping it out of the possession of the French 
 and holding it in trust for the Prince of Orange until he 
 should be restored as stadtholder of the Netherlands. But in 
 
 1796 the Government of the day openly declared their inten- 
 tion to retain it as a crown colony and as a station of great 
 value commanding the highway to India. 
 
 1 E. B. Watermeyer.
 
 of the Cape. 
 
 122 THE GOVEENANCE OF EMPIRE 
 
 By the Peace of Amiens, 27 March, 1802, the sixth article 
 provided that the Cape of Good Hope remains in full sove- 
 reignty to the Batavian Republic as it was before the war, 
 and on 30 December, General Dundas issued a proclamation 
 absolving the inhabitants of the colony from the oath of al- 
 legiance to the King of England on or after 1 January, 1803. 
 In 1806, as one of the results of war, France and Holland 
 being united against Great Britain, the Cape was again 
 seized by a British force. In 1814, at the close of the war, 
 Great Britain surrendered to Holland all colonies seized dur- 
 ing the war with the exception of the Cape and what is now 
 British Guiana, in consideration for the retention of which 
 Great Britain paid to Holland the sum of £6,000,000 sterling. 
 There is no portion of the Empire held by more valid title 
 than that of the Cape, which is held by proclamation, con- 
 quest, treaty, and purchase. 
 British The population of the colony proper then numbered 
 
 S«2a^ barely 10,000 Whites and some 80,000 coloured, being a 
 heterogeneous mixture of many distinct tribes. England 
 now set herself to colonize her new possession, and applied to 
 this undertaking her customary methods, seconded by her old- 
 time energy and zeal. In 1820 Parliament voted £50,000 as 
 a transportation fund, 5,000 British emigrants were sent 
 out, and each person was allotted 100 acres in fee simple. 
 These settlers were placed in the Eastern Province. From 
 now we discover a similar aspect in South Africa to that of 
 Canada. The British, grouped together in one section, 
 attaining a higher degree of success, were far more con- 
 tented than their neighbours of foreign extraction. The 
 Western Province, occupied by the descendants of the original 
 settlers, although it received in time a considerable admixture 
 of British, has remained inferior to its younger competitor in 
 progress and enterprise. The British Government gave every 
 encouragement to immigration, but with little success. By 
 this time Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, free from the 
 intestine troubles so peculiar to South Africa, were attracting 
 any surplus population the mother country could spare. In 
 1838 a German bureau sent out 4000 Germans, who added 
 yet another element to the population. Then after the 
 Crimean war many soldiers from the foreign contingents
 
 THE BEGINNING OF BEITISH IMPEKIALISM 123 
 
 settled in the Cape. At this time, too, communication with 
 the outer world was slow, and current literature was hardly 
 obtainable. This influenced the course of domestic events 
 and militated against increased prosperity. The antipathy 
 between the British and the Dutch, due mostly to ignorance 
 of each other, was in the earlier days intense. This mutual 
 ill-will has fortunately almost disappeared. At the very out- 
 set the Boers, tenacious of their religious beliefs, language, 
 ancient customs, local institutions, and national proclivities, 
 disliked the institution of constitutional government, and 
 were inclined to look with suspicion upon every administra- 
 tive act emanating from the Government. It must in fair- 
 ness to the colonists of both races be admitted that the 
 Imperial Government, as it has often done since, considered 
 colonial offices as lucrative positions for its lesser adherents, 
 and much of the friction and discontent found at some time 
 or another in all of the colonies has been due to such appoint- 
 ments. 
 
 As the British extended the influence of law and order by Hostility 
 the appointment of magistrates and other officials, the Boers Boers and 
 withdrew farther and farther into the interior. This brought Kaffirs. 
 them into contact with the Kaffirs, a sturdy, fierce, warlike, 
 and indomitable people, who about this time appear to have 
 been migrating slowly in hordes from the north. The Boers 
 having to fight these people for self-preservation, had, through 
 experiencing their savage cruelty, learned to hate them and 
 to treat them with the utmost rigour. The British Govern- 
 ment professed the principles' of justice to all races alike and 
 tried in vain to propagate law and order to prevent the more 
 intolerable outrages committed for the purpose of revenge. 
 The Boers looked upon the extermination of the Kaffirs as a 
 sacred duty, and resented, as irreligious and unwarrantable 
 interference, laws and instructions which forbade this. 
 
 The abolition of slavery, made final in 1834, resulted in Abolition of 
 thousands of Boers escaping from what they considered s aver y- 
 the land of oppression. They organized themselves into 
 several parties and trekked beyond the Orange River, and 
 formed those republics which at a later date it required the 
 might of the Empire to subdue. 
 
 Since the occupation by the British in 1806 there had
 
 124 THE GOVEKNANCE OF EMPIEE 
 
 Government been an entire absence of political rights or privileges ; the 
 Colony 5 colony had been governed by military rule. This had been 
 
 prolonged from year to year by the continual pressure of the 
 Kaffir hordes against the colonial frontiers and their numerous 
 incursions resulting in hostilities of a lesser or greater degree, 
 but with the termination of the native troubles of 1835, the 
 military rule which had existed for thirty years was replaced 
 by a civil code. A civil governor was appointed, assisted by 
 a legislative council for the Cape Colony. This was to con- 
 sist of not less than ten or more than twelve members, ex- 
 clusive of the governor. The military officer next in rank to 
 the governor, the secretary to government, the treasurer- 
 general, the auditor-general and the attorney-general, were 
 to have seats by virtue of their offices. The other members 
 were to be selected by the governor from the most respect- 
 able inhabitants, and were to hold office during residence and 
 good behaviour, unless disallowed by the Secretary of State 
 within two years of their nomination. The governor and 
 six members were to form a quorum. Meetings could only 
 be summoned by the governor, and in them he was to pre- 
 side. He was to have a vote the same as other members and 
 also a casting vote when the council was equally divided. 
 Decisions were to be valid on a simple majority of votes. 
 Draft ordinances were to be published in the "Gazette" 
 at least three weeks before being submitted for discussion. 
 Demand for The Letters Patent also provided for an executive council 
 
 representative ^j^ was to con sist of the military officer next in rank to 
 
 institutions. J 
 
 the governor, the secretary to government, the treasurer- 
 general, and the attorney-general. The governor was to take 
 the advice of this council in questions of administration, but 
 he was not obliged to follow it if he saw good reason to act 
 differently. But this constitution did not satisfy the colonists. 
 They petitioned the Imperial Government for a more re- 
 presentative form of local government, for, as they set forth, 
 they were entirely unrepresented either in the imperial or 
 in the colonial chamber. We see in this the same grievance 
 that was suffered and complained of by the American and 
 West Indian colonists. It was also held that one of the chief 
 obstacles to growth, expansion, and progress in this colony 
 had been the absence of political rights and privileges. It
 
 THE BEGINNING OF BRITISH IMPERIALISM 125 
 
 was not, however, until 1850 that their request was acceded 
 to. In that year a constitutional convention was called upon 
 instructions received from the Imperial Government. This 
 resulted in Letters Patent being issued, declaring that there 
 should be a parliament consisting of the governor, a legislative 
 council and a House of assembly. Both Chambers were to be 
 elected and constituted in manner to be prescribed in an ordi- 
 nance which the governor was authorized to frame and enact 
 with the advice of the then existing legislative council subject 
 to confirmation by the Queen in Council. Power was reserved 
 by the Crown to alter or amend the necessary ordinance or 
 ordinances. 
 
 The ordinance was passed by the Cape legislature on 
 3 April, 1852, and is still the fundamental document of the 
 Cape Constitution. But although an elective legislature was 
 granted it was only the shadow of authority, the substance 
 was entirely in the hands of the governor. As a constitution 
 it was in every way inferior to what had been granted over 
 two centuries earlier to the American and West Indian 
 colonies. There was nothing in the law or practice of this 
 constitution which made the colonial Ministers dependent 
 on the legislature for their tenure of office. The order in 
 council, however, by which the constitution ordinance of 1852 
 was amended and ratified, granted to the colonial legislature 
 the right to amend the constitution ordinance through which 
 its own powers were derived, subject to the ordinary conditions 
 of royal assent and power of disallowance. On 28 November, 
 1872, the Cape legislature developed, by its own Act, from a 
 representative to a responsible institution, by means of a short 
 Act of ten sections providing that the holders of Ministerial 
 offices might be elected for and sit in either House, notwith- 
 standing the provisions of the constitution ordinance which 
 disqualified any person holding an office of profit under the 
 Crown. This Act necessitated a change in the position of 
 the governor, which was affected by Letters Patent "con- 
 stituting and appointing " Sir Henry Barkley to be governor 
 and commander-in-chief during the royal pleasure and by 
 royal instructions. We have now briefly traced the growth 
 of this the parent colony of the South African Union to a 
 point at which we can leave it for the time being. Further
 
 126 
 
 THE GOVEKNANCE OF EMPIEE 
 
 Natal. 
 
 First settle- 
 ment in 
 Australia. 
 
 consideration of the government of this portion of the Empire 
 will be given in dealing with the units in common. 
 
 The small colony of Natal was an offshoot from the Cape 
 Colony. It was founded by Lieutenant Farewell and a 
 small part of the British settlers from that colony in 1824. 
 These people occupied the site of the present town of Durban. 
 Their numbers were augmented in 1837. In 1838 the trek 
 Boers occupied the seat of the present capital and proclaimed 
 the territory a republic. But their sojourn here was of short 
 duration, for in 1843 the British, proclaiming this region to 
 be included under their jurisdiction, inaugurated, after some 
 slight hostilities, their own rule. From 1845 to 1848 Natal 
 was governed as a dependency of the Cape Colony. In 1856 
 it was erected into a separate establishment, under a lieu- 
 tenant-governor. The royal charter created a legislative 
 council of sixteen members — twelve elective and four official. 
 The latter were the colonial secretary, the treasurer, the 
 attorney-general and the secretary for native affairs. By 
 amendments to the Constitution Act the number of both 
 elective and official members of the legislature has been 
 increased from time to time. In 1893 the legislature passed 
 an Act for granting self-government to the colony. This act 
 differs in many ways from that of the Cape Colony. The 
 members of the Upper Chamber are nominated by the 
 governor in council, and the constitutional head has more 
 extended powers of veto. 
 
 It is interesting and no less instructive to compare the 
 progress made in British colonization in those regions free 
 from the rivalry of other nations, with our colonization of 
 conquered territory containing the remnants of colonies 
 placed therein by the previous owner, or with those colonies 
 formed in the face of active hostility on the part of powers 
 claiming portion of the same territory. Australia and New 
 Zealand were virgin fields for colonization when they were 
 added to the British Empire. Australia, just double the dis- 
 tance from England that the Cape is, and although settled, 
 and with convicts, 138 years later, has a white population to- 
 day of four times that of the whole of South Africa. With 
 the secession of the American colonies there was closed to 
 Great Britain an outlet for 2000 convicts a year who had up
 
 THE BEGINNING OF BRITISH IMPERIALISM 127 
 
 till then been transported to the Carolinas. It was therefore 
 decided by Pitt's Ministry to utilize the antipodes, then but 
 lately visited by Captain Cook. In 1787 some 850 convicts 
 were shipped thither, the voyage occupying eight months, 
 and on their arrival at Botany Bay its unfitness as a settle- 
 ment was apparent. Sydney Cove was therefore selected as 
 the site for the settlement. The colony was proclaimed by 
 Captain Phillip, the governor, in February 1789. 
 
 England was during the first years of Australian coloniza- Progress of 
 tion in the thick of her most desperate struggle with France Australia - 
 for the command of the seas, and the Ministry had little time 
 to attend to the settlement of lands 12,000 miles away. Un- 
 til 1810 the influx of voluntary settlers was very limited, for 
 the administration was entirely military ; the governor was 
 granted full discretion. We, therefore, find that at this period 
 in the life of the settlement the moral and social conditions 
 of the settlers, seized from a life of crime and plunged into an 
 unequal contest with necessity, were deplorable. Again we 
 find the Imperial Government unfortunate in the selection of 
 its governors. In 1808 the severity and tactless conduct of 
 the then governor, Bligh, of " Bounty " mutiny fame, led to 
 the insubordination of the settlement and his own imprison- 
 ment by the mutineers for a year. This action on the part 
 of the colonists drew the attention of the Ministry to their 
 many grievances and Lachlan Macquarie was appointed 
 governor. He was the first of a long line of real colonizers. 
 
 In 1823 the first constitution was granted the growing 
 colony. This consisted of a council of crown nominees 
 purely to advise the governor : if he disregarded their advice 
 the matter was to be settled at home. The supreme court, 
 until now working after the pattern of English equity courts, 
 was reconstituted to allow of a trial by jury in civil cases ; 
 criminal cases were still left in the supreme court to a jury 
 of seven military men. Five years later the Constitution 
 Act was amended, enlarging the nominee council so that it 
 should contain a majority of non-official members, and grant- 
 ing to this legislative body a restricted power of law making, 
 placing under its control the whole of the revenue from 
 customs, and also providing for the exercise in Australia of 
 the whole system of the English Common Law. Now it was
 
 128 THE GOVERNANCE OF EMPIRE 
 
 that the cry of " no taxation without representation," raised 
 in the early stages of colonial development in America, the 
 West Indies, and South Africa, was heard in Australia ; and 
 in 1842 the British Parliament advanced New South Wales 
 one step in the colonial grade. Under this new constitution 
 a single legislative body was created consisting of twelve 
 nominee and twenty-four elected members. 1 
 
 In the meantime exploration parties under men like 
 Cunningham, Hume, Sturt and Mitchell were opening up 
 this, until now unappreciated, asset of the Empire. The 
 nucleus of each of the present federated states was placed ; 
 and the constitutional history of these states up to their 
 federation is reflected in that of New South Wales. The 
 negotiations leading up to this federation will be dealt with 
 elsewhere. 
 Responsible Responsible government was granted to New South 
 
 government \y a i es { n 1856. As the Imperial Government granted one 
 
 granted to the -,•■,•, , • e •, 
 
 Australian step forward so did the people agitate for still another step. 
 
 colonies. j n ^e agitation for responsible government which began 
 immediately representative government had been given, a 
 committee of the legislative council was appointed to draft a 
 Constitution Bill. The Bill as drafted met with considerable 
 opposition, as it aimed at making the Upper Chamber heredi- 
 tary, after the example of the House of Lords and provided 
 for a species of colonial peerage. A nominated Chamber was, 
 however, eventually substituted for this. The Bill as amended 
 was passed by the colonial legislature and forwarded to 
 the Secretary of State for the sanction of the Imperial Parlia- 
 ment, and after a somewhat heated discussion in the House 
 of Commons, the measure became law. Up to now New 
 South Wales, South Australia and Western Australia were 
 the only political divisions. Parliament now separated the 
 colonies of Victoria and Tasmania from New South Wales, 
 
 1 This Act also allowed for the establishment of district councils, 
 whose principal duty it would be to collect funds for the maintenance of 
 police and the construction of public works. The first district councillors 
 were to be appointed by the governor and subsequent vacancies were to 
 be filled by election, but failing an election the Government had power to 
 fill the positions with their nominees. These arrangements shortly caused 
 friction between Governor Gipps and his new legislature.
 
 THE BEGINNING OF BKIT1S1I IMPERIALISM 129 
 
 and provision was also made that as soon as certain conditions 
 should arise, its northern portion should also be detached as 
 a separate colony. These became effective in 1859 when 
 Queensland was erected into a separate government. Act 13 
 and 14 Vict., c. 59, declared that the colonists of New South 
 Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania might formu- 
 late the details of their own respective administrations, and 
 alter the constitutions conferred upon them. In each case 
 was the double-Chamber system adopted, but both New South 
 Wales and South Australia made the Upper Chamber nomin- 
 ated, the Lower elective, whilst Victoria and Tasmania pre- 
 ferred the more democratic system of electing both Chambers. 
 Now that responsible government was adopted by the four 
 colonies, the governors lapsed into merely nominal represen- 
 tatives of the Crown, the colonial Cabinets on the other hand 
 developed in power, while their tenure of office depended 
 upon the good will of both branches of the popular body. 
 Upon the granting of responsible government to these colonies, 
 fifty-eight years after the first settlement was founded, the 
 white population of the whole of Australia was 505,906 ; 
 during the fifty years under responsible government it has 
 increased to 4,119,481. 
 
 Separated from Australia by 1200 miles of sea, New Zea- New Zealand, 
 land has never had much in common with her sister colonies. 
 The future of New Zealand as a British possession has gen- 
 erally been painted by Englishmen in glowing colours. It 
 is firmly believed by many that it will become the Great 
 Britain of the southern hemisphere. Yet the pleasant and 
 easy conditions under which its inhabitants are reared must 
 militate against success, should these islands ever be invaded 
 by a people bred under less fortunate circumstances. 
 
 In 1769 Captain Cook formally annexed New Zealand to 
 the Crown of Great Britain. 
 
 The beginning of British authority in New Zealand was Colonization 
 in 1814 when the first missionaries commenced their labours oi the lslands - 
 in the Bay of Islands. These were Messrs. Hall and Kendall, 
 who were sent from New South Wales. At this time, too, 
 the governor of that colony proclaimed the natives of New 
 Zealand to be under his protection. Mr. Kendall was ap- 
 pointed resident magistrate of the Bay of Islands. The 
 
 9
 
 130 THE GOVEENANCE OF EMPIEE 
 
 mission established under the auspices of the Church Mis- 
 sionary Society was augmented by the arrival of several 
 enthusiastic young clergymen who did not confine themselves 
 to teaching the tenets of Christianity but instructed the natives 
 in agriculture and other useful pursuits. The mission settle- 
 ment was soon followed by a settlement of fishers and traders. 
 But colonization in the strict sense of the term, that is, with 
 official occupation of the land, began in 1839 by the founda- 
 tion of the New Zealand Company. In this year two ex- 
 peditions — one from France and the other from England — 
 started from' their respective countries for New Zealand. 
 The British ships arrived three days prior to their competitors, 
 thus securing British sovereignty over the islands, and this 
 party of settlers laid the foundations of Wellington. In 1840 
 the first lieutenant-governor was appointed and with another 
 party of settlers located Auckland. The advancement of the 
 colony was now so rapid that in 1841 the Imperial Government 
 erected it into an independent establishment. The reputa- 
 tion of the aborigines as a warlike and savage people deterred 
 the fearful from immigrating into this new possession of the 
 Empire. This resulted in the early settlers being a brave, 
 independent and hardy people, traits distinguishable in their 
 descendants of to-day. One advantage which this region en- 
 joyed over Australia consisted in the absence of convicts, and 
 this no doubt had something to do with their greater purity 
 in social and political life. Its annals are therefore free from 
 any pollution of morals, social or political. 
 Form of In 1840 a legislative council with an executive was 
 
 government. crea t e d. Hardly had this constitution been granted before 
 an agitation commenced for responsible government, and, in 
 1846, as a result, a Bill known as the New Zealand Govern- 
 ment Bill was passed through the Imperial Parliament. 
 The absurd provisions of this charter were due to the 
 influence exercised in England at this time by the directors 
 of the New Zealand Company. This measure divided the 
 colony into two provinces, and provided for the establishment 
 of representative institutions. These divisions were named 
 New Ulster and New Munster. Each province was to have 
 a separate executive council and a lieutenant-governor under 
 the governor-in-chief, while a general legislative council was
 
 THE BEGINNING OF BKITISH IMPEBIALISM 131 
 
 to make laws for the whole colony. There was also provision 
 for numerous municipal corporations invested with fearful 
 and wonderful powers. The Maories were to be cooped up 
 in arbitrarily formed "aboriginal districts". Sir George 
 Grey, the then governor, proclaimed the Act, and appointed 
 lieutenant-governors of the provinces — beyond this he did 
 not go, but suspended its operation for five years. 
 
 The Imperial Government at the same time passed 
 another hasty and ill-conceived Bill to define Maori land- 
 tillers on purely British principles, ignorant of the fact that 
 they were legislating over the heads of the colonists and for 
 savages. It is here that we realize what an important part 
 individuals have played in the moulding of the Empire in 
 several directions. Sir George Grey absolutely refused to 
 enforce this Act at all. The Ministry was wise enough to 
 acknowledge its error — but the colony was not yet under 
 responsible government, although a constitution granting it, 
 in such an absurd form that it was totally unacceptable, was 
 still in force. Sir George Grey set himself to work and 
 practically designed a federal constitution which was passed 
 by the Imperial Parliament in 1852. This Act was drafted 
 for the purpose of reconciling the Crown and the late 
 company's heirs. It resulted in Auckland — the crown- 
 settled district ; Wellington, Nelson and New Plymouth, 
 settled by the company ; and Otago and Canterbury, settled 
 as church colonies, each receiving an elected council and a 
 superintendent of its own, while all six were controlled as to 
 important and non-local matters by an elective assembly and 
 a nominee council. For two years this system was worked 
 with an executive of permanent crown officials ; the 
 Ministers then became responsible to the legislature, holding 
 office only while the assembly supported them. 
 
 We have now briefly described the acquisition and the just as the 
 early colonization of those more important units which go to colonies 
 
 J , *■ ° . have been 
 
 make up the British Empire ; Canada, Australia, South Africa federated 
 and New Zealand have already risen to national rank. The m ne p f, st ' 
 
 J . so may the 
 
 grant of responsible government to the colonies found whole Empire 
 opponents in England on the ground that it would prove ?* e Sf**^ 
 to be but the prelude to complete independence, but colonial 
 political activity found a vent in a safer direction, and that 
 
 9 *
 
 132 THE GOVERNANCE OF EMPIRE 
 
 was in the grouping together of colonial neighbours into 
 separate federations. Wise statescraft may carry with suc- 
 cess this federal process to its logical conclusion, for just as 
 these small self-governing colonies refused to recognize that 
 local autonomy was the termination of their political career, 
 but proceeded still farther and federated themselves into larger 
 geographical units, so it is to be expected that the political 
 activity of the confederacies will actuate them as their com- 
 ponent parts were previously actuated. Hence we may see 
 these complete units, together with the scattered portions of 
 the Empire, being gradually brought together as a federated 
 whole. The sovereignty of the seas is ours — the highway to 
 each of our possessions — all that is required in the creation 
 of a federated empire is the co-ordination of the present 
 diversified form of imperial governance.
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 THE BRITISH CONSTITUTION AND ITS CHARTERS. 
 
 The British Constitution, because of the nature of its growth Government 
 and its local colour, is more intimately concerned with the kj*^^ 1 * 611 
 government of the United Kingdom than with that of the a nd°of the 
 vast Empire it has collected to itself. The varying parts Em P ne - 
 which go to make up the Empire are, however, governed 
 under this constitution by charters modelled upon it and 
 containing all its principles. These charters are written 
 documents, more or less elastic in their powers. The object 
 of this work necessitates a brief description of the parent 
 constitution and those that have sprung from it, for whilst 
 under the former the Empire was built, it is the daughter 
 charters which act as links in the retention of the com- 
 ponent parts. It is our intention to endeavour to show 
 how important it is that the charters should not clash with 
 each other or with the original constitution from which they 
 derive their power, dignity, and authority ; to attempt to 
 prove how little is really required of either the main instru- 
 ment or its numerous auxiliaries to bring them to work in 
 such unison as to effect the maximum efficiency ; also to 
 illustrate certain weaknesses which result in waste of govern- 
 ing power and efficiency ; and finally, to suggest such amend- 
 ments to the instruments concerned as may direct the several 
 units in the direction that will lead to a federated empire. 
 
 It may with a certain amount of truth be said of the Origin of the 
 British Constitution that it was made in Germany, for its constitution, 
 chief features date back to the communal system of govern- 
 ment practised among the Angles and Saxons of that country 
 prior to their invasion of Britain. Tacitus, writing about 
 the end of the first century of the Christian era, gives us 
 some particulars of this system: "They have a king, or 
 
 133
 
 134 THE GOVEKNANCE OF EMPIEE 
 
 leader, but he is not invested with much power ; and when 
 they meet in their assemblies, which they do at certain fixed 
 times, to decide matters in connexion with the government 
 of the district, he lays proposals before the assembled free- 
 men which they accept or reject according to their will". 
 The great council by which an Anglo-Saxon king was guided 
 in all the main acts of government bore the appellation of 
 " Witenagemot," or " The Assembly of Wise Men ". 
 
 Then later we find that the Curia Regis, as established in 
 England by William the Conqueror, did not differ in any 
 material point from the Witenagemot of the Anglo-Saxons. 
 The statement that the British Constitution is unwritten 
 is only partly correct. As a matter of fact a great number of 
 the essentials have long been reduced to writing. Many of 
 the powers of the Crown, many of the powers of the House 
 of Lords, including the whole of its judicial powers, much of 
 the constitution of the House of Commons, and its entire 
 relation to the electoral body, have long since been defined by 
 Act of Parliament. 1 
 And its The House of Commons became a regular integral part of 
 
 development. ^ e English legislature during the reign of Edward I. Before 
 the accession of that prince, knights, citizens, and burgesses 
 had been occasionally summoned to Parliament. Experience 
 had shown that the great councils or parliaments of the 
 Norman and early Plantagenet Kings afforded no adequate 
 security against the abuses of power ; and during the stormy 
 and turbulent reign of Henry III various attempts had been 
 made to substitute a new scheme of government in place of 
 the defective system which had hitherto prevailed. There is 
 reason to believe that it was at this time that the practice 
 began of summoning particular barons to Parliament, omit- 
 ting others of the same rank, and this gradually led to the 
 Constitution formation of a separate House of Peers. It was during the 
 of the House same reign that the great innovation of introducing knights, 
 
 of Commons. .. ° °. t , • . 
 
 citizens, and burgesses into Parliament was first tried on an 
 extensive' scale, but the plan was not matured, nor brought 
 to a permanent system till the time of his son, Edward I, who 
 reigned from 1272 to 1307. In the beginning of Edward's 
 
 ' Mayne, "Popular Government," p. 125.
 
 BRITISH CONSTITUTION AND ITS CHARTERS 135 
 
 reign we meet with great councils or parliaments, assembled 
 for the dispatch of national affairs, in the form used by his 
 predecessors. We have next irregular convocations from 
 counties, cities or boroughs of representatives chosen by these 
 several communities, acting in co-operation with that portion 
 of the baronage which was convened for legislative purposes. 
 But after various experiments and occasional recurrence to 
 ancient usage, showing the unsettled state of our legislature, 
 we find, before the death of Edward, the Parliament composed 
 of Lords and Commoners as at present. From this time the 
 Commons by various concessions, grudgingly given, slowly 
 but surely acquired the weight and authority they now pos- 
 sess ; and from the time of Edward I they may be considered 
 an essential part of the legislature. If they were ever omitted 
 afterwards it was on rare occasions, and gradually it became 
 a fundamental maxim of the Constitution that no statute was 
 valid to which they had not given their assent. 
 
 The transition from our ancient to our modern Parlia- 
 ment occupies, in the history of England, the space between 
 the concession of Magna Charta and the death of Edward I. 
 It was during this period that separate grants of money from 
 cities, boroughs, and other communities fell into disuse ; and 
 that one supreme government for purposes of taxation was 
 extended over the whole kingdom, with the exception of the 
 counties palatine of Chester and Durham. It was during 
 the same period that the ancient Norman parliament dis- 
 appeared, and while the House of Lords seemed to fill its 
 place, another House of Parliament rose into view which was 
 destined at a future period to become the chief instrument in 
 the government of Empire. 
 
 The Parliaments under Edward I differed considerably in l'arliament in 
 their composition. We find Parliaments composed solely of j^^ 
 the lords spiritual and temporal, to whom writs of summons 
 were issued in the name of the King. The persons to whom 
 these special writs were addressed varied exceedingly in differ- 
 ent Parliaments, and though particular omissions can be ex- 
 plained, the variations are greater than can be accounted for. 
 On one occasion the writs of summons were confined to the 
 Archbishop of Canterbury and four other bishops, with four 
 earls and four barons ; and yet the instrument is docketed " de
 
 136 THE GOVEKNANCK OF EMPIRE 
 
 Parlemento tenendo ". In the same reign we find a Parlia- 
 ment composed of the temporal lords only. Seven earls, 
 seventy-five barons, nine milites, and four of the judges, were 
 summoned to this assembly, but none of the 1 clergy. This 
 omission arose out of a dispute with the clergy, who had 
 refused in two successive Parliaments, on pretence of a papal 
 bull, to contribute to the King's necessities. As a punishment 
 for their conduct he seized their lands, declared their persons 
 out of his protection, and gave public notice, in the courts of 
 law, that no redress should be afforded them for any injuries 
 they might sustain, while every complaint against them should 
 be listened to. By this treatment their spirit was broken 
 and they were glad to compound for protection. In the 
 following Parliament, however, they were able to retaliate. 
 Taking advantage of the difficulties in which the King was 
 involved by his wars with France and Scotland, they coalesced 
 with the temporal lords, and extorted from him the Con- 
 firrnatio Chartarum. Archbishop Winchelsea, their leader 
 on both occasions, is, of all churchmen after Langton, the 
 one to whom the liberties of his country are most indebted. 
 
 We also find in this reign Parliaments composed of lords 
 spiritual and temporal, with knights of the shire chosen by 
 their respective counties. And we find one Parliament 
 composed of lords spiritual and temporal, and knights of the 
 shire, with citizens and burgesses from particular cities and 
 boroughs, to whom special writs of summons were issued. 
 This Parliament met at Shrewsbury in 1'283, and is the second 
 in the reign of Edward to which citizens and burgesses were 
 called. 
 
 We also find Parliaments like those of the present reign, 
 composed of Lords and Commons, the latter chosen in their 
 respective counties by the freeholders, citizens and burgesses, 
 in pursuance of writs to that effect addressed to the sheriffs. 
 
 In one particular instance we have the archbishops, 
 bishops, abbots, and priors summoned to appear before the 
 King and Council at Westminster, in order to grant aid for 
 knighting Edward Prince of Wales, not by particular writs 
 sent to them individually, but, like the Commons, by the 
 general writs addressed to the sheriffs. 
 
 The English Constitution during the reign of Edward I
 
 BKITISH CONSTITUTION AND ITS CHARTERS 137 
 
 was so loosely framed that we find citizens and burgesses Estates of the 
 convoked for making ordinances as well as for imposing taxa-^*™ not 
 tion, without the presence either of the lords or of the knights convoked 
 of the shire. A Parliament having been summoned to meet toget e1, 
 at Bury on 9 November, 1296, writs were issued on 24 Sep- 
 tember to twenty-four cities and boroughs, directing them to 
 elect and send to the King, at Bury, four citizens from 
 London, and two citizens or burgesses from each of the other 
 places. The business transacted related entirely to trade and 
 municipal privileges. From this it would appear to have 
 been thought unnecessary to have any advice concerning it 
 except from the cities and towns. In a like manner on an- 
 other occasion we find the King attempting to increase the 
 customs in his seaports by means of his cities and boroughs, 
 without the concurrence of the lords and knights of the 
 shire. 
 
 It is not only in the diversities of the classes of persons Unsettled 
 summoned to Parliament that we find proofs of the unsettled constitution 
 state of our constitution at this period. We find variation as 
 extraordinary in the numbers summoned at different times 
 from the same communities. The knights from each county 
 were sometimes four, sometimes three, but in general two. 
 The citizens and burgesses from each city and borough were 
 sometimes four, sometimes three, sometimes two, sometimes 
 only one, and sometimes they were permitted to send one or 
 two as they pleased. 
 
 A still more striking illustration of the irregular forms of 
 the legislature at this period is in the existence of two separate 
 Houses of Commons sitting in different places at the same 
 time, and communicating their resolutions to a third assembly 
 of barons at a distance from both. 
 
 In January 1283, the knights, citizens, and burgesses 
 from the counties south of Trent were convoked at Northamp- 
 ton and those from the north of Trent at York, in presence of 
 commissioners from the King, severally deputed to both. 
 
 We will cite but one other instance of the numerous 
 irregularities which occurred in the evolution of our consti- 
 tution. After the dissolution of a Parliament held in London 
 in 1299, instead of proceeding to a new election, the same 
 knights, citizens, and burgesses were summoned to another
 
 138 THE GOVERNANCE OF EMPIRE 
 
 Parliament at Lincoln in January 1300, unless any of them 
 happened to be dead or disabled, in which case others were to 
 be chosen in their place. 
 
 In all these changes and innovations the King and his 
 ordinary council, from their positions in the State, were the 
 prime movers, so as, apparently, to possess the right of alter- 
 ing and remodelling the Constitution at their pleasure. But 
 the necessity in which the King was placed of resorting to 
 such expedients shows the limited, though ill-defined, extent 
 of his prerogative. So far from being an absolute prince, we 
 find that in many acts of his executive authority the con- 
 currence of his ordinary council was necessary ; for instance 
 there is a record stating certain persons to have been ap- 
 pointed judges in the King's Bench and Common Pleas and 
 others to have been named judges in eyre. It is called an 
 ordinance made by the King and others of his council. The 
 King's ordinary council, composed of certain prelates, barons, 
 and lawyers, was invested in early times with extraordinary 
 powers, and if on the one hand, it had control over the King 
 in many acts of his executive government, so, on the other 
 hand, when Parliament was sitting it often trespassed, or 
 attempted to trespass, on the supreme authority of the State. 
 
 The changes in the mode of obtaining aids and supplies 
 for the Crown in the time of Edward were not less remarkable 
 than the alterations in the constitution of Parliament. 
 
 Among the feudal incidents recognized by the law of 
 England, were aids due to the King from his feudal vassals, 
 for making his eldest son a knight, and for the marriage of 
 his eldest daughter. About the middle of his reign, Edward 
 claimed the latter, and obtained it from a Parliament composed 
 of his military tenants. Only sixteen years later he required 
 an aid for making his eldest son a knight, but such was the 
 change in that interval in the principles on which his govern- 
 ment was administered, that to procure it, he thought it advis- 
 able to summon a Parliament, with knights, citizens, and 
 burgesses. 
 Growth of the Before the accession of Edward, aid or tallages from the 
 power of the c jties, boroughs, and royal demesnes had been obtained by 
 judges in eyre, or other commissioners appointed for the pur- 
 pose, who made the circuit of the kingdom and solicited or
 
 BRITISH CONSTITUTION AND ITS CHARTERS 139 
 
 extorted grants from the cities or boroughs individually. 
 This practice was to some extent advantageous to the Crown, 
 where there was any reluctance to comply with its demands 
 or opposition made to its will. It had to contend with each 
 city and borough separately ; and in a contest of the strong 
 with the weak, it was sure to gain the upper hand. But the 
 process was slow and ill suited to the exigencies in which the 
 ambitious projects of Edward were continually involving him. 
 To save time, therefore, he convoked his cities and boroughs 
 by their representatives, having full power to act for their 
 respective communities ; and by this device he was able to 
 procure in a few days what would otherwise have cost him 
 months to obtain. But in bringing his subjects together he 
 taught them their strength, and sacrificed to his necessities 
 the power of his successors. While insulated the cities and 
 boroughs were accessible to fear or flattery. When united 
 they felt their power and consequence and learned to set the 
 unjust pretensions of the Crown at defiance. 
 
 From the death of Edward I to the Revolution of 1688, Results 
 the power of the Commons slowly developed. Legislative Revoluti 
 precedents were created and political maxims were estab- 
 lished which went to build up what is to-day the British Con- 
 stitution. The Revolution of 1688 was responsible for sub- 
 jecting the power of the Crown to constitutional limitations 
 and restraints for the purpose of bringing it into harmony 
 with the will of Parliament. It was the great epoch which 
 marked the birth of responsible government in England, a 
 system of government which was later extended individually 
 to the greater colonies. 
 
 Before 1688 the Monarchs of England ruled by virtue of 
 their prerogative, assisted by Ministers of their own choice. 
 These were naturally the favourites at court and had no 
 necessary connexion with Parliament ; although in the case 
 of peers of the realm they were entitled to sit therein. The 
 Sovereign was the originator of his own policy, and was not 
 bound to take advice before deciding upon affairs of State. 
 Moreover he was usually sufficiently conversant with the details 
 of administration to be able to govern independently of the con- 
 sent of his Ministers. They were only answerable to Parlia- 
 ment for high crimes and misdemeanours, and for acts of 
 
 on.
 
 140 THE GOVEBNANCE OF EMPIKE 
 
 maladministration which were directly attributable to them- 
 selves. This method of government gave rise to frequent 
 alterations and struggles between the Crown and Parliament 
 which sometimes could only be decided by an appeal to the 
 sword. 1 
 Principles Ever since the reign of Edward I certain fundamental 
 
 C restitution P rmc ip^ es °f tne English Constitution had been established 
 and were adopted as the principles of the British Constitu- 
 tion upon union with Scotland in 1707. These are : — 
 
 1. The government of the country by a hereditary sove- 
 reign ruling with limited powers and bound to summon and 
 consult a parliament for the whole realm, comprising heredi- 
 tary peers and elective representatives of the commons. 
 
 2. That without the sanction of Parliament no tax of any 
 kind can be imposed, and no law can be made, repealed, or 
 altered. 
 
 3. That no man be arbitrarily fined or imprisoned ; that 
 no man's property or liberty be impaired ; and that no man 
 be in any way punished, except after a lawful trial ; and 
 that the regular Common Law mode of trial is by a jury of a 
 man's equals in the eye of the Law. 
 
 4. That all subjects, except the actual great peers who 
 sit as such in Parliament, are commoners with equal rights in 
 the eye of the Law. 2 
 
 Further constitutional rules were brought into operation 
 when the House of Tudor acquired the throne. These are : — 
 
 1. The division of the High Court of Parliament into two 
 Houses, one called the House of Lords, consisting of the 
 spiritual peers and of the temporal peers. The other called 
 the House of Commons, consisting of the knights of the 
 shires and of the elected citizens and burgesses of the towns 
 that possessed the parliamentary franchise. This division 
 was recognized early in Edward Ill's reign. 
 
 2. That Parliaments ought to be summoned frequently. 
 
 3. The right of the Commons to impeach and to bring to 
 trial before the House of Lords Ministers and servants of the 
 Crown. 
 
 'Todd, " Parliamentary Government in the British Colonies ". 
 2 These subjects are ably discussed by Sir K. Creasy in "The Rise 
 and Progress of the English Constitution ".
 
 BRITISH CONSTITUTION AND ITS CHARTERS 141 
 
 4. That no one who has violated the rights of the subject 
 can justify himself in our courts by moving that he acted 
 under the authority of the Crown. Another maxim closely 
 connected with this is that the King can only act through a 
 responsible Minister. 1 
 
 But although these restrictions made the government a Bill of Rights 
 limited monarchy, it was not until the passing of the Bill of ^"ftitment 
 Rights in December 1688, and finally the Act of Settlement 
 in 1701, that the more important constitutional maxims which 
 firmly established the liberty of the subject were embodied in 
 the Constitution. Foremost among these is the power over 
 the Throne even to changing and determining the line of 
 succession : next in importance being that making the rule 
 by which it was illegal to raise or to keep a standing army 
 within the kingdom in time of peace, unless with consent of 
 Parliament. The Bill of Rights also declared that Parlia- 
 ments ought to be held frequently, that elections of members 
 of Parliament ought to be free, that there ought to be free- 
 dom of speech in Parliament, and that no man should be 
 called in question in any court or place out of Parliament for 
 the part taken by him in the debates or proceedings in Par- 
 liament. It declared the subject's right to petition. It or- 
 dained that excessive bail ought not to be required, nor 
 excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments 
 inflicted. It abolished the power of the Crown to dispense 
 by regal authority with laws or the execution of laws. The 
 Act of Settlement decreed that the judges should not be re- 
 movable at the regal will, but that addresses for their removal 
 from both Houses of Parliament should be requisite. 
 
 We have now briefly traced the imperceptible transfer of Constitution 
 supreme authority, dangerous whilst vested in the individual, p^fi/am^nt 
 from the Monarch to the people. Yet what is done by the 
 people's representatives is done in the name of the King. The 
 King cannot impose a policy, either upon his Minister or his 
 Parliament, but he can dismiss his Minister, and he can appeal 
 to the country against the judgment of Parliament. 2 This 
 
 1 Sir E. Creasy, " English Constitution ". 
 
 2 George III dismissed the Coalition in 1784, and in 1807 William IV 
 dismissed Lord Melbourne and appealed to the country. — Todd. 
 
 ot
 
 142 
 
 THE GOVEKNANCE OF EMPIKE 
 
 House of 
 Lords. 
 
 House oi 
 Commons. 
 
 then is parliamentary government, a system peculiar to Great 
 Britain and its dependencies. Although in parliamentary in- 
 stitutions developed independently in Sweden and Hungary, 
 the advantages of a system which recognizes the dignity of the 
 Crown and freedom of the subject are acknowledged, yet 
 other countries have been slow in adopting a similar constitu- 
 tion. The chief developments that have taken place in the 
 Constitution since the seventeenth century have been the 
 transference of power from the House of Lords to the House 
 of Commons, or more correctly speaking, the elections to the 
 Commons have been freed from the influence of the Lords ; 
 an influence which in many places, previous to the Reform 
 Bill of 1832, was supreme. The present form of Parliament 
 is divided into two Houses of Legislature, the Lords and the 
 Commons, and is constituted in the following manner : The 
 House of Lords consists of peers who hold their seats : (1) 
 by hereditary right ; (2) by creation of the Sovereign ; (3) by 
 virtue of office — English bishops ; (4) by election for life — 
 Irish peers ; (5) by election for duration of Parliament — 
 Scottish peers. The number of names on the roll in 1907 
 was 616. There are besides eleven peeresses of the United 
 Kingdom in their own right, and three Scottish peeresses, 
 and twenty Scottish peers and sixty-seven Irish peers who 
 are not peers of Parliament. 
 
 The House of Commons consists of members representing 
 county, borough, and university constituencies in the three 
 divisions of the United Kingdom. Every elector must be of 
 full age and must be registered in the electoral lists. Property 
 qualifications are restricted to counties and to such boroughs 
 as have county privileges. In England they are : The hold- 
 ing of an estate (1) in freehold of the annual value of £2 ; 
 (2) of lands in life tenure of the annual value of £5 ; (3) hold 
 on lease of at least sixty years of the annual value of £5 or of 
 at least twenty years of the annual value of £50. Similar 
 but not identical qualifications exist in Scotland and Ireland. 
 Throughout the United Kingdom, in counties, the occupation 
 of a tenement which is rated for the support of the poor, and 
 for which the rates have been paid for the prescribed date, 
 constitutes a qualification, but in English boroughs the occu- 
 pation franchise is associated with six months' residence and
 
 BRITISH CONSTITUTION AND ITS CHARTERS 143 
 
 in Scotch boroughs with twelve months' residence. Every 
 inhabitant occupier who has for twelve months, within the 
 United Kingdom, inhabited a rated dwelling-house for which 
 the rates have been paid is entitled to registration, and lod- 
 gers occupying for twelve months the same lodgings of the 
 value of £10 a year, may have a vote. There are, besides, 
 some ancient franchises such as that of the liverymen of the 
 City of London companies, and there are six university con- 
 stituencies in which graduates on the electoral roll are electors. 
 Aliens and persons who within a year have received parochial 
 poor relief are disqualified for registration. x All elections for 
 members of Parliament must be by secret vote by ballot, an 
 Act being passed annually to this effect. 
 
 No one under twenty-one years of age can be a mem- 
 ber of Parliament. All clergymen of the Church of Eng- 
 land, ministers of the Church of Scotland, and Roman 
 Catholic clergymen are disqualified from sitting as members. 
 All government contractors, and all sheriffs and returning 
 officers for the localities for which they act, are disqualified 
 both from voting and from sitting as members. No English 
 or Scottish peer can be elected to the House of Commons, 
 but non-representative Irish peers are eligible. 
 
 The Cabinet. — The Cabinet (selected members of the Ministry, 
 administration) consists of a body of men taken from both 
 Houses of Parliament to control and regulate the executive 
 functions of government. Each member holds an office and is 
 the Ministerial head of a department of government. The 
 Cabinet is responsible to Parliament for its acts, and for it to 
 exist it must possess a majority in the House of Commons as 
 supporters. But the Cabinet is not known to the law and 
 never has been. It is still called the Ministry of the Sove- 
 reign. Each of the Ministers who has a department of State 
 under his control appoints the permanent officers, as vacancies 
 occur, and is generally subject to the control of Parliament. 
 
 The Prime Minister is generally the First Lord of the immense 
 Treasury, but he may hold any other office of Cabinet rank j° a J™ t of the 
 that he prefers. The Lord Chancellor, the Lord-Lieutenant 
 of Ireland, and the Lord President of the Council are invari- 
 
 1 " Statesmen's Year Book."
 
 144 THE GOVEBNANCE OF EMPIEE 
 
 ably selected from, or raised to, the House of Lords. The 
 Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Home Secretary are 
 always members of the Commons. The Cabinet (the inner 
 circle of the Ministry) which has gradually assumed the 
 power of the Crown, has far-reaching and extensive authority, 
 it has the power to make war, and negotiate and conclude 
 treaties of peace, but in making war it is always necessary to 
 take Parliament into its confidence as early as possible. The 
 responsible Government have also taken over all the power of 
 the Crown in connexion with the Army and Navy, and make 
 the appointment to the supreme command of these forces. 
 
 The Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland is not always a Cabinet 
 Minister, but when he is not the Chief Secretary for Ireland 
 invariably is ; and being party men, their offices are vacated 
 with a change of Ministry. 
 
 The Viceroy of India and all colonial governors are ap- 
 pointed by the Government of the day as vacancies arise, for 
 a fixed term of years ; these offices are therefore unaffected by 
 changes of Ministry. In the same way all ambassadors and 
 representatives of Great Britain to foreign nations are ap- 
 pointed by the Government in the name of the Sovereign, 
 and everything that is done by the diplomatic agents abroad 
 simply carries out the will of the Cabinet though done 
 ostensibly in the name of the Crown. 
 
 The offices which go to make up the Cabinet and the Ad- 
 ministration, and which combined are known as the Ministry 
 or the Government, are : — 
 
 Cabinet and !• The First Lord of the Treasury (Prime Minister), 
 
 greater offices % Lord President of the Council. 
 
 Government. 3. Lord High Chancellor (is also Keeper of the Great 
 
 Seal). 
 
 4. Lord Privy Seal. 
 
 5. Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. 
 
 6. Secretary of State for India. 
 
 7. Secretary of State for the Home Department. 
 
 8. Chancellor of the Exchequer. 
 
 9. Secretary of State for the Colonies. 
 
 10. Secretary of State for War. 
 
 11. First Lord of the Admiralty.
 
 BRITISH CONSTITUTION AND ITS CHARTERS 145 
 
 12. Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. 
 
 13. President of the Board of Trade. 
 
 14. President of the Local Government Board. 
 
 15. President of the Board of Education. 
 
 16. Secretary for Scotland. 
 
 17. President of the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries. 
 
 18. Postmaster-General. 
 
 19. Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. 
 
 20. First Commissioner of Works. 
 
 21. The Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland. 
 
 22. The Attorney-General. 
 
 23. The Solicitor-General. 
 
 24. The Lord Advocate. 
 
 25. Solicitor-General for Scotland. 
 
 26. The Attorney-General for Ireland. 
 '11 . Solicitor-General for Ireland. 
 
 There are other offices under government which are 
 vacated with a change of Cabinet ; for instance certain officers 
 of the household of the Sovereign who have no parliamentary 
 significance, and also the following Ministers : — 
 
 The Financial Secretary to the Treasury. Minor offices 
 
 The Patronage Secretary to the Treasury. » n the 
 
 Certain Under-Secretaries of State. 
 
 And three Junior Lords of the Treasury. 
 
 During the debate on American taxation in 1774 Edmund Burke on the 
 Burke in his great speech delivered on 19 April of that year, Constltutlou - 
 said that "every Englishman ought not only to know the 
 principles of the constitution of his country, but also to 
 know the principles of the Constitution of the British Empire 
 as distinguished from the Constitution of Britain". But 
 although Burke was then speaking of a very limited empire, 
 his words are even more forcible to-day than then. Burke 
 went on to say: "The Parliament of Great Britain sits at 
 the head of her extensive empire in two capacities : one is 
 the local legislature of this island, providing for all things 
 at home immediately, and by no other instrument than the 
 executive power ; the other and I think her nobler capacity, 
 is what I call her imperial character, in which, as from the 
 throne of heaven, she superintends all the several inferior 
 
 10
 
 146 THE GOVEENANCE OF EMPIEE 
 
 legislatures, and guides and controls them all, without anni- 
 hilating any." l 
 The Constitu- The constitution which we have briefly sketched is a 
 
 tion is not „ . . . ,. . . _ 
 
 only British fountain from which all imperial paramount authority flows. 
 
 but Imperial, j^ extends over all the transmarine dominions of the British 
 Crown, not only over the colonies which have representative 
 legislatures, such as the old American colonies, of which 
 Burke was then speaking, but also over those numerous 
 possessions which have been since acquired. The Imperial 
 Parliament is supreme over them all. Concurrently with 
 the development of the British Constitution, since the 
 days of Burke, the charters granted under that constitution 
 to the colonies have also developed into what might be more 
 correctly termed sub-constitutions. This is particularly 
 noticeable in the construction of the Governments of the larger 
 self-governing colonies. In each case the Government of the 
 mother country has been taken as the model, even, where 
 possible, to the titles of the Ministerial heads of government 
 departments. There is, however, this fundamental difference 
 between the Constitution and those sub-constitutions de- 
 tached from it, that whilst the former is all powerful owing 
 to its elasticity, supreme by reason of its flexibility, 2 its 
 colonial offshoots are more or less rigid and their powers are 
 at all times open to question by the courts of law. In every 
 case these sub-constitutions have been reduced to writing, 
 and only in the case of the Union of South Africa has pro- 
 vision been made for the absolute supremacy of Parliament ; 3 
 yet even here it is open for confusion to arise in the inter- 
 
 1 Sir E. Creasy, " English Constitution ". 
 
 2 " The Crown in its government of each colony, of each Indian province, 
 as of other transmarine crown dominions, must follow and conform to such 
 statutes, if any, as the Imperial Parliament of King, Lords, and Com- 
 mons has made on the subject, and the governors and other officers, whom 
 the Crown appoints in any part of the Empire, are liable to parliamentary 
 impeachment for misconduct in their office. The case is similar with regard 
 to the supreme and final administration of justice in lawsuits and other 
 judicial matters arising in the colonial and other transmarine courts. It 
 is the settled prerogative of the Crown to receive appeals in all these cases." 
 See Lord Mansfield's judgment in Campbell v. Hall, Cowper's "Re- 
 ports," 204, and Sir E. Creasy, " Constitutions of the Britannic Empire ". 
 
 3 See Chapter IX.
 
 BRITISH CONSTITUTION AND ITS CHARTERS 147 
 
 pretation of the instrument itself. These sub-constitutions 
 have developed from the earlier charters granted either to 
 individuals or to trading companies. 
 
 The charters granted by Queen Elizabeth were for the The colonial 
 purpose of discovery only, and therefore cannot with ac .8 u b-oonstitu- 
 curacy be considered as the genesis of colonial constitutions. 
 The first charter granted by the Crown of England for the 
 purpose of colonization, was that granted by James I to the 
 two Virginia companies, dated 10 April, 1606. This, as has 
 already been described, carried with it such powers of royal 
 delegation as to enable the company to draft constitutions 
 for the local government of their possessions. The tendency 
 under a form of charter, which left it open to the directors of 
 a company to delegate powers of government to their proprie- 
 tary colonies was for the colonists to become more and more 
 divorced from the mother country. As time went on this 
 was realized by the Crown, and resulted either in the amend- 
 ment of the charters or their withdrawal from the companies 
 concerned, to be replaced by charters issued directly to the 
 colonies. These amended or new charters directed " That the 
 bye-laws, constitutions, orders and ordinances, pains and 
 penalties there, should be reasonable, and not contrary or re- 
 pugnant to the laws and statutes of the realm ". In those 
 colonies originally settled by the Government, termed by 
 Stokes "provincial establishments," 1 the governor was 
 always nominated by the Crown, but the governor of a pro- 
 prietary colony was named by the proprietor subject to the 
 restrictions contained in 7 & 8 William III, c. 22, f. 16. 
 
 In the case of Massachusetts Bay, the governor, lieu- 
 tenant-governor, secretary, officers of the admiralty and 
 officers of the customs, were all appointed by the Crown. 
 And in the other two chartered colonies all the officers, except 
 those of the admiralty and customs, were elected by the 
 colonies. 
 
 In 1663 an elaborate constitution was drawn up for the 
 government of Carolina, which in that year was granted under 
 charter by Charles II to Lord Clarendon. This constitution 
 was drawn up by the celebrated statesman Lord Shaftesbury 
 and the philosopher John Locke. It is said to have been 
 1 A. Stokes, " British Colonies ". 
 
 10*
 
 148 
 
 THE GOVERNANCE OF EMPIRE 
 
 Constitution 
 of Rhode 
 Island. 
 
 And of 
 Connecticut. 
 
 Loss of the 
 
 American 
 
 colonieB. 
 
 most comprehensive and minute, and it was lauded in Europe 
 as a marvellous specimen of wisdom, but in the colony it was to 
 govern it was found utterly impracticable and useless. Like 
 many other paper constitutions it read well but it would not 
 work. 1 
 
 The attempt to govern by it resulted in confusion and 
 ended in the colonists ruling themselves by an elective assembly 
 under a governor sent out by the proprietors. In 1719 the 
 proprietary Government was abolished and a royal Govern- 
 ment established in each of the colonies of North and South 
 Carolina into which the old province was then subdivided. 
 
 It is not necessary for the purpose of this work to describe 
 the many charters given to the early American colonies, but 
 it may prove instructive to select those which contain material 
 that may assist us in drawing certain conclusions in a question 
 of such great importance as that before us. 
 
 The small colony of-Rhode Island, the settlement of which 
 has already been briefly described, was given an exceptionally 
 liberal constitution, considering that Charles II was the king 
 who granted it. The rule was vested in a governor, a deputy- 
 governor, ten assistants, afterwards called senators, and two 
 deputies elected by the towns. The law was not to be 
 contrary to the laws of England, but it was added that the 
 laws were to be made with regard to " the constitution of the 
 place and the nature of the people ". Another provision of 
 interest, considering the time it was granted, says " no person 
 within the said colony at any time hereafter, shall be anywise 
 molested, punished, disquieted, or called in question, for any 
 difference in opinion in matters of religion. Every person may 
 at all time freely and fully enjoy his own judgment and con- 
 science in matters of religious concernments." 
 
 The charter which was granted to the colony of Connecti- 
 cut was of the most democratic nature. It empowered the 
 colonists to elect their own officers and to make their own 
 laws without any restrictions. 
 
 Down to the year 1764 Great Britain, unlike other im- 
 perial nations, had wisely refrained from taxing her colonies. 
 Her statesmen had justly refused to impose a tax upon a 
 community that had no voice in the legislature imposing the 
 1 Sir Edward Creasy, "English Constitutions".
 
 BRITISH CONSTITUTION AND ITS CHARTERS 149 
 
 taxing measures. Unfortunately for the prestige of the Em- 
 pire, in 1764 Mr. Grenville, who was then Chancellor of the 
 Exchequer, being determined to make the American colonies 
 bear a share of the public burden of the Empire, framed his 
 fatal Stamp Act. Upon its introduction into Parliament early 
 in 1765 George III, in his speech from the throne, told 
 the Lords and Commons of Great Britain that he presented 
 to them the American question as one of "obedience to the 
 laws, and respect for the legislative authority of the king- 
 dom ". This Act was carried through both the Houses by 
 large majorities only to be repealed the following year ; but 
 the mischief had been done. Townshend, who in the mean- 
 time had succeeded Grenville as Chancellor of the Exchequer, 
 repeated the experiment of taxation and endeavoured to coerce 
 the colonists by force ; troops were sent out and civil war 
 followed, ending in the secession of our earliest colonies. The 
 United States of America was born, and its constitution was 
 framed upon that drafted by the colonists of Connecticut for 
 their own government, and granted by the Crown in 1662. 
 
 With the loss of the thirteen American colonies the institution of 
 Imperial Government awakened to the importance of colonial o^ c ^ olonial 
 administration. Until the commencement of the troubles 
 with America there had not even been a separate department 
 for the government of the colonies. The Board of Trade had 
 taken over the functions previously exercised by the old 
 Council for Plantations and the supervison was little more 
 than nominal. In 1768, however, a third Secretary of State 
 was appointed, to whose charge the colonies were entrusted. 
 Upon the loss of the American colonies the office was 
 abolished, but in 1794 it was again created and became an 
 active and important department of the State. 
 
 Constitutional government was established in the older Growth of 
 provinces of Canada at the following dates : — responsible 
 
 r o government 
 
 Nova Scotia, 1758. Lower Canada, 1791. in Canada. 
 
 Prince Edward Island, 1773. Upper Canada, 1791. 
 
 New Brunswick, 1784. 
 
 Both in Lower and Upper Canada — which were then 
 separate provinces with distinct Governments — political griev- 
 ances had for several years existed, and these had grown into 
 a threatening aspect, which aimed at the overthrow of the
 
 150 THE GOVERNANCE OF EMPIRE 
 
 British Crown and the creation of republican institutions. 
 The insurrection in Canada was, however, promptly sup- 
 pressed by military power aided by the loyalty of the British 
 section in Upper Canada. This led to the appointment 
 of the Earl of Durham as Governor-General and Lord High 
 Commissioner to investigate the affairs of British North 
 America. Lord Durham drew up an able and ample report, 
 in which he recommended the introduction into the several 
 British North American colonies of the principle of local self- 
 government, thereby rendering the colonial polity, so far 
 as was consistent with the maintenance of the British con- 
 nexion and of imperial supremacy, "an image and transcript 
 of the British Constitution ". This brought forth a novel de- 
 parture in imperial government. Responsible government 
 was granted to Canada, but in a most perfunctory and un- 
 satisfactory manner. In 1839 Lord John Russell (then 
 Colonial Secretary) instructed the Governor-General of 
 Canada (Mr. Poulett Thomson) to give effect to the principles 
 set forth in Lord Durham's report, and he was further noti- 
 fied in a dispatch of the system under which he was to ad- 
 minister the government of these colonies. No official charter 
 or constitution was considered necessary. The dispatch 
 which conveyed matter of such vital importance to rising 
 colonies simply stated that Her Majesty's Government de- 
 precated any attempt to apply the principle of Ministerial 
 responsibility to a provincial assembly, to acts of the governor 
 which were performed by him in obedience to the royal in- 
 structions, or to questions of an imperial nature, as being at 
 variance with the allegiance due to the British Crown. But 
 the application of this principle was approved ; and directions 
 were given to change the tenure of office of the heads of public 
 departments in the province, so as to admit of such offices 
 being held by executive councillors, who should possess the 
 confidence of the assembly, and of the removal of such persons 
 from office " as often as any sufficient motives of public policy 
 might suggest the expediency" thereof. 1 
 
 1 Todd borrows this phrase from Lieutenant-Governor Simcoe's speech 
 from the throne to the provincial parliament of Upper Canada 1792. 
 Todd, " Parliamentary Government in the Colonies," p. 74.
 
 BEITISH CONSTITUTION AND ITS CHAKTEES 151 
 
 The Governor-General immediately gave effect to these 
 instructions by proclaiming that hereafter the government of 
 Canada should be conducted in harmony with the well-under- 
 stood wishes of the people, and that the attempt to govern 
 by a minority would no longer be resorted to. In 1841, during 
 the first session of the parliament of the united provinces of 
 Lower and Upper Canada, a demand was made for some ex- 
 plicit information on the subject of this verbal constitution. 
 The Attorney-General assured the assembly that the pro- 
 vincial administration would henceforth be conducted upon 
 the principle popularly known as "responsible government". 
 This statement was considered as being insufficient and in- 
 conclusive. 1 
 
 With the object, therefore, of placing the charter upon a 
 constitutional basis, the following resolutions were unani- 
 mously adopted, these resolutions constituting, in fact, 
 articles of agreement upon the important questions of respon- 
 sible government between the executive authority of the 
 Crown and the Canadian people. 
 
 (1) " The head of the executive Government of the pro- 
 vince being within the limits of his government, the repre- 
 sentative of the Sovereign is responsible to the imperial 
 authority alone ; but that nevertheless, the management of 
 our local affairs can only be conducted by him, by and with 
 the assistance, counsel, and information of subordinate officers 
 in the province. (2) That in order to preserve, between the 
 different branches of the provincial parliament, that harmony 
 which is essential to the peace, welfare, and good government 
 of the province, the chief advisers of the representative of the 
 Sovereign, constituting a provincial Administration under him, 
 ought to be men possessed of the confidence of the represen- 
 tatives of the people, thus affording a guarantee that the well- 
 understood wishes and interests of the people, which our 
 gracious Sovereign has declared shall be the rule of the 
 provincial Government, will, on all occasions, be faithfully 
 represented and advocated. (3) That the people of this 
 province have, moreover, a right to expect from such provincial 
 Administration the exertion of their best endeavours that the 
 
 1 See Dent's " Canada since the Union ".
 
 152 THE GOVEENANCE OF EMPIEE 
 
 imperial authority, within its constitutional limits, shall be 
 exercised in the manner most consistent with their well- 
 understood wishes and interests." 
 
 These resolutions comprised the first constitution of a re- 
 sponsible nature acknowledged by the Imperial Government. 
 For the first few years the system itself was imperfectly 
 understood, and errors were made on, all sides in the applica- 
 tion of this hitherto untried system of colonial government 
 to the practical administration of local affairs. 1 
 Lord Elgin's it was due to Lord Elgin's genius in governorship that 
 **" responsible government developed successfully. He was ap- 
 pointed Governor-General of Canada in 1847, and in his 
 private letters to Earl Grey, then Colonial Secretary, written 
 from Canada and published some years later, some instructive 
 light is shed on what was then a little-understood system of 
 government. He says : " I give to my Ministers all constitu- 
 tional support, frankly and without reserve, and the benefit 
 of the best advice I can afford them in their difficulties. In 
 return for this I expect that they will, as far as possible, carry 
 out my views for the maintenance of the connexion with Great 
 Britain, and the advancement of the interest of the province." 
 "A governor-general by acting on these views, with tact 
 and firmness, may hope to establish a moral influence in the 
 province, which will go far to compensate for the loss of 
 power consequent on the surrender of patronage to an execu- 
 tive responsible to the local parliament ". But " incessant 
 watchfulness and some dexterity are requisite to prevent him 
 from falling on the one side into the neant of mock sove- 
 reignty, or on the other into the dirt and confusion of local 
 factions ".*-' Lord Elgin established a standard in the gover- 
 norship of self-governing colonies which fortunately for the 
 British Empire has nearly always been maintained. The 
 system of responsible government having successfully de- 
 veloped under the fostering influence of Lord Elgin as 
 Governor-General and under Earl Grey as Colonial Secretary, 
 it was gradually extended into the maritime colonies of British 
 North America. Its working having been jealously watched 
 
 1 See Grey, " Colonial Policy," Vol. I, p. 27. 
 
 - Walroiul's " Letters of Lord Elgin," pp. 40, 41, 125, 126.
 
 BRITISH CONSTITUTION AND ITS CHARTERS 153 
 
 by the other colonies of the Empire and its success noted, the Responsible 
 system was agitated for by the Australian colonies wherein ^^^™gf a " 
 representative institutions had been established. General 
 authority to effect the changes in the constitutions of the 
 several Australian colonies necessary for the establishment 
 of local self-government therein was conferred by the Imperial 
 Act, 13 & 14 Vict. c. 59. Under this statute, as under the 
 subsequent Acts of the 18 & 19 Vict. cc. 54 and 55, parlia- 
 mentary institutions were introduced into Australia at the 
 following dates : into Tasmania and Victoria in 1855 ; into 
 New South Wales and South Australia in 1856 ; New Zealand 
 received the privilege by special enactment, in 1856 ; and 
 Queensland, upon its being set apart as a separate colony, in 
 1860. Western Australia in March 1875 received representa- 
 tive government, though it was not until 1890 that this 
 colony succeeded in obtaining a self-governing constitution. 
 The previous year a Bill granting this had been withdrawn 
 after introduction into the Imperial Parliament, but upon its 
 second introduction into that legislature it was accompanied 
 by a responsible delegation from the colony. 
 
 As regards New Zealand, at first a difficulty arose in the Difficulty of 
 granting of full responsibility which was not met with in jS^wZeaiana • 
 Canada or Australia, and that was in respect of the indigenous 
 population. It was at first stipulated that questions affecting 
 the Maories should be dealt with directly by the Crown, but 
 this proved impracticable. The question was settled shortly 
 after the Constitution had been granted by the introduction 
 of Maori representatives into both Chambers of the New 
 Zealand Parliament. 
 
 This selfsame difficulty in a more aggravated form con- and in South 
 fronted the imperial authorities in the granting of respons- Afnca - 
 ible government to the Cape of Good Hope and Natal. In 
 the case of the former colony the Imperial Government sug- 
 gested the introduction of " responsible government " in 1869, 
 but it was regarded with disfavour by the colonists ; again in 
 1871 a Bill for the introduction of this system was passed by 
 the House of Assembly but rejected by the Legislative 
 Council ; but in the following year the Bill was passed and 
 duly received the royal assent on 28 August, 1872. 
 
 Owing to the native population being considerably in
 
 154 THE GOVEENANCE OF EMPIEE 
 
 excess of the Whites, who now assumed the government of 
 the colony, it was deemed necessary to make some departure 
 from those constitutions granted to colonies not so peculiarly 
 situated. The difficulty was overcome by issuing a further 
 commission to the governor in addition to his commission as 
 governor, appointing him to be Her Majesty's High Com- 
 missioner for the territories adjacent to the said colony. This 
 commission was issued for the purpose of enabling the 
 governor to act in the name and on behalf of the Queen, and 
 to represent her crown and authority in respect of the native 
 tribes in South Africa. 1 
 South African The royal instructions which accompanied the short Act 
 authorizing the responsibility of Ministers were expressly 
 drawn to guard against the evils of democratic ascendancy, 
 under the pretext of responsibility. The Cape of Good Hope 
 and also the small colony of Natal, unlike the American and 
 Australian colonies, were allowed in a great measure to 
 originate and develop their own constitutions. These do 
 not rest upon a statute of the Imperial Parliament. 
 
 In 1893 the colony of Natal passed through its repre- 
 sentative legislature a Bill providing for the establishment 
 of responsible government in the colony. By this Act the 
 Legislative Council abolished itself and established in its own 
 place a Legislative Council nominated by the Governor in 
 Council and a Legislative Assembly elected on the basis of the 
 existing franchise. This Bill was not, as in the case of the 
 constitution ordinance of the Cape Colony of 1852, passed 
 on the authority of special Letters Patent and afterwards 
 amended and ratified by Orders in Council. It was an 
 ordinary law passed by the colonial legislature, previously 
 vested by the Crown with the power for the passing of such 
 a law. A clause, however, provided that it should only take 
 effect on the issue by the governor of a proclamation announc- 
 ing that the royal assent had been given. After the ratifica- 
 tion of this law, Letters Patent were issued by the Imperial 
 Government, revoking the original charter granted by the 
 Letters Patent of 1858, and those Letters Patent issued sub- 
 sequent to that date wherein provision had been made for 
 
 1 " Cape Assembly Votes, 1878 " ; also Todd.
 
 BRITISH CONSTITUTION AND ITS CHARTERS 155 
 
 the government of Natal. These new Letters Patent also 
 defined the duties of the governor in terms similar to those 
 used by the Letters Patent of the governor of the Cape of Good 
 Hope, and were accompanied by similar royal instructions. 
 
 The two most recent charters for self-government granted 
 by the Imperial Government were those issued to the 
 Transvaal and the Orange River Colony. The history of 
 their development from independent republics to British 
 colonies, enjoying the full measure of responsible government, 
 is remarkable for its rapidity of growth. 
 
 In October 1899 war broke out between the Imperial History of the 
 Government and the two republics, and was terminated by r *p U bi[ cs 
 the peace of Vereeniging, signed 31 May, 1902. By the 
 terms of this peace the territories of both became colonies of 
 the British Crown, and the Imperial Government undertook 
 to introduce a civil government in them at the earliest possible 
 date ; and, as soon as circumstances permitted, to call into 
 existence representative institutions as a preliminary to self- 
 government. This obligation was discharged before the 
 echoes of a devastating war had had time to die away. For a 
 short time the two new territories were administered as 
 crown colonies. In 1903 legislative councils were constituted 
 in each of them, upon the usual crown colony model, con- 
 sisting partly of official and partly of unofficial members, the 
 officials being in the majority. The administration was 
 carried on in each colony by a lieutenant-governor with an 
 executive council, under one governor for both. 
 
 In the Transvaal responsible government was called into Transvaal 
 existence by Letters Patent issued on 6 December, 1906. The ConBtituti °n- 
 power of the legislature to pass laws was limited in respect 
 of certain specified matters by a provision that the operation 
 of such laws was to be suspended pending the signification in 
 the colony of His Majesty's pleasure thereupon. The 
 governor was appointed supreme chief over the natives, 
 though his powers as such were inferior to those of the 
 governor in Natal. The administration of the British land 
 settlements was also placed under his control for five years. 
 In other respects, the terms of the constitution were drawn 
 up on the ordinary colonial model. 1 
 
 1 " Government of South Africa," Pt. I, Chap. i. p. 25.
 
 156 THE GOVERNANCE OF EMPIRE 
 
 Orange Eiver In the Orange River Colony responsible government was 
 etftutkm ° D established on similar lines by Letters Patent dated 5 June, 1907. 
 Evolution We have now briefly sketched the development of con- 
 
 front crown stitutional government as practised within our empire. We 
 responsible have seen how from charters granted under the British Con- 
 government stitution certain colonies having the energy and ability for 
 Dominions ; government within themselves developed their parliamentary 
 institutions, and how they have reduced to writing the well- 
 defined constitutional rules which assist the numerous Acts, 
 resolutions, proceedings, and rulings which go to make up 
 the British Constitution. Representative and responsible 
 government can only be adopted with success in the colonies 
 containing a European population sufficiently large to enable 
 parliamentary representatives to be elected by constituencies 
 of more than one class, and this is only possible in those cold 
 or temperate climes wherein Europeans are able to follow 
 those callings which give a professional, a farming, an artisan, 
 and a labouring class. The West Indian colonies illustrate 
 this point. For two centuries Jamaica possessed a repre- 
 and the re- sentative constitution. Its European population was mainly 
 inTh P WesT com P ose ^ °f planters, men belonging to a leisured or semi- 
 Indies, leisured class. There was little or no class distinction. The 
 political history is not a happy one. Parliamentary discipline 
 was an impossibility. An increasing coloured and black 
 population made legislation by a diminishing European popu- 
 lation even more difficult. After a fruitless endeavour to 
 work the representative and, for a short time, a responsible 
 system, it was abandoned, and a simpler and more effective 
 method of administration was resorted to. In 1866 the local 
 legislature unanimously agreed to abrogate all the existing 
 machinery of legislation and to accept in lieu thereof any form 
 of government that might be approved by the Crown. Ac- 
 cordingly by an Imperial Act, passed in the same year, a new 
 constitution was conferred upon the island and subsequently 
 declared by Order in Council of 19 May, 1884, to consist of a 
 Legislative Council composed of four ex officio members, five 
 members appointed by the Crown and nine elective members. 
 Beside this Chamber there is a Privy Council of eight 
 members, appointed by the Crown, together with the Colonial 
 Secretary and the Attorney-General.
 
 BRITISH CONSTITUTION AND ITS CHARTERS 157 
 
 The example of Jamaica in surrendering her free institu- 
 tions and becoming a crown colony was afterwards followed 
 by other colonies in the West Indies. British Honduras also, 
 in 1869, surrendered its representative government and became 
 a crown colony. 1 
 
 We have seen the important part chartered companies Administra- 
 have played in the settlement of colonies in America, and how ^? n , of . 
 
 , , , , , , • Rhodesia. 
 
 some of these charters developed as time went on and con- 
 ditions altered into constitutions modelled upon that which 
 definitely granted the charter. A similar process is now being 
 witnessed in South Central Africa ; for in 1889 a royal 
 charter was granted to the new British South Africa Com- 
 pany. The administrative system of the company in Southern 
 Rhodesia, which is the principal field of its operations, was 
 prescribed by the Orders in Council of 9 May, 1891, and 18 
 July, 1894. Since then there have been amendments in 1898, 
 1903, and 1905. In accordance with these orders there is a 
 resident commissioner (who is also commandant general) 
 appointed by the Secretary of State. To assist the company's 
 administrator there is an executive council consisting of not 
 less than four members appointed by the company with the 
 approval of the Secretary of State. A member of the executive 
 council holds office for three years. The legislative council 
 consists of the administrator (president), seven nominees of 
 the company approved by the Secretary of State, and seven 
 members elected by the registered voters. The resident 
 commissioner sits on both executive and legislative councils, 
 but does not exercise a vote. Ordinances passed by the 
 legislative council, when assented to by the High Com- 
 missioner for South Africa, take effect, but within one year 
 may be disallowed by the Crown.' 2 We have now examined 
 the more important parts which go to make up the machinery 
 for the governing of the British Empire ; it will now be 
 necessary to consider its working. 
 
 1 Todd. - " Statesmen's Year Book, 1909"
 
 CHAPTEE VII. 
 BRITISH IMPERIAL GOVERNMENT. 
 
 Effects of the The annihilation of distance by the mechanical appliances of 
 applied 6 ° f tne a & e nas ^ een of more far-reaching benefit to the British 
 science. Empire than to any other power ; it has had the important 
 
 effect of bringing all the component parts more closely in 
 touch with each other, of preventing misunderstandings de- 
 veloping into grievances, and of obtaining, at short notice, 
 expert advice upon intricate problems. It has resulted in the 
 personal interchange of views by representatives of all the 
 British dominions, and finally it has dealt a death-blow to 
 parochialism. To-day the colonist of New Zealand, like the 
 inhabitant of Ireland, measures the borders of his country by 
 the confines of the Empire. But not alone have we to thank 
 the fast-going steamboat, the railway, and the ocean cable 
 for the rapid development of the spirit of Imperialism : the 
 progress made by Imperialism has been a powerful auxiliary 
 to mechanical science in our imperial advancement. When 
 we note the wonderful strides taken in all these branches and 
 compare the remarkable progress made with our slow political 
 advancement, it is borne in upon us, perhaps reluctantly, that 
 in this branch at least we have not kept pace with the 
 numerous other branches which have played such an import- 
 ant part in the progress and development of our numerous 
 and scattered possessions. To understand better how diverse 
 the forms of government are (let it be remembered all derive 
 their authority from the Crown, and their principles from the 
 British Constitution), we will enumerate the systems and 
 name the parts so governed. 
 Diverse A. Direct Parliamentary Control. — The United Kingdom. 
 
 methods of g Secretary of State in Council. — British India and de- 
 
 govemment 
 
 in the British pendencies. 
 
 Empire. 158
 
 BRITISH IMPERIAL GOVERNMENT 159 
 
 C. Responsible Government. — (1) Dominion of Canada, (2) 
 Commonwealth of Australia, (3) Dominion of New Zealand, 
 
 (4) The Union of South Africa, (5) Newfoundland. 
 
 D. Partly Elective Council. — (1) Bahamas, (2) Barbados, 
 (3) Bermuda, (4) Jamaica, (5) Leeward Islands, (6) British 
 Guiana, 1 (7) Malta, 1 (8) Mauritius, 1 (9) Cyprus, 1 subject to 
 sovereignty of Turkey. 
 
 E. Under entirely nominated Council. — (1) British Honduras, 
 (2) British New Guinea, 1 (3) Ceylon, 1 (4) Falkland Islands, 1 
 
 (5) Fiji, 1 (6) Gambia, 1 (7) Gold Coast, 1 (8) Grenada, 1 (9) 
 Hong Kong, 1 (10) Lagos, 1 (11) St. Lucia, 1 (12) St. Vincent, 1 
 (13) Seychelles, 1 (14) Sierra Leone, 1 (15) Trinidad and Tob- 
 ago, 1 (16) Turks Islands, 1 (17) Straits Settlements. 
 
 F. Direct Grown Administration. — (1) Gibraltar, 1 (2) Northern 
 Nigeria, 1 (3) Southern Nigeria, 1 (4) Labuan, 1 (5) St. Helena, 1 
 
 (6) Basutoland. 
 
 G. Protectorate under Colonial Office. — (1) Malay States, (2) 
 Western Pacific Islands, (3) Bechuanaland. 
 
 H. Protectorate under Foreign Office. — (1) British Central 
 Africa, (2) Zanzibar, (3) Brunei, (4) Sarawak, (5) British 
 East Africa, (6) North Borneo, (7) Somali Coast. 
 
 I. Under Indian Government (see B.). — (1) Aden, (2) 
 Socotra, (3) Andaman Islands, (4) Perim, (5) Bahrein, (6) 
 Nicobar. 
 
 J. Under Admiralty. — Ascension. 
 
 K. Under 'Royal Chartered Companies. — (1) Southern 
 Rhodesia, (2) Northern Rhodesia. 
 
 The Colonial Office, reigned over by the Secretary of State Immense 
 for the Colonies, assisted by one Parliamentary Under-Secre- {,^°" s sl f tne 
 tary and one Permanent Under-Secretary and four permanent Colonial 
 Assistant Under-Secretaries, is responsible to the Parliament 0ffice - 
 of Great Britain for the good government of all these pos- 
 sessions, other than those enjoying responsible government, 
 and even the latter colonies or commonwealths are for certain 
 purposes under the Colonial Office. 
 
 The distribution of duties at the Colonial Office, that Division of 
 department which within four walls represents the greatest coioSa? the 
 
 Office. 
 1 In these colonies the Crown may also legislate direct by order of 
 council.
 
 160 THE GOVERNANCE OF EMPIRE 
 
 empire the world has yet seen, is as follows : The private 
 secretary to the Secretary of State has the inspection of all 
 political, constitutional, and defence questions, general super- 
 vision of papers on all subjects, before submission to the 
 Secretary of State. 1 
 
 The office is divided into : — 
 
 The Dominions Division. 
 
 Under an Assistant Under-Secretary of State : Canada, 
 Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Newfoundland, 
 Fiji, Western Pacific, Swaziland, and Rhodesia. 
 
 Crown Colonies and General Division. 
 
 (1) Under an Assistant Under-Secretary of State : Legal 
 Questions ; Settlement of Letters Patent, Commission, 
 Warrants, Charters, Orders in Council, etc. ; Treaties and 
 Conventions ; Coolie Immigration ; Merchant Shipping ; 
 Post and Telegraphs, Hospitals, Lunatic Asylums and 
 Prisons ; Personal Questions arising under Section 56 of the 
 Colonial Office Regulations ; 2 Business connected with the 
 Eastern and Mediterranean Colonies. 
 
 (2) Under an Assistant Under-Secretary : General Ques- 
 tions ; Establishment of Colonial Office Arrangements ; 
 Questions relating to the Crown Agents for the Colonies ; 
 Pensions ; Audit ; Customs Management ; Medical and 
 Sanitary Questions ; Education ; Business connected with 
 the West Indian Colonies, the West and East African 
 Colonies and Protectorates, and the West African Frontier 
 Force and King's African Rifles. 
 
 In addition to the Permanent Under-Secretary and four 
 Assistant Under-Secretaries there are seven principal clerks, 
 nine first-class clerks and sixteen second-class clerks. This 
 then is the intricate machinery responsible for the greater 
 questions connected with the good government of the British 
 Empire. 
 
 Population of Of the 392 millions of people governed in this complex 
 
 the Empire. 
 
 1 " Colonial Office List, 1909." 
 
 2 Sec. 56 refers to committees of inquiry.
 
 BKITISH IMPERIAL GOVERNMENT 161 
 
 manner some 12 millions are British colonists or colonials of 
 European descent enjoying the full privileges of self-govern- 
 ment, in so far as the particular colony they are residing in 
 is concerned. Add this population to the 44 millions of the 
 United Kingdom and we have some 56 millions of people 
 enjoying all the freedom of self-government given by a limited 
 monarchy, or to express it more clearly, in receipt of all the 
 good yet displayed by the best republican system without 
 any of its evils. But there yet remains the far greater portion 
 of the imperial population to account for. The government 
 of British India, with its dependencies and feudatory states, 
 contains a population of 294 millions of people. 
 
 Thus the large majority of the imperial population is, in The British 
 theory, governed by the vote of the majority of the 44 millions the^supreme 
 of people in the United Kingdom, for in this case we have power over 
 had to deduct the 12 millions of British colonists, as no ia " 
 imperial citizen outside of the British Isles has a say in imperial 
 as apart from local legislation. Yet in actual practice Indian 
 policy is not entirely at the mercy of the British electorate ; 
 the change of a British Government does not mean the 
 possibility of an immediate reversal of Indian policy. The 
 Secretary of State for India, who is the main organ of the 
 King's rule over the Indian Empire, and his political Under- 
 Secretary are, it is true, affected by the change, for they are 
 superseded by new Ministers, but these new officials have to 
 act in co-operation with the Indian Council in England, con- 
 sisting of fifteen members, who may not sit in Parliament 
 and whose seats are in no way affected by party politics, for 
 they hold office during good behaviour. It has become an 
 axiom that the British rule of India is a beneficent despotism ; 
 but strictly speaking this is not correct. In theory, as has 
 already been shown, we hold India by a mild form of despotic 
 government, but this could not have continued long when 
 democracy had made such headway among the despots them- 
 selves. That rule, which was responsible for making India 
 the great country it is, for exterminating the causes of in- 
 ternal warfare, for raising the masses from barbarism, and 
 for bringing peace and quiet into a turbulent country, is now 
 threatened by the introduction of democratic institutions. 
 This modern tendency towards disintegration has been caused 
 
 11
 
 162 
 
 THE GOVEENANCE OF EMPIRE 
 
 Numerous 
 and deep 
 divisions 
 among the 
 Indian 
 peoples. 
 
 The monar- 
 chical and ar- 
 istocratic tra- 
 ditions of the 
 British Con- 
 stitution are 
 applied in 
 India. 
 
 by these free institutions. The principal of them are : a 
 free Press, the right of public association and debate, trial by 
 jury, and the tentative introduction of the principle of 
 representation on the provincial councils and municipalities. 
 
 Unfortunately the average imperial citizen, i.e. the British 
 voter, is influenced in his imperial policy by his immediate 
 environment. What is good for Shoreditch, he considers 
 must be good for Hong-Kong or India. He understands 
 that the inevitable result of free institutions is to encourage 
 the growth of parties, but he fails to realize that in a country 
 in which there is no sentiment of national unity parties will 
 be formed along the lines of cleavage already existing. In 
 India the lines of cleavage are principally those of race and 
 religion, and it is upon these lines that parties are now form- 
 ing themselves. The result is an accentuation of those very 
 antipathies and jealousies which prevent India from becoming 
 a nation. The division between the Hindus and Moham- 
 medans represents the deepest line of cleavage among the 
 Indian people. Before India can govern herself she must 
 first grow into a nation, and before this can happen caste 
 prejudices, far more accentuated than any national prejudice, 
 will have to be eradicated. To grant self-government before 
 this has happened would be to hand the country over to 
 anarchy. 
 
 India of all the imperial possessions is the one country 
 which stands out in bold relief as a monument to the flexible 
 governance of the British Constitution. It would be im- 
 possible to find any general principle of coherence, other than 
 monarchy, which could unite the varied sections of Indian 
 society. Here are to be found numerous races, following 
 various religions, using different languages, with countless 
 dialects, almost every language having an alphabet of its own. 1 
 
 What form of constitution could be framed that would, 
 with peace and concord, govern such a mixed people having 
 such divergent characteristics and interests? It is only in 
 obedience to one supreme constitutional head that all can 
 unite without suspicion and strife, and it is for that reason 
 that India has shown no aptitude for any other form of 
 
 1 Morison, " Imperial Rule in India".
 
 BBITISH IMPEKIAL GOVERNMENT 163 
 
 government. India is successfully governed by the wise 
 interpretation and applications of the monarchical principles 
 of the Constitution. Governing a people whose civilization 
 is older than (if not as advanced as) her own, Great Britain, 
 emulating the Roman government of decadent Greece, has 
 not interfered with ancient and deep-rooted customs, has 
 respected the religions of the people, and has carefully re- 
 garded the traditions of an ancient country. 
 
 To apply the aristocratic provisions of her monarchical 
 constitution — for these lend themselves peculiarly to the 
 government of India — Great Britain has used the best and 
 most able instruments that any nation has ever had at its 
 disposal. The Universities of Oxford and Cambridge in par- 
 ticular have given their most brilliant men to serve their 
 sovereign in this portion of the Empire. The universities in 
 Scotland and Ireland and our great public schools have been 
 no more backward. Our best soldiers, and our most able 
 lawyers, have been ungrudgingly given in the service of India. 
 The most promising youths of Great Britain are, by com- 
 petitive examinations, drafted into the various services of our 
 Asiatic possessions to interpret and apply the rules and 
 regulations drafted under the British Constitution. Can our 
 most jealous rival point to this quarter of the Empire and say 
 that it is misgoverned ? For the reply look to Russian rule 
 in Asia or French rule in India. Here at least the British 
 Constitution calls for no amendment. The question as to 
 whether greater efficiency can be obtained from our Indian 
 possessions as a unit of the British Empire in imperial 
 governance will be dealt with at a later stage of this work. 
 In India, British imperial governance is practised in the 
 form of mild despotism, whereas in the self-governing colonies 
 we witness the other extreme — that is, under the same con- 
 stitution democratic rule is also to be found, and between the 
 two there are those several other systems by which the same 
 constitution is interpreted but in such manner as to fit the 
 varying conditions of the governed. 
 
 We need but turn to Nigeria to illustrate the extreme Nigeria, 
 flexibility of this instrument for imperial governance. Here 
 we see a territory exceeding 380,000 square miles, with a 
 native population of over 13 millions, still deeply submerged 
 
 11 *
 
 164 THE GOVERNANCE OF EMPIRE 
 
 in savagery. We find that the Constitution permits of an 
 immediate organization of such government departments as 
 are necessary to settle the country and to bring a barbarous 
 people to assist in their own political development towards a 
 more advanced state of government. 
 
 Southern Nigeria, which is officially known as the Colony 
 and Protectorate of Southern Nigeria, is governed by Royal 
 Letters Patent dated as recently as 1 May, 1906, and is divided 
 for purposes of administration into three provinces. Each 
 province is presided over by a provincial commissioner and 
 divided again into districts under the charge of district com- 
 missioners and assistant district commissioners. The local 
 government of this lately acquired territory is entrusted to a 
 governor, assisted by an executive and a legislative council. 
 The latter consists of thirteen members, eight official and five 
 nominated unofficial. The executive is, in actual practice, 
 the government of the country, and is responsible for the 
 good and just governance of a vast native population ; here 
 indeed is an illustration of the moral power in monarchical 
 governance, a power impossible under a republican constitu- 
 tion. The savages of Nigeria are first held in check, then 
 brought under the sway of the regular institutions meting 
 out law and order, not by the physical suasion of rifle and 
 bayonet, as many of the opponents of imperial expansion 
 would have us believe, but by the knowledge that the governor, 
 an individual whom they can see at will, is the actual repre- 
 sentative of a sovereign who is supreme over hundreds of 
 millions of their fellow beings. This fact appeals to the 
 savage mind, for the savage is a monarchist ; he is too close 
 to nature to be anything else. How few Englishmen realize 
 what a remarkable testimony to the efficiency of British 
 imperial government this country represents. 
 
 The High Commissioner of Northern Nigeria representing 
 the Imperial Sovereign, and assisted by a dozen or so fellow 
 Englishmen in the capacity of Cabinet Ministers (the executive 
 council) and advisers (legislative councillors) and officials, 
 holds unlimited but peaceful sway over the great Fulah 
 Empire. The sovereign of this empire, the Sultan of Sokoto, 
 whose dominions extend from Bornu to Borgu and from the
 
 BEITISH IMPEKIAL GOVERNMENT 165 
 
 Sahara to the Lagos boundary, is Lord of the Faithful, and 
 in Fulah eyes second only to the Sultan of Turkey. This 
 slice of the British Empire also contains the native king- 
 doms of Bornu in the north-east and Borgu in the west 
 of the protectorate. These realms are ruled over by semi- 
 civilized Mohammedan potentates, owning allegiance to 
 His Majesty King George V and taking instructions from 
 his deputy, the High Commissioner of Northern Ni- 
 geria. 
 
 It is obvious that the functions of a governor of a crown Importance of 
 colony are of a different nature from those of the governor of ^a^rowr! 01 
 a self-governing colony. In the early stages of crown govern- colony, 
 ment the governor is called upon to create the administrative 
 machinery, to assist him in the government of, it may be a 
 wild tract of country populated by savage tribes and hordes 
 of fanatical Mohammedans, as in the case of Northern Nigeria, 
 or it may be that he is required to install governmental 
 machinery for the peaceful subjection of a conquered people, 
 as was so successfully done by Lord Milner in the Transvaal 
 and the Orange River Colony. But whether it be in the one 
 case or the other, the personality of the individual called 
 upon to represent the Sovereign plays a very important part 
 in the successful governance of the territory he, has to rule, far 
 more so, indeed, than in the case of the governor of a self- 
 governing colony. In the case of a crown colony the gov- 
 ernor has much of the routine work, which in representatively 
 and responsibly governed colonies falls to the lot of Ministers. 
 The policy of the colony is his and not that of a Ministry. 
 He is not a constitutional figurehead, but is an active initiator 
 of policy. He is called upon at times to decide upon his 
 own responsibility questions involving imperial policy which 
 under responsible government are decided by the advice of 
 Ministers, and we may with truth remark here that the 
 history of British colonial government shows that crown 
 colonies are more free from errors of judgment in colonial 
 and imperial policy than is the case with responsibly or 
 representatively governed colonies. 
 
 The governor of a self-governing colony is the repre- 
 sentative of the Sovereign and his power, and is kept within
 
 166 
 
 THE GOVEBNANCE OF EMPIEE 
 
 Position of 
 the governor 
 in a self- 
 governing 
 colony. 
 
 He represents 
 the Sovereign: 
 
 and is respon 
 sible for 
 imperial 
 interests. 
 
 the bounds of the Sovereign's prerogative. But the prerogative 
 which limits his action is that defined by strict constitutional 
 law, not that which is practically exercised in the mother 
 country, still less the popular conception of the latter. There 
 are certain prerogatives of the Crown suitably reserved in 
 every colony to the direct and immediate expression of the 
 royal pleasure thereon. The powers so reserved differ accord- 
 ing to the position and circumstances of the particular colony, 
 but in all cases there stands the abstract right of dealing with 
 all colonial legislation, and of disallowing such Acts as may 
 be considered objectionable, such as class legislation, or in 
 direct opposition to imperial policy. The judicial prerogative 
 of the Crown, or the right of determining in the last resort 
 all controversies between subjects in every part of the Empire, 
 the British subject's right to appeal to the Throne itself , one, if 
 not the strongest, bond of Empire, was, until the passage of 
 the South Africa Union Act, 1909, universally reserved, as 
 being one of the most staple safeguards and most beneficial 
 acts of sovereign power. 
 
 The governor of a self-governing colony, although he is 
 the first subject in the colony over which he presides, and is 
 entitled to exercise that control over the administration which 
 the great confidence reposed in him by his sovereign de- 
 mands, is, in strict law, merely an agent of the Sovereign 
 exercising in his name and on his behalf, under strict in- 
 structions, some of the royal prerogatives. His authority 
 is derived and is strictly limited. He has not only to consider 
 whether a proposed legislative change or administrative act 
 is desired by the majority of the people of the colony, making 
 their wishes known in a constitutional way, but whether it 
 is consistent with the general interests of the Empire. 
 
 " The general principle by which the governor of a colony 
 possessing responsible government is to be guided is this : 
 that when imperial interests are concerned he is to consider 
 himself the guardian of those interests, but in matters of 
 purely local politics he is bound, except in extreme cases, to 
 follow the advice of a Ministry which appears to possess the 
 confidence of the legislature ; but extreme cases are those 
 which cannot be reduced to any recognized principle, arising 
 in circumstances which it is impossible or unwise to anticipate
 
 BEITISH IMPEKIAL GOVERNMENT 167 
 
 and of which the full force can in general be estimated only 
 by persons in immediate contact with them." J 
 
 Now although a colonial governor represents his sovereign, 
 that is, to all intents and purposes he is the sovereign of the 
 colony of which he is governor, yet this deputation of sovereign 
 authority is limited. If the Sovereign's authority is misused 
 a Minister must be responsible for the act. The Sovereign is 
 not assailable by a judicial process ; it is only the adviser that 
 is liable. But the governor of a colony, though representing 
 the Sovereign, is not sheltered by his royal master. " It is 
 the duty of the governor to administer the affairs of the colony 
 by the aid of the Ministers who act under the superintendence 
 and with the approval of the colonial parliament. His com- 
 pliance with the advice of these Ministers is limited to matters 
 of discretion, and he is bound to decline any proposal that is 
 contrary to law. Neither a governor nor any other subject 
 can be freed from the personal responsibility for his acts, or 
 can be allowed to excuse a violation of the law on the plea 
 of having followed the councils of evil advisers ". 2 The 
 criminal as well as the civil responsibility of governors is 
 settled law both by statute and judicial decisions. 
 
 The success of our system of imperial governance is shown British sue- 
 by the history of such posts as Hong-Kong and Singapore. Kong and° D8 
 In the former we find a small barren island, which at the time Singapore. 
 of its cession to Great Britain was inhabited only by a few 
 scattered communities of fishermen, and now we find it 
 crowded with tens of thousands of Chinese, who have crossed 
 from the mainland because they knew that under British rule 
 they would be free from oppressive taxation, would be gov- 
 erned by just laws, and would be able to carry on a thriving 
 and profitable trade ; and so, in the once uninhabited island 
 of Singapore, we see a wealthy population attracted from 
 China, the Malay Peninsula, and India, by similar causes. 
 
 Great Britain differs from all other colonizing powers past Aim of British 
 and present in the colonizing objective. It has never been a colonlzatlon - 
 sustained policy by the statesmen of Great Britain to exploit 
 
 1 The Duke of Newcastle (Secretary for the Colonies) to the Governor 
 of Queensland, 26 March, 1862. 
 
 3 Professor Hearn, "Government of England ".
 
 168 THE GOVERNANCE OF EMPIRE 
 
 the colonies for the profit of the mother country. Other 
 countries, we know, have derived a considerable portion of 
 their revenue from their colonies and dependencies. The 
 Athenians exacted a considerable annual contribution from 
 their allied states. 1 
 
 With the Romans it was " the first principle of taxation 
 that the provinces were to defray the expenses of the Empire " ; 2 
 and, as has already been stated, when they conquered Sicily, for 
 instance, they exacted a tenth of the field produce and 5 per 
 cent of the value of all exports and imports. Coming down to 
 more recent times, other countries — as for instance Spain, 
 Portugal, and Holland — have derived considerable revenues 
 from their colonial possessions, but in doing so they have re- 
 tarded the progress of their colonies, and have created hostility 
 among the governed, to suppress which called for not only an 
 expensive system of government but was a further burden 
 upon the colonies themselves. 
 Contrast be- It may be argued that the success of British government 
 
 tween Amen- £ su bj ec t raC es ranks more with the character of the Anglo- 
 can and J . « 
 Canadian Saxon than with the monarchical system. To disprove this I 
 
 will quote the remarkable testimony of an American bishop 
 in contrasting the rule of the American Indians in the United 
 States by Anglo-Saxons under a republican constitution, 
 and by the Anglo-Saxons in Canada under a monarchical 
 constitution. " On one side of the line is a nation that has 
 spent £100,000,000 in Indian wars ; a people who have not 100 
 miles between the Atlantic and the Pacific which has not 
 been the scene of an Indian massacre ; a government which 
 has not passed twenty years without an Indian war ; not one 
 Indian tribe to whom it has given Christian civilization ; and 
 which celebrates its centenary by another bloody Indian war. 
 On the other side of the line are the same greedy, dominant 
 Anglo-Saxon race, and the same heathen. They have not spent 
 one dollar in Indian wars, and have had no Indian massacres. 
 Why ? In Canada the Indian treaties call these men ' the 
 Indian subjects of Her Majesty '. When civilization ap- 
 proaches them they are placed on ample reservations, receive 
 
 1 Thucydides, "Pelop. War," Bk. I, ch. xix. ; Bk. II, ch. xm. 
 
 2 Sir A. Grant, " How the Romans Governed their Colonies," p. 16. 
 
 treatment of 
 natives
 
 BRITISH IMPERIAL GOVERNMENT 169 
 
 aid in civilization, have personal rights in property, are amen- 
 able to law, and protected by law, have schools, and Christian 
 people send them the best teachers 'V This striking com- 
 parison between the same rule by the same people, under 
 different constitutions, was written half a century ago whilst 
 the American people were still as Anglo-Saxon as their neigh- 
 bours governing Canada. 
 
 We need but turn again to Africa for further proof of the Example of 
 success achieved in the government of subject races by that 
 system of interpreting the British Constitution known as 
 crown colony government. Basutoland (the Switzerland of 
 South Africa), inhabited by a hardy semi-civilized warrior 
 race of people, prior to 1884, was a scene of continual 
 annoyance to the South African colonies and to the Boer re- 
 public of the Orange Free State bordering it. Desultory 
 warfare and cattle raids had to be stopped. In 1871, therefore, 
 the country was annexed to the responsibly governed colony 
 of the Cape of Good Hope, the area at the time being given 
 at 10,300 square miles. The Basuto people resented this, and 
 in 1879 Mairosi, a chief claiming the southern portion of 
 Basutoland, openly repudiated colonial rule. An expedition 
 was dispatched by the Cape Government, Mairosi's stronghold 
 was captured after some severe fighting, and the chief himself 
 was killed. In 1880 the Cape Government extended to Basuto- 
 land the Cape Peace Preservation Act of 1878, an Act providing 
 for the disarmament of the natives. Its execution proved 
 more difficult than was anticipated, and was never accom- 
 plished. The Basutos resisted the colonial troops with such 
 success as to retain their arms, and then announced their 
 willingness to be governed directly from the Crown, but pro- 
 tested against being governed through the Cape Government. 
 In 1881 the intervention of the High Commissioner of South 
 Africa was asked for, and peace between the Cape Colony and 
 Basutoland was announced at the end of 1882. This war 
 had cost the Cape Government an expenditure of £3,000,000 
 sterling, many valuable lives, and a considerable loss of 
 prestige among the native races of South Africa, for they had 
 failed in their object. The Basutos, after experimenting with 
 
 1 Bishop Whipple, "The Hunting Grounds of the Great West," p. 43.
 
 170 THE GOVEKNANCE OF EMPIRE 
 
 a form of self-government which proved unsatisfactory, 
 appealed to the Imperial Government to take them over, and 
 Cape Colony undertook to pay towards the cost of adminis- 
 tration an annual contribution of £18,000. Consequently, 
 in 1884, Basutoland became a British crown colony. The 
 country has since been administered by a resident commis- 
 sioner and a small staff of officials, the tribes are governed with 
 due regard to native customs, and encouragement is given them 
 to assist in their own governance through native parliaments, 
 which in manner of summons, constitution, open air sessions 
 and procedure, are identical with the parliament of the ancient 
 Achaian League, and very similar to the Witenagemot of the 
 Anglo-Saxons. 
 Success of There can be no question that the conversion of Basutoland 
 
 crown colony j n £ a crown co lony, administered by a British resident corn- 
 government. J ' , J 
 
 missioner responsible to the Colonial Office, has contributed 
 
 alike to the prospects of the Basutos, the security of the 
 neighbouring colonies, and a peaceful condition among the 
 natives of South Africa generally. The prestige of the 
 Basutos as a fighting race was gained by numerous small 
 successes against their neighbours the Boers, exaggerated into 
 victories among the native races throughout South Africa, and 
 this prestige was firmly established by the result of their war 
 with Cape Colony. The conduct of the Basutos is there- 
 fore closely watched and taken as an example by all the native 
 races in the sub-continent. On the outbreak of the Anglo- 
 Boer war in 1899, the Basuto chiefs, at a great meeting held 
 in the presence of the resident commissioner, gave expression 
 to their gratitude for the beneficent character of Queen Vic- 
 toria's rule and protection ; which at an early date in the 
 future will, no doubt, be rewarded by the forcible annexation 
 of this, at present, peaceful little country, by the Boer Govern- 
 ment of United South Africa. 
 F jj i# Further testimony to the success of the crown govern- 
 
 ment of our uncivilized or semi-civilized subject races may be 
 found in our imperial government in the Pacific. The 
 Imperial Government reluctantly consented to accept the 
 cession of the Fiji Islands in the year 1874. This was done 
 at the earnest request of our Australasian fellow countrymen 
 and of the natives themselves. As had been foreseen, the
 
 BRITISH IMPERIAL GOVERNMENT 171 
 
 revenue fell short of the expenditure, and the Imperial Par- 
 liament had to vote £40,000 in 1875 and £35,000 in 1876 to 
 carry on the government of the new colony. Under these 
 circumstances Lord Carnarvon wrote to inquire of the four 
 Australian colonies then enjoying self-government, and for 
 whose benefit Fiji had heen annexed, whether they would 
 be disposed to contribute £4,000 a year each, thus leaving 
 the main portion of the burden to the mother country, but 
 not one of the colonies expressed any readiness to do so. 
 Lord Carnarvon did not press the matter; for as he very 
 truly observed, in a circular letter of 9 July, 1875, " it would 
 have been obviously undesirable, in a matter where the grace 
 of the action depended upon its being voluntary, and where 
 the amount involved was so small that it would be mainly 
 valuable as proving the readiness of the great colonies to 
 accept their membership in the crown duties of the Empire, 
 to put the slightest pressure upon any of them to make this 
 joint contribution. It was as I explained in my former dispatch 
 principally to give trial and effect to the principle of joint 
 action among different members of the Empire in such cases, 
 that I invited co-operation in a letter in which the contribu- 
 tions proposed were so inconsiderable as to make it practically 
 immaterial, except in connexion with such a principle, 
 whether the arrangement could be at once carried out." l 
 
 Fiji to-day is governed as a crown colony and with the Suooess of 
 
 same success as we have seen in Basutoland. The govern- de8 P otl ° 
 
 ° system. 
 
 ment is administered by a governor appointed by the 
 Crown ; he is assisted by an executive council consisting of a 
 chief justice, colonial secretary, an attorney-general, a 
 native commissioner, and a collector of customs. Laws 
 are passed by a legislative council of which the governor is 
 president. It comprises ten official members, six elected 
 members, and two native members. For the purpose of native 
 government the colony is divided into seventeen provinces, in 
 ten of which a superior native chief exercises, under the title 
 of " Roko Tue " of his province, a form of rule which recog- 
 nizes to a large degree the principles of native administra- 
 
 1 Earl of Carnarvon to the Governments of Victoria, New South Wales, 
 Queensland, and New Zealand. Downing Street, 9 July, 1875.
 
 172 THE GOVERNANCE OF EMPIRE 
 
 tion by which the people governed themselves prior to the 
 establishment amongst them of a European form of govern- 
 ment. In seven of the provinces there are European officers 
 as commissioners. About 177 native chiefs of inferior de- 
 gree are employed by the Crown in subordinate administra- 
 tive capacities. 1 
 
 We have now given a brief description of British imperial 
 governance in its various stages of development from the per- 
 sonal rule of an administrator of a lately acquired native 
 state, directly responsible to the Crown for an account of his 
 actions, to the governor of a commonwealth or self-governing 
 colony, whose functions are more or less nominal, but what 
 extent more or what extent less will be dealt with in the fol- 
 lowing chapter. 
 
 1 "The Statement Year Book, 1909."
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 RESPONSIBLE GOVERNMENT OF COLONIES. 
 
 In an address delivered to a Conservative Association in 1872, Beaconsfield 
 Lord Beaconsfield (then Mr. Disraeli), while admitting that ° g " n mper 
 the affairs of distant colonies could not be carried on except 
 by self-government, expressed the opinion that the grant of 
 self-government ought to have been accompanied by an 
 imperial tariff, by securities to the people of England for the 
 enjoyment of the unappropriated lands which belonged to the 
 Sovereign as their trustee, "by a military code which should 
 have denned precisely the respective duties of the colonies 
 and the mother country in relation to national defence, and 
 by the institution in London of a council representing the 
 colonies and communicating confidentially with the Home 
 Government ". 
 
 Holding this opinion as to the necessity of self-govern- Motives of the 
 ment he yet appeared to suggest, that it had not been pro- who gra e ntec i 
 moted by the Liberals because it was necessary, but was part responsible 
 of a sustained attempt to dismember the Empire. Lord ^" e nm< 
 Beaconsfield dated the imperial revolution in the government colonies. 
 of the colonies from the Canadian mission of Lord Durham 
 in 1838 which resulted in the first grant of responsible 
 government. If this departure in colonial policy was a subtle 
 attempt to effect the disintegration of the Empire, as it was 
 stated to have been by statesmen of the day, such endeavours 
 have been successfully foiled by the colonies themselves. The 
 manner in which self-government was installed in Canada 
 does undoubtedly lend colour to such suspicion ; but it is 
 only right to judge the action by its results, and as those re- 
 sults have been achieved by the colonists solely upon the 
 freedom granted them by the imperial statesmen, it is un- 
 grateful to seek for motives aiming at an opposite effect. 
 
 173
 
 174 
 
 THE GOVEKNANCE OF EMPIEE 
 
 Local auto- 
 nomy was 
 inevitable. 
 
 Beaconsfield' 
 Imperialism 
 would have 
 involved 
 undesirable 
 restrictions 
 of colonial 
 liberty. 
 
 With the example set in Canada of responsible government 
 under a self-owned constitution by which all questions of 
 local interest and concern should be managed by a repre- 
 sentative legislature and a Ministry possessing the confidence 
 of that legislature — the idea of responsible government took 
 possession of men's minds like a scientific discovery. The 
 series of able statesmen who presided over the Colonial 
 Office, though they, of course, saw that self-government 
 might be given too soon, realized also that the pressure in 
 that direction was one of those irresistible pressures which 
 arise out of the order of nature, and to which a wise policy 
 must conform. 
 
 The very reservation suggested by Lord Beaconsfield in 
 the granting of responsible government would undoubtedly 
 have retarded the progress of the colonies and have made 
 impossible that imperial (Pan-Britannic) confederacy now 
 within measurable distance, and which, by reason of the free 
 and unhampered internal development of the component 
 parts, must be a product full of inherent strength and vigour. 
 Lord Beaconsfield's idea of an imperial tariff was not that 
 which the words would imply if given expression to to-day. 
 He meant a tariff imposed by the British Government which 
 if not absolutely of a free-trade nature would have been an 
 effective check on any colonial tendency to derive what was 
 thought to be an undue proportion of revenue from duties im- 
 posed for the purpose of protecting native industry. In the 
 same way any attempt on the part of the British Government 
 to have perpetuated the application of the land fund or any 
 proportion of it to the assistance of English labourers would 
 have been to deprive the colonies of an important branch of 
 income, at the very time when every penny was required for 
 their own development. Lord Beaconsfield'sirestrictions, had 
 such been accepted, must have created at least two first-class 
 grievances which would have diverted the whole current of 
 imperial policy and would have resulted in the dismember- 
 ment of the Empire as unwittingly perhaps as, according to 
 his own suggestion, the grant of full responsibility to certain 
 colonies has resulted in their loyalty to the Crown. 
 
 When the full meaning of responsible government was 
 understood, its grant was opposed by many statesmen in
 
 EESPONSIBLE GOVERNMENT OF COLONIES 175 
 
 Great Britain and in the colonies concerned. The plea was With the 
 advanced that as the colonies developed they would become imperialism 6 
 separate nations, and it was held in authoritative quarters has become 
 that within seventy years of the grant of self-government to 
 Canada the aggregate civilized population of the British 
 colonies in North America, Australia and South Africa would 
 greatly exceed that of the United Kingdom, and it was con- 
 sidered impossible that a political whole, composed of parts 
 so great, so growing, so diverse in interest, so remote from 
 each other and so free, would, notwithstanding, be kept 
 together under one sovereign. But time has shown that all 
 these fears were groundless, and that the population of the Uni- 
 ted Kingdom increased out of all proportion to the civilized 
 population of the self-governing colonies. Moreover, the 
 scientific discoveries and rapid advance in science generally 
 during the latter half of the century completely revolutionized 
 means tof transport and communication. In addition to 
 bringing the component parts closer together by the shorten- 
 ing of distance by time measurement there has been dispelled 
 another of those bygone fears — the diversity of interests. 
 The interests of the colonies and of the mother country are 
 gradually growing more in unison — colonial business concerns 
 now look to the capital of the Empire as a common and 
 convenient centre from which to operate. The most coveted 
 professional degrees are only obtainable in the mother country, 
 and the great services rendered to the Empire by the uni- 
 versities and public schools of Great Britain in attracting the 
 British youth from oversea is only exceeded by the imperial 
 service rendered in distributing their graduates throughout 
 British possessions. Thus we see a gradual but certain 
 assimilation of interests taking place. 
 
 If, then, the original grant of self-government was made 
 with the object of the colonies severing themselves from the 
 parent country and developing into independent republics, an 
 imperial link of increasing strength was inadvertently forged 
 by an unworthy experiment, for only once in the history of 
 the self-governing colonies has a disloyal attempt been made 
 to take open advantage of a free constitution and to question 
 the supremacy of the Crown. This was fortunately frus- 
 trated by the governor of the colony in question exercising
 
 176 
 
 THE GOVEKNANCE OF EMPIRE 
 
 Results of 
 
 responsible 
 
 government. 
 
 Differences 
 between the 
 Dominions. 
 
 at the proper time those powers vested in him as the re- 
 presentative of the Sovereign. See page 186. 
 
 The successive grant of responsible government to the 
 colonies as they grew strong enough to exercise it removed 
 from the mother country much of the detail of colonial policy, 
 and placed the burden of such upon the shoulders of those 
 actually on the scene of the political operations and those 
 most intimately concerned with the welfare and development 
 of the territory within their own sphere of influence. This 
 created a separate political life within the colonies themselves. 
 Prior to this there had been no real separate existence from 
 the mother country. Political actions had been directed from 
 the parent state. Political inspiration created by environ- 
 ment was killed at its birth by those traditions of the past 
 which always fetter the free political action of British states- 
 men. As each of the elder colonies received full responsibility, 
 so then was that particular colony allowed to make un- 
 hampered use of such political genius as it possessed. This 
 was quick to make itself felt and was displayed by the enun- 
 ciation of new ideas and principles or by the resuscitation 
 of those long forgotten, but found to be applicable to recurring 
 conditions. We find here a parallel to the history of Greece 
 and her colonies. Many of the Greek colonies grew more 
 rapidly than the parent states, less cramped in space, less 
 tied by exclusive laws and customs, more mixed in popula- 
 tion. Miletus developed faster than Athens, and Syracuse 
 than Corinth ; similarly we see Canada, Australia, South 
 Africa and New Zealand springing suddenly into full man- 
 hood without any of the preparatory training of youth. It 
 must be admitted that this rapid development is not an 
 unmixed blessing. It has borne that rank weed, untutored 
 democracy ; and democracy untutored is Socialism. This 
 inherent enemy of law and order is the canker responsible 
 for the decay and ultimate downfall of more nations than all 
 other causes combined, for it has been more or less existent 
 where the downfall was attributed to some other cause. 
 
 Whilst the self-governing colonies are each separate de- 
 mocracies, owning allegiance to the same Crown, they vary 
 among themselves in the degree of democratic policy followed, 
 from the aristocratic democracy of Canada, whose senators
 
 RESPONSIBLE GOVERNMENT OF COLONIES 177 
 
 are nominated for life, to the popular democracy of Victoria, 
 whose similar legislative body is elected by the electorate for 
 a period of six years. A further difference to be observed 
 in the democratic principles adopted by these self-governed 
 colonies is the varying qualification for the franchise, its 
 difference in value, and the application to one or both sexes. 
 In those colonies that have abjured the last but one aristo- 
 cratic principle, viz. a nominee Upper Chamber — the safest 
 check on untutored democracy we know of — there is to be 
 observed a rapid degeneracy towards Socialism. 
 
 Aristotle's division of democracy into two classes, and his Aristotle on 
 lucid description of these, is appropriate of the difference to democra °y- 
 be observed among our self-governed colonies, and there is 
 also a warning against that form of democracy which is 
 actually coming to pass in at least one of these possessions' — 
 but even here it has not yet reached that stage' at which it 
 is too late to save the people from themselves. " One species 
 of democracy is where the public offices are open to every 
 citizen and the law is supreme. Another species of democ- 
 racy is where the public offices are open to every citizen but 
 where the people and not the law are supreme. The latter 
 state of things occurs when the government is administered 
 by psephismata, and not according to laws, and it is produced 
 by the influence of demagogues. In democracies adminis- 
 tered according to law there is no demagogue, the most dis- 
 tinguished of the citizens presiding in the assembly ; but 
 where the laws are not supreme, demagogues arise. For 
 the people become as it were a compound monarch, each 
 individual being only invested with power as a member of 
 the sovereign body, and a people of this sort, as if they 
 were a monarch, seek to exercise monarchical power in order 
 that they may not be governed by the law, and they as- 
 sume the character of a despot. A democracy of this 
 sort is analogous to a tyranny (or despotism) among 
 monarchies. Thus the character of the government is the 
 same in both, and both tyrannize over the superior classes, 
 and psephismata are in the democracy. "What special ordin- 
 ances are in the despotism, moreover, the demagogue in the 
 democracy corresponds to the flatterer (or courtier) of the 
 despot, and each of these classes of persons is the most powerful 
 
 12
 
 178 
 
 THE GOVERNANCE OF EMPIRE 
 
 Partially 
 aristocratic 
 evolution of 
 Canadian 
 politics. 
 
 under their respective governments. It is to be remarked that 
 the demagogues are, by referring everything to the people, 
 the cause of the government being administered hy psephismata, 
 and not according to laws, since their power is increased by 
 an increase of the power of the people, whose opinions they 
 command. The demagogues likewise attack the magistrates, 
 and say that the people ought to decide, and since the people 
 willingly accept the decision, the power of all the magistrates 
 is destroyed. Accordingly, it seems to have been justly said 
 that a democracy of this sort is not entitled to the name of a 
 constitution, for where the laws are not supreme there is no 
 constitution. In order that there should be a constitution, it 
 is necessary that the government should be administered 
 according to the laws, and that the magistrates and consti- 
 tuted authorities should decide in the individual cases re- 
 specting the application of them. So that if democracy is a 
 constitution, it is evident that this state of things, in which 
 the entire government is administered by psephismata, is not 
 properly a democracy, inasmuch as no psephisma can be 
 general." 1 It will be well if statesmen in certain of the self- 
 governing colonies, when introducing legislation originating 
 from the clamour of the populace, will but ponder over the 
 passage of Aristotle just quoted, and let them but consider as 
 to whether or not a tyranny is being gradually created. 
 
 The actual development and progress of all those colonies 
 now enjoying self-government dates from the time of their 
 assuming responsibility. The lines upon which each de- 
 veloped politically and the rate of progress have however 
 not been uniform. The influences bearing upon the political 
 life of those colonies were not all alike ; Canada, the first 
 to receive responsibility, had a large population of French 
 extraction whose acknowledgment of British government 
 was at that time but sullen acquiescence. Here, then, 
 was one element of discord, another was the trading con- 
 ditions of the time, and yet another the division of a frontier 
 line of 3000 miles with a republic. At one time, indeed, 
 in 1846, it appeared as if these three elements combined 
 would mean the secession of Canada from Great Britain and 
 
 ^'PolitV'iv. 4.
 
 RESPONSIBLE GOVERNMENT OF COLONIES 179 
 
 her union with the United States of America, for in that year 
 the corn laws were repealed in Great Britain and the policy 
 of free trade adopted, and as the navigation laws were still 
 in force the Canadians were threatened with financial ruin. 
 This resulted in an agitation throughout Canada urging 
 annexation to the United States. Lord Elgin, then governor, 
 was, however, equal to the occasion. He succeeded in having 
 the navigation laws repealed, and by a remarkable display of 
 tact and ability he eradicated such grievances as made for 
 secession. The political character of the Canadians has 
 followed upon aristocratic lines more closely than has been 
 the case in any other British colony. The first settlers con- 
 sisted largely of the scions of English, Scottish and French 
 nobility. Then, as Canada had been governed by the French 
 upon aristocratic principles and as the British policy upon 
 conquest had been to allow their new subjects to retain many 
 of their own institutions and customs, there was not that 
 soil for the growth of democracy and Socialism found in the 
 other colonies. The system of land tenure, continued from 
 the French occupation, has been another safeguard to aris- 
 tocracy. The seigniorial tenure similar to the feudal tenure 
 under which land was held in France is still in vogue, although 
 the English system of holding land in freehold was intro- 
 duced in 1854. 
 
 In each case where responsible government was granted 
 a colony the increased liberty so obtained was used, contrary 
 to the expectation of the secessionists, in drawing together 
 the bonds between themselves where they were geographic- 
 ally one, not with the object of eventually forming separate 
 nations, but for the purpose of becoming a more important 
 part of one empire. 
 
 Responsible government, then, has in all cases, with the 
 exception of Newfoundland, whose geographical position 
 makes it difficult, been used as a stepping-stone to imperial 
 federation. Each colony as it has obtained this form of 
 political liberty has set about putting itself in order for the 
 next step in imperial evolution. In 1847 Canada was fully 
 conceded responsible government. As has already been 
 stated, no Act of Parliament was required to effect this most 
 important change. The insertion and alteration of a few 
 
 12 *
 
 180 
 
 THE GOVERNANCE OF EMPIRE 
 
 Nature of 
 
 responsible 
 
 government 
 
 Sparsity of 
 population ; 
 need for 
 immigrants. 
 
 paragraphs in the governor's commission and the royal in- 
 structions were sufficient. The following passages taken 
 from the rules and regulations published by the Colonial Office 
 describe the responsibility then granted to Canada. 
 
 " Under responsible government the executive councillors 
 are appointed by the governor alone with reference to the 
 exigencies of representative government, the other public 
 officers by the governor on the advice of the executive council. 
 In no appointments is the concurrence of the Home Govern- 
 ment requisite. 
 
 " The control of all public departments is thus practically 
 placed in the hands of persons commanding the confidence of 
 a representative legislature. 
 
 " In colonies possessing what is called responsible 
 government the governor is empowered by his instructions 
 to appoint and remove members of the executive council, it 
 being understood that councillors who have lost the con- 
 fidence of the local legislature will tender their resignation 
 to the governor or discontinue the practical exercise of their 
 functions, in analogy with the usage prevailing in the United 
 Kingdom." 1 
 
 By 1848 the provinces of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New 
 Brunswick, and by 1851 Prince Edward's Island, were in the 
 full enjoyment of this system of self-government. The long 
 fight for responsible government in Canada had the effect, as 
 it has had since in the other colonies of the Empire, of 
 quickening into life unthought-of political genius. Many of 
 those men prominent in their agitation for political freedom 
 for their own particular colony were the most loyal to the 
 mother country and the most earnest in strengthening the 
 bonds between the compotent parts of the Empire. 
 
 A problem which faced each colony upon promotion to 
 responsible government was the sparsity of European popu- 
 lation and the absence of men able and willing to accept 
 legislative responsibility ; consequently much of the initial 
 work fell upon those few men in each colony who had become 
 prominent in agitation for responsibility, and even to-day we 
 
 1 Sir E. Creasy, " Imperial and Colonial Constitutions " ; also Colonial 
 Office List.
 
 EESPONSIBLE GOVEBNMENT OF COLONIES 181 
 
 find the character of those men stamped upon the polity of the 
 colonies, and in some cases the idiosyncrasies of the individual 
 have developed into a settled political axiom. Men like Ko- 
 bert Baldwin of Upper Canada and Lemuel A. Wilmot of 
 New Brunswick did much in steering a course for their re- 
 spective colonies, which, whilst differing more or less, even in 
 questions of principle, are all aiming towards the same goal. 
 The problem of sparsity of European population was the 
 one each colony set itself to solve immediately responsibility 
 was assumed. Whilst their internal policy had been dictated 
 from Downing Street, the sad spectacle had been witnessed 
 by the British colonies of 80 per cent of the British emigrants 
 annually leaving the shores of Great Britain proceeding to 
 the United States of America and thus becoming lost to the 
 Empire. The cause for this was not far to seek. The 
 Colonial Office officials, administering the colonies from 
 London, were not intimately concerned with their progress 
 and expansion either commercially or politically. In many 
 instances they were entirely ignorant of their geographical 
 situation or extent. As an illustration of this a story is told 
 of Lord Palmerston and Sir Arthur Helps. Lord Palmerston 
 was forming a new Ministry and in a preliminary council was 
 arranging its composition. He had filled up all the portfolios 
 with the exception of the Colonial Office. First one name 
 and then another was suggested and thrown aside. At last 
 he said : " I suppose I must take the thing myself. Come up 
 stairs with me, Helps. We will look at the maps and you shall 
 show me where these places are." The importance of the 
 oversea possessions for the purpose of retaining within the 
 Empire the migrating population of Great Britain appears to 
 have been ignored by the British Government. No encourage- 
 ment whatever was made to divert the continual stream of 
 emigrants from the shores of the British Isles to foreign 
 countries towards those British possessions starved for want 
 of settlers. Possessions, moreover, blessed by nature with 
 even greater advantages than those countries under foreign 
 Governments which, by superior energy, were building up a 
 hardy and progressive nation from the material which rightly 
 belonged to the British colonies. Many millions of British 
 subjects were lost to the Empire by either the ignorance or
 
 182 THE GOVERNANCE OF EMPIRE 
 
 apathy of the statesmen at the head of the Colonial Office up 
 to the grant of responsible government to the colonies. 
 Advantages Under crown and representative government many of the 
 
 migrants!"* c °l 0I " es nac * crown agents in London, but these officials 
 were sadly hampered by the Colonial Office officials and their 
 duties were little more than of a commercial nature ; but as 
 the colonies obtained responsible government they were each 
 represented in London by an accredited agent-general whose 
 functions were plenipotentiary. These agents-general did 
 much to place before intending emigrants the advantages 
 of their own particular colony, and by this means the Euro- 
 pean populations of the self-governing colonies were rapidly 
 increased by those classes of settlers peculiarly suitable to the 
 different colonies. Thus we find the hardy agriculturist 
 making for Canada, the pastoralist, shepherd and drover 
 immigrating to Australia and New Zealand, the Cornish 
 miner to South Africa. Under crown or representative 
 government the large majority of these, in ignorance of the 
 advantages to be found under their own flag, would have 
 gone to swell the ranks of other nations. These people upon 
 their arrival in their new homes found that they were 
 governed by a constitution which was but an offshoot of 
 that they had left, the political conditions little different from 
 that they had been used to, and owing to the smallness of 
 the community they had now joined they were able to come 
 closer in touch with the governing powers. These immi- 
 grants, after a few months' residence (in some of the colonies 
 almost immediately) discovered that they had full political 
 rights, and as the parliamentary institutions were but minia- 
 tures of those they had just left, they found themselves of 
 greater importance in the political world. 
 Responsible In the case of the self-governing colonies of Canada and 
 
 government in f Australia and New Zealand, the Ministries used their best 
 
 Cape Colony. .' . ... 
 
 efforts with marked success in attracting to their colonies 
 
 immigrants from Great Britain, and the new arrivals success- 
 fully counteracted any insidious growth of local nationalism. 
 They kept alive and invigorated the tie between the mother 
 country and their own colony. This was, each year, made 
 more easy by improvements in ocean transport and com- 
 munication. But in South Africa the problem was of a more
 
 EESPONSIBLE GOVERNMENT OF COLONIES 183 
 
 difficult nature. It was only in late years that the discovery 
 of diamonds and gold attracted a mining class which created 
 a market for the local agriculturist. In 1872, when respon- 
 sible government was granted to the Cape of Good Hope, the 
 European population was 230,000, of which 75 per cent, were 
 Dutch. In addition to the European or white population, 
 there was a Negro and coloured population of 500,000. The 
 Dutch or Boer farmers who constituted the larger propor- 
 tion of the white population were sprung from the original 
 European settlers, and looked upon the English as interlopers, 
 and their attitude towards the crown government was that 
 of sullen acquiescence. They were, too, the stock from 
 which those migrations or treks north across the Orange and 
 Vaal Rivers had broken, and in sympathy they were naturally 
 more allied to those two republics which had eventuated from 
 those migrations. It will therefore be readily understood 
 that the granting of responsible government to the Cape 
 under circumstances so different from those in existence in 
 Canada, Australia and New Zealand on a like occasion was 
 viewed from exactly that standpoint predicted by the pessi- 
 mistic statesmen of Great Britain who opposed the granting 
 of responsible government to the colonies, and but for the 
 ability of the governor, Sir Bartle Frere, who inaugurated 
 the new system, South Africa would have been lost to the 
 Empire. The first Ministry under responsible government 
 was formed by Mr. (afterwards Sir) J. C. Molteno, and it 
 included Messrs. de Villiers and J. X. Merriman, two young 
 South Africans allied in blood and sympathy to the emi- 
 grant Boers. These gentlemen regarded the granting of full 
 responsibility to colonial Ministers as but another name for 
 absolute independence. 
 
 In 1877 the colony was threatened with disaster from Kaffir War. 
 the war which had broken out on her northern frontier with 
 certain Kaffir tribes. Sir Bartle Frere, then governor, was 
 of opinion that it was necessary to aid the colonial burgher 
 forces by additional imperial troops. Accordingly he ad- 
 dressed a minute on the subject to his Ministers, in which he 
 pointed out the need for reinforcements and the importance 
 of an improved organization and control of the colonial 
 military establishment. The colonial Premier, Mr. J. C.
 
 184 THE GOVEKNANCE OF EMPIRE 
 
 Molteno, in reply asserted his belief that the colonists 
 were able to help themselves without assistance from Her 
 Majesty's Regular Army, whose presence in the colony 
 tended, he thought, to depress the spirit of the people from a 
 dread of military, or rather of imperial, domination. He there- 
 fore advised the withdrawal of Her Majesty's troops from the 
 colony. He insisted, moreover, upon the right of the colonial 
 Cabinet to undertake the entire management of the colonial 
 forces ; to place the same in charge of a colonial commandant- 
 general, who should be uncontrolled by any imperial military 
 authority ; and that the governor himself should refrain from 
 interference, inasmuch as he "has no special powers over 
 colonial forces as commander-in-chief". This arbitrary as- 
 sumption of power was accompanied by an intimation to the 
 governor that one of the Ministry, Mr. J. X. Merriman, 
 commissioner of crown lands, had been deputed to act as 
 commandant-general, in command of all colonial forces what- 
 soever " under the sole control and direction of the colonial 
 Government ". 
 Cape Colony's In answer to this virtual declaration of independence, the 
 towards 0118 g overnor denied the existence of the alleged dissatisfaction 
 independence, in the colony at the presence therein of an imperial military 
 force ; he protested against the scheme of his Ministers for 
 the direction of the local volunteers, as being illegal and un- 
 constitutional ; and he referred to the reasonable and con- 
 stitutional practice which had hitherto prevailed since the 
 outbreak of hostilities, whereby " the Governor and Com- 
 mander-in-Chief " was in the habit of meeting the general 
 commanding the forces, and two or three of the responsible 
 Ministers, for daily consultation and agreement, so that by 
 their joint and concerted action and concert all necessary 
 military measures might be authorized and determined upon. 
 The governor furthermore contended that the distinction 
 drawn by Mr. Molteno between imperial and colonial forces 
 was entirely imaginary, because while serving in the colony 
 all Her Majesty's forces, whether colonial or imperial, are 
 subject to the authority of " the Governor and Commander- 
 in-Chief " who is the chief military executive, and who is 
 himself bound, in all questions affecting the colony, to receive 
 the advice of his responsible Ministers, and not to act in op-
 
 KESPONSIBLE GOVEENMENT OF COLONIES 185 
 
 position thereto, without valid reasons, which he must place 
 on record. The governor is also bound to warn his Ministers 
 of the consequences of any advice they may offer when he 
 sees danger from proposed changes, and to report to the 
 Secretary of State any important change in contemplation. 
 
 "Admitting to the fullest practical extent that the gover- 
 nor acts solely by and with 'the advice' of his Ministers," 
 Sir Bartle Frere declared his conviction that if, under present 
 circumstances, he should accept the advice tendered to him, 
 to send away the imperial troops and to trust for the suppres- 
 sion of the rebellion entirely to volunteers, with the idea 
 " that such advice was in accordance with the wishes of Par- 
 liament, or would be approved by the Parliament of this 
 colony," he " would be more fit for a lunatic asylum" than 
 for the office he had the honour to fill. But Ministers still 
 persisted in adhering to their expressed opinions in this 
 matter and proceeded to carry them out by directing certain 
 military operations without the sanction either of the gover- 
 nor or of the general in command. The general, however, 
 entered a formal protest against this proceeding. 
 
 Ministers also caused to be inserted in the official " Ga- 
 zette " divers military appointments and promotions which 
 had not been previously submitted for the governor's ap- 
 proval. At first these appointments were made in the 
 governor's name; subsequently they were gazetted without 
 any reference to his authority. After repeated remonstrances 
 with his Ministers for their illegal and unwarrantable conduct, 
 and after ascertaining that they persisted in continuing in 
 office, declaring that they were only accountable to Parlia- 
 ment for their public conduct, the governor at length, on 
 2 February, 1878, notified the Premier (Mr. Molteno) by a 
 letter sent through a principal officer of the civil service, that 
 he could no longer consent to retain them as his advisers, 
 and that they would remain in office only until their suc- 
 cessors were appointed. 
 
 Freely admitting that the governor in his capacity of Sir Bartle 
 commander-in-chief is bound on military matters, as on all MoUeno d ^ 
 others, to take the advice of Ministers, who have practically Ministry, 
 the same power of control as Her Majesty's Ministers exer- 
 cise over the Army in England ; and that " through the
 
 186 THE GOVEKNANCE OF EMPIEE 
 
 governor and regular gradation of military subordination, 
 every one of Her Majesty's officers and soldiers in active ser- 
 vice in the country," without distinction between " colonial" 
 and "imperial" troops, "is accountable to Ministers and 
 directly controlled by them " ; His Excellency nevertheless 
 protested against the assumption by one of his Ministers 
 (Mr. J. X. Merriman) without the sanction of the Crown or 
 of the colonial Parliament, of the position and powers of a 
 " minister of war, irresponsible to the governor, and as a 
 general directing forces in the field uncontrolled by and 
 irresponsible to any military authority ". 
 
 On 5 and 11 February, Sir Bartle Frere addressed dis- 
 patches to Her Majesty's Secretary of State for the Colonies 
 in which he narrated the preceding events, and mentioned that 
 he had entrusted Mr. J. G. Sprigg, the Leader of the Opposi- 
 tion in the Assembly, with the task of forming a new Admin- 
 istration. 
 
 In his reply, dated 21 March, the Colonial Secretary 
 expressed his full reliance on the governor's judgment, and 
 did not question the propriety of his conduct in dismissing 
 his late Ministers, a step which appeared to have been un- 
 avoidable. Whilst endorsing the opinions expressed by the 
 governor, in denying the right of his Ministers to appoint an 
 officer unknown to the Constitution, unauthorized by Parlia- 
 ment, and in opposition to the judgment of the governor, and 
 to assign to him functions which would give him paramount 
 authority, greater than that of the governor himself, in mili- 
 tary matters, the Secretary of State proceeded to point out 
 that the peculiar position occupied by the governor, as the 
 Queen's High Commissioner, with powers in respect to 
 adjacent territories which were not limited by the system of 
 responsible government, as established at the Cape, entitled 
 him to special consideration and authority, in respect to his 
 lawful endeavours to preserve peace in Her Majesty's posses- 
 sions in South Africa, and to prevent any eruption of hostile 
 tribes into those possessions. It was therefore the more sur- 
 prising that when differences of opinion arose as to the proper 
 conduct of war, the local Ministry should have hesitated to 
 yield their opinions to those expressed by the governor. 
 
 " In civil matters lying entirely within the Cape Colony,
 
 KESPONSIBLE GOVEENMENT OF COLONIES 187 
 
 I desire, of course, that the responsibility of your Ministers, 
 for the time being, should be as full and complete as in other 
 colonies under the same form of government, but in affairs 
 such as those in which you have been recently engaged, your 
 functions are clearly defined by the terms of your commis- 
 sion." In conclusion, the Secretary of State declared it to 
 be "of the first importance that the earliest possible oppor- 
 tunity should be taken of affording such full explanations to 
 your Parliament as may enable a clear and impartial judg- 
 ment to be formed upon the same course adopted ". 
 
 The colonial Parliament opened on 10 May, and on that Sprigg 
 day papers and correspondence respecting the dismissal f Mlnistr y- 
 the Molteno Ministry were laid before the Cape Parliament. 
 Meanwhile, the new Premier, Mr. Sprigg, in his address to 
 his constituents upon his acceptance of office, justified the 
 act of the governor in dismissing the preceding Ministry, on 
 the ground that in the opinion of His Excellency, they were 
 endeavouring to carry on the government by unconstitutional 
 means, to which he could not assent ; that while acknowledging 
 the governor to be commander-in-chief of the imperial troops 
 in the colony, it was contended that His Excellency did not 
 hold that position with reference to the colonial forces, and 
 that the Ministry were entitled to direct the movements of the 
 colonial forces, not by way of advice to the governor, but 
 upon their own responsibility alone, so that the governor and 
 the general commanding Her Majesty's forces were kept in 
 ignorance of the proposed movements of the colonial forces, 
 no joint action taking place, but each branch of the military 
 forces in the country working in ignorance of the plans and 
 intentions of the other. 1 
 
 Now, although Messrs. Molteno, Merriman, and De 
 Villiers had been successfully foiled by the governor and the 
 British section of the Opposition in a determined attempt to 
 secure the independence of the Cape of Good Hope, they did 
 not at once abandon their endeavours. Shortly after the 
 session opened, Mr. Merriman moved the following resolu- 
 tions : (1) " That, in the opinion of this House, the control 
 over the colonial forces is vested in His Excellency the Gover- 
 
 x Todd, " Parliamentary Government in the Colonies ".
 
 188 THE GOVERNANCE OF EMPIRE 
 
 nor only, acting under the advice of Ministers ; (2) That it 
 was not within the constitutional functions of His Excellency 
 the Governor to insist on the control and supply of the colonial 
 forces being placed under the military authorities except with 
 the consent of Ministers ; (3) That the action taken by His 
 Excellency the Governor in that matter has been attended 
 with results prejudicial to the colony, and has delayed the 
 termination of the rebellion ". The Speaker, however, rightly 
 ruled that the second and third paragraphs of the resolution 
 could not be entertained by the House in the form in which 
 they were presented, it being contrary to constitutional 
 principle and parliamentary practice to move any direct cen- 
 sure on His Excellency the Governor as the representative of 
 the Sovereign, and it being held, by the authorities in parlia- 
 mentary government, that the Ministry in office are respon- 
 sible for the action of His Excellency the Governor. On 
 6 June, 1878, an amendment to the resolution approving the 
 action of Sir Bartle Frere in dismissing the Molteno Ministry 
 was carried by a vote of thirty-seven to twenty-two. 1 
 Frere's In a dispatch to the Colonial Secretary dated 18 June, 1878, 
 
 Ratified ^ Bartle Frere reported the decision of the Cape Assembly 
 upon Mr. Merriman's resolution, and mentioned the general 
 approval of the result expressed by the colonial Press, which 
 amply justified the " position of the Assembly as the constitu- 
 tional guardian of the rights of the colony. After such a de- 
 cisive expression of the opinion of the Assembly and of the 
 country, it is hardly necessary that I should further discuss 
 the constitutional question. Her Majesty's Government will, 
 I trust, be now satisfied that in the extreme step taken, I did 
 not go beyond what, in the estimation of the colony, and its 
 representatives, was necessary to uphold the authority of the 
 Crown, as constitutional head of all the armed forces of the 
 colony, and guardian of the rights of the people against un- 
 constitutional encroachments of any kind, when circumstances 
 did not admit of an immediate appeal to the parliament of 
 the colony ". 2 The Secretary of State, in concluding his reply 
 to this dispatch, said : " It affords me great pleasure to convey 
 to you, on the part of Her Majesty's Government, their warm 
 
 1 Cape Leg. Assem. Votes, 1878. 
 
 'Todd, " Com. Pap., 1878," V, 56, p. 252.
 
 KESPONSIBLE GOVEENMENT OF COLONIES 189 
 
 approval of your conduct both generally and in this particular 
 case, and their thanks for your unceasing and successful 
 efforts to reduce to order that administrative system which 
 you found wholly unequal to the requirements of a grave 
 emergency ". 
 
 Had the rich discoveries of diamonds and gold and other Afrikander 
 mineral wealth been delayed for a few years there is little B 
 doubt that a more successful attempt at secession would have 
 been made, but with the opening of the diamond fields, and 
 a few years later the gold mines, immigration from the United 
 Kingdom was stimulated and the British population rapidly 
 increased until, in spite of franchise laws in favour of the 
 Boers, the representatives of both races in the House of 
 Assembly were equalled. This equality of parties was not 
 conducive to progress, as legislation for the good of the country 
 was sacrificed to party politics. In 1882 the Dutch formed 
 a political association which has played an important part 
 in the history of South Africa. In that year the Afrikander 
 Bond was brought into being. This association has for its 
 aim the development of the spirit of nationality throughout 
 South Africa. This party succeeded in holding office from 
 1884 until 1890, when Mr. Khodes, who had obtained 
 the confidence of some of the Bond leaders, came into 
 power. 
 
 In 1896, owing to the Jameson Raid, he resigned and was Attitude of 
 succeeded by Sir Gordon Sprigg at the head of a coalition M?nutry 
 Ministry. The cloud of a racial war was drawing over the during the 
 country, therefore the Bond again assumed full power in 1898 Boer War ' 
 with the object of assisting their kith and kin in the Transvaal 
 and Orange Free State by again endeavouring by an uncon- 
 stitutional act to secede from the Empire. On the outbreak 
 of war Mr. Schreiner, then Premier, intimated to the then 
 High Commissioner, Sir Alfred Milner, that the Cape Colony 
 would remain neutral during hostilities between Great Britain 
 and the two South African republics ; consequently parlia- 
 mentary government was suspended and martial law pro- 
 claimed. In 1904 the Progressives succeeded in securing 
 power at the polls due to the disenfranchisement of a large 
 number of rebels. In 1908 the Bond leaders, having re- 
 covered themselves and reorganized after the war, defeated
 
 190 THE GOVEENANCE OF EMPIEE 
 
 the British at the elections and assumed power under the 
 Hon. J. X. Merriman. 
 
 The period of responsible government enjoyed by the Cape 
 was not employed in the augmentation of its European 
 population by immigration from the British Isles, hence we 
 find that the Europeans have not increased at anything like 
 the same ratio as in all the other responsibly governed 
 colonies.
 
 CHAPTEE IX. 
 
 COLONIAL COMMONWEALTHS. 
 
 The obtaining of responsible government, or the most com- Local auto- 
 plete liberty in local legislation, was not the consummation of theprelude b to 
 colonial political ambition. Local autonomy but opened up a federation. 
 wider field for colonial statesmen, and one, too, towards the 
 conquest of which responsible government was but a step. 
 This was the federation or union of such colonies as were 
 geographically so fitted. Thus we enter upon the last phase 
 but one in the evolution towards imperial federation. 
 
 Half a century before the union of England and Scotland Federation of 
 
 was brought about, a union of British colonies had been, the ., Ne ^ En s- 
 cii i- t t, • -»/r i„m ,-, l aQ d colonies, 
 
 successfully achieved. It was in May 1643 that a con- 
 vention of colonial representatives confederated the British 
 colonies of Massachusetts, Plymouth, Connecticut, and New 
 Haven as the " United Colonies of New England ". The 
 negotiations leading up to this confederation had taken six 
 years, but when once the union was effected its advantages 
 were felt immediately. At this time England, engaged else- 
 where, had neither the time nor the inclination to interfere 
 with her American colonies. The newly-formed confedera- 
 tion enjoyed almost complete liberty. A year after the 
 union we find this confederation negotiating treaties with 
 the French and projecting defences against the Dutch. But 
 this, the first union of colonies in the Empire, was not a 
 legislative one, it was simply an agreement of " offence and 
 defence, advice and assistance ". The long distances be- 
 tween centres of colonies, the primitive methods of com- 
 munication and transport between the colonies themselves 
 and the mother country, made it impossible for the union to 
 be of a more binding nature. But the fact that British 
 colonies, at this early date of British Imperialism, actually 
 
 191
 
 192 THE GOVEENANCE OF EMPIEE 
 
 united for a specific purpose shows that the tendency, even 
 then, was to centralize certain functions of government, and 
 as communication became more and more convenient and 
 rapid, as distances became reduced by means of mechanical 
 appliances, so then did the tendency grow towards a closer 
 union between neighbouring states occupied by people sprung 
 from the same stock, and using a common language. 
 
 For British imperial purposes the union of the American 
 colonies was premature. Had such union been delayed 
 until science had brought England and her colonies into closer 
 touch, had distance and time not been such as to compel 
 independent action — often at variance with the will of the 
 mother country — the spirit of complete independence ending 
 in actual secession would have been successfully counter- 
 acted by the wise diplomacy of far-seeing statesmen. 
 Canadian The second union of British colonies was but a slight 
 
 development, improvement upon the confederation of the New England 
 colonies and likewise narrowly escaped ending in secession. 
 In 1744 a revised constitution was granted by England to 
 Canada. This was known as the Quebec Act. It conformed 
 more closely to the desires and ideals of the French than 
 to those of the British section of the population. Instead of 
 allaying the feeling then existing between the two races, it 
 had the effect of accentuating it. The whole of Canada was 
 constituted one province to be known as Quebec. Many of 
 the French laws, including land legislation and the perpetua- 
 tion of the Roman Catholic Church, were re-enacted. The 
 administration was placed in the hands of a governor and 
 nominee council. Upon the termination of hostilities be- 
 tween the thirteen American colonies and the mother 
 country a great number of Royalists, sincere in their con- 
 viction, preferred to remove to those districts where English 
 sovereignty was still unimpaired. Until the struggle which 
 lost to England these colonies, Canada was thoroughly 
 French, nor during the War of Independence, waged across 
 the St. Lawrence, was their loyalty to the English Crown 
 shaken. Believing themselves secure in the exercise of their 
 own rites of worship, of many of their national laws and in 
 the guarantee of their customs, they were content with the 
 sovereignty of England, and therefore they remained in-
 
 COLONIAL COMMONWEALTHS 193 
 
 different to r the appeals made by those revolting States on 
 their border, to join in a war of secession. But with the 
 peace of 1783 numerous bands of Eoyalists crossed over from 
 the lately formed republic. Their number was consider- 
 able, and as the most of them belonged to the richer classes, 
 Canada, by this influx, gained not only in population but 
 likewise in wealth. 1 
 
 Upon the conclusion of the campaigns across the border 
 a number of British soldiers, obtaining their discharge, settled 
 in Canada. It is with the conclusion of the war of secession 
 that the Anglicization of Canada begins, for in addition to 
 the migration of the loyalists from the United States a steady, 
 though at first slow, stream of immigration from England set 
 in. We find that the population in 1763 was only 65,000, 
 and by 1814 it had increased to 413,000. 
 
 The long wars with France had by this time imbued all Hostility of 
 Englishmen with a deep-rooted prejudice against all French ^^ gf e . 
 institutions ; nor, on the other hand, was the feeling of the ments. 
 French towards the English one whit more friendly. The 
 new arrivals shunned any fusion with the French element, 
 and therefore proceeded to locate themselves in the more 
 remote districts to the north of Lake Ontario. It was not to 
 be supposed that two races whose countries had been at war 
 for centuries, and who looked upon one another as hereditary 
 enemies, would quietly submit to be governed by one ad- 
 ministration, especially as the Constitution favoured the sub- 
 ject race ; therefore strong demands were made by the British 
 section for the repeal of the Quebec Act. In 1791 this was 
 done, and Canada was divided into two provinces ; that portion 
 lying east of the Ottawa River was known as Lower Canada, 
 and that portion lying to the west of that stream was known 
 as Upper Canada. The province of Lower Canada was almost 
 exclusively populated by French, whilst the upper province 
 was reserved to the British. Each province had a separate 
 Government, composed of a governor and an executive coun- 
 cil, appointed by the King, together with a legislature, of 
 which the Upper Chamber, termed the Legislative Council, 
 
 1 Cotton and Payne, p. 97. 
 
 13
 
 194 
 
 THE GOVERNANCE OF EMPIRE 
 
 Lower and 
 
 Upper 
 
 Canada. 
 
 War with 
 America, 
 1812-15. 
 
 was nominated by the Crown and the Lower House was 
 elected by popular vote. 
 
 At the time of which we are now writing the population 
 of the two provinces, destined to play such an important part 
 in the history of Canada, was very unevenly distributed. The 
 total population of British North America was 250,000 souls, 
 of whom at least 140,000 lived on the banks of the St. Law- 
 rence and its tributary streams, and almost entirely repre- 
 sented the language, institutions, and history of the French 
 regime. In the French province there was but a small 
 percentage of British colonists, and these consisted mainly 
 of officials and commercial men. On the other hand, the 
 population of Upper Canada was but 25,000, and almost 
 exclusively of loyalist stock. The grant of representative 
 institutions to these colonies at this time had the effect of 
 making the French Canadians loyal during the war of 1812- 
 1815, with the United States, for they realized as clearly as 
 did the British colonists of Upper Canada that severance 
 from the Crown of Great Britain at this time meant absorp- 
 tion by the recently formed republic, and with it the sweep- 
 ing away of all their long-cherished institutions and customs. 
 At this time, too, the mother country had her hands full of 
 trouble with the continent of Europe, with Ireland, and with 
 the United States, and had no time to interfere with the 
 Canadas, and, therefore, the newly granted constitution 
 was even more free in practice than was originally intended. 
 During the war of 1812-15 many incursions into Canadian 
 territory by the republican troops were made, and proclama- 
 tions were issued guaranteeing "peace, liberty, and security 
 to life and property," to all who would accept American rule. 
 
 In this campaign, which lasted for a period of three years, 
 the French and British Canadians vied with each other in 
 their loyalty to the Crown, and augmented the small British 
 army of 3000 men with an active militia army of 30,000 men. 
 It must, therefore, be acknowledged that Canada was saved 
 to the Empire by her own colonists. The superiority of the 
 enemy, both in troops and all the munitions of war, was very 
 great : 20,000 regular soldiers, besides as many militia, were 
 at their disposal ; the vessels built on the lakes were at their 
 own door, armed from their own arsenals and manned by the
 
 COLONIAL COMMONWEALTHS 195 
 
 picked men of their commercial marine. The British naval 
 force on the lakes required to bring every gun, and a great 
 part of its naval stores, from Great Britain. And then, too, 
 the Government could with difficulty spare, from the wants of 
 a navy which was spread over the globe, even a handful of 
 sailors for this remote inland service. Unfortunately, the 
 result evidently of ignorance or of under estimate of their 
 enemies on the part of the British Government, scarcely any 
 effort was made to enrol from among the numerous and skil- 
 ful seamen of the coast of North America. Such a force 
 would with ease and certainty have secured for them the 
 command of the lakes. 
 
 With the return of peace the Canadians again had leisure Anti-Britigh 
 to consider the weaknesses of their political system, and there q^q C iu 
 now began the most unfortunate period of Canadian history, 
 a period of twenty-five years, which goes to illustrate the 
 folly and misery of faction when intensified by racial anta- 
 gonisms. In Lower Canada the very French colonists who 
 had fought for the British Crown when the independence of 
 their colony was threatened did not hesitate to profess their 
 desire to make French Canada exclusively a French domi- 
 nion. Undoubtedly their feeling against the British was 
 accentuated by the arrogance and incompetency of the officials 
 sent out from England. Then, as is sometimes the case to- 
 day, the colonial appointments were considered the perquisites 
 of incompetent politicians of England, or of the relatives of 
 Government supporters incapable of holding office elsewhere. 
 Justice to the colonists themselves was never considered, and 
 it was for this reason that there were many Englishmen who 
 were found fighting for popular liberties on the side of the 
 French Canadians, though few of these Englishmen were 
 prepared to go beyond the limits of constitutional agitation 
 and threaten the British connexion. 
 
 The Canadians had barely recovered from war before 
 they found themselves taking sides in political strife with 
 effects just as disastrous to their colony and as dangerous to 
 the Empire. The struggle for political supremacy was fought 
 on racial lines. The governors dissolved the legislatures 
 with a frequency unparalleled in political history, and owing 
 to their nationality were personally drawn into the conflict. 
 
 13*
 
 196 THE GOVERNANCE OF EMPIRE 
 
 Public officials, including the judges, were constantly im- 
 peached. A crisis was reached when the Imperial Govern- 
 ment sent Sir Francis Bond Head, as lieutenant-governor 
 of Upper Canada. He was an incapable and inexperienced 
 man and he alienated even the confidence of the moderate 
 element of the reformers. His attitude towards the colonists 
 drove some of them into open rebellion in 1837 under the 
 leadership of the French Canadian Papineau, but the latter 
 failed to gather around him more than four or five hundred 
 armed men, and these were easily defeated, Papineau escap- 
 ing to the United States. This revolt and another not more 
 serious organized a few months later by McKenzie drew the 
 attention of the Imperial Government to the unsatisfactory 
 state of affairs in colonies that were rapidly developing in 
 importance, and in consequence Lord Durham was sent out 
 as High Commissioner in 1838. Two years later he united 
 Upper and Lower Canada in a legislative union with re- 
 sponsible government. This then was the second union of 
 a set of British colonies. 
 Union of the Lord Durham did not hesitate to state that the object of 
 two CanadaB. UD ^ing the two Canadas in this legislative union was for the 
 purpose of the British, who now predominated in numbers, 
 absorbing the French colonists. To make this more effectual 
 he favoured the federal form of union, but, seeing that this 
 was impossible without better means of travel and of trans- 
 port from one province to the other, he abandoned his 
 original scheme. The population of the two Canadas at 
 this time was estimated at 1,000,000 souls. That of Upper 
 Canada, wholly British, being 400,000 and of Lower Canada 
 600,000, of whom 450,000 were French. By this legislative 
 union and a re-distribution of legislative seats a clear British 
 majority was assured. But contrary to the expectations of 
 Lord Durham, instead of the Act of Union acting unfavour- 
 ably to the French Canadians, it gave them eventually a 
 predominance of power. It was found that the British split 
 up into several factions. There were the Conservatives, 
 composed chiefly of the old " family compact " party, then 
 opposed to them was a large party of moderate Liberals who 
 sympathized with the French, and an extreme party of Radi- 
 cals. This split in the British camp enabled the French
 
 COLONIAL COMMONWEALTHS 197 
 
 minority virtually to assume power, so much so that by 
 1845 they had restored French as the official language. The 
 French had for many years pressed for the legislative coun- 
 cil being made elective ; this was now conceded. As the 
 British section of the population increased by immigration 
 their demand for parliamentary representation commensur- 
 ate with their increase since the union was steadily resisted 
 by the French Canadians as an unwarrantable interference 
 with the security guaranteed them under the Act. Politi- 
 cal passion and racial hatred reached their height when 
 the Baldwin-Lafontaine Ministry carried through a measure 
 to indemnify all those persons who had not taken part in 
 the late rebellion, but who were justly entitled to compensa- 
 tion for actual losses. This measure brought about a riot ; a 
 manifesto was freely signed for annexation with the United 
 States, and it ended in the Parliament Houses in Montreal 
 being burned down. It was now acknowledged that legisla- 
 tive union in which no form of state autonomy was recognized, 
 was a failure. It was discovered from this experience that 
 though the political system set up marked a long step in ad- 
 vance of what had gone before in colonial administration, it 
 fastened together in the bonds of legislative union two 
 peoples differing widely in race, language, customs, and re- 
 ligion. The union, therefore, could only be mechanical. 
 
 By 1864 legislation came to a deadlock; the legislature Federation in 
 was so evenly divided that a Conservative Government, which An \ e l j ica or 
 in April of that year obtained a vote of confidence by a 
 majority of two, was defeated by a majority of two in June. 
 As a Liberal Government had been forced to resign four 
 months before for the same reason it was now apparent that 
 the government of the country was at a standstill. There 
 were those who considered that there was a solution of the 
 problem in federation. The idea was an old one. From 1841 
 to 1864 many attempts had been made to bring about a 
 federation of the states of the United Canadas together with 
 Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward's Island, and 
 Newfoundland. The difficulties, however, had been many. 
 There was racial feeling and the disinclination of the smaller 
 states to join a confederation in which the dominant party 
 favoured either secession or annexation by the United States.
 
 198 THE GOVEENANCE OF EMPIKE 
 
 Then there were certain commercial jealousies existing be- 
 tween the maritime colonies and the inland states. In 1864, 
 however, owing to the deadlock in the union, the leaders of the 
 different Governments in Canada and the maritime provinces 
 of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward's Island 
 combined with the leaders of the Oppositions with the object 
 of carrying into effect the great measure of federation. A 
 convention of thirty-two representative men was held in 
 October 1864, in Quebec, and was known as the Federal Con- 
 vention. The representation was as follows : Canada, 12 ; 
 Novia Scotia, 5 ; New Brunswick, 7 ; Prince Edward's Island, 7 ; 
 Newfoundland, 2. After a deliberation of several weeks, the 
 result was the unanimous adoption of seventy-two resolutions, 
 embodying the terms and conditions in which the provinces, 
 through their delegates, agreed to a federal union. These 
 resolutions had to be laid before each of the legislatures and 
 adopted in the form of addresses to the Queen. In the case 
 of New Brunswick, the legislature dissolved twice on the issue, 
 whilst the legislature of Newfoundland would have nothing 
 to do with the scheme, preferring to retain their independence 
 as a responsibly governed colony of Great Britain. 
 
 In December 1866, a second conference of delegates from 
 the Governments of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick 
 was held at the "Westminster Palace Hotel, in London, and 
 some modifications were made in the Quebec resolutions, 
 chiefly with a view to meeting objections from the maritime 
 provinces. In the following year, 1867, an Act was passed by 
 the Imperial Parliament without a division, federating the 
 Canadian colonies. The provinces federating under this Act 
 (British North America Act, 1867, 30 Vic. cap. 3) were at 
 first the two Canadas (united 1841, under Union Act) properly 
 so called, together with Nova Scotia, Cape Breton, and New 
 Brunswick. 
 Constitution The Act federating these colonies provides that the Con- 
 
 2} th . e . stitution of the Dominion of Canada shall be similar in 
 
 Dominion. . . . . 
 
 principle to that of the United Kingdom, that the executive 
 authority shall be vested in the Sovereign of Great Britain 
 and Ireland and carried on in her name by a Governor- 
 General and Privy Council ; and that the legislative power 
 shall be exercised by a Parliament of two Houses, called the
 
 COLONIAL COMMONWEALTHS 199 
 
 "Senate" and the " House of Commons". Provision was 
 made in the Act for the admission of British Columbia, Prince 
 Edward's Island, and the North- West Territories, and New- 
 foundland ; the latter alone has not availed itself of this 
 provision. In 1869 the North- West Territories — from which 
 were created the rich provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, 
 and Alberta — were added to the Dominion by purchase from 
 the Hudson Bay Company ; on 25 July, 1871, the provinces 
 of British Columbia, and by an imperial Order in Council of 
 16 May in the same year, Prince Edward's Island, were 
 further added to the confederation. 
 
 The members of the Senate of the Parliament of the 
 Dominion are nominated for life, by summons of the Gover- 
 nor-General under the Great Seal of Canada. By the terms 
 of the Constitution there are now eighty-seven senators. 
 Each senator must be 30 years of age, a born or naturalized 
 subject, and must reside in and be possessed of property, real 
 or personal, of the value of £1000 within the province for 
 which he is appointed. 
 
 The House of Commons of the Dominion is elected by the 
 people for five years, unless sooner dissolved, at the rate at 
 present of one representative for every 25,367, the arrange- 
 ment being that the province of Quebec shall always have 
 sixty-five members and the other provinces proportionally, 
 according to their populations at each decennial census. On 
 the basis of the census of the Dominion taken in April 1901, 
 and in accordance with a Redistribution Bill passed in 1903, 
 the House of Commons consists of 214 members. 
 
 The members of the House of Commons are elected by 
 constituencies, the electors of which are supplied by fran- 
 chises under the control of the several provincial assemblies. 
 The qualifications for voting vary in the several provinces. 
 Voting is by ballot. 
 
 The nine provinces forming the Dominion have each a The 
 separate parliament and administration, with a lieutenant- constitutions, 
 governor at the head of the executive. They have full 
 powers to regulate their own local affairs and dispose of their 
 revenues, provided only they do not interfere with the action 
 and policy of the central administration. The lieutenant- 
 governors are appointed by the Governor-General. Quebec
 
 200 THE GOVERNANCE OF EMPIEE 
 
 and Nova Scotia have each two Chambers (a Legislative 
 Council and a Legislative Assembly) and a responsible 
 Ministry. Each of the other provinces have but one Chamber 
 (a Legislative Assembly) and a responsible Ministry. The 
 territory of Yukon is governed by a commissioner and an 
 executive council of ten members, five of whom are elected 
 by the people. 
 
 The representation in the federal and provincial legis- 
 latures is as follows : — 
 
 Ontario 
 Quebec 
 Nova Scotia 
 New Brunswick 
 British Columbia 
 N.W. Territory 
 Prince Edward's Island 
 Manitoba - 
 
 
 House of 
 
 Provincial 
 
 Senate. 
 
 Commons. 
 
 Legislature, 
 
 24 
 
 92 
 
 98 
 
 24 
 
 65 
 
 98 
 
 10 
 
 20 
 
 59 
 
 10 
 
 14 
 
 46 
 
 3 
 
 6 
 
 38 
 
 2 
 
 4 
 
 31 
 
 4 
 
 5 
 
 30 
 
 4 
 
 7 
 
 40 
 
 Theimpor- Those responsible for the framing of the Canadian Con- 
 
 b*tween e the Ces ^ tu ^ on were guided by the experience witnessed in the 
 American and working of the federal Constitution of the United States, 
 
 federation anc ^ a * ^ e ver y ^ me ^ na ^ ^ e Canadian statesmen were forging 
 their instrument for better government the United States 
 were just emerging from a great war brought about by the 
 different interpretation of the power of the Federal Govern- 
 ment. The Southerners claimed that any State or States had a 
 right to secede from the federal union and resume independ- 
 ence or to form a new confederacy. Upon the other hand the 
 Northerners contended that the contracting States had been 
 absorbed by the nation and therefore could not sever them- 
 selves from the body politic. As neither would yield, war 
 was inevitable. The Canadians carefully made provisions 
 against a similar controversy arising over their constitution. 
 The Americans had surrendered certain State powers to 
 the central Government, leaving the rest to the individual 
 States, and it was on this point that the dispute arose. The 
 Canadians therefore retained to the provinces certain clearly 
 defined powers, but surrendered all else to the central Govern- 
 ment, and it is expressly stated that any power not reserved 
 to the provinces belongs to the Dominion. The Dominion
 
 COLONIAL COMMONWEALTHS 
 
 201 
 
 Government has, moreover, the right to disallow any Act 
 passed by one of the provincial parliaments if it considers 
 such to be agaiust the interests of either the Dominion or 
 the Empire. The Constitution also provides for appeal to 
 the judicial committee of His Majesty's Privy Council of 
 Great Britain in the event of disputes between the pro- 
 vinces and the Dominion, and for interpretation of the 
 Constitution. 
 
 The following are the powers assigned to the Dominion Dominion >»<] 
 and those retained by the provinces : — 
 
 provincial 
 powers. 
 
 Dominion powers. 
 
 1. Public debt and property. 
 
 2. Regulation of trade and 
 commerce. 
 
 3. Raising money by any mode 
 or system of taxation. 
 
 4. Borrowing money on public 
 credit. 
 
 5. Postal service. 
 
 0. Census and statistics. 
 
 7. Militia, military and naval 
 service, and defence. 
 
 8. Fixing of and providing for 
 salaries and allowances of civil and 
 other officers of the Government of 
 Canada. 
 
 9. Beacons, buoys, lighthouses, 
 and Sable Island. 
 
 10. Navigation and shipping. 
 
 11. Quarantine establishment 
 and maintenance of marine hos- 
 pitals. 
 
 12. Sea, coast, and inland 
 fisheries. 
 
 13. Ferries between a province 
 and any British or foreign country, 
 and between two provinces. 
 
 14. Currency and coinage. 
 
 15. Banking, incorporation of 
 banks and issue of paper money. 
 
 16. Savings banks. 
 
 17. Weights and measures. 
 
 18. Bills of exchange and pro- 
 missory notes. 
 
 Provincial power*. 
 
 1. Amendment from time to 
 time, notwithstanding anything in 
 the B.N. A. Act, of the constitution 
 of the province, except as regards 
 the office of lieutenant-governor. 
 
 2. Direct taxation within the 
 province in order to raise a revenue 
 for provincial purposes. 
 
 3. Borrowing of money on sole 
 credit of the province. 
 
 4. Establishment and tenure of 
 provincial offices, and appointment 
 and payment of provincial officers. 
 
 5. Management and sale of 
 public lands belonging to province, 
 and of timber and wood thereon. 
 
 6. Establishment, maintenance, 
 and management of public and re- 
 formatory prisons in and for the 
 province. 
 
 7. Establishment, maintenance, 
 and management of hospitals, asy- 
 lums, and eleemosynary institutions 
 in and for the province, other than 
 marine hospitals. 
 
 8. Municipal institutions in the 
 province. 
 
 9. Shop, saloon, tavern, auc- 
 tioneer, and other licenses, in order 
 to raise revenue for provincial, local, 
 or municipal purposes. 
 
 10. Local works and under- 
 takings other than such as are of the
 
 202 
 
 THE GOVEENANCE OF EMPIKE 
 
 Dominion poicers. 
 
 19. Interest. 
 
 20. Legal tender. 
 
 21. Bankruptcy and insolvency. 
 
 22. Patents of invention and 
 discovery. 
 
 23. Copyrights. 
 
 24. Indians and land reserved 
 for Indians. 
 
 25. Naturalization and aliens. 
 
 26. Marriage and divorce. 
 
 27. The criminal law except the 
 constitution of courts of criminal 
 jurisdiction, but including pro- 
 cedure in criminal matters. 
 
 28. Establishment and manage- 
 ment of penitentiaries. 
 
 29. All matters not expressly 
 given to the provinces. 
 
 Provincial powers. 
 
 following classes : (a) lines of steam 
 or other ships, railways, canals, 
 telegraphs, and other works, and 
 undertakings connecting the pro- 
 vince with any other or others of 
 the provinces, or extending beyond 
 the limits of the province ; (6) lines 
 of steamships between the province 
 and any British or foreign country ; 
 (c) such works as, though wholly 
 situate within the province, are 
 before or after their execution de- 
 clared by the Parliament of Canada 
 to be for the general advancement 
 of Canada or for the advantage of 
 two or more of the provinces. 
 
 11. Incorporation of companies 
 with provincial objects. 
 
 12. Solemnization of marriage 
 within the province. 
 
 13. Administration of justice 
 within the province including con- 
 stitution, maintenance, and organiza- 
 tion of provincial courts, both of 
 civil and criminal jurisdiction, and 
 including procedure in civil matters 
 within these courts. 
 
 14. Imposition of punishment 
 by fine, penalty, or imprisonment 
 for enforcing any law of the province 
 made in relation to any matter com- 
 ing within any of the classes of sub- 
 jects enumerated in this section. 
 
 15. Generally all matters of a 
 merely local or private nature within 
 the province. 
 
 16. In and for each province 
 the legislature may exclusively 
 make laws in relation to education, 
 subject to certain provisions, of 
 which the chief is that nothing in 
 any such law shall prejudicially 
 affect any right or privilege with 
 respect to denominational schools 
 which any class of persons have by 
 law in the province at the union.
 
 COLONIAL COMMONWEALTHS 203 
 
 It must not be thought that the passing of the Federal Dissatisfac- 
 Act was an immediate solution of the political difficulties, gcotia. 
 There was at first little enthusiasm for the new constitution. 
 A strong movement was set on foot in Nova Scotia for the 
 repeal of the new Act, and at the first election under federation 
 for the provincial legislature, of the thirty-eight members, 
 thirty-six were pledged to work for repeal, and a delegation 
 was sent by this province to England to persuade the British 
 Government to re-open the question, but without success. 
 Sir John Macdonald, who formed the first federal Ministry, 
 wisely made his Cabinet representative of both races and of 
 all the provincial interests concerned. He was thus able to 
 lay truly the lines upon which the federation was to run and 
 which as years went on were to converge towards imperial 
 federation. 
 
 Federation, by creating a higher legislature untrammelled Results of 
 with the details of local questions, set free some of the best ratl0D ' 
 colonial statesmen to devote their ability and energy solely 
 to questions affecting the Dominion as a whole. The effi- 
 ciency of the system was quickly apparent in the better 
 relations with their neighbour, the United States, and in 
 the tightening of the bonds connecting the colony with the 
 mother country. It had the immediate effect of killing the 
 movement for secession and for annexation by the United 
 States. 
 
 The effect of federation upon the development of Canada 
 has been phenomenal. Each province has vied with its neigh- 
 bour in internal development. Upon federation the population 
 of the Dominion was 3,400,000, in 1901 it had increased to 
 5,371,315, and to-day it is estimated at 6,500,000. In 1906 
 the immigrants numbered 189,064, whilst during 1909 over 
 '200,000 immigrants from over sea arrived in the Dominion, 
 and no less than 70,000 families emigrated from the United 
 States into Canada, each family averaging a capital of £250. 
 
 Since the passing of the Federal Act, Canada has at- 
 tracted each year an increasing number of citizens from the 
 neighbouring republic, and it must be stated as one of the 
 many great tributes to British imperial rule that these men, 
 born and brought up with republican sentiments, became 
 loyal British subjects. Occasionally one hears of the intro-
 
 204 THE GOVEENANCE OF EMPIRE 
 
 duction of American political methods by a few of the more 
 unscrupulous politicians, but such cannot take root in soil 
 foreign to them nor can they remain long unexposed under 
 any constitution drawn on British lines. 
 Canada and The wise and far-seeing policy of building up a colonial 
 
 'aristocracy is having its effect, too, in keeping under the 
 insidious doctrines of Socialism, and has the good effect of 
 bringing the Canadians more closely in touch with the best 
 traditions of the parent country, and of divorcing sympathy 
 from republican sentiments. The stability of this imperial 
 prop was tested on the first occasion that the parent country 
 had need for the services of her imperial subjects since the 
 federation of the Canadian colonies. Upon the outbreak of 
 the Anglo-Boer War in 1899 the Dominion of Canada im- 
 mediately offered the services of a Canadian contingent free 
 of expense to the mother country. The Secretary of State 
 for the Colonies telegraphed that the Imperial Govern- 
 ment accepted the offer and stated that the units should 
 be in units or companies of 125, the senior officer to be 
 of a rank not higher than major, and that infantry would 
 be preferred. These conditions were for the purpose of 
 allowing the companies to be attached to battalions of the 
 regular army. Prior to this campaign and for some time 
 afterwards the Imperial military authorities were prejudiced 
 against colonial troops. The history of the war proves 
 how unfounded this prejudice was. The two obnoxious 
 conditions were, at the request of the Canadian Government, 
 withdrawn. On 30 October, 1899, the first Canadian con- 
 tingent of 1000 men was dispatched to South Africa. A 
 month later the Dominion offered a second contingent, but 
 this was not accepted until after the defeats of Magersfontein 
 and Colenso. The second contingent was dispatched in 
 January of 1900 and consisted of two battalions of mounted 
 rifles, and three six-gun field batteries. This contingent 
 was drawn from the Canadian permanent forces. During 
 1900 yet another contingent, known as the Canadian Scouts, 
 was dispatched to the war, followed by Lord Strathcona's 
 corps of 500 roughriders recruited from the North-West 
 Territories, and in 1901 the Imperial Government accepted 
 a further contribution of 900 mounted men from Canada.
 
 COLONIAL COMMONWEALTHS 205 
 
 Apart from the practical service rendered to the Empire 
 by these contingents of Canadians supplied at the expense 
 of the colonial Government, the effect upon imperial unity 
 has been considerable. The South African War brought 
 together colonials from various colonies and of different 
 social grades, and it brought home to Englishmen and 
 foreigners alike that the large colonial commonwealths were 
 nations in fact and were but waiting for the oft-asked-for 
 invitation to join in imperial unity. 
 
 The next set of responsibly governed British colonies to Federation in 
 bind themselves together by a federal constitution was AustraIia - 
 those of Australia. In this case, however, federation was 
 not forced upon the states by the inefficiency of the then 
 existing system of responsible government, for the grant of 
 responsible government had laid at rest the last burning 
 question of colonial importance. It, therefore, became ne- 
 cessary from the colonial point of view to create a question 
 of importance and of progress ; British Canadians had 
 made federation a success, then why should not British 
 Australians ? 
 
 The first practical move in this direction was made in Progress of 
 response to a report made in 1889 by Major-General Edwards ^ n ^ ove " 
 upon the defences of Australia. Tentative proposals had been 
 made in 1854 and again in 1863. In Major-General Edwards's 
 report it was pointed out that some system of federal union 
 was desirable for purposes of colonial defence. This led Sir 
 Henry Parkes to address the Premiers of the other Australian 
 colonies on the desirability of such a union, and the imme- 
 diate result was a conference held at Parliament House, 
 Melbourne. This consisted of representatives from each of 
 the seven colonies elected by the people. Each colony sent 
 two representatives, except Western Australia, which sent 
 one, and at seven meetings of this conference the question 
 was discussed at length. The conference adopted an ad- 
 dress to the Queen expressing loyalty, and enclosing resolu- 
 tions, which affirmed the expediency of an immediate union, 
 under the Crown, of the Australian colonies. It was also 
 recommended that steps should be taken for the appointment 
 of delegates to a National Australasian Convention, to frame
 
 206 THE GOVEKNANCE OF EMPIKE 
 
 National a scheme for a federal constitution. Delegates were there- 
 Australasian U p 0n appointed by the different Australasian colonies, and 
 on 2 March, 1891, the convention met in Sydney. This 
 convention consisted of forty-five members, each state send- 
 ing seven delegates, with the exception of New Zealand, 
 which sent three. Sir Henry Parkes, who was practically 
 the author of the movement, was unanimously elected presi- 
 dent of the convention and Sir Samuel Griffiths, Premier of 
 Queensland, vice-president. The public were admitted to 
 the debates and an official record of the proceedings was 
 published. The resolutions as carried were : — 
 
 That, in order to establish and secure an enduring federa- 
 tion for the structure of a federal government, the principles 
 embodied in the resolutions following be agreed to : — 
 Resolutions 1. That the powers and privileges and territorial rights of 
 
 on federation, foe several existing colonies shall remain intact, except in 
 respect to such surrenders as may be agreed upon as neces- 
 sary and incidental to the power and authority of the Federal 
 Government. 
 
 2. No state shall be formed by separation from another 
 state, nor shall any state be formed by the junction of two 
 or more states or part of states, without the consent of the 
 legislature of the states concerned, as well as of the Federal 
 Parliament. 
 
 3. That the trade and intercourse between the federal 
 colonies, whether by means of land carriage or coastal navi- 
 gation, shall be absolutely free. 
 
 4. That the power and authority to impose customs 
 duties, and duties of excise upon goods the subject of cus- 
 toms duties, and to offer bounties, shall be exclusively lodged 
 in the Federal Government and Parliament, subject to such 
 disposal of the revenues thence derived as shall be agreed 
 upon. 
 
 5. That the military and naval defence of Australia shall 
 be entrusted to federal forces, under one command. 
 
 6. That provisions shall be made in the Federal Constitu- 
 tion which will enable each state to make such amendments 
 in its constitution as may be necessary for the purposes of 
 federation. 
 
 Subject to these and other necessary conditions this con-
 
 COLONIAL COMMONWEALTHS 207 
 
 vention approves of the framing of a federal constitution 
 which shall establish : — 
 
 1. A Parliament to consist of a Senate and a House of 
 Eepresentatives, the former consisting of an equal number of 
 members from each colony, to be elected by a system which 
 shall provide for the periodical retirement of one-third of the 
 members, so securing to the body itself a perpetual existence, 
 combined with definite responsibility to the electors ; the 
 latter to be elected by districts formed on a population basis, 
 and to possess the sole power of originating all Bills appro- 
 priating revenue or imposing taxation. 
 
 2. A judiciary, consisting of a federal Supreme Court, 
 which shall constitute a High Court of Appeal for Australia. 
 
 3. An executive, consisting of a Governor-General and 
 such persons as may from time to time be appointed as his 
 advisors. 
 
 On 9 April, 1891, the draft " Bill to constitute the Com- 
 monwealth of Australia " was brought up, and it was resolved 
 by the convention that the parliaments of the separate colonies 
 should submit it to the people of the several states. It was also 
 agreed that as soon as the Constitution should be adopted by 
 three of the colonies the Imperial Parliament should be 
 urged to establish the federal government herewith. But 
 the Bill did not go before the people, for their apathy showed 
 that the country was not yet ripe for federation, in spite of 
 the commendable energy of a few political leaders. Even the 
 authors of the Bill realized this, and parliamentary sanction 
 was not sought in any of the colonies. 
 
 In 1896, however, fresh life was given to the movement, Opposition in 
 and enabling Acts were passed by New South Wales, Victoria, ^ South 
 Tasmania, South Australia, and West Australia. Delegates 
 were again elected by popular vote in all the colonies except 
 West Australia, where the delegates were chosen by the parlia- 
 ment. The delegates numbered ten from each colony. This 
 convention adopted the draft Bill of 1891 as a basis, and this 
 was submitted to the people in March, 1898. It was accepted 
 by Victoria, South Australia, and Tasmania, by popular ac- 
 clamation, but in New South Wales very great opposition 
 was shown, the main points objected to being the financial 
 provisions, equal representation in the Senate, and the difii-
 
 208 THE GOVERNANCE OF EMPIEE 
 
 culty in the way of larger states securing an amendment of 
 the Constitution in the event of a conflict with the smaller 
 states. The Bill was rejected by the people of New South 
 Wales, the statutory number of 80,000 votes not being reached, 
 the voting being 71,595 in favour, and 66,228 against. 
 Tho Common- A conference of Premiers was now called and at this 
 vm ' certain points were conceded to New South Wales, but the 
 essentials of the Bill remained intact and were eventually 
 accepted by New South Wales. The colonial draft Bill was. 
 now submitted to the Imperial Parliament for legislation as 
 an Imperial Act and it was passed into law in July 1900, 
 under the name of " The Commonwealth Act, 1900 ". 
 Australian The Australian Constitution is an unfortunate compromise 
 
 constitution. ^ e ^ ween ^he American and the Canadian system. The desire 
 of the states to preserve their independence was so strong that 
 the powers of the Federal Parliament and Government are 
 badly defined. As in the Canadian Constitution the wise pro- 
 vision for appeal to the judicial branch of His Majesty's 
 Privy Council is made. Here again we see a recognition of 
 the importance of an imperial judiciary. The Constitution 
 provides that the legislative power is vested in a Federal 
 Parliament, consisting of the King, a Senate and a House of 
 Representatives, the King being represented by a Governor- 
 General. The Senate consists of senators (six for each of the 
 original states) chosen for six years. In general the Senate 
 will be renewed to the extent of one-half every three years, 
 but in case of prolonged disagreement with the House of 
 Representatives, it may be dissolved and an entirely new 
 Senate elected. The House of Representatives consists as 
 nearly as may be of twice as many members as there are 
 senators, the numbers chosen in each of the states being 
 in proportion to the respective numbers of their people as 
 shown by the latest statistics of the Commonwealth ; but not 
 less than five shall be chosen in any original state. 
 J!ouse cf The nrs t House of Representatives consisted of seventy- 
 
 Krpreeenta- nve members returned as follows : New South Wales, 26 
 (now 27) ; Victoria, 23 (now 22) ; Queensland, 9 ; South 
 Australia, 7 ; Western Australia, 5 ; Tasmania, 5. Every 
 House of Representatives continues for three years from the 
 date of its first meeting unless sooner dissolved. Electoral
 
 COLONIAL COMMONWEALTHS 209 
 
 qualifications for both Chambers of the first Federal Parlia- 
 ment were those for the more numerous House of the 
 parliament of the state in which the elector was competent 
 to vote. The qualifications of persons eligible for either Franchise. 
 House are prescribed by the Constitution. Every senator 
 or member of the House of Representatives must be a natural- 
 born subject of the King, or have been for five years a nat- 
 uralized subject under a law of the United Kingdom or of a 
 State of the Commonwealth. He must be of full age, and 
 must possess electoral qualification. Since the first Parlia- 
 ment of the Commonwealth was instituted, an Electoral Act 
 has unified the franchise for both Chambers, on the basis of 
 universal adult suffrage. 
 
 The legislative powers of the Federal Parliament are rowers of the 
 extensive, though ill defined, and therefore open to question Common- 
 by the state legislatures ; these powers embrace among liament. 
 other matters commerce, railways, shipping, lighthouses, etc. ; 
 finance, defence, postal, telegraph and like services ; census 
 and statistics ; marriage and divorce ; emigration and im- 
 migration ; currency, banking, weights and measures ; con- 
 ciliation and arbitration in industrial disputes. The several 
 state parliaments retain legislative authority in all matters 
 which are not transferred to the Federal Parliament. With 
 respect to Money Bills, the House of Representatives has 
 special powers, and provision is made for cases of disagreement 
 between the two Houses. 1 
 
 The Senate may reject but cannot amend Money Bills ; it Money Bille. 
 may also suggest amendments to the Lower Chamber. Should 
 the two Chambers disagree both are dissolved, and if the 
 disagreement continues they sit together and the vote of a 
 clear majority decides. 
 
 Any dispute between a state and the Commonwealth is 
 settled by a High Court which is also a Court of Appeal from 
 all state tribunals. 
 
 Each of the state legislatures consists of two Houses, the state parlia- 
 Lower of which is elected by the votes of all adult residents. ment8 - 
 The Upper Houses or Councils, are nominated for life in New 
 South Wales and Queensland, whereas in the other states 
 they are elected by voters holding a certain amount of property. 
 1 " Statesmen's Year Book." 
 
 14
 
 210 THE GOVERNANCE OF EMPIRE 
 
 Australian That Australia has ever been willing, nay anxious, to re- 
 
 impenahsm. CO g n j ze h ei imperial obligations has been amply demonstrated 
 upon the slightest occasion. After the death of Gordon in 
 the Soudan, both New South Wales and Victoria offered 
 volunteer contingents to aid in the Egyptian campaign ; those 
 of the former were accepted, but arrived on the scene of 
 operations only six weeks before the conclusion of hostilities. 
 Although the outbreak of the Anglo-Boer War found the 
 Australian colonies in the throes of the great and far-reaching 
 constitutional change from state independence to federation, 
 yet each state contributed a quota of men, horses, and war 
 material to the imperial army ; Victoria sent 3757 officers 
 and men, New South Wales 6945, Queensland 2756, South 
 Australia 1528, Western Australia 1223, and Tasmania 862 
 officers and men. Apart from the value of these colonials as 
 fighting units to that side whose rights they were upholding, 
 and this was considerable, the service towards consolidating 
 the Empire is incalculable. The South African War of 1899- 
 1902 may with truth be fixed as the date from which imperial 
 federation is to be reckoned ; for it threw together for a 
 lengthy period men from all parts of the Empire under cir- 
 cumstances which strip from a man's character all that is 
 superficial and assumed, and which show him for what he 
 really is, and friendships were made between individuals drawn 
 from the extremes of Empire which are already having the 
 effect of solving the not very difficult problem of closer union. 
 
 Abortive Although the two larger islands of New Zealand lent 
 
 attempt at themselves to separate political government, the circum- 
 New Zealand, stances of their early settlement and the continual menace 
 of the natives compelled the settlers to cling together. The 
 fact, too, that the Home Government recognized it as a single 
 colony assisted in New Zealand retaining its homogeneity. 
 In 1846, however, the Secretary of State for the Colonies, Lord 
 Grey, passed an Act through the British Parliament estab- 
 lishing a new constitution for New Zealand, which divided 
 it into two provinces — New Ulster (the northern half of the 
 North Island) and New Munster (the rest of the colony), 
 each province was to have its House of Representatives, 
 Legislative Council, and Lieutenant-Governor, and in addi-
 
 COLONIAL COMMONWEALTHS 211 
 
 tion there was to be a General (federal) Assembly of two 
 Houses and a Governor-in-Chief to manage the affairs of the 
 whole colony. This is the only instance on record of an 
 attempt to apply the principle of federation to a British 
 colony without consulting the colonists. It would be dis- 
 tinctly wrong to condemn a progressive experiment made in 
 the interests of the colonists of the Empire by the Imperial 
 Government, for the constitution was never tested ; it was 
 condemned before its trial and suspended for six years, and 
 eventually repealed. 
 
 During the preliminary negotiations for the federation of Impossibility 
 the Australian colonies, New Zealand was considered as a ? f i™ 1 " 81011 
 
 lii -i t ln *" c Coiu- 
 
 probable partner m the proposed federal union, and at the monweaith. 
 
 federal convention of 1891 was represented by three dele- 
 gates. Her distance from a federal capital, a marked contrast 
 in the character of her people to that of the Australians, and 
 a keen desire for absolute independence in the handling of her 
 social problems, made the inclusion of New Zealand in the 
 Commonwealth impossible. Isolated in the southern ocean, 
 at the end of everything and the beginning of nowhere, New imperialism 
 Zealand has successfully cultivated a self-reliant character °J ^ e *? ew 
 which has only strengthened the loyalty of her people to the 
 Crown of Great Britain and to the imperial idea, and as the 
 furthest outpost of Empire to this British colony belongs 
 the unique honour of having sent her sons the longest sea 
 voyage recorded in ancient or modern times to take part in a 
 war to uphold the sovereignty of the mother country. From 
 October 1899 to the beginning of 1902, New Zealand 
 sent to the South African war no fewer than ten contin- 
 gents, representing 6513 officers and men and 6662 horses, 
 showing that the adage " out of sight out of mind " does not 
 hold good among the units of the British imperial family. 
 
 The ambition for political advancement is present in New Colony at- 
 Zealand. Although there were no separate states to federate, tained the 
 as had been the case in Canada and Australia, yet that very Dominion, 
 characteristic of the British race which is destined to bring 
 about imperial federation, the desire of advancing still 
 another stage, brought about the promotion in the imperial 
 family of New Zealand. The advancement may be con- 
 sidered but a sentimental one, yet it is proof of the tendency 
 
 14 *
 
 212 
 
 THE GOVERNANCE OF EMPIRE 
 
 Cloeer union 
 ia South 
 Africa. 
 
 Closer union 
 resolutions. 
 
 of the units of the Empire. This advancement was made 
 by Letters Patent, which state that His Majesty the King, 
 in accordance with the duly expressed wish of the New Zea- 
 land legislature, was graciously pleased, by Order in Council 
 of 9 September, 1907, and by proclamation, to change the 
 style and designation of the Colony of New Zealand to the 
 Dominion of New Zealand. The following year the newly- 
 created Dominion increased her annual contribution of £40,000 
 to £100,000 towards the upkeep of the Royal Navy. 
 
 The conclusion of the Anglo-Boer war of 1899-1902 added 
 the republics of the Transvaal and Orange Free State to the 
 British possessions in South Africa. In May 1906, the 
 Transvaal, and in June 1907, the Orange River Colony were 
 granted responsible government, and, as was only to be sup- 
 posed, the first general election resulted in the return of an 
 overwhelming majority of Boer members to the parliaments 
 of these colonies. In 1907 the High Commissioner of South 
 Africa issued a memorandum at the request of certain of the 
 political leaders pointing out the dangers of a continued policy 
 of disunion among the four South African self - governing 
 colonies, and strongly advocating their federation. In May 
 1908, an inter-colonial conference, consisting of three Min- 
 isters from each colony, was held in Pretoria, ostensibly to 
 discuss the readjustment of customs and railway rates. At 
 this conference the Boer Ministers moved the following 
 resolutions as to the closer union of the colonies : — 
 
 (a) That, in the opinion of this conference, the best 
 interests and the permanent prosperity of South Africa can 
 only be secured by an early union under the Crown of Great 
 Britain of the several self-governing colonies. 
 
 (b) That, to the Union contemplated in the foregoing re- 
 solution, Rhodesia shall be entitled to admission at such time, 
 and on such conditions as may hereafter be agreed upon. 
 
 (c) That the members of this conference agree to submit 
 the foregoing resolutions to the legislatures of their respec- 
 tive colonies, to take such steps as may be necessary to 
 obtain their consent to the appointment of delegates to a 
 National South African Convention, whose object shall be 
 to consider and report on the most desirable form of South 
 African union, and to prepare a draft constitution.
 
 COLONIAL COMMONWEALTHS 213 
 
 (d) The Convention shall consist of not more than twelve 
 delegates from the Cape Colony, not more than eight dele- 
 gates from the Transvaal, and not more than five delegates 
 from Natal and the Orange Kiver Colony respectively ; and 
 it shall meet as soon as convenient after the next sessions of 
 all the parliaments, provided that, as soon as at least two 
 colonies shall have appointed their delegates, the Convention 
 shall be considered as constituted. 
 
 (e) The Convention shall publish the draft constitution as 
 soon as possible, and shall, in consultation with the Govern- 
 ments of the self-governing colonies, determine the further 
 steps to be taken thereto. 
 
 (/) In the Convention the voting shall be " per capita " 
 and not by states ; a chairman shall be elected from the mem- 
 bers, who shall have the right of speaking and voting, and, 
 in the event of an equality of votes, shall have a casting vote. 
 
 Strong objection was taken by the British section in National 
 South Africa to these resolutions, especially in the colony Convent, °"- 
 of Natal, for it was realized that as three of the four colonies 
 were ruled by Boer Ministries, the proposed National Con- 
 vention would be composed of a majority of Boers. In Oc- 
 tober 1908, the National Convention sat in Durban, Natal, 
 and as was feared consisted of seventeen Boers and thirteen 
 Britishers ; there were also three British delegates from 
 Ehodesia but they held but a watching brief for their ter- 
 ritory. The delegates from Natal submitted a draft Bill on 
 federal lines, drawn on the principle of the Canadian Con- 
 stitution ; in this draft Bill women's suffrage was recognized. 
 In all respects the proposed Bill was an improvement upon Terms of the 
 both the Canadian and the Australian Constitutions. The A °£ 
 Boer delegates, however, favoured a more unitary form of 
 government and one which had as little connexion with the 
 British Crown as possible. The result was that the South 
 Africa Act was agreed to by all the delegates in February, 
 1909 ; the draft Act created a Parliament consisting of the 
 King, a Senate, and a House of Assembly. The Senate to 
 consist of 40 members, 8 from each of the colonies, which 
 hereafter shall be called provinces, and 8 to be nominated 
 by the Governor-General in Council. The House of Assembly 
 to consist of 121 members appointed as follows : —
 
 214 THE GOVERNANCE OF EMPIRE 
 
 Cape of Good Hope .... 51 
 
 Natal 17 
 
 Transvaal ...... 36 
 
 Orange Free State . . . 17 
 
 The title of the Orange River Colony to be altered to that of 
 Orange Free State. 
 
 The power of Parliament to be supreme, any radical 
 alteration of the Constitution to be made by two-thirds of 
 both Houses sitting together. 
 
 The office of governor of colonies to be abolished and 
 the chief executive officer to be the administrator of the 
 province and to be appointed by the Governor-General in 
 Council. Each province to have its own provincial council, 
 the legislative powers of which are to be limited to purely 
 local matters. 
 Rapid pro- Appeal outside of South Africa is not recognized. On 
 
 greBs of the 3Q iyj arcn the four South African parliaments met to 
 
 movement. r 
 
 discuss this draft Act of Union. The three Boer parlia- 
 ments of the Cape, Transvaal, and Orange River Colony 
 passed it with little or no discussion. The Natal Parliament 
 insisted upon the question being submitted to the people in 
 the form of a referendum. This was done on 10 June, 1909, 
 and resulted in an overwhelming majority for the draft Act. 
 In August of the same year the Act was passed by the Par- 
 liament of Great Britain and therefore became law, and is to 
 come into operation on 31 May, 1910. 
 opposition in The difference between this union of British colonies 
 Natal - and that of previous federations or unions is that the move- 
 
 ment in the case of South Africa did not come from the 
 people themselves. The negotiations were started by the 
 political leaders, and were carried on by them with the 
 utmost expedition and without in any way consulting the 
 people, nor had any of the members of these parliaments 
 been returned on the question. The matter was raised for 
 the first time after all the parliaments had been elected, and 
 it was concluded before even a bye-election had taken place. 
 The papers uncontrolled by either the mining magnates or the 
 South African Boers were bitterly opposed to the methods 
 used in rushing a question of such vital import upon the 
 people without consulting them through the medium of a
 
 COLONIAL COMMONWEALTHS 215 
 
 general election. A very large section of the people of the 
 colony of Natal bitterly resented the attitude of their five 
 delegates appointed by a parliament representing but one- 
 third of the electorate, in consenting to the absorption of 
 Natal by the three neighbouring states. Natal is the only 
 one of the four colonies geographically defined ; its boundaries 
 are natural, taking the form of the chain of Drakensberg Moun- 
 tains or of rivers fordable in few places. Within these well- 
 defined borders is a European population, essentially British 
 in loyalty and ideals, whose characteristics, customs, and very 
 speech is different from that of their neighbours. It is notice- 
 able that even among the educated classes of the Cape, 
 Transvaal, and Orange River Colony bi-lingual speech has 
 affected both languages, and purity of speech is rarely found 
 in these three colonies. But the greatest objection that the 
 British population throughout South Africa had to the draft 
 Act of Union was the fact that it did not provide a constitu- 
 tion for the future government of the new union. It merely 
 provided for the creation of legislative machinery which 
 could at a future date draft such a constitution as a majority 
 determined. The sinister omission of any right of appeal to No appeal to 
 His Majesty's Privy Council has had the grave effect of dis- council^ 
 turbing the confidence of the British population in the future 
 policy of their political leaders. It is looked upon as a 
 radical and dangerous departure from all previous charters 
 granted by the Crown, and is a curtailment of the privileges 
 of British subjects in appealing to the Crown itself. 
 
 The Act by which South Africa is to be governed for the Prospects of 
 future as a union was drafted in a period of four months, nor e n " 
 was there any future preparation forecasted for the assimilation 
 of four administrations, two European races but lately 
 emerged from a disastrous war between themselves, and a large 
 and increasing native population. Over-anxiety on the part of 
 the Boer population was responsible for the hurrying on of the 
 negotiations, and a desire on the part of the Liberal Govern- 
 ment in power in Great Britain to claim the kudos of consum- 
 mating the union was the reason for the Act being rushed 
 through the British Parliament. It is to be earnestly hoped 
 that the future will not bring disaster. Any interference by 
 the Union Government or Parliament with the provincial
 
 216 THE GOVEBNANCE OF EMPIEE 
 
 legislatures whose powers are so badly defined will mean 
 friction between these bodies, and will end in resolutions 
 favouring secession from the Union and the establishment of 
 crown government. Impatience is bound to be shown by the 
 British population at the administration of a purely Boer 
 Government, more especially as the latter's political creed is 
 that the spoils belong to the victors. There is, however, a 
 very large section of educated and enlightened Boer gentle- 
 men who quite rightly enjoy the confidence of the British 
 population. There are men who, given a free hand by their 
 compatriots and with the assistance of British colonists 
 holding similar opinions, can make the Union Act a 
 powerful instrument for the good government of South 
 Africa. The rapid and successful fusion of these two 
 dominant races in South Africa is far from impossible, but 
 for the presence of the disturbing element — the mining 
 magnate. His influence is always great by reason of his 
 money, which is thrown first on one side and then on the 
 other. To-day a section of the Press controlled by him is 
 advocating British ideals and condemning Boer policy and 
 acts of administration ; to-morrow it will be condemning the 
 British and lauding the Boer. This unsettled condition of 
 things has a fluctuating effect upon the share-markets, and 
 millions are annually made by these mining magnates — who 
 are at the same time share speculators — owing to the large 
 fluctuations created by their policy of playing Briton against 
 Boer. Once Boer and Briton come together with the object 
 of governing South Africa upon stable lines, the mines of the 
 country will develop into steady industrial concerns paying 
 regular dividends. The profits would be slow but sure ; 
 speculation, and especially wild speculation, on the part of the 
 public would be killed, the large profits made from a panic- 
 stricken public would cease, the industries of the country would 
 develop and progress, and South Africa would enter upon a 
 period of peace and general prosperity and become as strong 
 a unit of the British Empire as those federations that preceded 
 her by but a few years in union. Can it be that a hasty and ill- 
 formed legislative union containing all the tokens of insincerity 
 and ulterior objectives will yet prove a blessing in disguise ? 
 The earnest desire to draft a constitution may bring the
 
 COLONIAL COMMONWEALTHS 217 
 
 leaders of both races together, and their combined strength 
 should overcome and finally eradicate the Machiavelian in- 
 fluence of the mining magnates. 
 
 The legislative union of South Africa, be it good, bad, orTendonoj 
 indifferent, has united the last set of British colonies. The ^Jj.^ 
 three unions of Canada, Australia, and South Africa have federation, 
 converted eighteen separate Administrations into three Gov- 
 ernments. In the cases of Canada and Australia the tendency 
 has not been to develop towards national independence, but 
 rather on the contrary to lean towards a still closer union of 
 the imperial units. The last union of separate units should 
 have the desirable object of removing the final obstacle in the 
 way of imperial unity. 
 
 We have seen how the colonists have themselves moved 
 steadily and systematically along lines converging towards 
 union, and how in the fulness of time their efforts, or that of 
 their political leaders, have been crowned with success, how 
 communities with less than a century of political life behind 
 them have developed the highest form of political organism. 
 Now, whilst the colonials have been working out their own 
 destiny in respect to their political life, and have been clearing 
 the way for the final union in Empire, the mother country 
 has been working along similar lines as regards those subject 
 races occupying territory which nature has made unsuitable 
 for permanent European settlement. 
 
 The Federated Malay States are perhaps one of the best Crown colony 
 illustrations of the British imperial policy of centralizing ad- 
 ministrations and at the same time giving local autonomy. 
 The four Malay States of Perak, Selangor. Negri Semblilan, Malay States, 
 and Penang, occupying a large portion of the Malay Peninsula, 
 are under British protection. These states were amalga- 
 mated with other states to form a confederation. Kesidents 
 were appointed in 1874 and were aided by a staff of European 
 officers whose duty was to aid the native rulers by advice and 
 to exercise executive functions. The supreme authority in 
 each state is vested in the state council consisting of the 
 sultan, the resident, the secretary to the resident, and some 
 of the principal Malay chiefs and Chinese merchants. The 
 residents are under the control of the Resident General and 
 the High Commissioner. The laws in force in each state of
 
 Islands. 
 
 218 THE GOVERNANCE OF EMPIRE 
 
 the federation are contained in local enactments passed by 
 the state councils. All legislative enactments are submitted 
 to the High Commissioner and the Secretary of State for the 
 Colonies. From any judgment or order of the federal Court 
 of Appeal in any civil matter, an appeal may be made to His 
 Britannic Majesty in Council. 1 
 Leeward Yet another federation of units brought about by the 
 
 mother country is that of the Leeward Islands comprising 
 the presidencies of Antigua, St. Kitts, Nevis, Aquilla, 
 Dominica, Montserrat, and the Virgin Islands. These islands 
 were formerly separate colonies each enjoying its own govern- 
 ment, but in 1871 they were constituted into a single federal 
 colony by Act of Parliament (34 and 35 Vic. cap. 107). The 
 legislature consists of a federal legislative council made up of 
 eight official and eight elective members. The Governor-in- 
 Chief is the president of the federal council. All the islands 
 in the federation excepting the Virgin Islands have local 
 legislative bodies. 
 
 In no period of history has the federal principle appeared 
 so active and so successful as it has been during the last half 
 century in its application to the scattered units of the British 
 Empire. 
 
 1 "Statesmen's Year Book, 1909."
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 THE SUBJECT RACES OF AFRICA AND THEIR 
 GOVERNMENT. 
 
 One of the most intricate problems in imperial government, Difficulty of 
 a problem, too, which makes still more emphatic the urgent f^crTaces. 
 need for imperial unity, is the administration of those sub- 
 jects of the Crown of Great Britain who are still submerged 
 in, or only just emerging from savagery. The intricacy of the 
 problem lies in the different and ever-varying stages between 
 barbarism and civilization found among many of these races. 
 
 The indigenous races of Canada, Australia, and New Zea- Decimation ot 
 land are, unfortunately, no longer to be considered as part of i n ai aDB . 
 this problem. Unable to assimilate with civilization they 
 retired before the white man's advance, and when this was no 
 longer possible they became passive resisters, and pining for 
 the savage conditions contrary to the laws of civilization, their 
 numbers so rapidly diminished that they have to all intents 
 and purposes disappeared from the face of the earth. Both 
 in Canada and New Zealand humane endeavours were made 
 to preserve what were noble races of men. In Canada large 
 tracts of land were set aside as Indian reserves, and the 
 conditions under which those people had lived in the past 
 were adhered to as nearly as possible ; but civilization has 
 its curses as well as its many advantages and blessings, and 
 unfortunately the savage instinct, by reason of lack of dis- 
 cipline and its natural licentiousness, more easily acquires the 
 evils of civilization than the good, and it was thus that the 
 extermination of the Red Indian was accelerated. Genera- 
 tions of abstinence had unfitted the people for a sudden un- 
 licensed indulgence in spirituous liquors, hence this, one of 
 the evils of so-called civilization, resulted in the decimation 
 of the American tribes. The greed of the white man en- 
 couraged the excessive indulgence in intoxicants among the 
 
 219
 
 220 
 
 THE GOVEKNANCE OF EMPIRE 
 
 and of the 
 Maories ; 
 
 and of the 
 Australians. 
 
 Problem of 
 
 the Ne<TO. 
 
 Bantus in 
 Cape Colony. 
 
 natives, and large fortunes were made in the sale of spirits. 
 The mischief had long been done before liquor laws were 
 enacted controlling the sale of spirits to the natives. 
 
 To a certain extent the same thing happened in New 
 Zealand. It would be impossible to find a finer physical type 
 of men than the Maories, yet as a race they failed to with- 
 stand the, to them, injurious effects of civilization. Physi- 
 cally, both the Red Indian of America and the Maori of New 
 Zealand appear to have been well fitted for the reception of 
 civilization. The mental powers, too, of both races were far 
 above that of any indigenous race outside of Europe or Asia ; 
 gifted with sound reasoning powers, their logic was often 
 baffling to their educated conquerors. On the other hand we 
 have a similar disappearance before civilization of the lowest 
 race of human beings yet discovered, the aborigines of Aus- 
 tralia. The aboriginal of Tasmania has long been extinct, 
 and it will not be long before the indigenous race has com- 
 pletely died out on the main island. 
 
 But it is with the Negroid races that the governing class 
 is confronted with the problem of administration. Each 
 year the problem is becoming more acute in the United 
 States of America, and there it must either culminate in a 
 war of extermination or end in the segregation of the Blacks 
 in such an area as will allow their free and untrammelled 
 advancement in the scale of civilization. 
 
 In the country of his origin the Negro presents a problem 
 for his future government bristling with difficulties and pit- 
 falls. In British South Africa, thanks to the suppression of 
 native wars by the British Government, and the eradication 
 of smallpox ravages by vaccination, the indigenous popula- 
 tion doubles itself every eighteen years. To-day the native 
 population south of the Zambesi cannot be less than 
 10,000,000, or, in other words, there are in this area ten 
 Negroes to one European, just reversing the racial conditions 
 existing in the United States of America. 
 
 The Bantu races of British South Africa, being pastoralists 
 and agriculturists, band themselves into small communities 
 occupying very large tracts of arable land. In land their 
 tastes are exceedingly extravagant. Whilst owing to the 
 sparsity of the European population the natives were allowed
 
 SUBJECT RACES OF AFRICA 221 
 
 a free indulgence in their extravagant taste for land, they 
 were easily and peacefully governed. But the gradual en- 
 croachment of the exotic race naturally brought trouble, and 
 numerous wars with the natives ensued. The Cape Colony 
 was the first to adopt a settled policy in the rule of its 
 native population ; large tracts of country were set apart for 
 the sole occupation of the natives, Europeans only being 
 allowed within these native territories as traders, as cattle 
 dealers, and labour agents. The passing of the Glen Grey 
 Act initiated the natives into the advantages of local govern- 
 ment, and had the effect of breaking up the tribal system. 
 Under this Act the natives became peasant holders. Wise 
 government in the past enacted such liquor laws as pro- 
 hibited the sale of intoxicants to the natives. Crime was 
 practically unknown. Unfortunately for the natives and for 
 the future peace of South Africa, the greed of the European, 
 having been held in check for over a century, by moral and 
 good government, at last succeeded in breaking bounds, and 
 to the horror of civilized South Africa, in spite of the strongest 
 protest from the natives themselves, from the magistrates 
 and police officers of the native territories, a drinking Bill 
 known as the Light Wines Bill was passed into law by the 
 Cape legislature, a number of the members of which, in- 
 cluding the Prime Minister, are wine farmers. The good 
 work of a century is wrecked by the sordid ambitions of a 
 few politicians, whose ambitions rise no higher than the free 
 sale of a so-called light wine, freely diluted with their other- 
 wise unsaleable and poisonous brandy. 
 
 The need for a uniform native policy with crown control Need for a 
 throughout British South Africa was sadly illustrated during n °™™°p 0liC7 
 the last four years in the military displays made against the in South 
 natives in the colony of Natal — wanton displays which might Afnca - 
 have embroiled the whole of South Africa had there been any 
 disloyalty to British rule in the native mind. It is here that 
 neighbouring states have a just grievance against those 
 neighbours whose native policy is at variance with their own, 
 and it is in the interests and for the safety of each state that 
 there should be a common native policy for British South 
 Africa. The long misrule of the native races of Natal and 
 Zululand, as shown by the report of and the evidence before
 
 222 THE GOVERNANCE OF EMPIRE 
 
 the Natal Native Commission of 1907, but lately published, 
 emphatically illustrate how dangerous it is to have divided 
 government of the native races of South Africa. 
 Unjust native The European population of Natal has during the last 
 sued byNatal. e ^S n * y ears considerably diminished, whilst, on the other 
 hand, the native population has increased, and the propor- 
 tion to-day stands as one to eleven. The government of this 
 large native population of 1,000,000 was, prior to the Union 
 Act of 1909, in the hands of a white population of at most 
 85,000 ; but it must be pointed out that this native popula- 
 tion was not governed by the representatives of the 85,000 
 Europeans, but by the representatives of a very small min- 
 ority. The effective electorate of Natal was in 1903-06 but 
 15,152 voters, of whom 5424 sent twenty-eight (or two-thirds 
 of the representatives of the colony) to Parliament ; the re- 
 maining one-third, or fourteen members, were sent there by 
 two-thirds (9628) of the colony's electorate. It will, there- 
 fore, be seen that the native population of Natal, Zululand, 
 and Amatongaland were actually governed by but one-third 
 of the voting electorate. As the result of this faulty repre- 
 sentation the statute book of Natal up to 1908 lacked one 
 single Act benefiting the native races, yet, on the other hand, 
 it contains no fewer than forty-seven Acts affecting the natives, 
 but all of a repressive nature. In 1908, however, a Native 
 Administration Act, based on the Glen Grey Act of the Cape, 
 was passed. If the mischief which this unjust native legis- 
 lation may yet bring about, if the unrest which may ensue 
 were to be borne by those directly responsible for it, then the 
 punishment is merited ; but, unfortunately, the mischief 
 affects every part of South Africa alike, and nine-tenths of 
 the Europeans have to bear the brunt caused by the errors 
 of the remaining tenth, without having any say in the matter 
 until called upon for men and money. 
 
 The absolute incapacity of successive Ministries of Natal 
 to administrate for its huge native population brought about 
 a state of affairs dangerous to the whole of South Africa. A 
 condition of things existed which, in view of the political 
 status of Basutoland and Swaziland, affected the Imperial 
 Government almost as closely as it did the colonies them- 
 selves.
 
 SUBJECT KACES OF AFRICA 223 
 
 One of the causes of the native unrest of 1906 in Natal Native 
 was the hasty imposition of the poll tax. The native did not taxfttl0M 
 object so strongly to the amount of the tax as to the term 
 " poll tax" ; this he looked upon with suspicion. It might 
 here be pointed out that the average amount paid in rent and 
 taxes by the native in Natal is far from light when compared 
 with his earning power. Owing to the passing of the arable 
 lands of Natal into the hands of the European (individuals 
 and land companies) three-fifths of the natives have to squat 
 on privately owned land, and this has grown to such an ex- 
 tent that quite a number of Europeans draw their revenue 
 from native tenants. The native pays from £2 up to £6 per 
 hut per annum, and the occupants are limited to four per 
 hut. The average native family occupy two huts, the rent 
 and taxes to be paid are : — 
 
 
 To European Owner. 
 
 Government Tax, 
 
 Hut No. 1 . 
 
 £2 
 
 £0 14 
 
 Hut No. 2 . 
 
 2 
 
 14 
 
 Dog tax 
 
 — 
 
 5 
 
 Wood cutting 
 
 — 
 
 5 
 
 
 £4 
 
 £1 18 
 
 At first sight this does not appear excessive, but under the 
 law of the colony the native tenant is not allowed to seek 
 employment without a pass from the owner of the farm ; the 
 owner is naturally an employer of cheap labour and insists 
 on the native working on the farm. In support of these 
 statements may be quoted a few extracts taken from the 
 evidence given before the Natal Native Commission of 1907. 
 
 Page 761 — Chief Somdala states : " He had nothing but Report of 
 approval for the hut tax. It was, he thought, right that they ^ atal Natlve 
 
 * jr ° ° J Commission. 
 
 should pay tribute to the Government ; they used to do that 
 under their own system of living, inasmuch as, when killing 
 a beast they would take the flesh known as the ' Insonyama ' 
 and deliver it to their chief." They "complained, however, 
 of the exorbitant rental. Moreover, there was insufficient 
 land belonging to Government on which they could reside. 
 Their kraals furnished labour. He did not complain of that. 
 What he did complain of was that all their children should 
 be obliged to work ; even their women were called out, and
 
 224 THE GOVEKNANCE OF EMPIBE 
 
 they too, the men, were compelled to turn out. If only one's 
 children worked he would say it was all right ; there were 
 people belonging to his tribe living on private farms who had 
 no guarantee whatever as to the amount of rent charged ; the 
 rent was constantly increasing to £3, £4, £5, and even £6. 
 
 " Europeans were very impatient as to the rent. If a man 
 was unable to pay, they run off and get a summons against 
 him and the cost on such a summons goes on mounting up 
 in such a way that a man is obliged to go on all his life 
 struggling to pay off that one debt. That sort of thing was 
 worrying them because they no longer had any cattle. The 
 lawyer caused his money to bear interest and he did this 
 even if the debtor was anxious to pay back what he originally 
 borrowed." 
 
 Page 781 — Qobozela (chief Mali) said "he was in trouble 
 because he had no land to live on. He and his tribe were 
 living on private farms, some paying £2, others £3. They 
 had also to render service, receiving as wages 8s., the top wages 
 being 10s. Boys and girls receive 4s." 
 
 It will be seen from the foregoing extracts that the native 
 pays in rent and taxes just as much as it is possible for him 
 to earn by working all the year round for the owner of the 
 farm who is also his landlord, that is providing the rent is as 
 low as £2 per hut, but there are few farmers ■ letting huts at 
 that rental, and it is safe to fix the average at £3 per hut. 
 
 Unfortunately, ever since the European occupation of 
 South Africa, our policy of governing the ever-increasing 
 native population has been one of laissez faire. Whilst the 
 natives are ruled in the Cape, Orange Free State, and the 
 Transvaal with a certain amount of firmness and with a show 
 of justice, yet the fact remains that the lack of a common 
 policy for the governance of the native races throughout 
 British South Africa is the cause of restlessness and suspicion 
 to the native and opens the door to injustice on the part of 
 irresponsible officials or parochial politicians. 
 
 As an instance of the many acts of injustice meted out by 
 officials during the late native unrest, one need but quote 
 again from the evidence adduced before the Native Commis- 
 sion of Natal. 
 
 Page 808 — Gwebu stated " he was a telegraph messenger,
 
 SUBJECT KACES OF AFRICA 225 
 
 and whilst engaged in this work his five head of cattle were Damning 
 seized on account of the action of his chief, Charlie Fynn, ^g^* ° f 
 who was accused of being seditious. A big fine was inflicted 
 on that chief, and witness's cattle were swallowed up along 
 with those of others. At the time of seizure, the cattle were 
 running at witness's home. The people were at first told to 
 pay one beast each, and after all kraal heads, including his 
 brother, had furnished a beast the soldiers came and took the 
 whole of his. Witness considered it unjust that his cattle 
 should be taken from him in this manner, especially as he 
 was a government servant and at the time they were seized 
 was engaged in government duty." 
 
 The evidence, as published, given before the Native Com- 
 mission is a most damning indictment of the misrule of a 
 section of the native race of South Africa by a small and in- 
 capable Government, and it is at the same time the most 
 emphatic plea for a uniform native policy. 
 
 What are the so-called grave difficulties confronting this Solution of 
 native problem that successive Governments are content to franchise 6 
 shelve it as a legacy for their successors ? We are told that question, 
 the most formidable is the question of the native franchise. 
 The Cape with its 25,000 native voters (one-fourth of the 
 electorate) is rightly held up as an example to be avoided by 
 the rest of South Africa ; but does the native want the fran- 
 chise? To my mind it is representation that he calls for, 
 and which, if given, would in itself once and for all solve the 
 vexed question and set at rest the cry for the franchise. 
 This representation might be so given that the native would 
 morally and materially assist the dominant race to work out 
 his own salvation. The form that suggests itself is a council 
 of Europeans nominated by the Governor-General in Council 
 for a period of years, and an elective assembly of natives, 
 elected by a franchise of their own, whose duty would be to 
 advise the council on all native measures ; by making such 
 an assembly elective we should be satisfying once and for all 
 the native clamour for the franchise, and we should be at the 
 same time granting him a voice in his own affairs, keeping 
 him from meddling in ours, at the same time giving him 
 justice ; further we should be strengthening our own position 
 in this country by making him a powerful and active ally in 
 
 15
 
 226 THE GOVEENANCE OF EMPIRE 
 
 our governance of his race, and at the same time find him his 
 proper place in the Union of South Africa. 
 Natives under The Act of Union does not promise any improvement on 
 Parliament. ^e P resen t unsatisfactory administration of the native races 
 of South Africa ; on the contrary there is every prospect of 
 a reversion to the native policy of Krugerism. The drafts- 
 men of the Act of Union appear to have purposely avoided 
 two of the most debatable questions of South African policy, 
 viz. the European franchise and the native question. The 
 troubles of South Africa since European occupation have 
 centred around these two questions. The Act of Union 
 should have placed them upon a sound basis instead of leav- 
 ing them open for future acrimonious debate, and as levers 
 to be used for party government; the Act of Union provides 
 that the native of the Cape already enfranchised shall exer- 
 cise his vote for the Union Parliament, but that only 
 persons of European descent shall be eligible as members of 
 that parliament. On the other hand, it sanctions the native 
 contesting a seat in the provincial council of the Cape, yet 
 the natives of the other three contracting parties, the Trans- 
 vaal, Orange Free State, and Natal are disallowed a vote 
 either for the Union Parliament or the provincial councils. 
 This differential treatment between some 5,000,000 of the 
 indigenous race, strikes at the very root of union. The 
 anxiety of the dominant political parties to secure the abso- 
 lute governance of the whole of South Africa whilst the 
 opportunity existed was so great that the future welfare of 
 the native was sacrificed. Under federation a modified form 
 of native franchise could have been granted for the state 
 assemblies without affecting the principles of federal union. 
 That no serious attempt to place the native question on a 
 sound basis is contemplated, and that the native population 
 of South Africa, outnumbering the whites by approximately 
 eight to one, will become the shuttlecock of party politics, is 
 made clear in the Act itself, for under Section 23 provision is 
 made for the appointment of eight senators by the Governor- 
 General in Council. Four of these are to be " selected on the 
 ground mainly of their thorough acquaintance by reason of 
 their official experience or otherwise with the reasonable 
 wants and wishes of the coloured races in South Africa ".
 
 SUBJECT EACES OF AFRICA 227 
 
 Therefore it will be seen that in a parliament of 161 mem- 
 bers, the native population of over 5,000,000 is but recognized 
 to the extent of four senators, and these only appointed by 
 reason of their knowledge of the native wants. No provision 
 whatever is made for the voicing of those wants. The native 
 is to all intents and purposes as unrecognized as he was in 
 pre-war days in the Transvaal and Orange Free State. It is 
 here that trouble is bound to arise. The Imperial Govern- 
 ment cannot neglect its duty to the indigenous races of 
 South Africa, nor can it sanction a policy of administration 
 which is not founded upon justice. It will be remembered 
 that the policy of might as against right, followed by the 
 Cape Government in the administration of Basutoland, 
 brought about the Basuto War of 1880 ; it resulted in an 
 inglorious peace for the Cape and the handing over of Basuto- 
 land to the direct administration of the Crown. Since then 
 the Basutos, perhaps the most warlike and best-equipped 
 native race in South Africa, have been among the most loyal 
 subjects of His Majesty. The chief reason for this is that they 
 are allowed a voice in their own government, nor have they 
 ever abused the trust placed in them. The natives of South 
 Africa, in asking for a say in their own government, are not 
 asking for that franchise which would give them a voice in the 
 government of the Europeans. Eepresentation, not respon- 
 sibility, is all they ask for. The leaders among them realize 
 that 90 per cent of the natives are yet in a state of compara- 
 tive barbarism and are irresponsible, but yet they would be 
 invaluable in an advisory assembly such as that suggested. 
 
 The government of the native races under the Act of 
 Union as it now stands will bring trouble, for it suggests 
 that they are to be the playthings of party policy. There will 
 be no stability of their political status if any is ever given 
 them. To-day the Head of the Ministry may be a Boer with 
 an innate hatred of the Black. To-morrow he may be a 
 mining magnate who considers the native race as the legiti- 
 mate labour of the mines and will therefore legislate with 
 that object in view. 
 
 It appears that it would have been wise statesmanship had Crown 
 the Imperial Government removed the government of the g overn ™ eIlt 
 
 *„.... , would have 
 
 native races of South Africa from the hands of the colonials been prefer- 
 
 15 * able.
 
 228 THE GOVEKNANCE OF EMPIEE 
 
 for a period of ten years, and during that time created native 
 assemblies, but with no responsibility, elected by a native 
 franchise ; that is, to have extended throughout South Africa 
 the system now in force in Basutoland. But by making the 
 assemblies elective the system would have been an improved 
 one. At the end of ten years South African statesmen would 
 have settled the many grave problems that now beset them, 
 and would then be ready to take over the administration of 
 the native races on the lines laid down by the Imperial 
 Government. This policy would have created confidence 
 throughout the native races in South Africa. With the 
 passing of Basutoland and Swaziland into the hands of the 
 Union will also pass the imperial factor from South Africa. 
 There is, however, an alternative, and that is the serious 
 contemplation of imperial federation, and with it the creation 
 of an imperial legislature, which will number among its 
 special functions the uniform administration of the indi- 
 genous races of the British African colonies and possessions. 
 The rapid increase of the Negro population of the South, East 
 and West African colonies and British possessions : the 
 continual increase taking place among the same race, de- 
 scendants of the slaves, in our West Indian islands is in itself 
 Inevitable sufficient indication that the problem of their good and just 
 the g Ne 6S ro f government can be no longer neglected. There are those 
 among colonial politicians who refuse to acknowledge the 
 working of the law of evolution among these people. They 
 would make us believe that these many millions of people, 
 daily coming more and more in touch with civilization, are to- 
 day and will ever remain in that state of placid savagery which 
 they were in half a century ago, a state that called for no 
 exertion in administration. Yet evolution is doing its work. 
 The returns from the native schools, the increase in native 
 newspapers, the increasing number of native graduates from 
 English, American, and colonial universities, and the in- 
 crease of crime, peculiar to civilization, all prove, what 
 history has always proved, that you cannot keep a people 
 in a constant state, and being a physically fine race and an 
 increasing one, it might just as well be hoped to stem a 
 rising tide as to bar the progress of the native races of 
 Africa. Faulty legislation has in many ways worked evil
 
 SUBJECT EACES OF AFKICA 229 
 
 among these races, especially so where the greed of the Evil results 
 governing class has introduced cheap indentured labour from °e r gg t S g d l ° e gil 
 Asia; a mixture of races has resulted. This in itself isiationaruJ 
 highly undesirable, but as the imported stock was mostly of £ ini8tra ' 
 the criminal and indigent class, a bad blood was introduced. 
 This is especially noticeable in British East Africa and Natal, 
 where labour from India has been freely imported, and in the 
 Transvaal where Chinese coolies of the criminal class were 
 used for the mines. The evil effects of the introduction 
 among a pure-blooded people of a degenerate race has been 
 incalculable, and the misrule which allowed it must be laid 
 at the door of a disjointed system of government precluded 
 by the absence of an imperial legislature from taking a pur- 
 view of the Empire as a whole.
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 THE INFLUENCE OF SEA POWER UPON IMPERIAL 
 GOVERNMENT. 
 
 Paramount 
 importance 
 of sea power 
 to Great 
 Eritain. 
 
 Geeat Beitain and sea power are synonymous. The growth 
 of the British Empire from the most insignificant looking 
 spots on the map of the world is due to seamanship, the in- 
 dividualization of sea power. As sea power was responsible 
 for the acquisition of the Empire, so too has it been respon- 
 sible for its retention. Oversea possessions of England and 
 of Great Britain date only from such time as she has been 
 able to uphold her claim as sovereign of the seas ; when once 
 she fails in this the dismemberment of the British Empire 
 must quickly follow. But the supremacy of Great Britain at 
 sea, besides being essential for the retention of her oversea 
 possessions, that is, those scattered units which go to make 
 up the Empire, is also absolutely necessary for the liveli- 
 hood of the 45,000,000 people inhabiting the limited area of 
 the United Kingdom. It does not call for large expenditure 
 in blood and money on the part of a continental power or 
 combination of powers in an invasion of Great Britain to 
 strike at the heart of the British Empire. It is alone neces- 
 sary to wrest from her that dominance of the seas she now 
 enjoys, a heritage handed down and added to through many 
 generations of Englishmen, and whose most serious enemy 
 has been political expediency. England defeated at sea, a 
 blockading fleet and starvation will do the rest. 
 
 A common error, suffered under by a large proportion of 
 the inhabitants of Great Britain, is that the heavy burden of 
 naval expenditure is due to imperial obligations, that the dis- 
 memberment of the Empire would mean a heavy decrease 
 in naval expenditure. As a matter of actual fact, if Great 
 Britain surrendered every foot of land beyond her own shores 
 she could not afford to give up one single torpedo-destroyer. 
 
 230
 
 INFLUENCE OF SEA POWEK 231 
 
 The daily bread of her inhabitants is solely dependent upon 
 her naval supremacy, and this once surrendered the British 
 nation will be as scattered as the tribes of Israel. 
 
 For the fate of the British Empire, with the loss of her 
 maritime supremacy, we have ample illustrations in the fate 
 which has successively overtaken those empires and nations 
 of the far and immediate past, whose rise and development, 
 like that of Great Britain, was directly or indirectly attri- 
 butable to sea power. In no case do we find that sea power 
 changed hands at a time when the vanquished were at the 
 zenith of their power, the maximum of efficiency had been 
 passed. Either national indifference or political corruption 
 had allowed the fleets to be depleted of ships and men, an ever- 
 watchful enemy was quick to seize an opportunity of over- 
 throwing the until now hateful mistress of the seas, only in 
 turn to meet a similar fate at the hands of an unsuspected and 
 despised rival for what stands for the sovereignty of the world. 
 
 No empire of importance has been built up and kept for 
 any time except by sea power, yet no nation has been so com- 
 pletely dependent upon sea power for its very existence as is 
 the British nation to-day. 
 
 It has been observed by the historian Hume that actions Naval battles 
 
 at sea are seldom, if ever, so decisive as those on land. This a ?" e . of a , 
 
 ' ' .... cisive char- 
 
 observation was suggested by the repeated indecisive actions acter. 
 
 between the English and Dutch in the reign of Charles II. 
 Here we find a famous historian strangely confusing cause 
 and effect. Had he but traced backwards from such decisive 
 land actions as have made or saved a nation, or an empire, 
 he would have discovered a naval engagement which had 
 cleared the way for the land battle which is but the coup de 
 grace of an action fought at sea, it may have been years 
 before. It was the battle of Trafalgar which not only at 
 once secured the independence of England and destroyed all 
 Napoleon's hopes of maritime greatness, but annihilated for 
 half a century the Navies of France and Spain. The losses 
 sustained by Napoleon in the Moscow campaign were re- 
 paired in six months, although 400,000 men perished. But 
 from the defeat of Trafalgar the French Navy never re- 
 covered, and from then the way was clear for British imperial 
 expansion.
 
 232 
 
 THE GOVEKNANCE OF EMPIRE 
 
 Sea power 
 among the 
 anoients. 
 
 Greek 
 colonies. 
 
 Marathon is recorded as one of the world's decisive battles ; 
 but neither this land victory nor the immortal defence of 
 Thermopylae stayed the Persian advance, and when the enemy 
 entered Athens the citizens had fled. The fate of Greece was 
 entrusted to their navy, and no battle by land or sea has 
 proved more decisive than that of Salamis. Did not the 
 result justify the great monetary sacrifices we are told that 
 the Athenians made in making that navy efficient ? Salamis 
 gave the Athenians the command of the sea, and Xerxes, find- 
 ing his communications threatened, at once retreated across 
 the Hellespont. The following year his commander-in-chief, 
 Mardonius, was defeated at Plataea. Salamis had prepared 
 the way for Plataea just as twenty-three centuries later the 
 naval action of Trafalgar prepared the way for Waterloo. 
 The grave danger but narrowly escaped drove home to the 
 Greeks the paramount importance of sea power, and they set 
 to work to organize their fleets. This resulted in the naval 
 confederacy of Delos, a union of the Ionians for common de- 
 fence against a common enemy. It was now that Greece 
 entered upon a somewhat brief career of empire, the in- 
 fluence of which travelled through centuries. The principle 
 that empire must be founded upon sea power was then 
 understood even more clearly than it is to-day, for Thucy- 
 dides tells us that " The reward of her superior training was 
 the rule of the sea — a mighty dominion — for it gave her the 
 rule of much fair land beyond its waves, safe from the idle 
 ravages with which the Lacedaemonians might harass Attica, 
 but could never subdue Athens ". 
 
 Although the colonial system of Greece stands nearer to 
 that of Great Britain than any other which history records, 
 it suffered under such inherent weaknesses as forbade Greece 
 and her colonies standing as an empire or even as a con- 
 federacy of states for any time. Many of the Greek colonies 
 owed their origin to civil dissensions at home. They started 
 political life as independent states, and the bond of union 
 with the mother country was barely one of sentiment. So 
 slight indeed was the tie between one another and the parent 
 state that self-interest often impelled them to war against 
 each other or against the mother country. As it was from 
 the naval supremacy of Athens that the Greek colonies sprang
 
 INFLUENCE OF SEA POWER 233 
 
 up around the Mediterranean, it is only to be supposed that 
 the colonies should themselves inherit the maritime instincts 
 of the parent state, and such indeed was the case. But the lines 
 upon which this developed was the very cause of the Athenian 
 Empire being so short-lived. Each colony, as it developed Separate 
 its maritime trade, was impelled to maintain a navy as a na 
 safeguard to the commerce upon which its prosperity de- 
 pended ; but each navy was independent of that of the parent 
 state, and developed independently of the navies of the neigh- 
 bouring states. Hence we find many of these Greek colonies 
 devolving into states hostile to each other. Whilst the feeling 
 of dependence upon the mother state for naval defence 
 existed there was a bond of union between the parent and 
 the scattered parts ; but so soon as the navy of each state 
 felt itself strong enough to defend its state then the sovereignty 
 of Athens was repudiated. At the very time it was most 
 wanted the political genius of the Greeks, so conspicuous at 
 earlier stages of their history, appears to have failed them. 
 Here we find an empire, not unlike our own in many respects, 
 develop to that stage at which the federal principle could 
 have been applied to the units of that empire. At this stage 
 in development it hung for a short period and then state after 
 state, each feeling that its individual sea power was sufficient 
 for its own protection, fell away, and so adopting an inde- 
 pendent policy developed nationalism as against imperialism, 
 and so they all became foreign to each other. 
 
 Had the Athenian statesmen adopted the policy of respon- 
 sibility for the naval protection of the colonial commerce as 
 well as for their own, had they made by such a policy inde- 
 pendent navies unnecessary, but called for contributions from 
 the colonies either in men or money, and thus built up a 
 strong imperial navy, the units of this ancient empire would 
 have been cemented so closely together that its life would 
 have been prolonged by many centuries. 
 
 That many of the colonies or offshoots of the Greek states 
 desired a closer union with the parent stock, and that they 
 fully appreciated the relationship that should exist between 
 mother country and colony, is fully demonstrated in the de- 
 scription given by Thucydides of the successful appeal made 
 by delegates from the colony of Corcyra to the general
 
 234 
 
 THE GOVEENANCE OF EMPIEE 
 
 pi re. 
 
 assembly at Athens for naval assistance against the Corin- 
 thians. These delegates, in addressing the assembly, said : 
 " If, farther, they tax with a breach of justice your presuming 
 to interfere with their colonies, let them learn that every 
 colony, whilst used in the proper manner, payeth honour and 
 regard to its mother state, but when treated with injury and 
 violence, is become an alien. They are not sent out to be the 
 slaves, but to be the equals of those who remain behind." 1 
 
 At the same assembly these delegates a little later on 
 referred to the importance of sea power in these words : " The 
 bad consequences of rejecting a land, cannot be equal to those 
 of rejecting a naval alliance ; especially to you (the Athenians), 
 who should exert your utmost efforts to let none be masters 
 of a fleet beside yourselves; or, if that be not feasible, to make 
 the most powerful, in that respect, your fast allies". 2 
 Cause of dis- Salamis made Athens mistress of the seas, and the naval 
 GwABm 6 ° f confederacy of Delos enabled the several Greek states by 
 holding the command of the then known seas to ensure the 
 safety of such colonies as were planted around the Mediter- 
 ranean. It was solely due to the sea power of Greece that 
 these colonies ever came into existence, and it is just as true to 
 state that it was due to the neglect of the parent states in 
 retaining in their own hands and consolidating their navies, 
 and thus retaining under a single head their sea supremacy, 
 that the Grecian Empire was so short-lived. 
 
 The teachings, by precept and practice, of that apostle of 
 sea power Themistocles had not been lost upon the statesmen 
 of the Boman commonwealth. In the year 267 B.C., the 
 Romans realized the growing power of the Carthaginians at 
 sea. So engrossed had Rome until now been in developing 
 her continental possessions, that she had been content to rely 
 upon allies and subject races for such maritime service as was 
 required. She had conformed to the provisions of a treaty 
 signed with Carthage as far back as 509 B.C., which forbade 
 Roman ships to sail to the south beyond a certain promontory. 
 Nor could the Romans trade with the dependencies of Carthage, 
 and under this treaty the Carthaginian sea power had grown. 
 Yet Rome had natural maritime advantages, though they had 
 
 Growth of 
 Boman sea 
 power. 
 
 Thucyd. i. 24. 
 
 2 Ibid.
 
 INFLUENCE OF SEA POWER 235 
 
 been neglected. At last (267 B.C.) her statesmen realized that 
 if Eome was to become an empire, the mistress of the then 
 known world, she would have to wrest the command of the 
 seas from Carthage. Roman statesmen anticipated the Ger- 
 man naval policy of to-day as against Great Britain, and 
 immediately set about reorganizing the Navy. Four Quastores 
 classis or port admirals were appointed, one to each port, a 
 vigorous building programme was entered upon, and it was 
 not long before a navy was built able to recover Roman inde- 
 pendence at sea. The navy had hardly been built when the 
 First Punic War broke out (271 B.C.). Historians are apt to First Punic 
 place greater importance on the Second Punic War, and greater 
 consideration is given to it than to the first ; yet the Roman 
 Empire was assured not by the second war but by the first. 
 Here again we find confusion between cause and effect. The 
 battle of Metaurus is accredited by Sir Edward Creasy and 
 other able historians as being the decisive battle which secured 
 the sovereignty of the then known world to Rome ; the result 
 at the Metaurus was only made possible by an apparently in- 
 significant sea fight during the First Punic War many years 
 before. It was the victory of Catulus over the Carthaginian 
 fleet off the Aegatian Islands that gave to Rome the command 
 of the sea and enabled her finally to overthrow Carthage by 
 land. Upon the outbreak of the First Punic War, brought 
 about undoubtedly by the determination of Roman statesmen 
 to overthrow Carthage before she became too powerful — we 
 see a similar determination in Europe to-day — the Roman 
 fleet, now reorganized, was able to cut off the maritime com- 
 munications of Tarentum and to close effectually the Adriatic 
 against fleets coming from Epirus. The First Punic War was 
 a contest between these two powers for the command of the 
 sea. It was a great, occasionally interrupted and prolonged 
 struggle, ending as was but to be expected in favour of that 
 power possessing the greater natural maritime qualities. The 
 victory of the Roman fleet under Catulus decided the war, and 
 gave to Rome the important island of Sicily and the command 
 of Sardinia and Corsica. 
 
 Upon the outbreak of the Second Punic War, Rome held Second Punic 
 the command of the sea. 1 Therefore Hannibal was driven to War - 
 
 1 Mommsen, Vol. I., p. 427.
 
 236 
 
 THE GOVERNANCE OF EMPIRE 
 
 Sea power 
 gave the 
 Romans an 
 immense 
 advantage. 
 
 the perilous and almost ruinous march through Gaul and 
 across the Alps, losing over 50 per cent of his army from 
 privation. Not alone did the sea power of Rome drive the 
 Carthaginian general to make an exhausting march, but this 
 sea power enabled the Romans to transport without any loss 
 a large consular army and establish it on Hannibal's line of 
 communications, 1 and yet another army transported in sixty 
 ships was sent to Sicily. 
 
 Hannibal's communications having been cut, and as the 
 Roman fleets prevented supplies reaching him either from 
 Carthage or Macedonia, he was driven to living off the coun- 
 try, an expedient which hastened his eventual retreat from 
 his threatening vicinity to Rome into Southern Italy. This 
 position enabled him to use Spain as his base ; but not for 
 very long, for Cnaeus Scipio took 20,000 men by sea, defeated 
 Hanno, and occupied both the coast and interior north of the 
 Ebro. Again by naval supremacy were Hannibal's com- 
 munications cut, and reinforcements from Hasdrubal stopped. 
 The next step in this protracted war was taken by the Romans 
 in making a naval base at Tarragona. This confronted Has- 
 drubal's base at Cartagena, and enabled the Romans to carry 
 the war into the Carthaginian dominions. Whilst the Romans 
 were effectually cutting off reinforcements for Hannibal's 
 army in Italy, by means of their sea power, this army was 
 dwindling from losses by sickness and desertion. When the 
 war had lasted nine years the Romans under the younger 
 Publius Scipio made a combined military and naval attack 
 upon Cartagena, and succeeded in carrying this important 
 base. Hasdrubal now hurried north, crossed the Pyrenees at 
 their extreme west, and passed on into Italy with the object 
 of combining forces under his brother. But the sea power 
 of Rome had already told against even the superior military 
 genius of the Carthaginian generals, and the strength and 
 efficiency of their armies were weakened ; for the cutting of 
 communications, the stopping of supplies and reinforcements, 
 and the continued harassing, the naval supremacy of Rome 
 was mainly responsible. The final strategic position of the 
 Roman armies was only made possible by Rome's continued 
 command of the sea. The upshot was that the two Roman 
 
 1 Mahan, p. 15.
 
 INFLUENCE OF SEA POWER 237 
 
 armies combined against Hasdrubal, whilst he was still 200 
 miles from his brother Hannibal. The battle of the Metaurus 
 was fought, the Carthaginian army destroyed, and Hasdrubal 
 killed. 
 
 For more than three years after his brother's defeat 
 Hannibal maintained himself in Italy. It was, however, only 
 the extreme south of the peninsula, the mountainous country 
 of the Bruttii, that he held. 
 
 The sea power which enabled the Romans eventually to 
 defeat the Carthaginians in Spain and Italy, empowered 
 them to invade Africa. In 204 B.C. Scipio commenced this 
 invasion from Sicily. He began the siege of Utica, but was 
 compelled to raise it and to retire to a strong position on the 
 sea-coast where he was protected by the united strength of 
 his fleet and army. After receiving two serious defeats at 
 the hands of Scipio, the Carthaginians recalled Hannibal and 
 the remnants of his army from Italy. 
 
 It has been said by many historians that Hannibal was Hannibal was 
 defeated, not by the Romans, but by the Carthaginian Senate. ' b ® th^Army, 
 This dictum is founded upon an irresponsible passage of Livy, but by the 
 " gnashing his teeth and groaning, and scarcely able to re-^^ y e ° 
 strain his tears," he answered the envoys of the Cartha- 
 ginian Senate : " They call me back at last in plain words; 
 but they have long since implicitly called me by refusing me 
 reinforcements and money ". The reinforcements necessary 
 for him to have taken Rome were in Spain but could not 
 reach him, as has already been shown. Nor would it have been 
 possible for reinforcements to have been sent him from 
 Carthage by sea in face of the Roman fleets which held the 
 seas. It may be truthfully said that Hannibal was not de- 
 feated by the Roman legions but by the Roman Navy. 
 
 Upon his return to Carthage, after an absence of thirty command of 
 years, Hannibal assumed command of the Carthaginian army the sea m 
 
 •> ' ... -ii-i mediaeval 
 
 and marched against Scipio. The great battle which brought times. 
 the Second Punic War to an end was fought at Zama and 
 ended in the defeat of Carthage. The terms of peace fixed 
 by Rome provided for all ships of war, except ten, to be given 
 up. It has been considered necessary to cite these ancient 
 examples of the importance of sea power, as when compared 
 with more modern examples, it will be all the more readily
 
 238 THE GOVEKNANCE OF EMPIKE 
 
 understood that sea power is the only foundation upon which 
 an empire can be built, if it is to exist for any time. For 
 over 2300 years the command of the sea meant little more 
 than the command of the Mediterranean, and it is only within 
 comparatively recent times that the term has had a wider 
 significance.- And it may be as correctly stated that Great 
 Britain was the first, and so far the only power, to hold the 
 command of the oceans. During the Middle Ages we find a 
 continual struggle for the command of the sea going on be- 
 tween the Italian republics of Venice, Pisa, and Genoa. The 
 inhabitants of these states were closely allied in race, reli- 
 gion, and language, yet rivalry in maritime commerce, as was 
 the case with the ancient Greek states, brought into being 
 independent navies which developed antagonisms resulting 
 in a prolonged and costly struggle for the command of the 
 sea. This struggle between people who, strictly speaking, 
 were of one nation, lasted for over three centuries, at the 
 end of which period Venice held the supremacy, but was so 
 exhausted that in 1470 the Turks for the first time equipped 
 a fleet with which they drove that of the Venetians out of 
 the Grecian seas. 1 The naval supremacy of the Turks was 
 short-lived ; the important naval action of Lepanto again 
 placed the command of the seas in the hands of the Western 
 races. Historians appear to have lost sight of the factor 
 which brought about the result of a battle for the supremacy 
 of the then known world between West and East, between 
 Christian and Mohammedan. The discovery of the route to 
 India by the Cape of Good Hope dealt a blow at Mohammedan 
 sea power. The Portuguese swept their merchant ships 
 from the Indian Ocean. This action impoverished the tyranny 
 of Constantinople and the Turkish Navy suffered. It was 
 still staggering under this blow when it met the combined 
 fleets at Lepanto. 
 Maritime To the Portuguese, then, belongs the honour of extending 
 
 p i8t t or f ? f ^ ne sphere of sea power beyond the immediate vicinity of 
 Spain. Europe ; but the character of their people precluded them 
 
 from ever holding the command of the seas. They were 
 the first Europeans to navigate in the face of European com- 
 petitors. The Portuguese, like their immediate neighbours, 
 1 Sismondi, p. 256.
 
 INFLUENCE OF SEA POWEK 239 
 
 were not a provident people ; excitable and of a speculative 
 nature, they were highly adventurous. The attraction of 
 precious stones and metals took them long voyages, and their 
 energies were dissipated. In their greed for gold they neg- 
 lected those very industries upon which sea power depends, 
 and beyond indirectly contributing to the defeat of the Turks 
 at Lepanto, they stand out as a maritime race without a naval 
 battle of importance to their name. In much the same way 
 the Spaniards were noted as pioneers of navigation, as great 
 discoverers, yet Mahan remarks that " Since the battle of 
 Lepanto in 1571, though engaged in many wars, no sea 
 victory of any consequence shines on the pages of Spanish 
 history". 1 It cannot be said of either Portugal or Spain that 
 they ever held the command of the sea. Long before the 
 defeat of the Spanish Armada off the shores of England, 
 English ships had been preying upon Spanish galleons. The 
 mines of Brazil attracted such numbers of Portuguese that 
 it was impossible for the fleets to retain seasoned seamen, 
 and the mines of Mexico and Peru had the same disintegrat- 
 ing effect upon the fleets of Spain. The British and the 
 Dutch, on the other hand, were well pleased to receive the 
 bulk of the wealth of these mines either in exchange for 
 commodities or by seizure on the high seas, either course 
 being an incentive to sea power. That the wealth of these 
 mines was purely fictitious, and indeed harmful to the char- 
 acter of the people, is exemplified by the fact that in fifty 
 years Portugal obtained £100,000,000 sterling, and at the 
 end of that time she only retained £5,000,000 sterling in 
 specie. Much the same condition of things was to be found 
 among the Spaniards — their industries were neglected, their 
 lands abandoned. The previous roads to comfort or wealth, 
 the travelling along which moulds the character of the 
 people, were now too slow. The excitement rapidly caught 
 a naturally excitable people, and in their intoxication they 
 cast aside those national duties the momentary neglect of 
 which diverts the course of history. 
 
 The history of the sea power of Spain is similar in many Their wealth 
 respects to that of Portugal. Intrepid navigators, they ex- w f a B 4 ^ e - prey d 
 tended the field for the Dutch and British to labour in. The Holland. 
 
 1 "Influence of Sea Power upon History," p. 50.
 
 240 
 
 THE GOVERNANCE OF EMPIRE 
 
 Sea power of 
 Holland. 
 
 Dutch great- 
 ness, pro- 
 sperity, and 
 civilization. 
 
 greater portion of the wealth obtained from the mines of 
 Peru and Mexico found its way either legitimately or illegiti- 
 mately into the hands of the adventurous sailors of Britain or 
 Holland, who sought this wealth on the high seas rather 
 than in the mines or pestilential swamps of South America. 
 The sea power of these two nations grew and flourished at 
 the expense of the discoverers and rightful owners, a people, 
 however, who through excessive greed and cupidity forfeited 
 consideration. So obsessed were they with the desire for 
 rapid wealth that they neglected all thought of its defence 
 and security when once obtained. Therefore each year they 
 became an easier prey for their maritime competitors and 
 frequent enemies, the British and the Dutch. 
 
 The growth of the sea power of England and of Holland 
 took place side by side, and the conditions which brought 
 about this growth were similar. England by reason of her 
 complete insularity, larger seaboard, and the character of her 
 people, had an advantage which told in the long run. Yet 
 Holland was almost an island. The sea, broad and deep 
 rivers, mighty inundations only held back by hand-built 
 dykes, made its people essentially maritime. It has already 
 been remarked that the Dutch by reason of the poverty of 
 their soil and its limited area had been driven to the sea first 
 as fishers, from which they developed first into commerce 
 carriers which took their seamen to all parts of the world, 
 then they became a great maritime people, eventually hold- 
 ing for a short period the command of the sea. But their 
 rivals were marching almost abreast of them. The char- 
 acter of these two great naval nations, England and Holland, 
 approximate very closely. The Dutch perhaps lack the fire, 
 energy, the lofty spirit and great aspirations which have been 
 communicated to the British by the Danes and the Normans ; 
 yet they possess the perseverance and industry, the honesty 
 and good faith, the love of freedom and spirit of order, 
 which, even more than their courage and capacity, are 
 destined to give the Anglo-Saxon race the domination of half 
 the globe. For centuries Holland stood, as Great Britain 
 does to-day, a monument of sea power: "Achievements so 
 wonderful, a history so glorious, could have been brought 
 about, in a country enjoying so limited and sterile a terri-
 
 INFLUENCE OF SEA POWER 241 
 
 tory, only by the energies of commercial enterprise and the 
 resources of maritime wealth. It is the merchants and 
 sailors of Holland who have in every age constituted alike 
 in peace and war the strength and sinews of the State. For 
 centuries they engrossed nearly the whole carrying trade of 
 the world ; the vast colonial empire of Great Britain, and 
 the disasters of the Revolutionary War, alone wrested it in 
 part from them during the late conflicts. The merchants of 
 Amsterdam numbered all the sovereigns of Europe among 
 their debtors. All the luxuries of the earth were wafted to 
 their shores by the sails of their commerce ; and the com- 
 mercial influence of a state so small as to be scarcely dis- 
 tinguishable in a general map of the globe, was felt from one 
 end of the world to the other. They have no vines, but they 
 have more wine in their cellars than is to be found in the 
 magazines of Bordeaux ; they have no woods, but there is 
 more timber in their dockyards than in the forests at the 
 source of the Rhine and the Moselle ; they have few arable 
 fields, but they have more corn in their granaries than the 
 inhabitants of Poland consume. More marvellous still, in 
 the midst of this opulence produced by commerce there is 
 hardly a beggar to be seen, nor a house in which there is a 
 brick out or a pane broken." 1 
 
 Strange as it may appear, the commerce of Holland in- Dutch 
 creased year by year during the protracted life-and-deathP lun( ^ ered the 
 struggle with Spain. The close of the sixteenth century saw 
 her mercantile marine the chief carriers between the south- 
 ern and northern parts of Europe. But twenty years before 
 this (1580) the Dutch entered seriously upon trans-oceanic 
 commerce. In that year the merchants of Amsterdam 
 formed an association called the " Company of Distant 
 Countries," and dispatched four small vessels to the East 
 Indies. The reports brought back of the riches of the East 
 encouraged the Dutch to persevere. Several trading com- 
 panies were formed, and in one year (1598) no fewer than 
 eighty vessels, in squadrons of from four to eight vessels, 
 completely armed, were dispatched to various parts of the 
 world. Before the truce of 1609 these various trading com- 
 panies amalgamated and formed the Dutch East India Com- 
 1 Allison, "History of Europe," Vol. Ill, p. 161. 
 
 16
 
 242 
 
 THE GOVERNANCE OF EMPIRE 
 
 Decline of 
 Holland, 
 owing to ex- 
 cessive com- 
 mercialism. 
 
 pany, and although still at war, the sea power of Holland 
 was such that this enterprising company of merchant sailors 
 was able to place settlements along the coasts of Asia from 
 Bussorah on the Persian Gulf as far as Japan. They 
 founded Batavia in the island of Java. This company was 
 empowered by its charter to appoint governors, administer 
 justice, build forts, raise troops and carry on war on its own 
 account. During the twelve years' truce, from 1609 to 1621, 
 the attention of .the Dutch was concentrated even more than 
 during war upon money-making ; consequently the commerce 
 of the Netherlands still increased. This truce had also 
 enabled the Spaniards to develop their mineral resources in 
 the Americas, so that when hostilities were resumed the 
 leading Dutch merchants anticipated great profits from 
 attacking the commerce and colonies of their ancient enemy. 
 Nor were they disappointed. " The Dutch rapidly swept the 
 Spanish warships from the seas and plundered the Spanish 
 coast, and the Spanish and Portuguese possessions ; for Portu- 
 gal remained until 1640 a dependency of Spain. ' ' l But whilst 
 the strong commercial instinct of her citizens was responsible 
 for the development of the sea power of Holland, for the 
 acquisition of her colonies and for the high place which she 
 held for a short period among the nations, the over develop- 
 ment of this commercial instinct was the primary cause of 
 the loss of her command of the sea, the decline of her sea 
 power, the seizure of many of her colonies, and the decay of 
 her mercantile marine. In planting colonies the Dutch 
 never sought an extension of empire, but were actuated 
 merely by the sordid motive of acquisition of trade and 
 commerce. Hence there was lacking in these settlements 
 any principle of growth. Success in their commercial enter- 
 prises made the Dutch more and more mercenary in all their 
 undertakings, and estranged them from their allies, the 
 English and the French. It had been the policy of both 
 England and France, both sufferers from Spanish menace 
 and intrigue, that the United Provinces should be strong 
 and independent. When Spain had withered under the sea 
 power of Holland, France coveted the Spanish Netherlands, 
 and England the trade and sea dominion of Holland. The 
 
 1 Ellis Barker, "The Rise and Decline of the Netherlands," p. 187.
 
 INFLUENCE OF SEA POWER 243 
 
 mercenary and sordid conduct of the Dutch dispelled any 
 scruples those two old allies may have felt in furthering the 
 decline of Holland. When James I, owing to his extra- 
 vagance, found himself pressed for money, the Dutch states- 
 men took a mean advantage of the King's necessity and lack 
 of business acumen. It was proposed to him that he should 
 surrender the three cautionary towns of Vlissingen, Ram- 
 mekens, and Briel, held as security for a loan of 8,000,000 
 florins granted the Dutch by Elizabeth, for an immediate 
 payment of 2,728,000 florins. 1 When James realized the 
 imposition he swore vengeance upon a nation of tricksters. 
 
 Similar mercenary transactions estranged their old allies, 
 the French ; they openly sold arms and ammunition to the 
 French rebels of Languedoc. 
 
 By 1651 the commercial interests of England had in- 
 creased and her colonies in America and the West Indies 
 were growing in importance, and it was now that these 
 interests clashed with those of Holland. 
 
 For England's expansion to Empire it was essential that Antagonism 
 Holland should no longer hold the command of the sea, either Du'tdTand 
 in the militant or commercial sense. The first blow made by British. 
 England was at the Dutch mercantile marine by the passage 
 through the House of Commons of the celebrated Navigation 
 Act, by which it was ordained that goods from Asia, Africa, 
 and America should be imported only in English bottoms, as 
 also goods from any part of Europe, unless they were the 
 produce or manufacture of the countr}' to which the vessels 
 belonged. The rigorous application of Cromwell's Naviga- 
 tion Act and the numerous captures of Dutch merchantmen 
 by English ships in time of peace led to the first Anglo-Dutch 
 war. This war broke out through the accidental collision 
 between the English and the Dutch fleet outside Dover on 
 19 May, 1652. By this time the commercial instinct had so 
 obsessed the Dutch that even their first line of defence had 
 been sacrificed to the spirit of thrift. Peace and economy 
 had in 1647 been the election cry of the wealthy burghers of 
 Amsterdam ; this retrograde party carried the day and suc- 
 ceeded in disbanding practically the whole of the Army, and 
 in 1648 in reducing the fleet from 150 vessels to 40. " The 
 
 1 Rushworth, " Historical Collections," 1659, pp. 1, 3. 
 16 *
 
 War. 
 
 244 THE GOVERNANCE OF EMPIKE 
 
 men were dismissed and technical improvements and repairs 
 which were required were not undertaken." 1 
 
 Upon the other hand, the century preceding the outbreak 
 of hostilities with Holland had been one of gradual but steady 
 improvement in England's shipping ; the conditions of the 
 times called for every sailor to be a fighting man. England, 
 too, had benefited financially and in fighting experience from 
 her constant depredations upon the shipping of Spain and the 
 numerous and successful naval attacks upon Spanish settle- 
 ments. 
 Angio-Dutch Upon the outbreak of war with the Dutch in 1652 the 
 English fleet contained fifty-eight ships of over forty guns, 
 whereas the Dutch had but fifteen of over forty guns. The 
 biggest English ship carried 700 men, the biggest Dutch ship 
 250 men. 
 
 The first sea fight between these two naval powers was 
 indecisive. In May 1652, the renowned Dutch Admiral 
 Tromp was compelled by stress of weather to take refuge at 
 Dover with a fleet of more than forty sail. Although war 
 had not been declared, Admiral Blake, commanding a far 
 inferior force, engaged the Dutch fleet and a battle was fought 
 with obstinacy till night parted the combatants, when the 
 Dutch retired. War was declared in July, and the following 
 month Vice-Admiral Sir George Ayscue with thirty-eight sail 
 engaged Admiral De Ruyter commanding a fleet of equal 
 force. This engagement took place off Plymouth and lasted 
 from four in the afternoon until dark. The English admiral 
 followed De Ruyter the next day, but was unable to overtake 
 him. The next naval battle of importance between these 
 two maritime nations occurred in September 1652 ; in that 
 month the Dutch fleet, commanded by Admirals De Witte 
 and De Ruyter, appeared off the Goodwins. The fleet con- 
 sisted of fifty-nine men of war besides many smaller vessels. 
 The English fleet was of nearly equal force and was under 
 the command of Admiral Blake and Vice-Admiral Penn. 
 The fleets engaged at 3 p.m. on the 28th and the engagement 
 resulted in a victory for the English, who for the two following 
 days pursued the Dutch to the mouth of the Texel. The 
 following month yet another battle was fought off Dover be- 
 1 " Handbuch fiir Deutschlands Seeinteressen," 1900, p. 161.
 
 INFLUENCE OF SEA POWEK 245 
 
 tween the Dutch under Tromp commanding eighty large and 
 fifteen small vessels, and the English fleet of forty ships under 
 Blake. Although inferior in numbers, Blake did not hesitate 
 to attack. He succeeded in maintaining this unequal fight 
 from noon until after dark, under cover of which he made for 
 Dover Roads. It was in consequence of this success that 
 Tromp hoisted a broom at his masthead, indicating thereby 
 that he would sweep the seas of English shipping. 
 
 On 18 February 1653 the English fleet of seventy ships, 
 under the joint command of Admirals Blake, Deane, and 
 Monk, intercepted off Portland the Dutch fleet of seventy- 
 three ships of war convoying 300 merchant ships. This 
 naval action was perhaps one of the most desperate ever 
 fought and lasted for three days ; the Dutch fleet was chased 
 into Calais, from which port during the third night of the 
 action they succeeded in escaping. The Dutch loss in the 
 three days' action was eleven ships of war and sixty mer- 
 chant ships ; 1500 men were killed and 700 taken prisoners. 
 
 The English Parliament now realized the need for the mi- Causes of 
 mediate strengthening of the Navy. By May 1653 the fleet ^f£ h t Je°" 
 was increased to 105 ships, mounting 3840 guns and manned war. 
 by 16,269 men. Much of the success which up to now had 
 been met with in the sea fights with the Dutch was due to 
 the inefficient condition the fleets of Holland had fallen into. 
 " The rule of civilian amateurs experienced in political in- 
 trigue and in wordy warfare, but ignorant of naval warfare 
 and naval administration had led not only to muddle in the 
 providing of the naval material, but to depreciation of the 
 human material." 1 
 
 In this naval war, fought for the supremacy of the sea, we 
 find the two combatants equal in fighting quality, in seaman- 
 ship, and in leadership. "Notwithstanding the experience 
 and bravery of the greatest Dutch admirals the English Navy 
 was victorious, and their victory was attributable mainly to 
 superior administration on the English side." 2 
 
 The English fleet, having been increased, put to sea under 
 Monk, and on 2 June fell in with the Dutch fleet con- 
 sisting of 104 ships under Tromp. The battle which ensued 
 
 1 Barker, " Rise and Decline of the Netherlands," p. 282. 
 "Gardiner, "Commonwealth," 1894, Vol. II, p. 339.
 
 246 
 
 THE GOVERNANCE OF EMPIRE 
 
 Commence- 
 ment of 
 England's 
 maritime 
 supremacy. 
 
 Benewal of 
 hostilities. 
 
 ended in a complete and decisive victory for the English, 
 eleven Dutch ships and 1300 prisoners, including six cap- 
 tains and two rear-admirals, being taken. Nine ships were 
 sunk. The English loss was General Deane, and 126 officers 
 and men killed ; no ships lost. This victory induced the 
 Netherlands to sue for peace, and this was concluded on 
 Cromwell's own terms, which included the sovereignty of 
 the seas. The Dutch yielded the honour of the flag, and 
 agreed to salute English men-of-war by striking the flag, and 
 lowering the topsail. 1 
 
 England's command of the sea dates then from 15 
 April, 1654, for upon that day the treaty between the two 
 foremost sea powers of the world was concluded, and by it 
 England was acknowledged the sovereign power of the seas. 
 
 It was hardly to be expected that two peoples so nearly 
 equal in maritime strength, the one who had humbled the 
 sea power of Spain and Portugal and the other the recent 
 victor, whose interests were continually clashing in all parts 
 of the world with those of an erstwhile enemy, should remain 
 for long at peace. Even though the policy of the two Gov- 
 ernments of England and the Netherlands was a peaceful one 
 the trading companies of both countries were entering upon 
 hostile competition with each other in Africa, in the Indies, 
 and in America. Although the formal declaration of war 
 was not made before February 1665, hostilities had begun 
 in 1664 on the West Coast of Africa, where an English 
 squadron seized several Dutch stations and then sailed over 
 to New Amsterdam (now New York) and captured it. As 
 France and Holland had entered into a defensive treaty in 
 1662, the Dutch claimed the support of Louis XIV. The 
 claim was allowed, but most unwillingly. The French Navy 
 was still in its infancy. French statesmen had not yet realized 
 the all-important part sea power was to play in government 
 and empire. The war was purely maritime and was waged 
 between the two sea powers, the French Navy giving practic- 
 ally no help, although in a moral sense it was responsible 
 for a serious strategic blunder in the Four Days' Battle of 
 June 1666. 
 
 1 The English claim of the sovereignty of the seas was founded on 
 Seldon's " Mare-Clausum," Harris' "Life of Cromwell," p. 264.
 
 INFLUENCE OF SEA POWER 247 
 
 During this war three naval battles of importance were Interference 
 fought. The first off Lowestoft, on the Norfolk coast, 13 Government 
 June, 1665 ; the second in the Straits of Dover known as in strategy. 
 the Four Days' Battle, lasting from 11 to 14 June, 1666, 
 and the third off the North Foreland, 4 August of the 
 same year. In the first and the third the English were 
 victorious ; " in the second the advantage remained with the 
 Dutch ". 1 It is of this battle that Captain Mahan points out 
 the grave dangers of political interference in the conduct of 
 war. He says " a great strategic blunder by the Government 
 in London immediately preceded the fight. The King was 
 informed that a French squadron was on its way from the 
 Atlantic to join the Dutch. He at once divided his fleet, 
 sending twenty ships under Prince Rupert to the westward 
 to meet the French, while the remainder under Monk were 
 to go and oppose the Dutch." 2 
 
 The result was that Monk had to engage De Ruyter 
 commanding a fleet of 100 sail, with an attenuated fleet of 
 sixty. Still he did not hesitate to attack. For two days a fierce 
 battle ensued, at the end of which time Monk made a steady 
 and orderly retreat to the west with the object of falling 
 back on Prince Rupert's squadron. On the evening of the 
 second day the squadrons were reunited ; the third day the 
 battle was resumed with even greater fury, ending in the 
 evening by the defeat of the English. It is stated on fairly 
 impartial authority, 3 that the Dutch lost in the three days' 
 fighting three vice-admirals, 2000 men and four ships, and 
 that the English lost 5000 killed and 3000 prisoners and 
 seventeen ships. 
 
 Two months after this fight, which the Dutch looked 
 upon as decisive, the English were at sea again, and on 
 4 August engaged the Dutch fleet off the North Foreland 
 and completely defeated it, following it to the coast of Hol- 
 land and forcing an entrance into one of the Dutch harbours, 
 destroying the town together with a large fleet of merchant- 
 men. This victory was not, unfortunately for the prestige 
 of England, followed up; but on the contrary, "poverty, the 
 result of extravagance and of his home policy, led him (the 
 
 1 Mahan, " Influence of Sea Power," p. 108. 
 
 3 Ibid. p. 118. :t Lefevre-Pontalis, Jean de Witt.
 
 248 THE GOVEKNANCE OF EMPIKE 
 
 King) to permit it (the fleet) to decline ; ships in large num- 
 bers were laid up; and he readily adopted an opinion which 
 chimed in with his penury, and which, as it has had advo- 
 cates at all periods of sea history, should be noted and con- 
 demned here "- 1 Immediately it was known in Holland that 
 this absurd and fatal policy of economy had been carried into 
 Dutch in the effect, De Witt dispatched a fleet of sixty ships under De 
 Thames. R uyte r to the Thames on 14 June, 1667. He sailed as 
 high as Gravesend, destroying the shipping at Chatham and 
 in the Medway, and taking possession of Sheerness. The 
 fires of the burning ships were plainly seen from London. 
 The Dutch fleet had possession of the mouth of the river for 
 over a fortnight. But by this time both sides were tired of 
 the war. They could clearly discern the policy of Louis XIV, 
 who, though an ally of Holland, had not yet risked his ships 
 in a naval fight. It had become clearly obvious to the Dutch 
 that instructions had been given to the French admirals to 
 avoid meeting the English on the sea, not from fear but with 
 the object of allowing the two sea powers to weaken them- 
 selves against each other. Both Navies were being weakened 
 to the advantage of the growing sea power of France. Then, 
 too, the commerce of both countries was suffering severely ; 
 therefore, after the blow received on the Thames, England 
 consented to the Peace of Breda, signed 31 July, 1667, and 
 which transferred New York and New Jersey to England. 
 Collapse of This peace only lasted for five years. The growing 
 
 Dutch sea jealousy of France was the factor resulting in the final over- 
 throw of Holland. Louis XIV, who had been unable to 
 make Europe accept the conquest of Belgium by France, 
 hoped to induce it to accept the fall of Holland. The Dutch 
 fully realized the grave danger which now confronted them, 
 and they made every diplomatic effort to avert it. But the 
 pride of the British, so grievously humbled at the invasion of 
 the Thames, would not allow them to see reason ; England 
 at the time did not see that the downfall of Holland as a 
 great sea power would mean the rise of France as a rival for 
 the sovereignty of the seas. In January 1672 England des- 
 patched an ultimatum summoning Holland to acknowledge 
 the right of the English Crown to the sovereignty of the 
 1 Mahan, "Influence of Sea Power," p. 131.
 
 INFLUENCE OF SEA POWER 249 
 
 British seas and to order its fleets to lower their flags to the 
 smallest English man-of-war. The French King supported 
 these demands. The Dutch yielded to all these requests, but 
 they realized that all concessions were useless, and they 
 therefore ordered into commission seventy-five ships of the 
 line besides numerous smaller vessels. But twenty years of 
 party government had told its tale ; political corruption was 
 rife. The government had become so democratic that the 
 first essential in defence of a country — discipline — had been 
 killed ; the servant considered himself as good as the master. 
 There was, in fact, no master to give orders. Therefore, 
 when war was declared by England on 29 March, 1672, 
 against Holland, followed the next month by a similar de- 
 claration by France, politicians and people were unprepared. 
 The Army had fallen into absolute neglect ; the Navy was little 
 better. All thoughts, energies, and abilities had been centred 
 upon commerce and money-making ; the first law of nature 
 had been forgotten. The sure sign of the decay of the Dutch 
 sea power was noticeable at the very commencement of this 
 war. Unlike previous wars in which she had participated, her 
 Navy from the beginning acted solely upon the defensive. 
 Although the French Navy had made great strides during the 
 previous decade it was still the policy of the French states- 
 men to preserve it at the expense of the English fleets. 
 
 The Dutch were ill-fitted to oppose the French invasion into France and 
 the United Netherlands led by Louis himself at the head of attacked 
 three divisions early in May 1672. The Dutch had only about Holland. 
 20,000 ill-disciplined men to oppose ten times that number of 
 French troops. Had Holland not been open to this land 
 attack she might yet have succeeded in holding her own on 
 that element of which she had been so completely the mis- 
 tress, for in an action fought off Solebay on the coast of Suffolk 
 on 28 May, De Ruyter had engaged the combined English and 
 French fleets a whole day, and the losses on both sides were 
 so equally balanced that the victory could be claimed by 
 neither. The French had taken little part in this naval 
 action. This battle illustrates how even an indecisive action 
 at sea may have an important bearing upon a land campaign. 
 " The substantial results of Solebay fight were wholly favour- 
 able to the Dutch. The allied fleets were to have assisted the
 
 250 THE GOVERNANCE OF EMPIRE 
 
 operations of the French army by making a descent upon the 
 coast of Zeeland. Ruyter's attack had inflicted an amount of 
 damage, and caused an expenditure of ammunition which 
 postponed the sailing of the fleet for a month ; it was a diver- 
 sion, not only important but vital in the nearly desperate 
 condition to which the United Provinces were reduced 
 ashore." 1 
 
 The land campaign made slow progress. It had been delayed 
 by Ruyter's action at sea, but only temporarily, for the canker 
 of Socialism had so eaten into the Dutch nation that their 
 fleets, the truncheon of sea power, had been starved. As the in- 
 vading army approached Amsterdam, in order to offer further 
 resistance to the invaders the Dutch had to abandon their 
 naval defences. It was resolved that no more ammunition 
 should be sent to the ships. The naval commanders were 
 informed that there was not enough powder for the defence 
 of the frontier fortresses. Two-thirds of the marines were 
 withdrawn from the fleets for land defence. At this time a 
 large English fleet appeared off the Dutch coast with a body 
 of troops on board for the purpose of landing and taking 
 Amsterdam. The people's representatives had disarmed the 
 Dutch fleet, therefore Ruyter was powerless ; but providenti- 
 ally a storm arose which drove the English fleet to sea. The 
 Courage of the Dutch were yet to show that they were not easy of submis- 
 Dutch. sion, when it appeared as if their towns must capitulate, for 
 
 Amsterdam opened the dykes and this example was followed 
 by all the other cities of Holland. Considerable loss was 
 entailed by this course of action, but it gave the country 
 breathing time and enabled negotiations to be continued 
 with the Emperor of Germany, the King of Spain, and the 
 Elector of Brandenburg. By June of 1673 De Ruyter had 
 refitted his fleet, and on the 7th of that month made a deter- 
 mined attack on the combined English and French fleets 
 which had appeared off the coast of Holland. This battle was 
 De Ruyter indecisive. A week later De Ruyter again attacked, and al- 
 defeated the though this is reported as also being of an indecisive nature, 
 yet the result was that the allied fleets had to retire from the 
 coast of Holland for the purpose of refitting. Six weeks' 
 later the English and French fleets again put to sea, carrying 
 1 Mahan, " Influence of Sea Power," p. 148.
 
 INFLUENCE OF SEA POWER 251 
 
 a body of troops meant for landing. At daybreak on 21 
 August, the Dutch fleet/were attacked off the Texel. De Ruyter 
 now commanded seventy ships. The English fleet consisted 
 of sixty and the French had thirty ships. Although De Ruyter 
 displayed remarkable skill, and his sailors seamanship and 
 courage, he retired from the fight at 4 p.m. Captain Mahan 
 describes this as a drawn battle. 1 
 
 According to Campbell in his " Lives of the Admirals " 
 this battle opened the Dutch ports, which were entirely blocked 
 up, and put an end to all thoughts, by removing the pos- 
 sibility, of an invasion. 
 
 On 30 August, 1673, that is, nine days after the Battle Peace 
 of the Texel, a formal alliance was made between Holland concluded - 
 on the one side, and Spain, Lorraine, and Germany on the 
 other. Louis XIV now withdrew his troops from Holland. 
 These were urgently needed elsewhere. On 10 February, 
 1674, peace was signed between England and Holland, 
 one of the conditions being the absolute supremacy of the 
 English flag from Cape Finisterre to Norway. Holland also 
 paid a war indemnity. Holland from now ceased to exist 
 as a sea power to be reckoned with. She had risen to great- 
 ness at home and to empire abroad by sea power ; by 
 neglecting to keep the instrument of that sea power efficient, 
 through ignoring the basis of her creation and existence, she 
 had to give way to a nation whose rise was identical with her 
 own, and whose career up to the present date is parallel to 
 that of Holland. Already there are those sinister signs of 
 neglecting the foundations upon which the British Empire 
 stands. As in Holland in the middle of the seventeenth cen- 
 tury the popular leaders are misleading the people for party 
 purposes, and like their prototypes of those days will be found 
 wanting when their country through their misgovernment 
 is on the brink of disaster. 
 
 The peace which followed the third and last war with War of British 
 Holland did not conduce to the efficiency of the English *jj^ toh 
 Navy. On the other hand, the naval policy of France, French, 
 fostered by the ambition of Louis XIV, was such that by the 
 year 1689, when William of Orange landed in England and 
 James fled, the French held the command of the sea. During 
 
 1 For details of Battle of Texel, see Mahan, " Sea Power," p. 152.
 
 252 
 
 THE GOVEENANCE OF EMPIEE 
 
 Growth of 
 British eea 
 power. 
 
 the period of fifteen months whilst James remained in Ireland 
 the French landed troops there on several occasions, and at 
 the naval battle of Bantry Bay the English were defeated. 
 But no battle can be decisive if the side defeated still has 
 recuperative powers, if its resources are greater than the loss 
 in the defeat. This is illustrated by the events which followed 
 the English Dutch defeat off Beachy Head on 10 July, 1690. 
 Tourville, commanding the French fleet of seventy line-of- 
 battle ships and twenty-two fire ships, engaged allied fleets 
 under Admiral Herbert numbering fifty-six ships. The 
 English and Dutch were completely defeated, losing between 
 twelve and sixteen ships. The French did not lose a single 
 ship. Tourville realized that for the moment the command 
 of the sea was his, and begged of Louis to land a French army 
 in England to follow up his victory at Beachy Head. The 
 King did not fully appreciate the decisive nature of sea power, 
 if all the principles were applied, and he unwisely refused. 
 The recuperative powers of the allies enabled them to take 
 the sea again stronger than ever in the following year. They 
 numbered 100 ships of the line. The French — never a mari- 
 time people in the sense that the English and Dutch are — 
 could only muster seventy-two vessels. Tourville therefore 
 contented himself with serious depredations upon the com- 
 merce of the allies. The next year, however, the Battle of 
 La Hague was fought, in which the French were defeated. 
 In this battle Tourville only had forty-four ships, yet he 
 engaged the allied fleets numbering ninety-nine ships of the 
 line. After this battle the allied sea powers held the command 
 of the sea, their fleets increased in efficiency, whilst those of 
 France declined, mainly perhaps owing to the drain in men 
 and money for the conduct of the land campaigns of Louis. 
 
 The war of the Spanish succession which broke out in 
 1702 does not contain any naval battle of importance. Again 
 we find the two acknowledged sea powers of England and 
 Holland holding the command of the seas and swaying the 
 course of the war. In the early stages of the war the French 
 gave up the struggle at sea, confining themselves wholly to a 
 commerce-destroying warfare. 1 It is about this period that 
 the influence of sea power becomes more obvious. During 
 1 Mahan, " Sea Power," p. 209.
 
 INFLUENCE OF SEA POWER 253 
 
 this war the sea power of England was supreme and made 
 itself the determining factor from this time in European his- 
 tory. 
 
 On 4 August, 1704, Rooke attacked and captured Gib- 
 raltar, the key to the Mediterranean. This is one of England's 
 many supports of sea power. By 1707 the Dutch had fallen 
 behind England in their contribution of ships ; their quota 
 was now barely one-third. In 1713 the Peace of Utrecht was 
 signed. The result of this war marked a further advance 
 of England's sea power, for she had secured Gibraltar and 
 Port Mahan in the Mediterranean, and Nova Scotia, and 
 Newfoundland in America. 
 
 In 1739 war broke out between Spain and England. This War with 
 was the commencement of a struggle between the Anglo- ^ pain and 
 
 00 . . & 1* ranee. 
 
 Saxon race and the Latin nations for predominance in the 
 colonies. Until now the Spaniards had exercised the rights 
 of sovereignty in the American seas. An English squadron 
 under Admiral Vernon sailed from Jamaica as soon as war 
 was declared and captured Porto Bello. Upon his return to 
 Jamaica Vernon was reinforced by ships and a land force of 
 12,000 men. Unsuccessful attacks were then made upon Car- 
 tagena and Santiago de Cuba. Although France had been 
 actively aiding Spain in her war with England it was not 
 until 1744 that she declared war formally. At this time 
 France held Canada and Louisiana, including the valley of 
 the Ohio and Mississippi, and also Cape Breton Island. In 
 the West Indies she held Guadeloupe, Martinique, and half 
 of Hayti. Spain held in America Mexico and Florida, which 
 included practically all of the present Southern States of 
 America, and in the West Indies she held Cuba, Porto Rico, 
 and part of Hayti. England's possessions in the West Indies 
 were Jamaica, Barbados, and most of the smaller islands. At 
 the end of this war the only alteration in colonial territory was 
 the exchange of Louisberg, which had been captured from 
 the French by the North American colonists, for Madras, 
 which had been captured by the French. Beyond strengthen- 
 ing the efficiency of her Navy, this war, terminated by the 
 Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, signed 30 April, 1748, England 
 gained nothing; the questions in dispute between Spain 
 and herself were left undecided. The right of uninterrupted
 
 254 THE GOVERNANCE OF EMPIRE 
 
 navigation in West Indian seas free from search was left in 
 abeyance. 
 
 In 1755 the Seven Years' War broke out between France 
 and England, although not formally declared before June 
 1756. It was upon the outbreak of this war that Englishmen 
 first realized the numerous points they had to protect in addi- 
 tion to their extensive trade routes ; the responsibilities of 
 empire were now borne in upon them. Lessons in the ap- 
 plication of sea power were to be learnt which before the 
 war was over and in the wars to follow were to prove of the 
 greatest value. Owing to the distribution of the English 
 fleets around the coasts of England, in the West Indies, and 
 in North America, the Mediterranean was left unprotected. 
 The French took advantage of this and sent an expedition 
 against Minorca ; as soon as the destination of this expedition 
 became known in England Admiral Byng was dispatched 
 with thirteen ships of the line and 4000 troops to reinforce 
 the garrison at Minorca. Byng engaged the French fleet, and 
 the action fought was indecisive and resulted in the English 
 retiring upon Gibraltar. The French thereupon took Min- 
 orca. Upon the conclusion of the Seven Years' War England 
 was stronger at sea than she had ever been. She had 120 
 ships of the line actually in commission, whereas France and 
 Spain could only muster 109 ships of the line between them, 
 and these inefficiently fitted and manned. On 10 February, 
 1763, the Peace of Paris was signed. This stands as docu- 
 mentary evidence of the value of sea power, for by it the 
 Kingdom of England was raised to a world-wide empire. 
 Under this treaty France ceded to England Nova Scotia, 
 Canada, and the country east of the Mississippi as far as 
 Iberville, also the island of Cape Breton, with the isles and 
 coasts of the St. Lawrence. In the West Indies she ceded to 
 England Grenada and the Grenadines, Dominica, St. Vin- 
 cent, and Tobago. In Africa she ceded the river Senegal, 
 in the East Indies the French settlements on the coast of 
 Coromandel made since 1749. In Sumatra she restored to 
 England Tabanouly and Natal, and she likewise restored 
 Minorca. Spain ceded to England Florida and all districts 
 east of the Mississippi. Not only had England's sea power 
 enabled her to increase her empire by all this territory, but
 
 INFLUENCE OF SEA POWER 255 
 
 it empowered her to make terms on behalf of her faithful ally 
 Portugal, and this treaty provided for the immediate with- 
 drawal of French and Spanish troops from all Portuguese 
 territories. 
 
 From the reign of Elizabeth until the great war in 1775 Causes of 
 England made steady progress in increasing her prestige BU00e8B i n the 
 among nations and in the extension of over-sea territory ; Revolutionary 
 during this period the Empire was growing unchecked. It 
 was left for this war against the European alliance to remind 
 England that not only had the Empire been built by sea 
 power, but for the retention of every part of it sea power 
 was responsible. In 1781 the comparatively small population 
 of Great Britain found itself fighting single-handed against 
 France, Spain, and Holland, and in India an expensive war 
 was being carried on against Hyder Ali ; Ireland, too, was 
 giving anxiety and calling for the closest vigilance. This, 
 then, was the moment seized upon by the colonists of North 
 America to cast off their allegiance to the Crown of Great 
 Britain and to appeal to France for assistance. This great 
 struggle against all these powers was essentially a naval one. 
 Although the sea power of Great Britain was superior to the 
 united maritime forces of her enemies, the strain upon it was 
 such that it could not prevent the independence of the Ameri- 
 can colonies from taking place. Had these thirteen posses- 
 sions been islands the sea power of Great Britain, in spite of 
 the formidable coalition against her, would have been able to 
 have asserted itself to its full capacity. Each colony could 
 have been dealt with separately, and they would have been 
 subdued in detail ; but their geographical configuration and 
 position in relation to each other were such as to preclude 
 the full exercise of sea power. The colonists were not de- 
 pendent for their existence upon sea-borne commerce ; there- 
 fore, its security was not of vital import to them. Nor were 
 there any coast towns of such consequence as their destruction 
 or capture would have any decisive effect upon the revolution. 
 
 This war against the European alliance demonstrated the importance of 
 value of colonial possessions as an aid to sea power. The ^"g^ns 
 West Indian islands were, to Great Britain, in the course of a maritime 
 this war equal to many fleets ; they supplied opportunities of P° wer - 
 port, provisions, water, and shelter. The ships of Great
 
 256 
 
 THE GOVERNANCE OF EMPIRE 
 
 Analogy be- 
 tween U.S.A. 
 and South 
 Africa. 
 
 Napoleonic 
 War. 
 
 Britain were able to be refitted at short notice and with 
 ease whilst the enemy had often to travel some thousands of 
 miles in an exhausted condition to find that succour always 
 at hand for British ships. If possessions such as Egypt, 
 Mauritius, and the West Indies played such an important 
 part in sea power, and were bases upon which the command 
 of the sea rested in the days of sail, how much greater is the 
 importance to sea power in these days of steam of possessions 
 among the oceans that no extraordinary effort is required to 
 reach one from the other. 
 
 We have seen that the only amputation from the Empire, 
 the only check given to a steady imperial expansion, occurred 
 through a temporary failure of sea power brought about by 
 an excessive demand upon its functions. 
 
 It is quite reasonable to suppose that a parallel case may 
 arise in South Africa. History is but a glass by which may 
 be read the milestones of the future. In South Africa there 
 is a large discontented population with strong republican 
 sentiments who would welcome the temporary embarrass- 
 ment of Great Britain and such demands upon her Navy as 
 would leave the coasts of South Africa unprotected. Such 
 indeed would be an opportune moment for a declaration of 
 independence. The inhospitable nature of South African 
 coasts, the unimportance of the coast towns, the vast ex- 
 panse of territory and the warlike nature of the indigenous 
 population, together with the nature of the country, would 
 make conquest by a foreign power or re-conquest by Great 
 Britain next to impossible. The existence, nor even the 
 comparative comfort, of the South Africans is not dependent 
 upon sea-borne commerce, therefore the command of the sea 
 cannot guarantee the allegiance of South Africa to the 
 Empire. 
 
 The secession of the thirteen American colonies meant 
 the diminution of the Empire, the loss of certain ports which 
 in future wars would have been of the greatest value in sea 
 power, and of the future key to the Pacific, the Isthmus of 
 Panama. The immediate ill-effect upon England's sea power 
 was the loss of some 28,000 seamen from the Navy, this 
 having been the number recruited in the American colonies. 
 But it was not long before the sea power of England again re-
 
 INFLUENCE OF SEA POWER 257 
 
 asserted itself. In the great war which followed that in 
 which she lost her American colonies England met the com- 
 bined sea power of France, Spain, and Holland, and for a 
 time Russia, Sweden, and Denmark. Under such apparently 
 adverse circumstances, her sea power physically and morally 
 flourished, as that of her adversaries withered. Had she 
 been a continental country, then Great Britain must have 
 succumbed at once. Her dominion, however, was the sea, 
 and here she proved herself supreme. The war, in reality 
 Great Britain against Europe, for only the smaller powers 
 stood aside, lasted with a brief interlude from 1793 to 1815. 
 Now began the heroic period of the British Navy culminating 
 at Trafalgar. That sea power is not solely estimated by the 
 numerical strength of the fleets, but rather by the morale of 
 the personnel, is shown by the relative strength of the fleets 
 on the outbreak of war in 1793. 
 
 At the commencement of war the fleets were as follows : — Eival fleets. 
 
 Line. Frigates. 
 
 France 86 79 
 
 Spain 76 68 
 
 Holland 28 27 
 
 190 174 
 
 England 153 89 
 
 Balance against England - - 37 85 
 
 But only 115 ships of the English line were fit for service, 
 so that the real balance against her at the commencement of 
 the war was seventy-five ships of the line and eighty-five 
 frigates. 1 
 
 The imperial obligations of Great Britain further lessened British naval 
 the effective fighting power of her fleets. Such squadrons as 
 were detailed for America, in the East and West Indies, were 
 equal, or as nearly as could be gauged, to the enemy. In 
 Europe, on the contrary, the British fleet was habitually much 
 inferior to that in the French and Spanish ports. According 
 to Captain Mahan (" Sea Power," p. 531) : " The safety of 
 England herself and of Gibraltar was gravely imperilled by 
 the absence of these large detachments in the Western 
 
 1 Allison, "History of Europe," Vol. XII, p. 312. 
 17
 
 258 THE GOVERNANCE OF EMPIRE 
 
 hemisphere, to which may also be attributed the loss of 
 Minorca ". But that England held the command of the sea 
 in spite of numerical inferiority of ships from the beginning 
 of this protracted war is proved by the fact that she was able 
 to act on the offensive from the first. The channel was 
 patrolled by British ships, Toulon and Brest blockaded, and 
 the enemies' ships chased from the coast of France to the 
 West Indies and back again, until they were eventually 
 brought to bay and swept from the seas. Then in very truth 
 did Great Britain secure absolute dominion of the seas and 
 confirm the old observation that he who is master of the sea, 
 of necessity must gain possession of the land also ; for all 
 the colonies of the world, in the course of the war, fell 
 into the hands of the British or their allies. " Not a colony 
 remained to an enemy of England at the close of the war. 
 The Americans had entered into it in the hope of wresting 
 Canada from her in the hour of her distress ; but they gained 
 no more lasting result from the strife but to see their capital 
 taken, their commerce ruined, their harbours sealed, their flag 
 swept from the ocean." x Since Trafalgar, Great Britain's 
 sovereignty of the seas has not been seriously challenged. 
 That determined preparation to do so at an early date is now 
 being made by at least one continental power is apparent 
 to all. 
 An Anglo- The public of Great Britain have long realized that war 
 
 isTnevitabl" w ^k Germany is inevitable. The tacit avowal is made by 
 the public of both nations that war between them is only a 
 matter of time ; and the fact that this is so is confirmed by a 
 naval policy but lately entered upon by Germany for no other 
 reason. The British Government's timidity in refusing to 
 acknowledge what the rest of the world fully recognizes is 
 having the ill-effect of a loss of prestige for the Empire among 
 those nations of the world whose respect was won by our 
 forefathers both upon the field and the high seas. 
 
 A Pitt or a Disraeli at the head of the Administration 
 to-day would foresee the calamity which is threatening the 
 Empire and would recognize the urgency of repeating a pre- 
 cedent act in sea-power policy — the destruction of the Danish 
 fleet at Copenhagen. 
 
 1 Allison, " History of Europe," Vol. XII, p. 314.
 
 INFLUENCE OF SEA POWER 259 
 
 To-day Great Britain is in the proud position of being 
 able to declare war against Germany and to rely with con- 
 fidence upon a speedy and successful termination of that war. 
 This, too, without the assistance of those first-class powers 
 whose active alliance is assured ; to-morrow we cannot say 
 that this would be the case. 
 
 The contest in armaments increasing yearly in intensity 
 between these two powers has all the economic evils of pro- 
 longed war. The resources of the people are being drained, 
 and the contest is mainly responsible for that unsettled state 
 of things reflected by the heavy fluctuations on the markets 
 of the world. 
 
 It is to be regretted that Great Britain has not before 
 this profited by the example set her by Napoleon in 1808 
 when Prussia threatened to be of further trouble to France. 
 Napoleon in the treaty of that year stipulated that for the 
 space of ten years the Prussian Army should not exceed 
 42,000 men, that Glogau, Stettin, and Custrin should be 
 garrisoned by French troops till the entire payment of arrears 
 of contributions of every description ; that their garrisons, 
 each 4000 strong, should be maintained and paid solely at 
 the expense of Prussia ; that seven military roads for the 
 use of France and her allies should traverse the Prussian 
 dominion. 
 
 The danger to France, at that time, from hostile Prussia 
 was insignificant compared to the danger of hostile Germany 
 of to-morrow to the British Empire should she be allowed to 
 choose her time for challenging England's command of the 
 sea. 
 
 The geographical configuration, situation to neighbours Parallel be- 
 and history of Japan strikingly resemble those of Great ^^Britafn! 
 Britain. As far as can be ascertained Japan has not been 
 successfully invaded for some 1600 years. From the third 
 century the Japanese have conducted military operations in 
 Corea. As England fought in France and retained to the 
 last moment Calais, so did the Japanese retain Fusan in 
 Corea. Their Navy holding the command of the local seas, 
 persistently ravaged the coasts of China. 
 
 " From the reign of Hung-wa to the end of Shihtsung 
 (a.d. 1370-1567) the seaboard of China was devastated by 
 
 17 *
 
 260 THE GOVERNANCE OF EMPIRE 
 
 Japanese adventurers, who not only raided the coast, but 
 often established themselves ashore in strong positions, from 
 which they used to sally forth to plunder, destroy, and burn. 
 But they never lost their hold on the sea, and kept their 
 ships either to retreat to Japan when their situation became 
 hopeless, or to remove to some other portion of the coast." l 
 
 The Mongols, although they successfully overran Central 
 Europe, were impotent against the wooden bulwarks of 
 Japan. An armada similar to that dispatched against Eng- 
 land by Philip II, was in the thirteenth century sent to 
 conquer this eastern England, with identical results. The 
 evolution of Japan has taken the same lines as that followed 
 by Great Britain. Will these lines converge and then clash 
 or will they remain parallel ? That Japan fully appreciated 
 the lessons left her by previous maritime powers, that her 
 statesmen realized that sea power was a force which when 
 correctly applied will bring the proudest continental power to 
 the dust, is evidenced by the fall of Port Arthur, and that 
 triumph to sea power, the battle of Tsushima. 
 
 1 Clark and Thursfield, "The Navy and the Nation " ; also Vladimir, 
 " The China- Japan War ".
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 DEFENCE IN RELATION TO GOVERNMENT OF EMPIRE. 
 
 An observation often heard in this materialistic age is, Defence of 
 that it is more difficult to retain wealth than it is to acquire ^Fvidual 
 it. There are those ever on the look-out to obtain by fair and national, 
 means or foul the property of others, and it is but a truism to 
 state that to secure intact what one has acquired by one's own 
 exertions or inherited from others one has to be extremely 
 vigilant. Now what applies to the individual applies with 
 equal force to the guardians of our empire. 
 
 The Empire has been acquired by every means of acquisi- 
 tion possible, conquest, discovery, purchase, and exchange. 
 The larger portion was obtained by our forefathers, yet tracts 
 of it have been acquired in our own time. The title deeds 
 are to be found in various quaint forms in the India Office, 
 in the Colonial Office, on the Statute Book of England, or of 
 Great Britain, or it may be only in the form of an obscure 
 notice in the " London Gazette ". Yet there is legal title for 
 every inch of ground which goes to make up the Empire. 
 
 The property of the individual, of companies and of cor- 
 porations is protected by the majesty of the law, and providing 
 there is legal title, is as secure to its owner in whatever part 
 of the Empire it is situated, irrespective of the domicile of the 
 owner. Yet the majesty of the law has its limitations. It is 
 restricted to the power of enforcement, it is only effective 
 whilst it is superior to the power resisting. There is the 
 moral force of law which in the great majority of disputes is 
 effective. Then there is the physical force of the police to 
 support this moral force should it be ineffective. Then again 
 behind these two, there are the naval and military forces of 
 the Empire, among the functions of which services are the 
 enforcement of the laws of the land. 
 
 Now it has been observed that the property of the in- 
 
 261
 
 262 THE GOVEENANCE OF EMPIRE 
 
 dividual is coveted, in spite of commandments to the contrary, 
 by his neighbours, and it is triply preserved to him by the 
 forces of the Empire. The vast estate, the great wealth and 
 the promising future of the British Empire are likewise coveted 
 by other powers, and there is no commandment forbidding 
 this ; but rather the natural law of the survival of the fittest, 
 or might is right, permits the realization of this covetousness. 
 The imperial property is outside of the protection of courts of 
 law, nor could a policeman armed with truncheon very well 
 enforce His Majesty's ultimatum, the equivalent of an Order 
 of Court, when the dispute is between nations. The imperial 
 estate is, then, protected by the naval and military services of 
 the Empire, and the effectiveness of its security, the immunity 
 from question of title, is dependent upon the strength and 
 efficiency of these services. 
 
 Assuming for a moment that a Socialistic Government 
 secured office in Great Britain, and that one of its first legisla- 
 tive acts was to be the disbanding of the fighting services. 
 The day following the dissolution of these forces there would 
 be a distribution of the British imperial estate among those 
 powers strong enough to uphold their claims against less for- 
 tunate claimants. Therefore, whilst banking and financial 
 institutions regulate the money markets of the Empire, 
 stimulate or depress commerce, whilst the various judicatures 
 of the Empire regulate disputes among the imperial family, 
 whilst the legislatures enact legislation for the more efficient 
 government of the people, the whole imperial structure rests 
 upon the power of holding our property — that is, the defence 
 of the Empire. 
 ClaimB of Instead of the possibility of endeavours being made to 
 
 acquire portions of the imperial estate becoming more remote 
 as time progresses, there are many substantial reasons why 
 such should be made. Socialism crys out against differentia- 
 tion among men, providing always that those advocating it 
 are to benefit. They are prepared to take but not to give. 
 The doctrine contends that all men being equal no man shall 
 enjoy more than another or labour more than his neighbour. 
 The advantages of birth, of opportunity, of character, of 
 mind, of industry are all denied, the very laws of nature are 
 repudiated. 
 
 Socialism.
 
 DEFENCE IN KELATION TO GOVEENMENT 263 
 
 Now, whilst the doctrines of Socialism are as yet confined 
 within the borders of countries, each Socialistic party railing 
 against the laws of its own nation and endeavouring to effect 
 reforms according to its lights, it is conceivable that many of 
 these Socialistic doctrines may be enunciated by one or more 
 nations against another. 
 
 It has been seen how Great Britain, by its superiority at Fruits of sea 
 sea, has acquired large estate. One-fourth of the land surface P ower - 
 of the world belongs to this one power. This is held in trust 
 for the subjects of the Empire who are to inhabit it. There 
 are vast tracts of this great estate awaiting population. Great 
 Britain was fortunate in that the period of her evolution from 
 nationalism to imperialism was prior to the growth of the 
 population of other nations beyond the confines of their bor- 
 ders. Great Britain did among nations what pioneers do 
 among individuals, acquired vacant lands and secured the 
 title. In both cases the heirs inherit and in both cases there 
 are those who, through force of circumstances, and lack of 
 opportunity, are discontented and fail to see why one should 
 be more favoured than another. 
 
 Now there are two first-class powers who have come very Germany and 
 late into the field of colonization. The growth of population IXnizSg™ 
 demands that they should colonize, just as an overstocked hive powers, 
 must swarm. These powers are Germany and Japan. Both 
 have come late upon the scene as world powers, only to find 
 the inhabitable portions of the globe divided among the few 
 maritime nations who had colonizing ambitions and pro- 
 clivities. The population of the German states has rapidly 
 expanded beyond the geographical capacity of the Fatherland. 
 To possess colonies in which to retain to the nation her own 
 people, has long been the worthy ambition of German states- 
 men, stimulated no doubt by the fact that Germans are among 
 the most successful colonists in the British colonies. Ger- 
 many has had to be content with the territory rejected by the 
 other colonizing powers, notably that passed over as unsuitable 
 by Great Britain. The oversea territory left to her is quite 
 unsuitable for settlement by European races ; nor are there 
 to-day any portions of the globe not now taken up by one or 
 other of the colonizing nations of the world or by nations 
 that have sprung from these.
 
 264 THE GOVERNANCE OF EMPIRE 
 
 It was a cherished hope of Prince Bismarck that Germany 
 might have acquired the Brazils, and with that object in view 
 the tide of German emigration was turned to that rich country, 
 and to-day there are no less than a quarter of a million German 
 colonists in that republic, the majority of whom still hope 
 to see the Kaiser claiming allegiance from the Brazils. But 
 for many reasons this policy was reluctantly abandoned, one 
 and perhaps the most important being the determination on 
 the part of the United States of America to uphold the 
 Monroe doctrine, and the knowledge that Great Britain 
 would stand by her erstwhile colonists. 
 German At the present time whilst Great Britain only increases 
 
 for'war^th ^er population by 400,000 per annum, Germans increase at 
 Great Britain, the rate of 900,000 per annum, and it is estimated that over 
 10,000,000 Germans have been lost to the Fatherland by going 
 oversea. It will therefore be readily understood that the 
 urgency for the acquisition of colonies by Germany is great ; 
 but how are these to be acquired ? Germany realizes that the 
 words of Raleigh are as true to-day as when they were penned : 
 " Whosoever commands the sea commands the trade and who- 
 soever commands the trade of the world commands the riches 
 of the world and consequently the world itself". She has 
 then a two-fold object in contesting with Great Britain for the 
 command of the sea — the acquisition of colonies and securing 
 the trade of the world. As a trader her rise is phenomenal. 
 The tonnage of her mercantile shipping has increased since 
 she adopted protection in 1879, from 81,994 to 2,256,783 tons. 
 That Germany is making every preparation for the opening 
 of a history of naval glory is obvious to the world at large ; 
 her naval Budget for 1910 is now declared at £22,000,000 
 sterling ; by the end of 1912 she will have completed seven- 
 teen battleships of the " Dreadnought " type, and will have 
 others in hand ; she will likewise have naval bases upon the 
 North Sea, the Adriatic, and the iEgean. 
 
 It is estimated by the German naval war party that Ger- 
 many will be able to contest the command of the sea with 
 Great Britain in two years' time ; she relies of course upon 
 the active alliance of Austria and Italy, who between them 
 would add another ten battleships of the " Dreadnought " type, 
 bringing the fleet of this type up to twenty-seven as against
 
 DEFENCE IN KELATION TO GOVERNMENT 265 
 
 that of Great Britain of twenty. By that time the popula- 
 tion of Germany will be 64,000,000 and that of Great Britain 
 45,000,000. The disparity between these two powers is not 
 what it appears at first sight. In the preceding chapter an 
 attempt has been made to demonstrate by historical facts that 
 sea power does not depend upon the numerical strength of 
 either population or of ships. 
 
 Concurrently with the rise of Germany as a world power Rise of Japan, 
 in Western Europe we have the rapid rise of Japan in the 
 East, a country whose history is curiously analogous to our 
 own ; yet she, like Germany, has come late upon the scene, 
 her rapidly-increasing population is outgrowing the narrow 
 confines of her geographical borders, and a large portion of her 
 people are annually lost to the nation by seeking the means 
 of livelihood overseas. A large number of these thrifty people, 
 whose Asiatic characteristics are diametrically opposite to 
 those of Western races, are emigrating to British colonies in 
 the Pacific ; the proximity to their own country leads to the 
 easy access of Australasia from Japan. It is well within the 
 bounds of possibility that democratic legislation by the Com- 
 monwealth of Australia or the Dominion of New Zealand, 
 actuated by the law of self-preservation, may lead to a contest 
 for the command of the Pacific, and should the command of 
 that ocean pass into the hands of Japan then that country 
 would naturally claim the sovereignty of such Pacific countries 
 as she considered necessary for the settlement of her surplus 
 population and as would secure her power in that ocean. 
 
 We have seen that there are at least two first-class powers Possible 
 languishing for the want of oversea possessions by which to bo°h powers 
 retain to the nation an ever-increasing surplus population, at the same 
 and we have also noticed that both are forging rapidly ahead ime " 
 as sea powers. Now, as the command of the sea has to be 
 wrested from Great Britain before either of these powers can 
 hope to acquire portions of the British Empire, and as both 
 have similar aims yet in no way clashing as regards the 
 colonies wanted, it is but reasonable to suppose that trouble 
 will come from both simultaneously. It is possible, nay prob- 
 able, that the sea power of Great Britain may be challenged 
 at the same time by Germany in the North Sea and the 
 Channel and by Japan in the Pacific.
 
 navies. 
 
 266 THE GOVEENANCE OF EMPIEE 
 
 Disastrous Now, it would have been thought that at the Imperial 
 
 separate Defence Conference, held in London last year, that the 
 colonial danger threatening Australia would have been brought home 
 
 to her and that she would have been effectually dissuaded 
 from squandering her money in the extravagant indulgence 
 of a toy navy. Are these, otherwise fine colonists, so blinded 
 by race prejudice or by self-conceit as to believe that their 
 daily environment which makes them good soldiers is like- 
 wise such as will make them as good sailors as the Japanese ? 
 We might as well expect a Tartar brought up in the steppes 
 to compete with an Englishman at sea as to ask the rough 
 rider of Australia to compete with the born sailor of Japan 
 on his natural element. New Zealand, from her attitude at 
 the Imperial Defence Conference, realized that her security, 
 like that of every other portion of the Empire, depended upon 
 the maintenance of one common fleet for the whole Empire 
 under one controlling and representative authority, a fleet 
 whose command of the sea, whether it be the Pacific, the 
 Atlantic, or the Mediterranean, is never in doubt. The 
 lessons of the past have not been lost upon the statesmen 
 of New Zealand, as apparently they have been upon those of 
 Canada and Australia, and she has intimated her intention to 
 contribute to one fleet for the defence of the Empire to the 
 extent of £100,000 annually and to donate a Dreadnought 
 cruiser. The Commonwealth, on the other hand, has entered 
 upon the policy of founding a navy of her own, a policy 
 initiated, with such disastrous results to a promising empire, 
 by the colonies of ancient Greece. The independent naval 
 policy of Corinth and Syracuse and of the smaller colonies 
 led to war with the parent state of Athens and wars between 
 themselves, which ultimately exhausted the naval power of 
 each and made them an easy prey for Rome. 
 
 The Australian Navy is to be in close touch with the Royal 
 Navy, or, in other words, whilst in full sympathy with the 
 Navy responsible for the security of the Empire it is to be 
 independent of it. The Commonwealth Government has 
 hitherto paid a voluntary contribution of £200,000 per an- 
 num to the Admiralty and in return a squadron of a specified 
 strength has been stationed in its waters. 
 
 Canada has likewise adopted the policy of independence in
 
 DEFENCE IN KELATION TO GOVERNMENT 267 
 
 naval affairs ; whilst she is building her first unarmoured 
 cruiser her probable enemy is completing a fifteenth or six- 
 teenth battleship of 30,000 tons costing a matter of £3,000,000. 
 It is not conceivable that any possible enemy will ever allow 
 any of these baby navies to develop much beyond infancy. 
 The enemy of the future can afford to look on with satisfac- 
 tion at a division of effort which tells in his favour. He sees 
 money, which if expended upon the common fleet of Empire, 
 would make the sea power of Great Britain unassailable, 
 squandered in futile efforts to create colonial navies, which 
 if brought into existence would be attacked in detail by the 
 overwhelming force of an older and wealthier power and 
 absolutely annihilated. The policy of independent navies is 
 only understandable when the possible enemy is likewise only 
 just entering upon a naval policy of independence and the sea 
 power of the future enemies grows together until such time 
 as the one considers itself strong enough to destroy the other ; 
 or, again, in the case of a country independent of sea-borne 
 commerce and able to build up a powerful fleet under the 
 walls of impregnable fortresses ; but one is at a loss to under- 
 stand the reasoning of statesmen and politicians who advocate 
 an independent naval policy for British colonies, and one 
 cannot believe that any naval or military strategist who knows 
 the A B C of his profession can defend a policy which is in similar futile 
 such complete accord with what a possible enemy would re-P° lic y in1778 - 
 quire if asked to map out the disposition of the naval forces 
 of the British Empire to enable such to be the more easily 
 defeated. Now let us apply a test to the independent-navy 
 policy and see how it works, and the test that will be applied 
 is similar to the naval policy of Great Britain in 1778, which, 
 had the enemy been as well informed and disciplined as is 
 bound to be the case in naval wars of the future, would have 
 meant the annihilation of British sea power. In the war of 
 1778 Great Britain distributed her fleets as the colonies pro- 
 pose doing now. She gave up the first line of the defence off 
 the hostile ports and tried to defend all parts of her scattered 
 empire by dividing her fleet among them. " How impossible 
 and dangerous such a defensive strategy is, when not superior 
 in force, is shown by the frequent inferiority of the British 
 abroad as well as in Europe, despite the effort to be every-
 
 case of war. 
 
 268 THE GOVERNANCE OF EMPIRE 
 
 where equal. Howe at New York in 1778, Byron at Grenada 
 in 1779, Graves off the Chesapeake in 1781, Hood at Mar- 
 tinique in 1781, and at St. Kitts in 1782, all were inferior, at 
 the same time that the allied fleets in Europe overwhelmingly 
 outnumbered the English." l 
 Hypothetical Now assuming that Germany, actuated by the urgent 
 need for oversea possessions, is in 1915 compelled to find 
 a pretext for war with Great Britain, and that she has the 
 active alliance of Austria and Italy, and that the allied 
 fleets exceed the British Navy in number and gun power by 
 10 per cent. We will also assume that Canada has been 
 most serious and strenuous in the adoption of her independent 
 naval policy and so likewise has Australia, and that each of 
 these colonies has in this short space of time expended a sum 
 of ten millions sterling (which of course is not contemplated), 
 and for this they have got together a squadron of ten vessels 
 each, including a "Dreadnought" and two first-class cruisers. 
 In the case of Canada these ten ships are to be divided be- 
 tween the Pacific and the Atlantic, nor can they ever unite. 
 No German strategist would let such an opportunity slip of 
 dealing a certain, cheap, and effective blow at British prestige. 
 Whilst the allied fleets were lying safely under the guns of 
 Cuxhaven and Brunsbiittel, and threatening a descent at any 
 moment upon the shores of Great Britain, the British Navy 
 would naturally be concentrated somewhere in the North 
 Sea ready to deal by a decisive battle a fatal blow, and uphold 
 her command of the sea ; the allies choosing their own time 
 to fight would have in the meantime detached a squadron 
 strong enough to annihilate the Atlantic baby fleet and 
 destroy such commerce as possible. The British naval com- 
 manders would not, in view of the threatening attitude of the 
 allied fleets at Cuxhaven and Brunsbiittel, weaken their fleet- 
 in-being in order to save the Canadian squadron (if any such 
 attempt were made it would only add a further danger to the 
 building of these baby navies). Whilst such a naval war is 
 proceeding in the North Sea and the Atlantic, it is possible 
 that by this time democratic legislation in Australia has so 
 exasperated the Japanese that they will seize the opportunity 
 of putting into practice the axiom that " might is right," and 
 1 Mahan, " Sea Power," p. 534.
 
 DEFENCE IN RELATION TO GOVERNMENT 269 
 
 the ten millions fleet of Australia and the Canadian Pacific 
 squadron would, in a very short time, be swept from the seas 
 by the naval-war-tried veterans and " Dreadnoughts " of Japan, 
 We see by this hypothetical case how an independent-navy 
 policy can in no way be of the slightest protection to the 
 colonies adopting it ; but on the contrary such is a grave 
 source of weakness to the defence of the Empire. On the 
 other hand, should but a proportion of the money proposed 
 to be expended upon these baby navies be utilized for efficient 
 coast and harbour defence, and the balance contributed to- 
 wards the Imperial Navy, the hypothetical fleets at Cux- 
 haven and Brunsbiittel would either have to fight the 
 decisive battle against possibly superior numbers and gun 
 power or be bottled up in these ports whilst the mercantile 
 flags of the allies were swept from the seas. Japan, knowing 
 how things were proceeding in Europe, would prefer not to 
 face a day of reckoning with a fleet, which having destroyed 
 the shipping and forced a glorious peace, would be at liberty 
 to sail to the Pacific and operate from well-defended naval 
 bases which, if properly fortified, need in the meantime have 
 suffered but little from the bombardment of the whole 
 Japanese fleet. 
 
 One could understand this policy of naval independence Uneconomic 
 if there were any serious local needs, but beyond the call of character of 
 
 .,-.., . the mclepen- 
 
 pnde and independence, fed perhaps by political contractors, dent-navy 
 one fails to find any " local needs" ; the days of piracy are pollcy - 
 long gone. The commerce of the colonies, whilst on the 
 high seas, is protected by the Imperial Navy and ever will be. 
 Nor is there the call of a seafaring population in these 
 colonies for naval employment. Then the question arises as 
 to how these baby navies are to be manned. Especially is 
 this the case with Australia. In both Canada and Australia 
 every inducement is being held out to attract emigrants to 
 these colonies to develop industry and agriculture. Can 
 these men be spared from the land to take up a seafaring life 
 foreign to them ; even in Great Britain owing to the changed 
 conditions of life, this very difficulty of manning the fleet is 
 becoming a serious problem. In this respect Great Britain 
 is neglecting the opportunity of turning to the advantage of 
 imperial defence the naval proclivities of certain of her
 
 270 THE GOVERNANCE OF EMPIRE 
 
 colonists, notably those of Newfoundland and the Falklands. 
 In all of our colonies are to be found, in small numbers, men 
 and youths anxious and suitable for a naval career, but in 
 the case of no single colony would there be sufficient to man 
 an independent navy even of the "baby" type. Yet when 
 collected together for an Imperial Navy they would make a 
 very considerable difference to the strength of that Navy. 
 Apart from the serious loss of efficiency in imperial defence 
 there is a considerable economic waste in the " baby "-navy 
 policy of the colonies. In Australia, where the demand for 
 labour exceeds the supply, naturally the wages are high. In 
 the United States of America similar economic conditions 
 prevail and the manning of her fleets has always been difficult 
 and costly. In this year's estimate for the Navy of the United 
 States the average rate of pay works out at £121 16s. Id., or 
 almost double that of Great Britain, which for the same year 
 works out at an average of £63 16s. 7d. It will, therefore, be 
 seen that an Imperial Navy would be able to secure for at least 
 the same annual expenditure two efficient seamen for every 
 cowboy or roughrider secured for service with the " baby " 
 navies. 
 World's naval According to an interesting admiralty memorandum just 
 expenditure. prepared we find that f or this year a mat ter of £121,000,000 
 
 is being spent on the navies of the seven leading naval 
 powers, or approximately 20 per cent more than the total 
 gold output of the world for the same period. The naval 
 votes of these seven powers are : — 
 
 Great Britain £35,142,700 
 
 United States - 28,778,777 
 
 Germany 19,538,188 
 
 France ------ 13,353,825 
 
 Russia - 10,028,831 
 
 Japan 7,202,823 
 
 Italy 6,755,291 
 
 £120,800,435 
 And the drain upon the taxpayer continues. No wonder the 
 question is so often asked, Can war be worse than this ? The 
 Imperial Defence Conference had an opportunity of insisting 
 upon a halt being made in this ruinous expenditure, for had 
 each of the colonies frankly admitted that the existence of
 
 DEFENCE IN EELATION TO GOVEKNMENT 271 
 
 the Empire, the security of commerce depended upon a 
 strong Imperial Navy, and had the delegates on behalf of 
 their colonies subscribed to this, Great Britain would have 
 been in a position to have insisted upon at least the limit in 
 shipbuilding being fixed. 
 
 The British Empire enjoys natural advantages which if Natural ad- 
 made use of must always give her the lead in sea power. A ^British 
 proper organization of our imperial defence resources would Empire, 
 transfer from the shoulders of the British taxpayer every 
 penny levied for military service and place it on the shoulders 
 of the colonial, leaving the British taxpayer free to compete 
 with the German, who would be heavily handicapped by an 
 Army costing three millions more per annum than the British 
 Navy for this year. The colonies would have the satisfac- colonies 
 tion of knowing that the sea was absolutely part of the should bear 
 Empire held by unassailable fleets. The burden upon their f military 8 
 own shoulders would be light and of a congenial nature, for def ence. 
 the daily calling of the average colonial is such as makes 
 him two-thirds a soldier. Then, too, the disposition of these 
 troops would be convenient. For service in India colonial 
 brigades would be drawn with ease from Australia and 
 South Africa. 
 
 Australia has fallen into line with Canada in adopting a Australian 
 Militia Act which will bring into being a respectable Army and Arm y- 
 will make her a formidable opponent on land. The Act pro- 
 vides for compulsory physical training for all boys from 
 twelve to fourteen years of age ; military training from four- 
 teen to eighteen years of age ; field and camp work from 
 eighteen to twenty years of age. When complete the scheme 
 will give (1) a military force 30,000 strong ; (2) a reserve of 
 80,000 trained men ; and (3) a rifle club reserve of 60,000 — a 
 total of 200,000 more or less effectively trained soldiers. The 
 first line, capable of being immediately mobilized, will be 
 48,500 strong. All male citizens between eighteen and sixty 
 years will be liable for service in time of war. Arms, train- 
 ing and equipment are to be the same as over the rest of the 
 Empire, thus complying with the resolution adopted at the 
 Defence Conference to "standardize" the defence forces of 
 the British Empire. The cost of the land defence when 
 the scheme is completed is estimated to be £1,742,000 per
 
 272 THE GOVERNANCE OF EMPIRE 
 
 annum and the naval defence at £750,000. The Defence Bill, 
 therefore, of the Australian Commonwealth will amount to 
 £2,500,000 or an average of 10s. 6d. per head of the popula- 
 tion. 
 Navy is the In no war of any magnitude outside of India, in which 
 
 defenceand ^e Empire would be involved, would the initial work be 
 offence. undertaken by an army. The first blows would have to be 
 
 struck by the Imperial Navy. If it became apparent that the 
 heavy blows struck by an efficient navy needed to be followed 
 up by the landing of an invading force, then those would be 
 mobilized in that colony nearest the scene of action. If in 
 Europe, Canada could throw in an army corps which if neces- 
 sity called would be promptly followed by others from India, 
 Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. It must ever be 
 borne in mind that as the first line of the Empire's defence 
 is the Navy, she is in the happy and unique position of being 
 able to choose her own time and place for making an invasion 
 of an enemy's country, and she is therefore able to quarter 
 her armies in such parts of the imperial domain as are most 
 convenient for her either economically or strategically. 
 Inertia of the There is one thing which strikes the foreigner as in- 
 excusable in regard to the British Empire and that is the 
 waste of our resources of defence. There is no co-ordination, 
 and it is perhaps the fact that this lack of organization 
 has been continuing year after year that has forced the 
 Canadian and Australian Governments to adopt the course 
 of independence in naval questions. Englishmen are pro- 
 verbially conservative, and none so conservative in their 
 attitude to the colonists as the Liberals. This was realized 
 at the Defence Conference of 1909. Many colonials had anti- 
 cipated the creation of an Imperial Defence Council which 
 would have been responsible for the organization of the im- 
 perial defence forces including the Imperial Navy and for the 
 fortification of those numerous imperial possessions which, 
 situated in various seas in strategic positions, would not only 
 economically but tremendously increase our sea power. It 
 had been confidently hoped that the larger self-governing 
 colonies would have been permanently represented upon this 
 Defence Council. It therefore came as a disappointment to 
 many to find that the Liberal Government was far too con- 
 
 British 
 
 Government.
 
 DEFENCE IN RELATION TO GOVERNMENT 273 
 
 servative to allow these growing nations to assist in the 
 organization of the Empire's resources. 
 
 The foundation of imperial federation is an Imperial An Imperial 
 Navy as the first line of defence and offence, with an Imperial fou^tionof 
 Army as the second, or auxiliary line of offence. Unless this imperial 
 is realized by the component parts of the Empire it is useless e era lon ' 
 to theorize on the ease with which federation or even a closer 
 union between the imperial family may be brought about, for 
 if independent naval and military policies are adopted by the 
 colonies there must set in a decay of the Empire, inasmuch as 
 each part must grow estranged from the others. National 
 affairs will grow of greater importance than imperial ques- 
 tions, international questions between what were once colonies 
 of the same empire will arise and bitterness follow, and the 
 history of ancient Greece be repeated in detail. Who is to 
 take the place of Rome ? Will it be Germany or Japan ? 
 
 18
 
 CHAPTEE XIII. 
 
 IMPERIAL COMMUNICATIONS. 
 
 Arteries and Under this head we have to consider those great ocean 
 fmperia/ the highways which, like arteries in the human body, carry along 
 organism. them the means of life from the heart of the Empire to each 
 extremity. We also have to consider the means by which 
 one part of the Empire is made cognizant within the space of 
 a few minutes of the doings of another part. 
 Britain's food One evil effect that free imports have had upon the Empire 
 supply- m general, and Great Britain in particular, has been to 
 
 greatly increase the responsibility of keeping open certain of 
 the main trade routes by which the United Kingdom is to be 
 fed. To-day, nine out of every ten loaves consumed in Great 
 Britain are imported from oversea. Yet there are waste lands 
 in the British Isles upon which to grow sufficient wheat to 
 feed with ease the forty-five millions of people. Unfortunately 
 a very large proportion of the corn imported into Great 
 Britain is brought from foreign countries, principally from 
 Bussia, the United States, and the Argentine, although it is 
 pleasing to discover that Canada is each year increasing her 
 export of corn to England, and within a very short time it is 
 possible that she will supply the mother country with all her 
 imported corn. It will greatly simplify the problem of im- 
 perial defence if this is so, for the greatest difficulty in the 
 solution of the problem is the feeding of the inhabitants of 
 the mother country. A good Government always makes the 
 security and welfare of the people its first care. In the case 
 of Great Britain, where a stoppage for four months of the 
 import of corn would mean starvation for the forty-five mil- 
 lions of inhabitants, the question is one of primary importance. 
 There would be little use for old age pensions if bread could 
 not be purchased for love or money. No scheme for imperial 
 
 274
 
 IMPERIAL COMMUNICATIONS 275 
 
 government can be complete which does not provide for the 
 uninterrupted importation of wheat in the time of peace or 
 war. But for the welfare of the people, the Administration 
 should go further and should endeavour to keep the price of 
 corn from undergoing those heavy fluctuations which caused 
 so much distress and latent discontent during the period from 
 1775 to 1813. During this period the price of corn rose from 
 51s. 3£d. per quarter to 126s. 6d. The imperial communica- 
 tions must not only be kept intact, but so secure as to ensure 
 the means of livelihood to all classes. Every Is. per quarter 
 over 28s. that wheat rises, represents a percentage of starving 
 people, unless, of course, a corresponding rise in earnings 
 occur. 
 
 The first trade route we will now consider is the one by 
 which the British Isles would be mainly sustained in the 
 event of a war in which the command of the sea was to be 
 challenged, and this is the one which lies between Plymouth 
 and Newfoundland. The distance is 1910 nautical miles. 
 Nor is this route threatened by cover for the enemy, whilst it 
 is the shortest and most direct route along which the United 
 Kingdom would, in time of war, draw its sustenance. It is at 
 the same time the most open and the one which lends itself 
 to the most efficient and economical defence. 
 
 By a glance at the map, one is at once impressed with the British coal- 
 many compensating advantages meted out to the British ing statl0ns - 
 Empire. Whilst we find that the heart of the Empire (Great 
 Britain) is weak and vulnerable owing to the fact that it does 
 not sustain, from its own soil, its population, we note that the 
 first wheat-producing country in the world is in her possession, 
 and is geographically her nearest colony, and that the communi- 
 cation between the mother country and the colony is easy to 
 keep open ; only one flank being threatened by possible 
 enemies. Then again it is a remarkable and noteworthy fact 
 that along every line of communication between the mother 
 country and her most distant possessions, there are ports of call 
 which are themselves parts of the Empire and the importance 
 of which has increased a hundredfold with the advent of 
 steam and the necessity of coal as a means of propulsion. Our 
 enemies might say with perfect truth, that the British Empire 
 has been laid out with diabolical cleverness, for its designers 
 
 18*
 
 276 THE GOVEENANCE OF EMPIRE 
 
 appear to have seized every point of vantage upon every 
 possible line of communication. We will take as an example 
 the route from Plymouth to Wellington, New Zealand, one of 
 the outposts of the Empire, the distance via Suez being 12,110 
 nautical miles. 1050 miles from Plymouth is the British 
 imperial fortress of Gibraltar, guarding the entrance of the 
 Mediterranean. Situated in the very centre of this sea, a 
 further 980 miles, is Malta, heavily fortified. Yet another 
 940 miles brings us to the end of the Mediterranean, Port 
 Said, the entrance to the Suez Canal. This runs through 
 British territory to essentially a British-owned sea. Across 
 this, along the Red Sea to Aden, is a further 1310 miles. From 
 here we pass the British possessions, potential coaling fortified 
 stations of Socotra and Maldive to Colombo, a distance of 
 2130 miles. From here to Keeling Island is 1700 miles. A 
 further 1700 miles brings us to King George's Sound. From 
 here to Melbourne is 1200 and from Melbourne to Wellington 
 1470. 
 
 When we speculate on the advantages that may be derived 
 from the construction of the Panama Canal, the forethought 
 of the architects of the British Empire is again borne in upon 
 us, for we find that our West Indian Islands stretch them- 
 selves as a natural barrier across the Caribbean Sea, giving to 
 Great Britain the key to the Panama. Her sea power here 
 rests on well-fortified bases, making it difficult for the line of 
 communication to be closed against her by any other power 
 than the United States. We find also that the two great 
 geographical features of the globe are also commanded by 
 British possessions. One, the Cape of Good Hope, is a British 
 colony and heavily fortified, the other, Cape Horn, is com- 
 manded by the Falkland Islands. The trade routes or lines 
 of communication which round these capes are therefore 
 under British surveillance. And whilst we find those imperial 
 communications which traverse inland seas or lie along the 
 coast lines of the world, linked at convenient spaces by British 
 possessions, we further find that such lines of communication 
 as lie out in the ocean are even more conveniently provided 
 with British harbours of refuge. The numerous islands in the 
 Pacific varying in size, belonging to Great Britain, will spring 
 into great importance with the completion of the Panama
 
 IMPERIAL COMMUNICATIONS 277 
 
 Canal. In the Indian Ocean such islands as are most con- 
 veniently placed along trade routes either from the Cape to 
 Australia or to India are in the possession of Great Britain. 
 
 It has been shown in Chapter XI that the security of 
 these trade routes or lines of communication rests upon sea 
 power, but it must be borne in mind that sea power depends 
 upon coal. Therefore, the power possessing the greatest 
 number of fortified coaling stations distributed at convenient 
 distances over the ocean has the command of the sea. But 
 if these possessions rely upon naval defence for their reten- 
 tion, instead of becoming the most powerful auxiliary to sea 
 power, they immediately become a grave source of weakness. 
 
 The difficulty the Eussian fleet had in finding coal along Difficulties of 
 the route in its voyage from the Baltic to the East in the late ^g t ^ B JJ* n 
 Eusso- Japanese war, and the fact that the transport of this wa r with 
 fleet to Eastern waters could not have been undertaken but Ja P an - 
 for the friendly assistance of France in allowing the use of 
 her colonial coaling stations, is an illustration of the momen- 
 tous bearing of coal supplies on the next naval war. Coal 
 will be just as necessary to warships as food to armies. It is, 
 therefore, essential that a sea power intent upon retaining its 
 command of the sea should adequately defend each link, in 
 the shape of its coaling stations, in its line of communications, 
 in order to enable the fleets to be as powerful and independent 
 as possible. This defence should take the form of land 
 batteries. Yet another glance at the map of the world will show 
 that the British Empire has also been peculiarly favoured over 
 other naval countries in the distribution of coalfields along the 
 great trade routes. The quality of coal has its bearing upon 
 sea power. A coal which by its smoke betrays the where- 
 abouts of a fleet an hour before the fleet comes in sight may 
 be responsible for changing the course of a war. Fortunately, 
 coal of an almost smokeless quality is very evenly distributed 
 over the Empire. The coal of South Wales has long been in 
 demand by all nations, and naval battles have been fought 
 upon British coal. The coal of Natal in South Africa is 
 equally good, and by reason of the geographical situation of 
 this colony can economically feed all the imperial coaling 
 stations in the South Atlantic and Indian oceans. The coal other powers 
 of Westport in New Zealand is, together with that of New- lt ?* coalin & 
 
 r ° stations.
 
 278 
 
 THE GOVERNANCE OF EMPIRE 
 
 coaling 
 stations 
 
 castle in New South Wales, of the finest smokeless quality. 
 What we possess our enemies will suffer for the want of, and 
 in many cases will be driven to make determined attempts 
 to wrest from us. Our tremendous strength upon the seas 
 to-day depends not so much upon the number and favourable 
 distribution of coaling stations and harbours of refuge as on 
 the fact that, with the exception of France, all possible 
 enemies lack this, the main support of sea power. The 
 operations of their fleets are, therefore, restricted to home 
 waters. 
 Importance of Now, whilst nature has been most liberal to the Empire 
 in the geographical configuration of many of our possessions, 
 and the wisdom of our ancestors is displayed in their situa- 
 tion, it would appear as if we had failed to appreciate the 
 great importance most, if not all, of these supports of Empire 
 will play in the next war. When that war does break out it 
 may be too late to set about fortifying and garrisoning many 
 of our, at present, unimportant possessions, but which if once 
 in the hands of the enemy will be of the utmost importance 
 to him either in breaking those lines of communication 
 described as being a continual threat upon them, and thus 
 indirectly weakening our fleets. It will be conceded from the 
 foregoing that it is essential that the circulation along the 
 main trade routes between the various portions of the Empire 
 should be uninterrupted. In this respect the Empire closely 
 resembles the human body, its actual life depending upon 
 certain arteries. 
 
 Still likening the Empire to the human body we will come 
 to the equivalent of the nervous system. In the Empire this 
 is represented by the electric cable and telegraph lines which 
 connect up almost every scattered portion, reducing what 
 would otherwise be an unwieldy conglomeration of parts to 
 order and system, and enabling the efficient government of 
 all as one. 
 
 In tracing the rise of the Empire we have observed how 
 much was due to private adventure and enterprise. Nearly 
 every possession now proudly waving the British flag is either 
 directly or indirectly responsible for this to the adventurer or 
 the merchant in search of gain. It is the merchant we have 
 to thank for our trade routes ; he it was who often forced the 
 
 Nerves of 
 Empire.
 
 IMPERIAL COMMUNICATIONS 279 
 
 hands of statesmen and laid the lines upon which the Empire 
 has since travelled. And so it is to private enterprise that the 
 Empire is responsible for the expensive cable and telegraph 
 systems that to-day have such an important bearing upon its 
 administration, and will in war assist in its security. 
 
 In 1851 the first submarine telegraph cable was laid be- 1755 cables 
 tween Dover and Calais. The few persons who risked their now 
 money in this enterprise were actuated by commercial con- 
 siderations. To-day there are 1755 cables in the world repre- 
 senting approximately 200,000 nautical miles. The private 
 firms of Great Britain alone control 120,000 nautical miles of 
 these cables. Twelve of the fifteen cables which connect 
 Europe with America and Canada start from Great Britain. 
 Gibraltar is connected with England by four cables and with 
 Malta and Alexandria by three. Four British cables run 
 through the Red Sea, three of which proceed to Bombay and 
 the other goes south to Zanzibar. Australia and the Far 
 East are connected with Great Britain, and the rest of the 
 Empire by two cables running from Madras and Penang 
 and Singapore. Australia and New Zealand are joined by a 
 double cable between Sydney and New Zealand. 
 
 Both an Eastern and a Western cable system connect All Red 
 South Africa with Great Britain. One drawback as far as 
 the British Empire is concerned lies in the fact that, with the 
 exception of the All Red Route, cables connecting her distant 
 possessions touch foreign soil. In October 1902 the All Red 
 Route was completed. This runs from Great Britain to Van- 
 couver, via Newfoundland, thence to Fanning Island ; from 
 Fanning Island to Fiji ; from Fiji to Norfolk Island ; from 
 Norfolk Island to New Zealand ; and also from Norfolk 
 Island, to Australia. This cable is the property of the Gov- 
 ernments of the United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand, 
 and Australia, and is managed by representatives constituting 
 the first truly imperial board yet created. 
 
 A cable of strategic value is one which connects South 
 Africa and Australia, via Mauritius, Rodriguez, and the Cocos 
 Islands. 
 
 The more important British possessions are connected by Efficiency of 
 such a number of cables taking different routes that it would modern 
 
 ... .. telegraphy. 
 
 be well-nigh impossible to cut off communication between
 
 280 THE GOVEKNANCE OF EMPIEE 
 
 them by severing one or more of the main cables. In the 
 event of all the Atlantic cables from Great Britain being cut, 
 Canada and the West Indies could still be communicated 
 with, via the Mediterranean, Indian Ocean, and Pacific lines. 
 For administrative purposes, for defensive instructions, and 
 for commercial inquiries, New Zealand is no further from 
 London to-day than Liverpool or Manchester. The name of a 
 vessel or the number of ships in a suspicious-looking squadron 
 passing St. Helena, off the West Coast of Africa, or the Cocos 
 Islands, midway between Ceylon and Australia, would be 
 known in London and every other important part of the 
 Empire before the ship or fleet had travelled a further twenty 
 miles. Each year that passes makes our imperial communi- 
 cations more secure. Commercial interests call for their con- 
 tinued augmentation and the creation of new routes. Whilst 
 ten years ago it would have been possible for a determined 
 enemy to have cut the cable communications between the 
 varied parts of the Empire, to-day such is quite impossible. 
 The advent of wireless telegraphy has made quite secure 
 the imperial communications, and has given an inexpensive 
 means of connecting up the more out-of-the-way and less 
 important possessions. Each year the power of the wire- 
 less transmitters is increasing and extending the sphere of 
 influence. 
 utility of a proposal of the utmost importance has but lately been 
 
 telegraphy, put forward in connexion with wireless telegraphy, which, if 
 adopted, will increase considerably the sphere of imperial 
 communication. The accompanying map illustrates the scope 
 and utility of a suggested wireless telegraphic all-British 
 scheme. The shaded portions of the map show the area of 
 communication as between individual stations and that in 
 which the ships of the world could be in communication from 
 time to time with the shore throughout the voyage. 
 
 The map illustrates how and in what directions communi- 
 cation would be established between every part of the British 
 Empire and every other part, and the scheme is based on the 
 present capacity of the Marconi system, namely, to carry 
 messages regularly and accurately over the 2000 miles which 
 separates England from Canada, and takes no account of 
 future improvement.
 
 IMPERIAL COMMUNICATIONS 
 
 281 
 
 
 1
 
 282 THE GOVEKNANCE OF EMPIEE 
 
 The suggested route is from England to Malta (station 
 No. 1) ; from Malta to Cairo or Alexandria (No. 2) ; from Cairo 
 to Aden (No. 3) ; Aden to Bombay (No. 4) ; Bombay to Col- 
 ombo (No. 5) ; Colombo to Singapore (No. 6) ; Singapore to 
 Perth (No. 7) ; Perth to Adelaide (No. 8) ; Adelaide to Sydney 
 (No. 9) ; and from Sydney reaches Wellington (New Zealand) 
 (station No. 10). Branching off from Singapore (station 
 No. 6), communication would be made with Hong Kong (No. 
 11). Two routes would link England with South Africa, one 
 down either coast of the continent. From Aden there would 
 be communication with Mombasa (No. 12), and from Maritz- 
 burg with Cape Town (No. 17). Alternatively England would 
 be linked directly with Bathurst, with Sierra Leone (No. 15) ; 
 Sierra Leone with St. Helena (No. 16) ; and St. Helena with 
 Cape Town (No. 17). Meanwhile two intermediate stations 
 at Mauritius (No. 18), and Nelson Island (No. 19), would pro- 
 vide another route to England and Australia, and connect 
 both these countries with Africa. The first stage in the west- 
 ward route has been accomplished already by the establish- 
 ment of a station at Glace Bay in Canada (No. 20). Another 
 station is contemplated at Montreal (No. 21), to communicate 
 with the West Indies (No. 22). Finally two more stations, 
 one at British Guiana (No. 23), and another at Vancouver, 
 on the Pacific coast (No. 24), would complete the circle of the 
 Empire and the world. 
 Telegraphy is During the earlier stages of the growth of the Empire 
 * a | r e e **^ an " effective administration was seriously hampered by the dis- 
 Empire. tance that had to be covered and the time that had to elapse 
 
 before information and instructions were received and acted 
 upon. Undoubtedly this drawback was one of the determin- 
 ing factors in the secession of the American colonies ; before 
 misunderstandings could be removed by explanations, the 
 breach between colonists and mother country had widened 
 irretrievably. A misunderstanding between the British Min- 
 istry and the local Ministry of Natal occurred over the native 
 disturbance in that small colony in 1906. Had it taken 
 months instead of minutes for the British and colonial Min- 
 isters to communicate with each other, undoubtedly the " cut 
 the painter " doctrine would have been accepted by the col- 
 onists, and would have spread throughout South Africa. But
 
 IMPERIAL COMMUNICATIONS 283 
 
 explanations disclosed the fact that there were misunderstand- 
 ings on both sides, and upon more ample information being 
 transmitted over the cable, the matter was cleared up to the 
 satisfaction of both parties. 
 
 The bearing that electrical communication between the 
 component parts of the Empire must have upon a closer 
 political union between them is very important. In the first 
 place, the almost instantaneous exchange of ideas between the 
 inhabitants of one part of the Empire and another, means 
 that similar questions are being considered simultaneously 
 throughout the Empire, and that the thought of the Empire 
 is being rapidly harmonized. The electric cable has long since 
 been responsible for the smooth and efficient working of com- 
 mercial federations, federations which would have been quite 
 impossible but for the means of immediate communication. 
 Most of these business unions have their headquarters in 
 London, and from there each morning issue instructions to 
 managers in Hong Kong, New York, Sydney, Cape Town, 
 Johannesburg and many other parts of the world, receiving 
 reports from each branch office many times during the day. 
 The branches are themselves, before the day is over, in posses- 
 sion of the news from each other. 
 
 One of the most important results that may be looked for 
 from electrical communication will be upon the character of 
 the inhabitants of the Empire. As the same questions and 
 similar criticisms are considered simultaneously in all parts 
 of the Empire, similar trains of thought will be habitually 
 started and followed by a growing mass of people ; and al- 
 though the conclusions may be of varying degree, yet it must 
 be that this continual process of thinking upon the same 
 questions placed before them in similar language conveying 
 the same meaning will have the effect of making more even 
 the character of a people inhabiting the different parts of the 
 globe. It promises greater unanimity among the people of 
 the Empire where questions involving the security or prosper- 
 ity of the Empire arise. 
 
 That wireless telegraphy must exercise an important Wireless 
 bearing upon the security of our imperial communications Tele g ra P h y- 
 and add greatly to our sea power is obvious. The contrary 
 would of course have been the case had it not been that all
 
 284 
 
 THE GOVERNANCE OF EMPIRE 
 
 Undefended 
 condition of 
 some of the 
 imperial 
 links. 
 
 the more important positions for the erection of wireless in- 
 stallations are in the possession of Great Britain. But as it 
 is, it still further reduces the cruising radius of our probable 
 enemies whilst it considerably increases our own. 
 
 Most of the larger vessels of the British mercantile ma- 
 rine are installed with Marconi instruments. Thus in the 
 event of war they can be warned in time of the vicinity of 
 hostile cruisers, and can in turn warn others. The safe route 
 to be taken and the particulars of a dangerous route can be 
 given to them from shore even though they be in mid- Atlantic. 
 
 It has been shown that our imperial communications are 
 dependent for their efficiency in time of peace and security in 
 time of war on the apparent order and system in which 
 British land possessions are linked along them. But it has 
 been observed that many, the greater number in fact, are 
 solely dependent for their security upon naval defence, a 
 wicked extravagance which if put into practice might mean 
 the loss of the command of the sea. 
 
 Now the efficient government of the Empire, just as the 
 efficient administration of the federated commercial houses 
 already referred to, depends upon the perfect circulation 
 along our imperial communications, and this can only be 
 assured if first the Navy be unhampered with coast defence, 
 and secondly, if each possession, however insignificant it may 
 appear to-day, be adequately defended. It seems inexplicable 
 that possessions having such an important bearing upon our 
 command of the sea as Norfolk Island (a cable station), the 
 Cocos Islands (cable station) and Tristan da Cunha in the 
 centre of the South Atlantic, should remain practically unde- 
 fended. And yet there are many more almost as important in 
 the same undefended condition, only waiting for the outbreak 
 of a naval war to be seized by the enemy and converted into 
 fortified coaling stations. 
 
 In the hands of Japan, Norfolk Island would be an ugly 
 threat to both Australia and New Zealand, and would seriously 
 threaten our imperial communications in that part of the world. 
 
 Good and efficient government is impossible with faulty 
 communications. In the case of the British Empire these 
 must also include trade routes, and the protection of our com- 
 merce means the protection of our means of intelligence.
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 IMPERIAL COMMERCE. 
 
 The maritime commercial interests of the British Empire Importance of 
 
 differ both in degree and in kind from those of any other aSSam. 
 
 power. England, the heart of the Empire, and therefore the 
 
 vital member, exists by her maritime commerce. If the 
 
 security of this commerce is not maintained in war as it is 
 
 in peace she, and together with her the Empire, must surely 
 
 perish. 
 
 Great Britain owes her commercial superiority to her fa- 
 vourable situation for foreign commerce. It is recorded by the 
 ancient historians that when Carausius, the Roman governor 
 of Britain, threw off the yoke of Rome, he succeeded 
 by means of his fleets in maintaining his independence for 
 sixteen years, and even in those days Britain had assumed 
 her station as a respectable maritime power. We have 
 shown how the extent of her sea-coast, the limited area of 
 arable land and the intrepidity necessity imparted to her 
 seamen, were responsible for England's sea power. Add to 
 these reasons her happy situation with reference to external 
 commerce, and we can understand Great Britain's rise as a 
 commercial power. Placed midway between Northern and 
 Southern Europe, the English ships had only half the dis- 
 tance to travel to supply the wants of either ; and thus their 
 ships became the readiest vehicle by which the productions 
 of the North and South were mutually exchanged for each 
 other. Then later on, when the passage round the Cape of 
 Good Hope was discovered, the situation of England was 
 found to be the best adapted of any country in Europe for 
 the formation of a great market for Asiatic merchandise ; and 
 thus it became, to the destruction of Venice, the centre of 
 that lucrative traffic. 
 
 285
 
 286 THE GOVEKNANCE OF EMPIEE 
 
 With the British colonization of North America and the 
 gradual increase of the Anglo-Saxon race in that vast country 
 there opened a market for manufacturing industry greater 
 than any other then in existence. Great Britain alike by its 
 situation, its advantages, and its dangers, was fitted by nature 
 for commercial greatness ; " and the empire of the seas was 
 in a manner forced upon it by Providence, as a part of the 
 mysterious design going forward for the colonization and 
 peopling of the earth 'V 
 
 But nature has blessed Great Britain in many more ways 
 than in her situation and a climate which calls for labour. 
 The mineral wealth is such as makes for national advance- 
 ment. Coal, iron, and tin are found in abundance and are 
 commodities readily purchased by her neighbours. It is to 
 the presence of these valuable elements of manufacturing 
 greatness that the fabrics of Yorkshire, Lancashire, and 
 Wales are to be ascribed. 
 
 But it is during the last century that Great Britain, and 
 with her the Empire, have assumed such gigantic proportions 
 as a commercial power. For the mind to grasp adequately 
 the advance made it is necessary to quote from the Budget of 
 1801. 
 Budget of Notwithstanding the unexampled difficulties which be- 
 
 set Great Britain and Ireland in the years of 1799 and 
 1800, from the extreme severity of the scarcity during that 
 period, and the vast expenditure which the campaigns of 
 these two years had occasioned, the condition of the Empire 
 in 1801 was to an unprecedented degree wealthy and pros- 
 perous, and it is from that year that one may date the rise of 
 the Empire as a commercial power. 
 
 Mr. Pitt stated that the war revenue of the nation for the 
 year 1801, exclusive of the permanent income, which was 
 £27,400,000, was as follows :— 
 
 1 Allison, "History of Europe," Vol. II, p. 116. 
 
 1801.
 
 IMPEEIAL COMMEECE 287 
 
 Income. 
 
 Sugar, malt, and tobacco - £2,750,000 
 
 Lottery 300,000 
 
 Income tax - .... 4,260,000 
 
 Duty on exports and imports - 1,250,000 
 
 Surplus of the consolidated fund - - 3,300,000 
 
 Irish taxes and loan ... - 4,324,000 
 
 Balance not issued for subsidies - - 500,000 
 
 Surplus of grants 60,000 
 
 £16,744,000 
 Loan 25,500,000 
 
 Ways and means £42,244,000 
 
 Permanent income ----- 27,400,000 
 
 Total income £69,644,000 
 
 Charges. 
 
 Navy £15,800,000 
 
 Army and extraordinary - 15,902,000 
 
 Ordnance 1,938,000 
 
 Miscellaneous ------ 757,000 
 
 Unforeseen emergencies - - - - 800,000 
 
 Permanent charges of Ireland - - - 390,000 
 
 Deficiency of income tax - 1,000,000 
 
 Discount on loan 200,000 
 
 Deficiency of malt duty - - - - 400,000 
 
 Deficiency of assessed taxes - - - 350,000 
 
 Deficiency of consolidated fund - - 150,000 
 
 Exchequer bills of 1799 - - - - 3,800,000 
 
 Sinking fund 200,000 
 
 Interest of exchequer bills - - - 460,000 
 
 Charges £42,147,000 
 
 Interest of debt £19,945,624 
 
 Sinking fund 5,528,315 
 
 Total - - - - - - £67,610,939 
 
 The population of the United Kingdom was returned at Rise in prices. 
 15,441,000. The expenditure of over £67,000,000 a year by 
 Government, at a time when money was of greater pur- 
 chasing power than to-day, and the increase of the issues 
 
 1 "Annual Register, 1801," p. 379.
 
 288 THE GOVEKNANCE OF EMPIEE 
 
 by the Bank of England from £11,000,000 in 1798 to over 
 £15,000,000 in 1801 produced a most extraordinary effect 
 upon national industry. Prices of every species of produce 
 rapidly and steadily rose ; that of grain in 1800, exclusive of 
 the effects of the scarcity of that year, was double what it had 
 been in 1792, and every other article advanced in a similar 
 proportion. The consequence was that the industrial classes 
 were, generally speaking, in affluent circumstances ; large 
 fortunes rewarded the efforts of commercial enterprise, the 
 demand for labour, encouraged by the employment of nearly 
 400,000 soldiers and sailors in the public service, was un- 
 bounded ; the numerous indirect taxes, heavy though they 
 were, did not appear a burden amidst the constant rise in the 
 money price of the produce of industry. The following table 
 will assist to illustrate the progress of commerce in the Em- 
 pire since the year 1789 ; but it is hardly a true measure of 
 our progress, for the method of keeping accounts prior to the 
 adoption of free trade was such as would not reveal the true 
 growth of commerce, and in consequence these facts are used 
 in argument by free traders and protectionists alike : — 
 
 British 
 commerce. 
 
 Year. 
 
 Imports. 
 
 Exports. 
 
 Declared 
 value of 
 exports. 
 
 Tons 
 
 British 
 
 shipping. 
 
 
 1789. 
 1790. 
 1791. 
 
 £18,372,149 
 18,921,347 
 19,659,858 
 
 £22,147,361 
 
 23,021,472 
 24,904,851 
 
 £29,346,391 
 29,862,112 
 29,671,462 
 
 1,272,114 
 1,321,231 
 1,363,483 
 
 
 1839. 
 1840. 
 1841. 
 
 62,004,000 
 67,432,964 
 64,377,962 
 
 110,198,716 
 116,479,678 
 116,903,668 
 
 53,233,580 
 51,406,430 
 51,634,523 
 
 3,000,000 
 3,512,480 
 3,619,850 
 
 
 1908. 
 
 718,976,615 
 
 585,963,595 
 
 
 
 18,709,537 
 
 From the above table it will be seen that Great Britain as 
 a commercial power has grown at an accelerating speed. 
 The rapid strides made after the general peace at the begin- 
 ning of the nineteenth century is proof that commerce is the 
 handmaid of peace. On the outbreak of war and during its 
 progress public attention is at once diverted from industrial 
 to military pursuits, and commerce must suffer. With the 
 declaration of peace France ceased for a time to be a serious 
 competitor, and what is now the German Empire was a 
 number of small independent states waging continual tariff
 
 IMPEEIAL COMMEKCE 289 
 
 wars upon each other. In the old Prussian provinces alone 
 there were no fewer than fifty-three different customs frontiers, 
 and it was only with the growth of the Zollverein that internal 
 freedom brought with it commercial consolidation for the 
 present-day rival of the British Empire. 
 
 The heavy debts and taxes together with the serious cur- Nineteenth 
 rency complications which the Napoleonic wars left the^S. 
 European nations, added to the fall of prices which was the 
 necessary effect of the sudden closure of a heavy war ex- 
 penditure and absorption of labour, had a crippling effect for 
 many years on trading energies. Yet even under such cir- 
 cumstances commerce is usually found, on its well-established 
 modern basis, to make steady progress from one series of 
 years to another. The powers of production had been in- 
 creased beyond the wildest dreams of man by a brilliant 
 development of mechanical arts and invention. The United 
 States had grown more rapidly than ever anticipated into a 
 commercial nation of the first rank. The European colonies 
 and settlements in different parts of the world were being 
 extended and assiduously cultivated, and were opening larger 
 and more varied markets for manufactures. Each decade of 
 the nineteenth century saw some new departure in science or 
 art which in itself marked an epoch in this sudden career of 
 advancement which Europe in general and Great Britain in 
 particular had now entered upon. The first steam-propelled 
 vessel crossed the Atlantic from New York to Liverpool in 
 the year 1819. To-day the British Empire owns 9680 steamers 
 of over 100 tons burthen out of the 21,550 owned throughout 
 the world. In 1825 the first steamship voyaged between 
 England and India. These were in their day as great events 
 as Monsieur Bleriot's aeroplane flight across the English 
 Channel ; they were in themselves the harbingers of trade. 
 It was also in the beginning of last century that there were 
 signs, in the general prominence given to the study of eco- 
 nomic principles, of a growing public opinion in favour of 
 greater freedom of trade ; greater prominence was given to 
 this by China, after many efforts, being opened under treaty 
 to intercourse with foreign nations. 
 
 We have said that the commercial advancement of Great Anglo- Ameri- 
 Britain began to take definite shape and to make headway cane- 
 
 19
 
 290 THE GOVERNANCE OF EMPIEE 
 
 with the opening of last century. The American War of 
 Independence had no lasting effect upon the commercial 
 relations between Great Britain and her late colonies, as was 
 fondly anticipated by France. The American colonies were 
 entirely English. They were knit to the mother country, 
 not by laws and Governments, but by identity of origin and 
 language, similarity of character, habits, and political institu- 
 tions. The English manufactures were necessary to coun- 
 tries utterly destitute of all but agricultural industry ; the 
 English merchant sold cheaper and on larger credit than any 
 other in the world. Not only the best goods for the money 
 were to be had from him, but goods of such an excellent 
 quality were not to be had for money in any other quarter. 
 Not only prompt payment was dispensed with by the English 
 trader, when all other dealers insisted on it, but the former 
 regularly allowed his American customers to retain the use 
 of his capital until it had yielded the gross profits, and then 
 was satisfied with a smaller portion of the gain for his net 
 allowance than other lenders could afford to take. All these 
 advantages, the consequences of established skill and long 
 experience, with a great stock, and old habits of mutual deal- 
 ings, were sufficient to preserve the mercantile connexions 
 between the mother country and her late colonies in full 
 force even if the powerful ties of language, manners, and 
 blood had not united their influence in the same direction. 
 Compared with these bonds of attachment, what were the 
 obligations which the colonies owed to France for assisting 
 them in throwing off the yoke of Great Britain? The 
 Americans, indeed, never believed that France was their 
 real friend ; they only gave her credit for being the enemy 
 of England. But, although they had acknowledged the full 
 extent of their debt, and felt the utmost gratitude of which 
 their nature admitted, would such feelings have followed 
 them into their counting houses and warerooms ? With all 
 their gratitude to their deliverers would they have altered 
 one inch the course of a single penny, destined, like all the 
 pence of all the traders and all the consumers in the world, 
 to follow, not the objects of their attachment, but the cheapest 
 goods and the easiest creditors ? There is no wonder, then, 
 that the trade between England and America should have
 
 IMPEEIAL COMMEECE 291 
 
 continued in its wonted channel, in spite of their political 
 separation, and of the political services of France. That 
 channel is never open to any public influence, and feels only 
 the force of one motive, individual interest. But the reasons 
 actuating the commercial intercourse between Great Britain 
 and her late colonies immediately after war were not ap- 
 preciated by the French, and the French Government were 
 blamed by many of their countrymen for not retaining the 
 American trade when peace between England and America 
 was declared. M. Talleyrand * wrote at this time : " The 
 conduct of government during the first years of peace, de- 
 termines the commercial relations of the State, and if the rulers 
 cannot seize the moment for turning the period of tranquillity 
 to their account, it almost inevitably operates against the 
 best interests of the country ". M. Talleyrand and many of 
 his contemporaries blamed the old Government of France 
 for having prepared, by its impolitic conduct, the renewal of 
 the commercial relations between England and the United 
 States. France, according to them, should have endeavoured 
 to multiply and extend the connexions which during the war 
 she had established with the people of America. Instead of 
 this, she began to fear the introduction of those principles at 
 home which she had fostered abroad, and discouraged all 
 further intercourse. Now, although this discouragement of 
 intercourse was certainly a ridiculous as well as an im- 
 politic measure, it would be difficult to show what active 
 means could have been used to prevent the renewal of the 
 trade with England, or even to increase in any sensible 
 degree the French commerce with America. In the face of 
 all the circumstances already stated, the force of which must 
 have been omnipotent in favour of the English market, even 
 if France had spent her whole revenue in senselessly pushing 
 her American trade by encouragements, how can it be sup- 
 posed that the new relations between America and England 
 could be in the least degree affected by any measure which 
 the French Government might pursue. Unless the ancien 
 regime possessed the power of making the merchants richer, 
 
 1 " M6moire sur lea Relations Coramerciales des Etats-Unis avec 
 L'Angleterre, par le Cit. Talleyrand. 
 
 19 *
 
 292 THE GOVEENANCE OF EMPIRE 
 
 the manufacturers more skilful, and the people more English 
 than the English themselves, a feat which lettres de cachet 
 have never been known to perform, it cannot be blamed for 
 not having drawn away the Americans from the markets of 
 Great Britain. 
 Frenoh That France had kept a jealous eye upon the growing 
 
 j? a . 1 ° u ? y ° f , commerce of Great Britain and had on many occasions en- 
 
 British trade. . . • *v -i • ^ 
 
 deavoured to crush it is evidenced by the Orders in Council 
 issued at the beginning of the century. These Orders in 
 Council took their origin in a decree promulgated by Napoleon 
 at Berlin, on 21 November, 1806 ; by which he declared 
 the United Kingdom to be in a state of blockade, that all 
 commodities of English origin, or belonging to Englishmen, 
 were good prize, and that no ship from England or her colonies 
 or which should have touched there should be admitted into 
 any harbour belonging to France, or occupied by her troops. 
 This was replied to by Great Britain by an Order in Council, 
 dated 9 January, 1807, by which we interdicted neutrals 
 from the whole coasting trade from one part of France to 
 another ; and in November, 1807, a series of new Orders were 
 promulgated by which we declared that we would permit no 
 trade with France and her dependencies except through 
 England, all neutrals bound to these countries being required 
 in the first instance to touch at our ports and pay a duty to 
 our Government, and that every vessel which had not a cer- 
 tificate of origin on board should be declared lawful prize. 
 To this extraordinary edict France finally replied by what has 
 been called the Milan Decree, declaring in substance that any 
 vessel which in any way submitted to our Orders of 11 
 November, or which had been searched in the course of her 
 voyage by an English cruiser, should be considered as lawful 
 prize. This is the sum of these unprecedented enactments, 
 and the consequence was that between the French decrees 
 and the English Orders, all neutral trade was effectually 
 annihilated. 
 Unstatesman- This policy was not only extremely oppressive towards the 
 like policy of unoffending neutral, but had a disastrous effect upon the 
 commerce of both the belligerents, and most disastrous of 
 course to that which had most commerce and depended most 
 upon its prosperity. The policy of retaliation on the part of
 
 IMPERIAL COMMEECE 293 
 
 Great Britain would appear to have been quite unnecessary 
 and to have acted against her own commercial interests, and 
 for this reason France by this time had become absolutely 
 impotent on the seas, and therefore her declaration of blockade 
 and her threats of making prize of all neutrals attempting to 
 enter our ports was a mere empty threat — alike ridiculous 
 and harmless to us and to the neutral. Our direct trade with 
 the neutral, therefore, was no more destroyed by that de- 
 claration, than our lives or comforts could be destroyed by 
 the Pope's excommunication. It was obvious, therefore, that 
 while the neutral was encouraged to trade directly with us, 
 and the demand for our goods continued so eager all over the 
 continent, ample opportunities would be found for evading 
 those prohibitions. It was our policy, therefore, to encourage 
 the neutral and to assist him in finding those opportunities. 
 Instead of this the British Government issued a series of 
 Orders the obvious and necessary effect of which was to drive 
 the neutral flag entirely from the ocean and to cut off what 
 remained of our indirect trade with the neutral, the only 
 foreign commerce that was left to us. 
 
 Such then was the character of our measures considered 
 as measures of commercial policy, but which if persisted in 
 would have utterly and irretrievably crushed British com- 
 merce. The apology given for adopting these absurd and 
 unbusinesslike measures was that they were measures of 
 retaliation against France, and intended to coerce her into 
 justice, by the distress they would inflict upon her. But the 
 decrees of France neither did nor could prevent our direct 
 trade with the neutral, and therefore there was no injury in- 
 flicted which could be retaliated for by cutting off her direct 
 trade with the same party. Her decrees were merely nominal 
 interruptions to our trade. Considering the population, the 
 Government, and the territory of France, the idea of dis- 
 tressing her or affecting her councils by cutting off her trade 
 with America, was obviously quite chimerical and absurd. 
 
 The experiment was found to react so seriously upon 
 ourselves that after a few months it was abandoned, and the 
 whole plan of retaliation substantially retracted by our adop- 
 tion of the system of licences, by which Great Britain 
 permitted French vessels to carry on that trade from which
 
 294 THE GOVEENANCE OF EMPIRE 
 
 we had excluded the neutral, upon the sole ground of the 
 necessity of cutting off all trade, directly or indirectly, with 
 the French Empire. And finally in April, 1809, when the 
 licence system was fully matured, we openly rescinded our 
 Orders in Council of November, 1807, and substituted in place 
 of them a general blockade of the greater part of Europe, which 
 we enforced rigorously against all neutrals, but dispensed 
 with in favour of the enemy, whose distress was its only pre- 
 text, and with whom we carried on an immense direct trade 
 under the cover of licences. 
 Policy of The absurdity of this conduct, from a commercial point 
 
 noenoes 8 to °^ v ^ ew ' an< ^ ^ s flagrant unfairness towards the neutral, are so 
 French ships, palpable that further exposition is scarcely required. But it is 
 really surprising that its tendency to forward the enemy's great 
 object of the creation of a navy should have attracted so little 
 observation. While things were left in the neutral state to 
 which the war had reduced them, and the communication 
 between the belligerents was permitted to remain in the hands 
 of neutrals, he might build as many ships as he thought 
 proper, but he could have no seamen accustomed to navigation 
 wherewith to man them. But by our system of licences 
 he was assisted to get over this difficulty. He for a time 
 took a certain quantity of our colonial produce and manu- 
 factures, such indeed as best suited his own purposes, making 
 us at the same time take in return a certain portion of the 
 raw produce of his own states, as bore most heavily on his 
 home market. But this intercourse was carried on entirely 
 in French vessels, navigated by French sailors, and Great 
 Britain's new policy astonished the whole world with this 
 extraordinary spectacle, that when the French flag was 
 swept from off the seas by the superiority of our navy, when 
 even the neutral flag had been banished, in order to cut off 
 France from all the resources of trade, our ports were filled 
 with French ships and French sailors, whom we were foster- 
 ing up in order that they might in some future day again 
 contest the empire of the ocean ; and thus after having driven 
 the Americans from their neutral trade, in order that France 
 might be starved into reason and submission, we allowed 
 Frenchmen themselves to enter the ports from which our 
 kinsmen were excluded. We supplied their hospitals with
 
 IMPERIAL COMMERCE 295 
 
 medicines, their soldiers with clothing, and their armies with 
 muskets, while we took back silks which ruined our own 
 manufacturers, laces which drove our own out of the market, 
 and corn which hurt the enterprise and zeal of our own far- 
 mers in the conversion and cultivation of their waste lands. 
 
 It is indeed curious that little mention has ever been made Tariff war 
 of the effects that this remarkable commercial policy of Great with America - 
 Britain produced on the councils of America. The intention 
 of the British Government to adopt some violent measure 
 against the commerce of France was known at Washington 
 at the beginning of December, 1807. And upon the 22nd of 
 that month an embargo was laid upon all American vessels 
 in the ports of the United States. This measure was followed, 
 upon 4 March, 1809, by an Act, by which all intercourse 
 was prohibited between that country and the two hostile 
 countries of France and England. In April of the same year 
 that Act was suspended as to Great Britain by the'President's 
 proclamation. In consequence, however, of Great Britain 
 disavowing this proclamation, the non-intercourse as to that 
 country was renewed on 10 August, 1809. On 1 May, 
 1810, Congress, by an Act, repealed this law as to both 
 belligerents with a promise, that if the terms which were 
 therein held out, namely, the revocation of their respective 
 Orders or decrees, were not complied with by a certain day, 
 some measure of retaliation should be adopted against both 
 or either belligerent, as the case might be. The French 
 Government acceded to the terms in a manner which satisfied 
 the American Government, which fact was announced by a 
 proclamation of the President, dated 2 November, 1810. But 
 in consequence of Great Britain adhering to her measures of 
 severity Congress passed an Act dated 2 February, 1811, 
 by which all importation into the United States, of goods, 
 manufactures, and produce of these kingdoms was prohibited, 
 and this continued to be the state of affairs down to 23 
 June, 1812, on which date as a result of a parliamentary 
 commission of inquiry the Orders in Council were repealed. 
 But the four years and seven months during which these 
 Orders had been enforced, had proved to be a more eventful 
 period to the commercial interests of Great Britain than any 
 period of its previous history. For it had the effect of so
 
 296 THE GOVEENANCE OF EMPIRE 
 
 depressing certain manufactures in Great Britain that it was 
 only after the creation of new markets several decades later 
 that they were able to recover, but it likewise had the effect 
 of creating the power of production among the Americans 
 themselves. Prior to the prohibitive Orders the colonists 
 were content to draw all they required from the mother 
 country, who by reason of an increasing output was able to 
 supply cheaper than the Americans could have done with but 
 a limited demand. At this time it is stated that there were 
 four million Negroes in the United States, each of whom used 
 40s. worth of clothing per annum all of which was imported 
 from Great Britain. It is estimated that these short-sighted 
 Orders cost the manufacturers of Great Britain a matter of 
 eleven millions a year for the period they were enforced. But 
 this unnatural interference on the part of a Government 
 with the commerce of the country had a more far-reaching 
 effect than this immediate loss, for until the Orders of 1807 a 
 long course of domestic peace had brought all her manufactures 
 to a state of unrivalled perfection — an immense capital had 
 been accumulated, which was generally laid out in schemes of 
 trade — in cultivating new and improved machinery for abridg- 
 ing labour, or in establishing new branches of commerce. By 
 the success of these experiments, the wealth and prosperity 
 of the country was increased, art and industry flourished, 
 the manufacturers vied with each other in the cheapness and 
 perfection of their work, and the markets, in which the pro- 
 duce of this country was consumed, were gradually enlarged, 
 far beyond the measure of its own demand. Great Britain 
 became a vast storehouse for the productions of industry, and 
 her commerce consisted generally in the exchange of her 
 finished work for the rude produce of other countries deficient 
 in capital and manufacturing skill. Such, previous to the 
 unnatural interruption described, was the commerce carried 
 on with the countries in the north of Europe, with Russia, 
 Poland, Sweden, and Denmark. An immense supply of 
 manufactures was also afforded by this country to the markets 
 of Germany — and our exports to America had been rapidly 
 increasing ever since the close of the American War. The 
 peculiar circumstances of this rising country eminently 
 adapted it to be a great market for the productions of Great
 
 IMPERIAL COMMERCE 297 
 
 Britain. With an almost boundless extent of fertile and un- 
 improved territory, and an active and industrious population, 
 America devoted her whole capital and industry to the culti- 
 vation of the soil ; abounding, in consequence, with a continual 
 supply of subsistence her inhabitants were always on the 
 increase ; while, with the exception of the main article of food, 
 she was totally unable to provide for their most necessary 
 wants. Great Britain, on the other hand, rich in capital, and 
 still more in the art and industry of her numerous artisans, 
 abounded in all that was necessary to supply the wants of the 
 American community ; and as America advanced in wealth, 
 improvement, and population, a continually increasing market 
 was opened for the manufactures of Great Britain. 
 
 In this manner then the commerce of Great Britain had Disastrous 
 gradually expanded beyond the bounds of its own narrow 
 territory, and had adapted itself to the supply of the world. 
 All her manufacturing establishments were laid out upon 
 this enlarged scale; the whole scheme of her industry was 
 accommodated to it, and such an assortment of produce 
 provided, as was entirely useless for her own consumption, 
 and could only be of value as an equivalent for the produce 
 of other nations. Her trade had a continual reference to the 
 foreign market ; this was the great principle upon which it 
 was regulated, the source from which employment flowed 
 to all classes of her industrial inhabitants ; and in these 
 circumstances, this vast commerce which was spread over 
 the whole extent of the globe, covering both sea and land, 
 was suddenly pent up, by a train of ill-concerted measures, 
 within the narrow bounds of the British territory. The 
 consequence of such an exclusion may be easily calculated. 
 All these manufactures, which depended for support on the 
 foreign market, were suddenly checked. The demand was 
 no longer adequate to support them, and though they were 
 continued for some time in the hope of an improving market, 
 the largest capitals were soon exhausted in the manufacture 
 of unsaleable produce. An exhausted capital was followed 
 by commercial embarrassments, merchants were reduced to 
 bankruptcy, and manufacturers thrown out of employment 
 were consigned to beggary and want. The labouring classes 
 were formerly employed in supplying the extensive demands
 
 298 THE GOVEENANCE OF EMPIRE 
 
 of the world's markets ; but when these were closed against 
 British goods, the demand of course ceased, and there was 
 no longer any employment for those by whose industry they 
 were formerly supplied. Other causes may have concurred in 
 producing the general distress of the country experienced at 
 this time. But it can scarcely be doubted that the calamity 
 originated in the rigorous prescription of British trade both in 
 America and Europe, and it stands as one of the most valuable 
 lessons in the government of Empire. Prior to the Orders 
 in Council of 1807 endeavours had been made time and again 
 to start manufactures in America, just as to-day similar en- 
 deavours are unsuccessfully made in certain of our colonies 
 to start manufactures to supply local demands. But these 
 attempts were not successful, for the British manufacturer, 
 owing to the extent of his output, was able to specialize and 
 throttle rising American competition in its infancy. But this 
 competition ceasing for nearly five years, gave these infant 
 industries the start required. But even the after effects of 
 this policy of retaliation lasted for many years, for during 
 the period in which the oversea markets were closed to her, 
 the stocks of all descriptions accumulated to an excessive 
 degree, and it took many years for these to be disposed of. 
 But at this period in the history of Great Britain her depen- 
 dence on foreign sources for her food supplies caused grave 
 anxiety, and in 1813 a committee of the House of Commons 
 was appointed to inquire into this question. The report of 
 this committee showed that the value of foreign corn imported 
 in the twenty-one years from 1792 to 1812 was 58£ million 
 pounds sterling ; the average price for the last four years that 
 the report covered was 105s. 3d. The committee recommen- 
 ded as a remedy the adoption of a protective policy. In 1815 a 
 Com laws. " Corn Law " was passed. Until wheat was 67s. per quarter 
 importation was prohibited ; at that price wheat could be 
 imported from the colonies, duty free ; but it was not until 
 wheat rose to 80s. that it could be imported from a foreign 
 country. The history of the rise and expansion of British 
 commerce bristles with Acts or Orders in Council of a re- 
 pressive nature, and it is indeed an elegant tribute to the 
 patience, tenacity, and commercial ability of the people to 
 discover that British commerce made headway in spite of
 
 IMPERIAL COMMERCE 299 
 
 repressive legislation. The origin of the Navigation Laws of 
 England may be traced to the reign of Richard II or perhaps 
 to a still more remote period. In the reign of Henry VII 
 the importation of certain commodities, unless imported in 
 ships belonging to English owners and manned by English 
 seamen, was prohibited. In the early part of the reign of Effects of the 
 Elizabeth (5 Eliz. cap. 5) foreign ships were excluded from LawT 10D 
 our fisheries and coasting trade. The Long Parliament gave 
 a great extension to the Navigation Laws by the Act of 
 1650, which prohibited all ships, of all foreign nations what- 
 ever, from trading with the plantations in America without 
 having previously obtained a licence, and in the following 
 year the same Parliament passed the famous Act of Naviga- 
 tion. This was intended to promote our own navigation, and 
 also to strike a decisive blow at the naval power of the Dutch, 
 who then engrossed almost the whole carrying trade of the 
 world. This Act was adopted by the regal Government 
 which succeeded Cromwell, and forms the principal provisions 
 of the statute, 12 Charles II, cap. 18, and which was pomp- 
 ously designated the Gharta Maritima of England. The 
 Navigation Act fulfilled the purpose for which it was passed, 
 for the Dutch lost at a blow a proportion of their trade 
 estimated at one-seventh, and British commerce benefited 
 correspondingly. But it was not long before the Act of 
 Navigation, with many of its absurd restrictions, began to 
 react against ourselves, especially in the West Indian and 
 Canadian colonies. This Act also fell heavily upon the only 
 important manufacture of Scotland, viz. linen. In 1823 
 Mr. Huskisson, afterwards Secretary of State for the Colonies, 
 succeeded in modifying the Navigation Laws, by arranging 
 reciprocal concessions with other countries. In 1849 the 
 Navigation Acts were repealed. At the time of their enact- 
 ment they effected their purpose, but they seriously fettered 
 British commerce, and were unnecessary but for the purpose 
 of their original enactment. At the date of their repeal the 
 proportion of shipping carrying our oversea trade owned by 
 British shipowners was 58 per cent, to-day it has risen to 71 
 per cent. 
 
 In spite of Orders in Council and Navigation Acts, a fiscal Growth of 
 policy which invites the dumping of inferior articles to Bntlsh trade -
 
 Income. 
 
 300 THE GOVERNANCE OF EMPIRE 
 
 compete with our English manufactures, and allows the dregs 
 of the continental labour markets to compete with our own 
 countrymen in our own country — in spite of all this Great 
 Britain has still maintained her supremacy among the com- 
 mercial powers of the world. But there are signs of her 
 lagging and threatening to fall behind, as will be presently 
 shown. 
 
 In 1837 the revenues of the British Empire had increased 
 to £75,000,000, of which the United Kingdom had earned 
 £50,000,000. In 1906 the revenues of the Empire had in- 
 creased to £320,000,000. That our progress is still main- 
 tained is evidenced by the following returns of the total trade 
 of the British Empire with foreign countries : — 
 
 1890. 1900. 1905. 
 
 Importe £408,053,000 £527,986,000 £563,453,000 
 Exports 319,795,000 362,422,000 448,688,000 
 
 But even more marked is the progress of the trade between 
 the United Kingdom and her colonies ; this was as follows : — ■ 
 
 1890. 1900. 1905. 
 
 Imports £101,080,000 £121,256,000 £161,900,000 
 Exports 106,518,000 116,046,000 135,524,000 
 
 At the meeting of the British Association in September, 
 1903, Sir Robert Giffen gave an estimate as to the aggregate 
 income and wealth of the people of the British Empire, and 
 since then many of these figures have been confirmed by 
 other authorities. 
 
 The statement was as follows : — 
 
 Aggregate Income. 
 
 United Kingdom - - - £1,750,000,000 
 
 Canada 270,000,000 
 
 Australasia - 210,000,000 
 
 India 600,000,000 
 
 South Africa - 100,000,000 
 
 Remainder of Empire - - 200,000,000 
 
 Total - - £3,130,000,000
 
 IMPEEIAL COMMEKCE 301 
 
 Capital or Wealth. Capital. 
 
 United Kingdom - - - £16,000,000,000 
 
 Canada 1,350,000,000 
 
 Australasia .... 1,100,000,000 
 
 India 3,000,000,000 
 
 South Africa - - - 600,000,000 
 
 Remainder of Empire - - 1,200,000,000 
 
 Total - - £22,250,000,000 
 
 It has been shown that colonies which have an existence Economic 
 of barely a century are rapidly becoming of greater com- ^"J™ of 
 mercial importance to the mother country than many of countries, 
 those foreign countries whose commercial intercourse with 
 Great Britain has continued for centuries. It would be 
 distinctly misleading to quote the progress of the British 
 Empire without giving the essential returns of those foreign 
 powers who have in the past been her rivals, and those who 
 to-day are apparently overtaking her ; and for the purpose of 
 comparison the table on page 302 is given ; the figures are for 
 1907. 
 
 Now whilst it will be seen from the table that the United Comparison 
 Kingdom more than holds her own as an exporter, it must JUJfjJJj 6 
 also be borne in mind that although such countries as Ger- British Em- 
 many, the United States, and Japan are rapidly increasing JjJ^jJjJJ 4 
 their exports, yet in this respect they are not increasing at Kingdom, 
 anything like the same ratio as some of the larger colonies of 
 the British Empire. It is no longer Great Britain that the 
 foreign countries have to overtake to gain commercial su- 
 premacy but the British Empire. The utter futility of any 
 European country succeeding in this cannot be better de- 
 monstrated than by quoting from a report of the Canadian 
 Pacific Eailway. " During the six years 1902 to 1908 fourteen 
 freight cars a day had been added to the rolling stock." As 
 the average Canadian freight car has a capacity equal to 
 about four English goods trucks, this means more than it 
 looks. In the same period, the report goes on to say, a pas- 
 senger coach has been added every second day and two loco- 
 motives every week. 
 
 Whilst figures have been quoted as evidence of the absolute 
 supremacy attained by the British Empire as a commercial 
 power, it is quite impossible to discover the actual value of
 
 302 
 
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 IMPERIAL COMMERCE 303 
 
 British sea-borne commerce ; and yet to bring home to the 
 average inhabitant of the Empire the absolute need for unity 
 among our ocean-connected units for a common naval policy 
 for the protection of its commerce and the security of the pos- 
 sessions, and for a uniform fiscal policy, it is necessary to 
 obtain some idea of how our commerce stands on our natural 
 element, the high seas. 
 
 Mr. J. R. Thursfield 1 estimates the average value of goods Value of 
 carried per ton of shipping at approximately £90, and when ^"j 1 * 18 ^ 
 we take into consideration the fact that whereas a very small 
 portion of British maritime commerce is carried in foreign 
 ships a very large portion of the maritime commerce of the 
 whole world is carried in British ships ; and when we bear in 
 mind that many of the wealthiest commercial houses in foreign 
 countries, especially in the South American republics, are 
 British, and that all coasting trade of foreign countries is 
 undertaken by foreign ships, we must believe that a large 
 proportion of their cargoes is owned in transit by British 
 merchants. Taking Mr. Thursfield's estimate as a fair one, 
 it means that the average value of British sea-borne trade is 
 £1,683,858,330. But no account is taken here of the British 
 commerce carried between foreign countries, nor is it pos- 
 sible to arrive at even a rough estimate of this. The same 
 authority places the value of the British mercantile marine 
 at £10 per ton. Therefore the Navy is responsible for 
 £187,095,370 in shipping, carrying during the year com- 
 merce valued at £1,683,858,330. Truly, the time has long 
 arrived for the members of the imperial family to realize 
 the stupendous values represented by the loose term British 
 Empire. 
 
 Preferential Trade within the Empire. — Fortunately Colonial pre- 
 fer the integrity of the Empire preferential treatment for the J^™ 6 * s s now 
 products of the imperial possessions is practically assured. The sured. 
 exclusion of the products of kith and kin to the advantage 
 of the foreigner is a dangerous grievance founded upon 
 outraged justice. Great Britain in electing to become the 
 dumping ground for cheap surplus stocks, which at any price 
 represents a profit to the protected producer, has driven 
 Englishmen from her shores to become producers in the 
 1 Clarke and Thursfield, " The Navy and the Nation," p. 98.
 
 304 THE GOVERNANCE OF EMPIEE 
 
 colonies. Yet here again, as far as manufactures are con- 
 cerned, they find the market of their native land closed whilst 
 it is held wide open to the foreigner. Small wonder then that 
 the breach between Great Britain and her colonies is becom- 
 ing wider. Let it be borne in mind that not a single colony 
 regrets financially, or from sentiment, having given preference 
 to Great Britain or to sister colonies. The British Empire is 
 self-supporting in every sense of the word, there is nothing 
 produced in the world which cannot be equally as well pro- 
 duced in some portion or another of the Empire. Unfortun- 
 ately our resources have never been marshalled, nor can they 
 be, until the creation of an organizing body of experts.
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 EMPIRE AND THE PRESS. 
 
 Whilst the Press played an unimportant part, owing to its Power of the 
 infancy, in the earlier stages of the building of the British PreBS - 
 Empire, journalism has been more or less responsible for the 
 efficiency of the varied Administrations governing the Empire 
 to-day. 
 
 The power of the Press in public affairs was first realized The writer 
 in Great Britain in the year 1768. The awakening to this new " Jumus "• 
 influence was dramatic in its suddenness, and was brought 
 about by the letters of the anonymous writer " Junius," whose 
 identity is still a mystery. This writer's first contribution to the 
 " Public Advertiser," the paper in which all his articles appear- 
 ed, was published in August, 1768. This letter, the first of a 
 series of anonymous articles from a pen still unsurpassed in 
 brilliancy, took a general and candid survey of the state of 
 the nation at that period, and particularly in regard to its 
 funded property, the alarming and dangerous depression of 
 which, from the still hostile attitude of France, the prospect 
 of a rupture with our American colonies, the wretchedness 
 of the public finances, and the imbecility of the Administra- 
 tion, struck the writer so forcibly, as to induce him, as he 
 tells us, to transfer his property from the funds to what he 
 considered the more solid security of landed estate. 
 
 For a period of five years (1768-1773) this writer influenced 
 the policy of the Administration, and the same impression was 
 produced upon Parliament by the appearance of his letters as 
 was produced upon the general public. His lashing invective 
 cut short the careers of those mediocrities family influence had 
 pushed into Ministerial rank. The importance with which 
 these articles were regarded by the statesmen of the day is 
 proved by the following extract of a speech delivered by Mr. 
 
 305 20
 
 306 THE GOVERNANCE OF EMPIRE 
 
 Burke in Parliament in 1771 : " Where then shall we look 
 for the origin of this relaxation of the laws of all government? 
 How comes this Junius to have broken the cobwebs of the 
 law and to range uncontrolled, unpunished, through the land? 
 The myrmidons of the court have been long, and are still, 
 pursuing him in vain. They will not spend their time upon me 
 or you, or you. No : they disdain such vermin. . . . But 
 what will all their efforts avail ; no sooner has he wounded one 
 than he lays down another dead at his feet. For my part, 
 when I saw his attack upon the King, I own my blood ran 
 cold. I thought he had ventured too far, and there was an 
 end of his triumphs, not that he had not asserted many truths. 
 Yes, sir, there are in that composition many bold truths, by 
 which a wise prince might profit." 
 
 The great influence these articles exercised at the time 
 was not altogether due to their undoubted merit. There 
 was another reason, and that was the fact that owing to the 
 limited number of newspapers published in those days the 
 reading public were able to concentrate their attention upon 
 and study the few able articles which appeared in the one or 
 two weekly papers then published. 
 
 The letters of Junius set a standard of journalistic style 
 seldom reached, which though dignified was warm and ener- 
 getic, and at the same time keen and sarcastic. The effect 
 upon journalism was immediately apparent in the high stan- 
 dard of articles and letters which appeared in the public Press 
 either in reply to or in support of his criticisms. 
 Expert know- It was from this time that public opinion gradually be- 
 ledge pos- came more and more susceptible to the influence of the Press ; 
 
 PGBBGQ DV 
 
 journalists, and journalists, realizing the power they were year by year 
 acquiring, fitted themselves by a greater attention to, and 
 study of, public affairs, until to-day we find many journalists 
 more fully equipped with all the requirements of statecraft 
 than many of the Ministers called to rule over great State de- 
 partments. Many of these Ministers have, however, been 
 wise enough to confide in and seek the advice on some par- 
 ticular question of gentlemen of the journalistic world noted 
 for their knowledge of that question. Many, indeed, have 
 been the delicate and intricate questions of State handled 
 by an unofficial ambassador in the person of an unknown
 
 EMPIRE AND THE PRESS 307 
 
 journalist, and wise is the Minister who is not above seeking 
 the services of men whose training and peculiar aptitude 
 have fitted them for certain diplomatic work, and whose 
 knowledge of the subject is greater than what circumstances 
 and environment will ever allow that of the official to be. Of 
 the Prime Ministers of England none have been more suc- 
 cessful in their foreign and imperial policy than Mr. Disraeli. 
 Yet no Minister of State relied more upon the knowledge of 
 the journalist than he did. He realized that it was the daily- 
 work of the journalist to have reliable intelligence, in many 
 cases more recent and reliable, as far as the outside world was 
 concerned, than the government departments. By the un- 
 grudgingly given assistance of this unofficial staff Disraeli 
 was more often than not in possession of important intelli- 
 gence unknown to his colleagues. It is a journalist that 
 the Empire to-day has to thank for giving her the control of 
 the Suez Canal. The "Pall Mall Gazette" correspondent Purchase of 
 at Cairo informed his editor that the Khedive was negotiating s , uez Canal 
 
 ° shares. 
 
 the sale of his shares in the canal to a French syndicate. 
 The editor of the " Pall Mall Gazette," the late Frederic 
 Greenwood, waited upon Lord Derby and urged him to 
 purchase the shares on behalf of Great Britain. Lord 
 Derby saw Mr. Disraeli, and pressed upon him the urgency 
 of the transaction. Although the intelligence of these secret 
 negotiations only reached London on the morning of 15 
 November, 1875, the following day the British Government 
 had secured the 176,602 Suez Canal shares for £3,976,582. 
 This transaction, made possible by an energetic and able jour- 
 nalist, backed up by his long-sighted chief, had far-reaching 
 results for the Empire. It brought about the long-delayed 
 crisis and paved the way for the future prosperity of Egypt, 
 and it induced the British Government to inquire more closely 
 into the financial condition of the country. 
 
 To-day we find that the intelligence department of many 
 of the leading newspapers is more efficient than that of the 
 Government. The reason for this is explained by the fact 
 that the servants of an up-to-date newspaper are employed 
 for and their remuneration and promotion are determined by 
 their ability to carry out successfully that work which is in 
 the interests of the proprietors of the paper. And only in the 
 
 20 *
 
 308 THE GOVEENANCE OF EMPIEE 
 
 cases of a few family-owned newspapers is sentiment and 
 family interest allowed to interfere with efficiency, and in 
 these few cases the papers are suffering and falling behind 
 their competitors. 
 "Yellow The power which a united Press can exercise upon the 
 
 America temper of a people is best illustrated by the Spanish- American 
 war. This war was brought about by the exaggerated state- 
 ments of the excitable Yellow Press of the United States. No 
 pains were spared by a few wealthy and unscrupulous news- 
 paper owners in working upon the passions of the people. In 
 contradistinction we find the many European disputes, ail 
 of which have had in them all the elements for war, being 
 smoothed over by the able and dispassionate journalists of the 
 countries concerned. In many of these misunderstandings it 
 Good influ- has fallen to the Press to clear up the points in dispute, 
 ence of a an( j th[ s k as often been done before the diplomats had fully 
 English Press, grasped the subject in dispute. Had it not been for the great 
 influence with the public held by a few of the leading English 
 and French papers during the Fashoda affair, and their able 
 advocacy for calmness and reason, there is little doubt that 
 popular feeling would have been successfully aroused by that 
 irresponsible section of the Press whose methods of journalism 
 are in the direction of that of the Yellow Press of the United 
 States. Whilst the British Empire has a number of irre- 
 sponsible newspapers which cater for an excitement-loving 
 public, and whose mission it would appear is to feed an ab- 
 normal hunger for the sensational, we are more fortunate 
 than many other countries in possessing an effective check 
 to those dangerous journals in the shape of a more solid, 
 sober, and respected Press, whose utterances, delivered dispas- 
 sionately, with accuracy and dignity, carry the same weight 
 with the public as a notification in a government " Gazette". 
 And it is fortunate that it is so, for an irresponsible Press car- 
 ries irresponsibility into many other walks of life, private, 
 commercial, and public ; it creates distrust and sets section 
 against section. As the tool of the unscrupulous it has 
 no regard for the methods adopted or advocated or for the 
 accuracy of the statements made ; hence the readers become 
 accustomed to inaccuracy and look upon it lightly. This 
 disregard for the truth, and a habit of exaggerating current
 
 EMPIRE AND THE PRESS 309 
 
 events, gradually creeps into the daily life of the reading 
 public, and eventually undermines the moral conduct of the 
 people. The varying standards of morality found among the 
 people of the United States are mainly due to the influence of 
 the Press. In one town it will be found that wilful prevarica- 
 tion is looked upon as an everyday habit ; upon inquiry it 
 will be discovered that the local Press, established for some 
 ten or twenty years, has been run all this time upon loose 
 journalistic methods, and its stamp has been placed upon the 
 people whose mental appetite has been fed during a receptive 
 age upon poisonous journalism. 
 
 The character of any particular community is to a certain Press reflects 
 extent reflected through its Press ; if the paper be old-estab- * f ^p*^ 1 
 lished, that is, anything over ten years, it will have placed its 
 stamp upon the character of its readers ; if, on the other hand, 
 the journal be a newly-established one, it will cater according 
 to the accurately discovered requirements of the people, hence 
 their character may be read through its pages. In those 
 countries where the Press is sensational and is conducted 
 upon loose journalistic methods, there it will be found that the 
 Government is corrupt. It is a sure sign that the varied 
 Administrations of the British Empire are more or less pure in 
 their working when we find that the many attempts to estab- 
 lish papers of the American type have always met with failure. 
 
 It is sufficiently obvious, that with regard to political sub- The worst sin 
 jects and public men, the liberty of the Press may be abused CO m m \^ s c t a n 
 in two ways. The one is, when good public measures and praise bad 
 good public men are blamed ; the other is, when bad public Govermnen s - 
 measures and bad public men are praised. Of these two the 
 last is infinitely the worse. It is not only beyond all com- 
 parison the more prevalent, as being the better paid, but it car- 
 ries no punishment upon detection ; but it is infinitely the 
 more dangerous and fatal in its operation. It is the screen 
 by which, more effectually than by anything else, power is con- 
 cealed in that gradual progress to despotism, and, even when 
 nothing worse than imbecility wields the reins, it is that by 
 which it is chiefly upheld in its blunders, till it ripens national 
 misfortunes into national ruin. Everything the Government 
 performs is asserted, and with pretended demonstration 
 proved, to be excellent. Every plausible circumstance which
 
 310 THE GOVERNANCE OF EMPIRE 
 
 can be discovered belonging to it, is displayed in the most ad- 
 vantageous light and fixed habitually in the public eye, while 
 every dangerous and mischievous circumstance is carefully 
 disguised or hidden from the view. To the great mass of 
 mankind whose minds are chiefly passive in the reception 
 of their opinions and more intimately concerned with their 
 private affairs, nothing more is needed to make them believe 
 that their Government is admirable than perpetually to hear 
 that it is so ; and recent events have proved that, even upon 
 the strongest minds, the tide of popular opinion, if run- 
 ning with any considerable strength, is all but irresistible. It 
 is evident, therefore, that if any exercise whatsoever of the 
 Press be an abuse, its becoming the vehicle of undeserved 
 praise of public men and public measures is an abuse ; and if 
 mischief be the ground of complaint no other abuse presents 
 so many cogent reasons for being restrained by punishment. 
 When, therefore, one hears the censures pronounced by the 
 Press made the perpetual topic of invective and execration, 
 while all the mischief committed by it in shedding the poison 
 of false praise is regarded with approbation, one can be at no 
 loss for the motives of such conduct. 
 But false con- When, of two national evils, the greater is adopted as a 
 demnation is favourite, whilst the smaller is selected as the object of con- 
 centrated antipathy, one knows what to think either of the 
 heads or of the hearts of the men who thus distribute their 
 affections. At the same time there must be a just sense of 
 the evils which may arise from the abuse of censure by the 
 Press. In regard to the public transactions of public men, or 
 their qualifications for public trusts, just as false praise is to be 
 deemed no praise, so too condemnation that is undeserved, 
 is to be deemed no censure. Wherever real incapacity in a 
 public man is pointed out — wherever the real impolicy or mis- 
 chief of a wrong measure is stripped of its disguise and made 
 to appear in its own shape, then the people are served in the 
 highest sense by the Press ; and anything rather than an 
 abuse has been effected. But when by the influence of false 
 censure the people are made to disapprove of a good measure, 
 or a good Minister or proconsul, and to defeat the one and 
 deprive themselves of the other, the Press has been the source 
 of mischief. There are, of course, two remedies against this.
 
 EMPIEE AND THE PKESS 311 
 
 There is, in the first place, refutation of the censure by the 
 same channel, a grand and appropriate cure, and which, con- 
 sidering the force of truth, will generally prevail, and there is 
 punishment, which, as often as a man brings an accusation 
 which he cannot support, may be inflicted in measure and 
 proportion. 
 
 The Press lays a foundation for human improvement that Existence of 
 cannot fail, because it ensures a state of progression in every f^apm™' 
 country in which it can operate at all ; and increases its gress. 
 power in proportion to the progress which it has made. It 
 may accordingly be observed, that, from the grand era of the 
 invention of printing, the human mind, in every country in 
 Europe, even the most besotted, has been gradually improved ; 
 and that its improvement has been more rapid in every suc- 
 ceeding age, and is at this moment most rapid in the coun- 
 tries which have made the greatest advancement. 
 
 In 1870 the "Times" led the way in the journalistic Duties of 
 world in appointing a regular permanent representative in 3 ourna 1S 8 - 
 every foreign capital. To-day every important daily news- 
 paper has its own representatives in all the important cities 
 of the world for the collection and transmission of news by 
 telegraph. The foreign correspondent of the great English 
 dailies and the leading papers of our colonies is in very truth 
 the unofficial ambassador of empire, for he has to keep a 
 close watch upon commerce, social events, military and naval 
 and other official movements, the literature and fine arts of 
 the country in which he is stationed. His chief care, how- 
 ever, is with political affairs; to obtain the information he 
 requires it is necessary for him to possess more than the 
 average amount of astuteness. Official documents are closed 
 to him, — officially — yet his adroitness often secures his access 
 to them. His popularity at clubs which he frequents — he is 
 always a popular member — enables him to piece together 
 scraps of information unintelligible to others ; almost invari- 
 ably his conclusions are right. A late correspondent of the 
 " Times " (W. J. Stillman) said that " honesty and courage 
 are two qualities a foreign correspondent has no right to 
 boast of, for his calling presupposes as a matter of course 
 that he possesses them". 1 
 
 1 " Autobiography of a Journalist," W. J. Stillman.
 
 312 THE GOVEENANCE OF EMPIEE 
 
 Their cognis- It will be remembered that the correspondent of the 
 anceof cur- « Times " was expelled from St. Petersburg in 1903 for his 
 
 rent events. . ... \ , f 
 
 hostile criticisms of the Eussian Government, and the manner 
 in which this expulsion of a private individual was received not 
 only by the people of the British Empire but by the Govern- 
 ment is proof of the important institution journalism has be- 
 come. Henry de Blowitz, the late Paris correspondent of 
 the " Times," in defining the difference between an ambas- 
 sador and foreign correspondent, said : " Ambassadors know 
 what happens and are compelled to keep silence ; journalists 
 don't generally know what happens and are obliged to speak." 
 But reference has been made to the fact that the journalist is 
 often better informed than the officials ; he is not restricted 
 by official etiquette from seeking his information in various 
 quarters, nor is he tied down to official circles and grades of 
 officialdom for news. Some years ago the Peking correspon- 
 dent of the " Times " published facts of the greatest import- 
 ance several days before the Foreign Office was placed in 
 possession of the intelligence by its representative. A question 
 on the point was asked in the House of Commons, and, in re- 
 ply, the Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs stated : " This 
 question should rather be addressed to the editor of the 
 1 Times ' than to me ; at the same time I think the explanation 
 asked for is not far to seek. It is the business of Her Majesty's 
 representative abroad to report to us facts of which they have 
 official cognizance, and to obtain confirmation of them before 
 they telegraph. I hesitate to say what the functions of the 
 modern journalist are ; but I imagine they do not exclude the 
 intelligent anticipation of facts even before they occur, and in 
 that somewhat unequal competition I think the House will 
 see that the journalist, whose main duty is speed, is likely 
 sometimes to get the advantage over the diplomatist, whose 
 main duty is accuracy." 
 Importance of The importance of the war correspondent is second only 
 war corre- t fa^ f the foreign correspondent. Great responsibility is 
 spon en s. p^ ace< j U p n his shoulders ; this has grown with the power of 
 the Press. The late Anglo-Boer War revealed the war corre- 
 spondent as an officially recognized appendage to the army. 
 It is only fair to state here that whilst his power was such as 
 could either make or break a career, no advantage was ever
 
 EMPIRE AND THE PRESS 313 
 
 taken to praise unduly a friend or to censure many of those 
 officers whose dislike for war correspondents often led them to 
 place obstacles in their way. To illustrate how important it 
 is that only gentlemen of the highest integrity should be em- 
 ployed in the responsible position of war correspondent it is 
 necessary to state that some of the colonial papers employed 
 in this capacity men holding commissions in some of the irre- 
 gular corps ; the result was that friends and relatives were 
 "written up" and were brought prominently before the 
 public, the services of others often being attributed to them, 
 with the result that as official dispatches were sometimes 
 influenced by Press reports as containing " more detail," fic- 
 titious services were often recognized at the expense of men 
 who were never heard of. 
 
 The early colonial Press was fully impregnated with Eng- Colonial 
 lish traditions, the " Times " being the model on which many reBS 
 of the better-known colonial papers were conducted ; but dur- 
 ing the last thirty years the colonial Press has developed 
 along its own lines, and reflects more or less a growing 
 national character. The Canadian Press, however much it 
 may be controlled by commercial influences, at any rate re- 
 flects ideas and interests which are Canadian rather than 
 external. If its literary and technical style is American rather 
 than British, it is not the less loyal to the Empire on that 
 account. Prominent Canadian papers, such as the " Mon- 
 treal Witness " and the " Toronto Globe," have of late years 
 criticized public affairs from a national standpoint. In spite influence of 
 of this fact, and that the colonial Press has grown in size and * he BntlBh 
 
 °. . . Press in the 
 
 importance, the power of the British papers in the Empire is colonies. 
 not one whit less to-day than it has ever been. The opinion 
 of the leading English dailies on all questions of foreign, im- 
 perial or purely colonial import is reproduced and seriously 
 commented upon by the colonial Press the day following. It 
 is doubtful whether the British Press fully realizes that its 
 power in the colonies has not been superseded by the in- 
 digenous papers. It is the continuous high standard of the 
 British Press which retains for it its influence with the 
 colonial Press, and through it with the colonial public. This 
 depends more largely than is sometimes realized on the 
 regular industry and ability of the trained journalist whose
 
 314 THE GOVERNANCE OF EMPIRE 
 
 business it is to discuss the latest developments in the affairs 
 of the civilized world. This his skill enables him to do in a 
 manner which gives reasonable men something fresh to think 
 about. A leading article in the " Times," " Standard," 
 " Daily Telegraph," " Morning Post," " Daily Mail," " Pall 
 Mall," "Evening Standard and St. James's Gazette," " West- 
 minster," "Spectator," or the "Economist," has even greater 
 weight in the colonies to-day than twenty years ago, for to- 
 day there are able colonial journalists who reproduce portions 
 or the whole of the articles and then ably criticize them in 
 leading articles of their own papers. The style of the colonial 
 journalist has never been very far below that of his English 
 colleague, as is commonly believed to be the case. In the 
 earlier days of the colonization of Canada the colonial life at- 
 tracted several English and French writers of repute, who set 
 a standard which has ever since been aimed at. In the case 
 of Australia and New Zealand, the early colonists included 
 among them gentlemen with considerable literary ability and 
 journalistic training ; these attainments were used in the in- 
 terests of the colonies and of the Empire. South Africa, too, 
 was fortunate through its salubrious climate in attracting 
 many journalistic geniuses to her shores in the earlier stages. 
 As the colonies developed and the Press grew in importance it 
 was able to compete with the London journals in the open 
 market for the services of skilled journalists, many of whom 
 served an apprenticeship with English papers. 
 The journals It is not generally known that many of the British papers 
 as empire- have contributed in more ways than one in empire building. 
 The part which the "Pall Mall Gazette" played in secur- 
 ing the control of the Suez Canal has already been referred 
 to. In 1876, the year following the Suez transaction, 
 the " Times " warned the Beaconsfield Cabinet that their 
 Egyptian policy must inevitably lead the nation into more 
 active intervention in that country and it is undoubtedly due 
 to the influence of the London Press that Great Britain owes 
 "Times." her Egyptian position to-day. Then again the " Times " was 
 responsible for strengthening Mr. Gladstone's policy in Ire- 
 land, and it was this paper's dignified denunciation of the 
 leaders of the Home Rule movement which resulted in the 
 defeat of that measure. It was when Mr. Gladstone became
 
 EMPIEE AND THE PRESS 
 
 315 
 
 converted to Home Rule that the "Times" formed the 
 Liberal-Unionist party. The pacification of the Soudan is 
 mainly due to the influence of the British Press led by the 
 " Times ". The urgent necessity for determined action in 
 South Africa was strongly advocated by this same journal and 
 when the Anglo-Boer war broke out the reputable Press of 
 the British Empire was mainly responsible for it being brought 
 to an honourable and successful issue. In the hour of tem- 
 porary defeat an irresponsible or excitable Press could with 
 ease have so used its influence with the public as to have, 
 through our democratic institutions, brought disaster upon 
 the whole Empire. The Press, however, steadied the nation 
 and made it determined to succeed at any cost. Nor must 
 we forget that the Press of Great Britain is mainly responsible 
 for our naval strength, it keeps a far more jealous eye upon 
 the naval advancement of our possible foes than it is possible 
 for the Government to do, and whilst it backs up any effi- 
 cient naval programme of the Government it educates the 
 people to the absolute necessity for the financial sacrifices if 
 security is to be obtained. The efficiency of the British 
 Navy has ever been the peculiar care of the " Times ". 
 
 Had it not been for the able and strenuous efforts of the 
 leading British daily and weekly papers, the insidious and 
 dangerous growth of Socialism would have made greater 
 headway in the Empire than it has already done. 
 
 A London daily carrying weight in the colonies is the "Standard." 
 " Standard ". This paper, founded in the Tory interests in 
 1827, has done much for the Empire, and it promises to do 
 still more through the columns of the " Standard-of -Empire," 
 a paper which inspired the object and title of this work. 
 
 The educative work of the " Standard-of -Empire " is « standard-of- 
 already bearing good fruit in the colonies; through its Em P ire -" 
 columns the component parts of the Empire are being brought 
 in closer touch with each other ; this paper is undoubtedly 
 doing yeoman service in the march towards imperial federa- 
 tion. The colonists have perhaps realized this good work 
 before it has yet dawned upon the inhabitants of Great 
 Britain. Another of the London dailies having a large cir- 
 culation among colonials is the "Daily Telegraph". This » Daily Tele- 
 paper, founded in 1855, has done much practical work in6 ra P h -"
 
 Press Con- 
 ference 
 
 316 THE GOVEKNANCE OF EMPIRE 
 
 building up our empire. It was this paper that co-operated 
 with the " New York Herald " in sending the explorer Henry 
 Stanley on his second expedition to Africa, resulting in the 
 survey of Lakes Victoria and Tanganyika. The " Daily Tele- 
 graph " was also responsible for the exploration of Kiliman- 
 jaro (1884-5) by Sir Harry Johnston. 
 
 "Daily Mail." The London "Daily Mail" is yet another paper which 
 does not confine itself to criticism. In 1908 this paper com- 
 menced a successful experiment in placing townspeople 
 on the land ; this policy, started by a newspaper, may yet 
 have a far-reaching effect upon the whole Empire, for it may 
 give us back some of that self-reliance with which our rural 
 ancestors won the Empire. The encouragement this news- 
 paper is giving to aeronautics is resulting in added interest 
 in a branch of science, the perfecting of which will have an 
 important bearing upon the Empire. 
 
 Imperial Last year (1909) there was held in London the most im- 
 
 portant conference yet held in that capital ; this was the 
 Imperial Press Conference, a conference which marks a 
 distinct epoch in the history of the Empire. Here there were 
 gathered together the men who permanently reflect and in- 
 fluence the opinion of its varied parts. There have been 
 held in London conferences of colonial Prime Ministers, im- 
 perial defence conferences and conferences of commercial 
 representatives ; and whilst each of these meetings of dele- 
 gates has been a step in the direction of imperial federation, 
 the Press Conference has been a very long stride in that direc- 
 tion. The result of this conference will not be found in the 
 records of the sessions it held, but must be looked for in the 
 writings of the delegates in the pages of their newspapers ; 
 therein will be found a unanimity of imperial policy, which 
 was impossible before this conference was held. To-day many 
 of the Australian journalists know the ideas prompting the 
 writings of their Canadian colleagues, having received the 
 reasons first hand, and the same applies to the newspaper staffs 
 of other parts of the Empire. The Press Conference enabled 
 the Press of the Empire to become personally acquainted. 
 The delegates returned to their several parts of Empire, unani- 
 mously favouring a common policy in its defence as a whole, 
 and agreeing upon the need for retaining at any price our
 
 EMPIEE AND THE PRESS 317 
 
 present position in naval construction. It is now possible 
 for the imperial Press to support unanimously an efficient 
 scheme of imperial federation, and the imperial Press is but 
 waiting for a federation policy to be propounded by one of 
 the recognized leading papers, not as a party cry, but as an 
 imperial ideal possible of successful and early achievement ; 
 the grand work of the Press Conference of 1909 will then be 
 seen in an almost unanimous support of the federal policy.
 
 CHAPTEB XVI. 
 
 THE CALL FOR IMPERIAL FEDERATION. 
 
 Colonials are 
 usually more 
 Imperialist 
 than the in- 
 habitants of 
 the United 
 Kingdom. 
 
 Heterogeneity 
 of the Empire. 
 
 The call for a closer tie between the units of the Empire has 
 been heard for a far longer period in the colonies than in the 
 parent country, and in many of the colonies the call has be- 
 come more insistent as time has passed. That it should be so 
 is partly explained by the fact that the colonial is a product of 
 Imperialism, he feels himself inherently to be a citizen of 
 Empire, and he knows that the rights and privileges of this 
 greater citizenship, under existing conditions, are purely 
 nominal. This is a grievance shared by all colonials and 
 the longer it is allowed to stand the more difficult and com- 
 plex will become the means of its removal. The responsi- 
 bilities of the separate parts daily increase, a national as apart 
 from an imperial sentiment is fostered ; local idiosyncrasies 
 grow into provincial characteristics, and these eventually de- 
 velop into national independence ; in turn this may culmin- 
 ate in a desire for secession, hastened by the unsympathetic 
 attitude of the mother country. 
 
 The secession movement on the part of one or more of the 
 members of the imperial family may be precipitated by the 
 continued refusal of the mother country to distribute equally 
 the responsibility of government ; it was taxation without 
 representation that brought about the severance of the Amer- 
 ican colonies from the Crown of Great Britain, and non- 
 responsibility in imperial affairs may bring about further 
 secession from the Empire. 
 
 It will have been seen in the preceding chapters that the 
 possessions now calling for a closer tie between each other and 
 the mother country are so scattered, the people so widely dif- 
 ferent in race, temperament, degree of civilization and religion, 
 and that there are, in fact, so many factors to be considered, 
 
 318
 
 THE CALL FOR IMPERIAL FEDERATION 319 
 
 that success can alone be achieved by a radical departure from 
 all preceding constitutions. 
 
 Of the 670 members of the House of Commons, a very The British 
 small number realize to what extent the Empire has grown a *o n o™i e <£, ft i 8 
 within the last century ; they are apt to think of the colonies and imperial, 
 as these were in their beginning, as plantations or convict 
 settlements. The average British politician fails to under- 
 stand why the colonial is not more than satisfied with the local 
 autonomy given him, and whilst this is the attitude of the 
 majority, and a large majority of the members of the " mother 
 of parliaments," it is likewise the feeling of a far larger 
 majority of the 7 J million of electors of the United Kingdom. 
 Although the responsibilities of the Empire have yearly in- 
 creased, the responsibilities of the British nation, as apart from 
 the imperial people, have grown, though at a decreasing ratio ; 
 and this in a measure accounts for an apparent indifference on 
 the part of the inhabitants of the mother country to the 
 growing voice in the colonies in favour of a closer tie be- 
 tween the units. It must also be admitted that the population 
 of Great Britain, with the increase of local legislation attendant 
 upon it, has long since outgrown its legislative machinery. 
 The law-makers of the United Kingdom are also called upon 
 to legislate on imperial questions, and it often happens that 
 some question of the greatest concern to several millions of 
 colonials or a greater number of subjects beyond the seas is 
 but perfunctorily considered by a thin House of members know- 
 ing nothing of the conditions existing in the possessions con- 
 cerned ; a few hours later a full House will heatedly debate a 
 licensing Bill for England. A truly imperial question has never 
 been responsible for the dissolution of the Imperial Parlia- 
 ment, and as far as can be ascertained, from the meagre re- 
 ports obtainable an imperial platform has never been adopted 
 by a candidate for the British Parliament. What does this 
 portend ? An absolute indifference on the part of the 45 
 millions of inhabitants of the United Kingdom to the welfare The peoples 
 of the remaining 347 millions of people of the Empire. Of the of . the Do ." 
 
 . . ° . r r r minions have 
 
 392 millions of people owning with just pride allegiance to the n0 imperial 
 British Crown, and governed in the complex manner described responsibility. 
 in a previous chapter, some 12 millions are British colonists 
 or colonials of European descent enjoying the full privilege
 
 320 
 
 THE GOVERNANCE OF EMPIRE 
 
 Attitude of 
 colonials 
 during the 
 Boer War. 
 
 of responsible government ; but this responsibility does not 
 extend beyond their own colonies, whereas the responsibility 
 of the inhabitants of the United Kingdom extends throughout 
 the Empire. 
 
 To illustrate this : the British Government may bring 
 about a war involving the whole Empire, resulting perhaps 
 in the loss of one or more of the colonies, or at least serious 
 damage and financial loss to them, yet these outlying parts 
 of the Empire have had no voice in the negotiations ending in 
 such a war. It will therefore be seen that the colonial call 
 for imperial federation is no unreasonable one, and that the 
 governance of Empire must mean the adjustment of respon- 
 sibility by representation in such a manner as to create inter- 
 dependence between the parts. 
 
 At the conference of colonial Prime Ministers held in 
 London in 1897 nothing towards a more tangible tightening 
 of the bonds of Empire was effected, for even at that late 
 date many of the units were still setting their own houses 
 in order ; every unit was in fact busily engaged in making 
 more efficient its own governmental machinery. 
 
 A resolution was adopted at this conference by a majority 
 of the delegates, " that the present political relations between 
 the United Kingdom and the self-governing colonies are 
 generally satisfactory under the existing condition of things ". 
 But " the existing condition of things " did not last for long. 
 The Anglo-Boer War discovered to the Empire that Great 
 Britain was respected by the continental powers only so 
 long as her metal at sea was heavier than a combination of 
 theirs. The open rejoicings on the continent at British re- 
 verses in South Africa brought home to the colonials, if not 
 to pre-occupied Englishmen, that Great Britain was regarded 
 outside of the Empire with a jealous hatred which only 
 awaited a favourable opportunity to burst forth in a deter- 
 mined effort to annex many of her possessions. This attitude, 
 then, of potential enemies showed the urgent need for con- 
 solidation among the imperial family. That the defensive — 
 and offensive, if necessary — resources of the oversea possessions 
 were considerably greater than had been anticipated, was 
 proved by the colonial contingents sent to a war of little im- 
 portance outside of South Africa. Prior to this war imperial
 
 THE CALL FOE IMPERIAL FEDERATION 321 
 
 federation had never taken any definite shape in men's 
 minds, the few colonial statesmen and publicists who had 
 spoken or written in its favour referred to it as something 
 highly desirable but belonging to the dim future. The 
 Anglo-Boer War showed, however, that the inhabitants of 
 the British Empire already belonged to one nation. It was 
 never quite known how the test of war would act upon the 
 Empire, and it must be confessed that even ardent Im- 
 perialists were in some doubt as to what the attitude of 
 certain portions of the Empire would be in a war that only 
 directly affected other parts. The spontaneous acceptance of 
 imperial war responsibilities by even the most insignificant 
 possession justified Mr. Chamberlain in sending a telegram 
 to the colonial Prime Ministers, dated 23 January, 1902, 
 intimating the desire of the Imperial Government to take 
 advantage of the gathering at the coronation to discuss the 
 political and commercial relations of the Empire and its 
 naval and military defence. The Governments of the self- 
 governing colonies were invited to suggest further subjects of 
 discussion, and to furnish the text of any resolutions which 
 they might desire to submit to the conference. Disappoint- 
 ment has been expressed in some quarters at the barren 
 result of this conference, and the two federations of Canada 
 and Australia have been blamed for not having accepted the 
 British Government's invitation, and submitted resolutions 
 of a more or less definite nature favouring the closer union of 
 the component parts of Empire. The representatives of 
 Canada and Australia were men experienced in federal ne- 
 gotiations and fully realized that these, to be successful, and 
 the result to be lasting, call for the most delicate of handling, 
 and, further, the attitude of Great Britain had not reassured 
 them. 
 
 Was she prepared to give them a voice in her councils, or 
 did imperial federation mean nothing more than an unlimited 
 call upon colonial resources ? 
 
 The Colonial Secretary (Mr. Chamberlain) was chairman Mr. Chamber- 
 of this conference, and he opened the proceedings with ftp^Jteaata 
 speech in which he welcomed the Colonial Premiers as "re-tion. 
 presentatives of the great nations across the seas". In the 
 course of his speech he said : "I say the paramount object is 
 
 21
 
 322 THE GOVEENANCE OF EMPIEE 
 
 to strengthen the bonds which unite us, and there are only- 
 three principal avenues by which we can approach this object. 
 They are, through our political relations in the first place ; 
 secondly, by some kind of commercial union ; in the third 
 place, by considering the questions which arise out of im- 
 perial defence. These three great questions were considered 
 at the last conference, and I think it is clear that they must 
 form the principal subject of our deliberations on this occa- 
 sion, and, indeed, of those of any future conference which 
 may afterwards be held." 
 
 The late war had " brought home to all of us the essential 
 unity of sentiment which unites us". At the same time, he 
 felt that " it would be a fatal mistake to transform the spon- 
 taneous enthusiasm which has been so readily shown through- 
 out the Empire into anything in the nature of an obligation 
 which might be at this time unwillingly assumed or only 
 formally accepted ' ' . Accordingly the demand for closer union 
 must come from the colonials, and he stated that " if it comes 
 it will be enthusiastically received in this country ". 
 Sir W. Two years before this conference was held a debate took 
 
 place in the Canadian House of Commons (13 March, 1900) 
 in which Mr. Bourassa criticized the Government for its 
 action in sending contingents to the South African war. Sir 
 Wilfrid Laurier, in defending his Government's action, said : 
 " But I have no hesitation in saying to my honourable friend 
 that if, as a consequence of our action to-day, the doctrine 
 were to be admitted that Canada should take part in all the 
 wars of Great Britain, and contribute to the military expen- 
 diture of the Empire, I agree with him that we should revise 
 the conditions of things existing between us and Great 
 Britain. . . . Under that condition of things, which does not 
 exist, we should have the right to say to Great Britain : ' If 
 you want us to help you, call us to your councils ; if you want 
 us to take part in wars, let us share not only the burdens but 
 the responsibilities and duties as well '." 1 
 
 At the conference of 1902 Mr. Chamberlain, in his speech, 
 replied to the above quoted words of Sir Wilfrid Laurier : — 
 
 " Gentlemen, we do want your aid. We do want your 
 assistance in the administration of the vast empire, which is 
 
 1 Speech in the Dominion House of Commons, 13 March, 1900. 
 
 Laurier on 
 Imperialism
 
 THE CALL FOR IMPERIAL FEDERATION 323 
 
 yours as well as ours. The weary Titan staggers under the 
 too vast orb of his fate, we have borne the burden for many 
 years. We think it time that our children should assist us 
 to support it, and whenever you make the request to us, be 
 very sure that we shall hasten gladly to call you to our councils. 
 If you are prepared at any time to take any share, any pro- 
 portionate share in the burdens of the Empire, we are prepared 
 to meet you with any proposal for giving to you a correspond- 
 ing voice in the policy of the Empire." 
 
 This conference was responsible for clearing the ground A Council of 
 for future negotiations and for obtaining an expression of the Em P ire * 
 opinion on the question from a responsible Minister of the 
 British Ministry, for before the conference terminated Mr. 
 Chamberlain suggested (not a formal resolution) that there 
 should be established " a real Council of the Empire, to which 
 all questions of imperial interest might be referred," and this 
 Minister went on to say that although such a body might in 
 the first instance be merely an advisory council, yet " the 
 object would not be completely secured until there had been 
 conferred upon such a council executive functions, and perhaps 
 also legislative powers ". 
 
 The one practical result of this conference was the decision Colonials and 
 arrived at, that conferences should be periodical, and it was ^^af party 
 thereupon agreed that the next conference should be held in 
 1906. Owing, however, to the general election being held in 
 the United Kingdom at this time the conference was not held 
 until 1907, and at the suggestion of Canada it was termed 
 the Imperial Conference, and for the first time included a 
 representative from India. Unfortunately, for the Empire 
 beyond the seas and the colonial anticipations of closer union, 
 a Liberal Ministry was now in power in Great Britain, and 
 Lord Elgin, who had succeeded Mr. Lyttelton as Secretary 
 of State for the Colonies did not hold himself bound by the 
 views of his predecessor ; he assumed the attitude of having 
 an open mind on all questions excepting domestic policy. 
 This conference was barren of result and the colonial delegates 
 realized that the Liberal Government was out of sympathy 
 with the oversea possessions. The Liberal Ministers had 
 unfortunately misunderstood the outburst of loyalty on the 
 part of the colonies during the South African war as loyalty 
 
 21 *
 
 324 THE GOVERNANCE OF EMPIKE 
 
 to the Conservatives and not to the Empire, and therefore 
 resented colonial suggestions as undue interference. It would 
 be idle to speculate on the results of this conference had Mr. 
 Chamberlain or Mr. Lyttelton presided over its deliberations, 
 but it is safe to assume that a step in advance of that taken 
 in 1902 would have been made, for during the interregnum 
 of five years the Colonial Office would have had time to realize 
 that Mr. Chamberlain in his speech to the delegates at the 
 1902 conference was wrong in saying that the request to take 
 part in the councils of the Empire (his words, already quoted, 
 were — " we are prepared to meet you with any proposal for 
 giving to you a corresponding voice in the policy of the 
 Empire " ) should come from the colonies themselves. 
 Proposal for It is just here that a set back to the federal movement has 
 
 should occurred, for the colonies quite rightly consider that overtures 
 
 emanate from concerning a constitutional innovation of such vital impor- 
 ' tance to the Empire should come from the parent country ; 
 furthermore, these colonies realize that there are other 
 important possessions and people to be affected by closer 
 union, that the self-governing colonies and their peoples are 
 not the most important part of the Empire, and finally that 
 any scheme for imperial federation must embrace the least as 
 well as the most important unit. It would be just as com- 
 petent for India or St. Helena to take up Mr. Chamberlain's 
 challenge as for Canada or for Australia to do so ; and had 
 Mr. Chamberlain remained at the Colonial Office a short time 
 longer, he would have seen that any scheme to be successful 
 and to be adopted enthusiastically by the Empire for the 
 closer union of the British possessions must emanate from 
 the parent country. 
 Colonial Con- The Colonial Conferences of 1897 and 1902, and the Im- 
 ferenceB. perial Conference of 1907, apart from the few substantial 
 results accruing, have been responsible for arousing interest 
 in the question of imperial federation ; and these conferences 
 have gone a long way in educating public opinion to the un- 
 told advantages to be obtained and the increased security to 
 be derived from closer unity. Yet these conferences were not 
 imperial in the true sense of the word ; only a very small 
 proportion of the imperial population was represented, for it 
 cannot be said that the Secretary of State for India was the
 
 THE CALL FOR IMPERIAL FEDERATION 325 
 
 proper personage to represent some 294 millions of people 
 at a conference the other delegates at which were directly 
 representing the people of countries they were personally 
 acquainted with by long residence. Apart from the Secretary 
 of State for India (who only attended at the conference of 
 1902, India not being represented at the previous conferences), 
 the delegates represented but 17 millions of people beyond the 
 seas, and although strengthening the bonds of sentiment and 
 preparing, in a measure, the way for the future governance of 
 Empire, these academic conferences have failed in concrete 
 results. Why is this so ? At the first and second conferences 
 the Secretary of State for the Colonies, presumably speaking 
 for his colleagues in the Ministry and for the British people, 
 earnestly proclaimed for closer union, and he went so far as to 
 recommend an imperial Zollverein, which " would change the 
 various parts of the Empire from a series of commercial units, 
 to an organic whole," and " would lead inevitably to the closer 
 political union which is so generally desired". 1 These ex- 
 pressions, strong expressions in favour of imperial federation, 
 were echoed by the colonial delegates, each of whom was a 
 responsible Minister in his own colony. Then the Press, not 
 alone the responsible Press of Great Britain, but all the leading 
 journals of the colonies, re-echoed the desire for closer union ; 
 nor can there be discovered any divergence of opinion as to 
 how this was to be brought about. The fundamental prin- 
 ciples as outlined by Mr. Chamberlain in 1902 were never Mr. Chamber- 
 disputed either in Great Britain or in the colonies ; but the lain ' B P° lic y- 
 delay of eight years has had this disturbing effect ; the 
 doctrine of nationalism assiduously preached by the Socialists 
 in Australia and Canada is at last bearing fruit which the 
 colonists themselves will, when too late, recognize as of the 
 Dead Sea species. The independent-navy policy of these two 
 large colonies signals their entrance into the embryo-nation 
 stage. Procrastination on the part of Imperialists enabled 
 the Socialistic doctrine to gain ground. The Socialist leaders in 
 these colonies have long advocated nationalism as against Im- 
 perialism, and no doubt the doctrine, for a young and growing 
 country full of youthful ambition, is an alluring one, and one 
 difficult to combat where the alternative policy of Imperialism 
 
 1 Blue Book : Colonial Conference, 1897.
 
 326 THE GOVERNANCE OF EMPIRE 
 
 is not offered in any concrete or definite form. Unfortunately 
 for the colonies adopting the independent-navy policy, the 
 growing Socialist party may, at no far distant date, assume 
 power, and the interesting anomaly will be witnessed of a set 
 of men, whose principal teaching is the denial of discipline and 
 rank, being in supreme control of a service whose efficiency 
 and use is dependent upon the most rigid discipline and the 
 recognition of graduated superiority among the personnel. 
 Undoubtedly, Mr. Chamberlain's declaration in favour of an 
 imperial Zollverein at the 1897 conference was made for the 
 purpose of familiarizing men's minds with an important ad- 
 dition to the British Constitution, and his reiteration again in 
 1902 of the urgent need for some definite form of closer union 
 foreshadowed the presentation, by the Imperial Government 
 to the conference of 1907, of a definite scheme for imperial 
 Results of the federation. This object was defeated by the overthrow of the 
 feat°£i906 Conservative party in 1906. Therefore, the question can- 
 not be considered with any hopes of success until the next 
 Imperial Conference of 1910 or 1911. But the agenda for that 
 conference should include the discussion of closer union and 
 the subject should be given the principal place on the agenda 
 paper. Apart from the ground already cleared in this direction 
 by the three previous conferences, the negotiations leading up 
 to the federal unions of the Canadian, Australian, and South 
 African colonies should be of the greatest value, and much of 
 the procedure followed by these states might, with profit and 
 success, be adopted in the case of the greater and culminating 
 federal union. 
 Next Imperial It is not to be expected, however, that the next Imperial 
 Conference. Conference can decide upon even the direction imperial 
 Steps that federation shall take ; a set of resolutions should, however, 
 should be b e submitted by the British representative and they might 
 take the following form : — 
 
 (a) That in the opinion of this conference the best in- 
 terests and the permanent security and prosperity of the 
 British Empire will be achieved by a closer political, com- 
 mercial and defensive union of the United Kingdom and the 
 British possessions beyond the seas. 
 
 (6) That the members of this conference agree to submit 
 the foregoing resolution to their respective Governments and
 
 THE CALL FOR IMPERIAL FEDERATION 327 
 
 to recommend that such steps be taken as may lead to the 
 appointment of delegates to a British Imperial Convention 
 whose object shall be to consider and report on the most de- 
 sirable form of closer union of the units of the British Empire 
 and to prepare a draft constitution. 
 
 (c) The convention shall consist of not more than the fol- 
 lowing numbers of delegates from each part of the Empire : — 
 
 The United Kingdom 15 delegates. 
 
 British India 10 ,, 
 
 Each Dominion, Commonwealth or Union - 5 ,, 
 
 Each self-governing colony - - - - 2 ,, 
 
 Each possession containing not less than 100,000 
 
 of population ------ 1 ,, 
 
 All possessions containing a population of less 
 
 than 100,000 to be grouped for purposes 
 
 of representation, and to such for every 
 
 100,000 of population ... 1 ,, 
 
 (d) The convention shall publish the draft constitution as 
 soon as possible and shall in consultation with the Govern- 
 ments and Administrations of the Empire determine the 
 further steps to be taken thereto. 
 
 (e) In the convention, the voting shall be by states and not 
 be per capita. A chairman shall be elected from the members, 
 who shall have the right of speaking and voting, and, in the 
 event of an equality of votes, shall have a casting vote. 
 
 For practical purposes an imperial convention must be An imperial 
 restricted in numbers, therefore, to keep the convention convention, 
 within a workable limit the representation of certain por- 
 tions of Empire must be disproportionate to population and 
 importance and cannot be fixed upon any arbitrary basis. 
 
 It is suggested that the voting in such a convention should 
 be by states and not by heads, for the reason that a little state 
 has its all at stake just as much as a large state, and it was 
 thus that the voting took place on the national convention 
 responsible for the founding of the United States of America. 
 
 The representation suggested in the third resolution will 
 constitute a convention of eighty delegates ; two of these will 
 represent grouped possessions. This grouping of the smaller 
 possessions need present little difficulty, for it will be seen by 
 a glance at the map of the Empire that these fall together 
 geographically ; for instance, the tiny but strategically im-
 
 328 THE GOVERNANCE OF EMPIRE 
 
 portant islands of St. Helena and Ascension would share a 
 representative with their opposite neighbour British Gambia. 
 We have here then a scheme for bringing together in 
 the imperial metropolis, under the aegis of His Britannic 
 Majesty, representatives from every corner of the Empire, 
 from the largest possession to the smallest. The oldest colony 
 and the youngest protectorate will sit in solemn conclave to 
 forge an instrument for the more uniform and efficient 
 government of the Empire as an organic whole. 
 
 The proceedings of an imperial convention will of necessity 
 be of a more harmonious nature than the proceedings of those 
 colonial conventions responsible for the drafting of the federal 
 and union constitutions of Canada, Australia, and South Africa, 
 for in the case of the imperial convention no sacrifices will 
 be demanded, no self-denial is called for, vested interests need 
 in no way be interfered with, existing constitutions, rights 
 and privileges will not be encroached upon. All the delegates 
 will be called upon to consider what is the best, the most 
 efficient, means of harmonizing the existing constitutions 
 and sub-constitutions now governing the Empire, or in other 
 words, to weave into a cable the numerous strands presented to 
 them, the tensile strength of which, from the material they 
 will have available, promises to be greater than any cable of 
 a like nature ever woven before. 
 The United In what quarter of the Empire is there likely to arise an 
 
 Kingdom and objection to the calling together of an imperial convention 
 federation, for the express purpose of considering as to whether or not 
 imperial federation is desirable, and if it is found to be desir- 
 able to formulate some scheme for bringing it about ? The 
 two principal political parties of the United Kingdom should 
 welcome such a court of inquiry, but of course for opposite 
 reasons — the Conservatives because the Empire is their pecu- 
 liar care, the Liberals because the United Kingdom is their 
 particular care. As the Empire has grown in area, strength, 
 and self-reliance under successive Conservative Governments, 
 so it has remained dormant or languished under Liberal 
 Administrations. The Liberal party is essentially a domestic 
 one — it supplies Ministers infinitely superior in detail and 
 routine to anything the Conservatives can give. A Liberal 
 Government legislates for England and legislates well. The
 
 THE CALL FOR IMPERIAL FEDERATION 329 
 
 Empire it knows nothing of, nor does it care to know any- 
 thing of it. Its leaders openly admit that territory outside of 
 the United Kingdom is an unnecessary luxury. Therefore, 
 a convention such as that suggested may propound a scheme 
 which will relieve the Government of the United Kingdom 
 of vexatious imperial legislation, and would allow a Liberal 
 Government to legislate for the United Kingdom upon those 
 advanced Socialistic lines for which it is now showing a pre- 
 dilection. In relegating purely imperial legislation to an im- Liberals are 
 perial legislature, the mother country must in any case be the ge^tLves ° Q " 
 gainer, for her legislators will be solely occupied upon her imperial in 
 domestic legislation, and whilst the Liberals, who have dis- * eir views - 
 played peculiar aptitudein this form of legislation, will probably 
 be retained for this work, the Conservatives, whose political 
 talents are more pronounced as imperial statesmen and in 
 foreign diplomacy, would be available to serve the Empire in 
 that capacity for which they are most fitted. In a consolidated 
 Empire, both parties will have that power they are peculiarly 
 fitted for. Under the present political party system in Great 
 Britain, whichever party is called to power, some portion 
 of the Empire must suffer. When the Conservatives are 
 called to office matters of official detail and office routine 
 are left to the permanent officials, and Ministers concern 
 themselves with questions of State. With a change of 
 Ministry, and the Liberals taking office, there is naturally a 
 change of policy. Imperial questions are handed over to the 
 permanent heads of departments, and Ministers take into 
 their own care questions of detail and of office routine. 
 
 If the immediate comfort of the inhabitants of Great Growth of the 
 Britain is to be considered as paramount to all other consider- ll y& } s - of 
 ations, then there is no need either for an imperial conference 
 or a Conservative party. A Liberal Government, for the 
 immediate wants of a nation, is all that can be desired ; but 
 it must be borne in mind that as a nation Great Britain is 
 rapidly giving way to other nations and falling into the rank 
 of second-class powers. It is as an Empire that Great 
 Britain and her dependencies are at the top of first-class 
 powers. Fifty years ago the United Kingdom rightly con- 
 sidered herself superior to all other European powers, and 
 never seriously considered Germany as a rival. To-day the
 
 330 
 
 THE GOVEKNANCE OF EMPIRE 
 
 Home Eule 
 for Ireland 
 is not incon- 
 sistent with 
 imperial 
 federation. 
 
 Devolution in 
 the British 
 Isles. 
 
 Socialist op- 
 position to 
 Imperialism. 
 
 forty millions of people resident in Great Britain are 
 threatened by the German Empire with a population 
 approaching seventy millions, augmented possibly in the 
 near future by some twenty-five millions of Austrians. The 
 United States, with an enterprising people sprung from our 
 stock, has to-day a population of twice that of Great Britain. 
 Japan, undreamt of as a power fifty years ago, has a larger 
 population than our own, and has taken her place among 
 first-class powers. The question has, therefore, to be faced 
 as to whether Great Britain intends to fall as a nation into 
 the rank of second-class powers or to retain and consolidate 
 her position as the leading first-class power, — as the British 
 Empire. If her people prefer nationalism to imperialism 
 and are prepared to follow the example set by Holland two 
 centuries ago, and forfeit the greatest future a people were 
 ever promised, then let them follow the Socialistic doctrines 
 of false prophets and ignore the call of their dependencies 
 and refuse consolidation. 
 
 It is not expected that the Irish party would oppose an 
 imperial convention, as imperial federation must lead to 
 Home Rule, for to centralize satisfactorily and efficiently 
 imperial questions there must be a corresponding decentral- 
 ization of local questions, and one can see an imperial con- 
 stitution which covers state legislation for Scotland, Ireland, 
 and Wales, as well as for Ontario, Quebec, New South 
 Wales, and Victoria. The Socialist parties throughout the 
 Empire will oppose any movement which will lead to a con- 
 solidation of the Empire. Imperial federation, if it does not 
 effectually check the lawless doctrines of Socialism, will at 
 least modify the policy of that party. Socialism can only 
 thrive in narrow confines ; it is killed by area, prosperity, or 
 rank. The last is the most economical way of turning a 
 dangerous enemy into a valuable ally. No one ever found a 
 Socialist in the Sahara, the Karoo, or on the Pampas, or in 
 his own counting house or with a few letters, costing nothing 
 to the State, behind his name. And one never will unearth 
 him far from sordid surroundings or beyond the hearing of 
 an ignorant and easily beguiled audience. Under existing 
 legislative conditions Socialism is on the increase throughout 
 the British Empire, more slowly perhaps in Canada where 
 work is plentiful though hard. Compulsory and free educa-
 
 THE CALL FOR IMPERIAL FEDERATION 331 
 
 tion having educated the children of the working and labour- Imperial 
 ing classes above their station, has created a pariah class for ^ouknn 
 which there is little or no employment. This class is unfor- directly check 
 tunately growing, and as unemployment breeds discontent, so Socia,lsm - 
 then does the doctrine of Socialism appeal to a people unfitted 
 by faulty legislation for the work of their fathers — a class of 
 work always available. Imperial legislation, whilst dealing 
 with the waste lands of the Empire and the placing of settlers 
 upon these from among the surplus population of the more 
 crowded parts, would indirectly be legislating against the 
 more pernicious doctrines of Socialism, and would be depriv- 
 ing the Socialist leaders of their most effective weapon. 
 
 Assuming, however, that the suggested federal conven- convention, 
 tion failed to satisfy all parts of the Empire and was unsuc- whether suc- 
 cessful in drafting an imperial constitution, it is not tobe mus tbe 
 supposed for one moment that the sessions of such an im- beneficial, 
 perial parliament would be barren of result. Eighty imperial 
 statesmen called together from all quarters of the world, 
 representing every clime, every race, every language, every 
 religion, every degree of civilization under the sun, can- 
 not fail to do good. And if it, for some unforeseen reason, 
 failed to consolidate the Empire by drafting a short constitu- 
 tional Bill acceptable to all, great benefits would be certain to 
 accrue from their deliberations alone. 
 
 In imperial questions there is no room for party differences, Imperialism 
 and in their consideration Liberal and Conservative can with J h °^i "J^ 6 
 honour to themselves, profit to the Empire, and confusion to tion. 
 the nation's enemies, unite on the common platform of Empire. 
 
 An imperial convention is pregnant with possibilities — pos- 
 sibilities beyond the anticipations of even the most enthusiastic 
 Imperialist, but the longer the convening of such a convention 
 is delayed, the more difficult must become its labours. 
 
 The question of the convening of an imperial convention British Press 
 in London at an early date is one which the Press of the Em- the mate rial- 
 pire, representing every shade of political opinion, should stren- ization of the 
 uously support. If the Conservative and the Liberal Press of sc eme ' 
 Great Britain will but unite on this question the result will 
 be an ample reward for the temporary submersion of their 
 party differences, and the greater portion of the Empire's 
 gratitude will belong to the Press upon imperial federation 
 passing from the realm of vision into the kingdom of actuality.
 
 CHAPTER XVIL 
 AN IMPERIAL CONSTITUTION. 
 
 British Con- An imperial constitution is in itself one of the obstacles that 
 
 remain intact tias ^ een * n the way of im P erial federation. The very sugges- 
 tion of tampering with the time-honoured British Constitution 
 is sufficient argument against the consolidation of the 
 Empire, and the fear of such sacrilege has been mainly respon- 
 sible for the strong opposition in Great Britain to any pro- 
 gressive change in the governance of the Empire. To the 
 great majority of British electors the idea of an imperial feder- 
 ation implies either the subordination of the British Con- 
 stitution to a new instrument or its radical alteration. For- 
 tunately, however, for the prospects of the component parts 
 there is not the slightest need to interfere with either it or any 
 of its charters. 
 Burke on the The Constitution of the United Kingdom by its very com- 
 ftSution 3011 " position, made up as it is by royal charters, Acts of Parlia- 
 ment, parliamentary resolutions, speakers' rulings, legal 
 findings and opinions and parliamentary customs, is still 
 elastic enough to permit, without altering its shape or appear- 
 ance, of yet another corner-stone being added. Edmund 
 Burke wrote of the British Constitution: 1 "The whole 
 scheme of our mixed constitution is to prevent any one of its 
 principles from being carried as far as, taken by itself, and 
 theoretically, it would go. Allow that to be the true policy 
 of the British system, then most of the faults with which that 
 system stands charged will appear to be, not imperfections 
 into which it has inadvertently fallen, but excellencies which 
 it has studiously sought. To avoid the perfections of extreme, 
 all its several parts are so constituted as not alone to answer 
 
 1 " Appeal from the New to the Old Whigs," Burke's Works, Vol. 
 VI, p. 258. 
 
 332
 
 AN IMPEKIAL CONSTITUTION 333 
 
 their own several ends, but also each to limit and control the 
 others ; insomuch that, take which of the principles you please, 
 you will find its operation checked and stopped at a certain 
 point. In the British Constitution there is a perpetual 
 treaty and compromise going on, sometimes openly, some- 
 times with less observation." Burke, the greatest of cham- 
 pions of the British Constitution, here tells us that there " is 
 a perpetual treaty and compromise going on". Or in other 
 words, it is adapting itself to the work it has to do. There can 
 be little doubt that had the Constitution been a hard-and-fast 
 document such as that of France or of the United States, it 
 could not have held the Empire together. 
 
 Now the great flaw in the British Constitution as an inequality of 
 instrument for imperial governance, is that it differentiates jjjj" ™ e t hi n 
 between the electors of Great Britain and the British subjects and without 
 beyond the seas. A farm labourer in Kent has a far greater g^EjSJJJ* 
 say in the governance of Ceylon, than a planter in that island 
 owning many thousands of acres and employing hundreds of 
 employees. The Kentish labourer, if dissatisfied with the 
 Government's policy in Ceylon, can cast his vote against the 
 Secretary of State for the Colonies by voting against the 
 Government of the day. Not so the Ceylon planter. Then 
 again the London elector can cast his vote for or against a 
 foreign policy which may vitally affect either Canada, Aus- 
 tralia, or South Africa, but even the statesmen of those 
 colonies, under the British Constitution, have no say in 
 the matter. In a previous chapter it has been shown 
 how Augustus bound his empire together by an imperial 
 franchise and how great a value was placed upon the 
 privilege. 
 
 The grievance of being disenfranchised upon leaving the Colonials are 
 British Isles was felt more acutely prior to the introduction dlsfranchlsed - 
 of representative institutions into the colonies, and it was then 
 that some of the colonies agitated for representation in the 
 House of Commons. And at one time, early in the seventeenth 
 century, the idea of giving representation to the American col- 
 onies and the West Indies was seriously contemplated. This 
 form of consolidating the Empire still finds favour in certain 
 quarters. Among the numerous suggestions that have been 
 made from time to time for strengthening the ties of Empire
 
 334 THE GOVEKNANCE OF EMPIEE 
 
 and giving a voice to all parts in the governance of the whole 
 are: — 
 Suggested 1. Imperial federation under a Parliament of the Empire, 
 
 remedies for , ,- , j 
 
 this having limited sovereign powers. 
 
 2. Bepresentation of oversea states in the British Parlia- 
 ment. 
 
 3. An imperial customs union. 
 
 4. An imperial defence council. 
 
 5. Imperial alliance of mother country and oversea domin- 
 ions as of independent states having recognized nationalism. 
 
 6. Mutual alliance and common citizenship. 
 
 7. Imperial council and commercial union based on pre- 
 ferential trade. 
 
 8. Confederation of states represented in an imperial 
 council held together by the union of each under the same 
 Crown. 
 
 9. Permanent alliance, equivalent to federation. 
 
 10. Co-operative Empire — collective imperialism. 
 
 11. Imperial council or continuous conference consisting 
 of leading members of Imperial and oversea Governments in 
 consultation, having a special secretariat attached to the 
 Prime Minister's office. 
 
 Here we have eleven different opinions as to the best 
 means of consolidating the Empire. These have been ad- 
 vanced from time to time by such statesmen or publicists as 
 Mr. Chamberlain, Sir F. Pollock, Messrs. Deaken, B. Holland, 
 Jehu Matthew, and K. Jebb. So far none of these suggested 
 schemes have been seriously advocated, nor have they been 
 adopted by any thorough-going organization with the object 
 of bringing the question within the scope of practical politics. 
 If one examines these suggested schemes some of them will 
 be found disappointing as indicating that their proposers have 
 little faith in obtaining a workable union. The proposal, for 
 instance, of " an imperial alliance of the mother country and 
 oversea dominions as of independent states having recognized 
 nationalism," presupposes a greater independence of the 
 mother country and means little more than the alliance now 
 existing between Great Britain and Japan. 
 An Imperial The proposals for an imperial customs union and an 
 
 Senate. imperial defence council indicate that in some quarters it is
 
 AN IMPERIAL CONSTITUTION 335 
 
 still considered necessary to obtain closer union by successive 
 stages, and this process may yet be found the sound one to 
 adopt. The many points in its favour would be carefully 
 weighed by a representative imperial conference. But the 
 object of this work is to endeavour to demonstrate that if the 
 desire for imperial federation is strong and sincere on the part 
 of the many politically detached units, there is no insuperable 
 barrier to achieving a more complete political system than is 
 outlined in the suggestions quoted. It is submitted that the 
 efficient and secure governance of the Empire is dependent 
 upon an imperial parliament which shall be a single Chamber 
 constituted of elected representatives of the Empire, and which, 
 for the purpose of this chapter, will be termed the Imperial 
 Senate. 
 
 The powers and functions of the Imperial Senate shall be 
 to introduce by resolution or draft Bill, to deliberate upon or 
 to recommend with reference to such matters as are con- 
 sidered of an imperial nature, or as may be submitted to it by 
 royal message. Measures of an imperial nature may origin- 
 ate in the Imperial Senate, but shall not have the force of law 
 unless and until the legislature or legislatures concerned has 
 or have ratified and adopted the same. 
 
 There shall be an executive council termed the Imperial An Imperial 
 Council to advise His Majesty in the government of the ounci ' 
 Empire, and the members of the council shall be chosen and 
 summoned by His Majesty and sworn as imperial councillors 
 and shall hold office during his pleasure. 
 
 His Majesty may appoint officers to administer such 
 departments of State of the Empire as His Majesty in 
 Imperial Council may establish ; such officers shall hold 
 office during the pleasure of His Majesty ; they shall be 
 members of the Imperial Council, and shall be the King's 
 Ministers of State for the Empire. 
 
 After the first general election of members of the Imperial 
 Senate as hereinafter suggested, no Minister shall hold office 
 for a longer period than six months unless he is or becomes a 
 member of the Imperial Senate. 
 
 The appointment and removal of all officers of the public 
 service of the Empire shall be vested in His Majesty in 
 Imperial Council, unless the appointment is delegated by His
 
 336 THE GOVERNANCE OF EMPIRE 
 
 Majesty in Imperial Council or by a law of the Imperial Senate 
 to some other authority. 
 Constitution The Imperial Senate. — In constituting the senate there 
 perial Senate, arises the same difficulty as was found in the constitution 
 of the imperial convention, viz. the representation of every 
 portion of the Empire in a workable Chamber. Fortunately 
 the solution of what at first sight appears a difficult problem 
 lies before us in the existing constitutions of the possessions 
 themselves. That is, each constitution, whether it be gover- 
 nance direct from the Crown or through the medium of 
 responsible institutions, has been drafted to give the people 
 that voice in their governance they are fitted by civilization 
 and numbers to exercise. 
 
 Local conditions have necessitated a differentiation of 
 representation in the various colonial legislatures. There 
 are, of course, one or two glaring absurdities in some of the 
 smaller popular Houses, but in the number and distribu- 
 tion of seats, in one case alone, that of New Zealand, does it 
 affect the representation suggested for the Imperial Senate. 
 It is then in the existing constitutions that we find the 
 machinery for the election of representatives for the Imperial 
 Senate. It is now suggested that the various legislatures of 
 the Empire, excluding the House of Lords and the provincial 
 and state legislatures of the oversea commonwealths, shall 
 constitute the electoral bodies, much in the same way as the 
 colonial parliaments of South Africa are the electoral bodies 
 for the first South African Senate, and the provincial legis- 
 latures are to be the electoral bodies for future vacancies in 
 that Chamber. And it is further suggested that the electoral 
 quota shall be fixed upon the size of these legislative bodies 
 and not upon the population. By fixing the electoral quota 
 at ten on the basis of existing legislatures throughout the 
 Empire, and adding sixteen ex officio members, the Imperial 
 Senate will consist of 216 members, or a parliament less than 
 one-third the size of the House of Commons, and yet each 
 part of the Empire will be directly represented according to 
 its civilization and importance. 
 Representa- India, owing to the disproportion of her electoral repre- 
 
 tion of India, sentatives and nominee institutions, compared with her popu- 
 lation, is justly entitled to differential treatment.
 
 AN IMPERIAL CONSTITUTION 387 
 
 India apart from the native states is divided into thirteen 
 provincial governments and administrations, which with the 
 addition of the members of the supreme Government in India 
 number but 220 official and unofficial legislators. This 
 under the suggested scheme of imperial election, entitles 
 India to but 22 imperial senators. To give this portion of 
 the Empire a voice in its governance commensurate with its 
 importance, it is necessary to make that voice second only to 
 that of the United Kingdom. If then the Secretary of State 
 for India and the fourteen members of the Indian Council be 
 representatives of India in the Imperial Senate, India's repre- 
 sentation will be increased to 37 senators. 
 
 But there will still remain certain portions of the Empire 
 without the means of direct election of representatives owing 
 to the absence of any electoral body. Such portions are, of 
 course, only the outposts of Empire ; it is, therefore, recom- 
 mended that the Government of Great Britain shall nominate 
 not less than three and not more than five senators who shall 
 be qualified bj' special knowledge of these parts of Empire to 
 represent them until such time as electoral bodies are created. 
 
 The electoral quota of ten on the basis of existing legis- 
 latures together with certain ex-officio members will give the 
 following representation in the Imperial Senate to the parts 
 of Empire named. 
 
 Repeesentation in the Imperial Senate. Composition 
 
 United Kingdom 07 of the Senate. 
 
 British India, 22) 37 
 
 Indian Council, 15/ 
 
 Canada -------- 30 
 
 South Africa ---__._ 16 
 
 New Zealand 12 
 
 Australia - - 11 
 
 Newfoundland ------- 4. 
 
 Jamaica -------- ;■} 
 
 Cyprus 3 
 
 Mauritius and dependencies ... - 3 
 
 Ceylon -------- 2 
 
 Straits Settlements ------ 2 
 
 Rhodesia -------- 2 
 
 Nyasaland -------- 2 
 
 Malta 2 
 
 Garry forward 196 
 
 22
 
 338 THE GOVERNANCE OF EMPIRE 
 
 Brought forward 196 
 
 Leeward Islands ------ 2 
 
 Trinidad - 2 
 
 The Nigerias - 1 
 
 Fiji 1 
 
 Borneo -------- 1 
 
 Hong-Kong - i 
 
 British East Africa - 1 
 
 British Guiana ------- 1 
 
 British possessions not in above - 5 
 
 Members ex-Officio. 
 
 Of the British Cabinet, the Prime Minister, the 
 Secretary of State for the Colonies, the 
 Secretary of State for War, Secretary of 
 State for Foreign Affairs, and the First Lord 
 of the Admiralty ----- 5 
 
 216 
 
 Should any exception be taken to the size of the senate, 
 let it be borne in mind that the governance of Empire means 
 the governance of 392 millions of people, occupying an area 
 of 11^ million square miles of territory and possessing the 
 tacitly acknowledged sovereignty of the seas. This senate 
 has to take upon its shoulders a large portion of the responsi- 
 bility now held by the 670 members of the House of Commons. 
 It has also to voice by direct representation every corner of 
 the Empire, and unless this is effectively done there can be 
 no true governance of Empire, for the Empire and by the 
 Empire. 
 
 The legislature quota does not work as between New 
 Zealand and Australia, for we find that the former with a 
 population of barely one million has one more represen- 
 tative than the important Commonwealth of Australia with 
 a population of over four millions, but this is due to the 
 over-representation in the political institutions of New 
 Zealand, a grievance complained of by the colonials them- 
 selves, and one which may at an early date be rectified. 
 The very large native population of South Africa should 
 entitle her to the representation the quota gives. With the 
 single exception quoted, and there the reason is obvious, the 
 legislature quota works out as well as any other device yet 
 advocated.
 
 AN IMPERIAL CONSTITUTION 339 
 
 The manner of the election of senators and the powers 
 and functions of the Imperial Senate will be more closely 
 followed and more clearly understood if described in the form 
 of clauses of a suggested draft Bill. 
 
 The Imperial Senate. 
 
 1. Every legislature within the Empire, other than the 
 House of Lords, state or provincial legislatures of dominions, 
 unions, or commonwealths, shall upon a day appointed by 
 His Majesty, proceed to ballot for representatives to the Im- 
 perial Senate. 
 
 2. Each such legislature shall elect that number of repre- 
 sentatives as is allotted the territory within its jurisdiction. 
 Such number is ascertained by dividing the total number of 
 members of the legislature entitled to vote for members of the 
 Imperial Senate by the number 10. 
 
 3. The Imperial Senate shall continue for six years from 
 the first meeting thereof and no longer, but may be sooner 
 dissolved by His Majesty. 
 
 4. The Imperial Senate shall hold a session in London once 
 in every year. 
 
 5. The Imperial Senate shall elect its own president and 
 may make standing rules and orders regulating its own pro- 
 ceedings. 
 
 Powers and Functions of the Imperial Senate. 
 
 6. Measures of an imperial nature may originate in the Functions of 
 Imperial Senate; but such shall not have the force of law p^ane gisia- 
 unless and until the legislature concerned has ratified and ture. 
 adopted the same. 
 
 7. The powers and functions of the Imperial Senate shall 
 be to introduce by resolution or draft Bill, to deliberate upon 
 or to recommend with reference to such matters as are con- 
 sidered of an imperial nature, or as may be submitted to it 
 by Royal Message and particularly with reference to : — 
 
 (a) Imperial defence. 
 
 (b) Preferential trade and commerce. 
 
 (c) Administration of possessions. 
 
 (d) Imperial judiciary. 
 
 (e) Imperial civil service. 
 
 22 *
 
 340 THE GOVERNANCE OF EMPIRE 
 
 (/) Shipping and navigation. 
 
 (g) Migration within the Empire of coloured races. 
 
 (h) Immigration into the Empire of coloured races, not 
 
 subjects of the King. 
 (i) Naturalization. 
 
 (/') Imperial mail and ocean cable service. 
 (k) Copyrights and patents. 
 (I) Corporations, 
 (ra) Weights and measures, 
 (w) Currency. 
 
 8. Upon a division on any questions raised, the voting in 
 the Imperial Senate shall be per capita and the vote shall be 
 determined by the majority. 
 
 9. The legislature of each represented country shall make 
 provision for the costs and expenses of its representatives on 
 the Imperial Senate. 
 
 10. The costs and expenses of the sittings of the Imperial 
 Senate in the conduct of its business shall be chargeable to 
 each represented country according to its representation. 
 
 11. Any Bill or resolution of an imperial nature (other 
 than as between Great Britain and a foreign power) originat- 
 ing from any legislature within the Empire, shall not have 
 the force of law unless and until it has been submitted to the 
 Imperial Senate. 
 
 12. Nothing in the foregoing section shall be deemed to 
 mean that any measure rejected by the Imperial Senate and 
 again being passed by the legislature of origin shall fail to 
 have the force of law. 
 
 Relations Can it be said that there is, in the creation of an Imperial 
 
 with the Senate vested with the limited powers and functions outlined. 
 
 British . . . . * . 
 
 Government, anything in conflict with the British Constitution or any 
 of the charters known as the colonial constitutions granted 
 under it ; at the most an imperial Chamber relieves a body of 
 men — the House of Commons — of certain duties they have 
 little interest and less experience in. Nor can it be argued 
 that any of the rights and privileges granted to the self- 
 governing oversea states by their constitutions are in any 
 shape or form infringed upon ; but on the contrary they are 
 additionally protected by their own representatives in an im- 
 perial parliament.
 
 AN IMPERIAL CONSTITUTION 341 
 
 Exception may be taken to the suggestion of bringing into 
 being an additional Government, and it may be contended that 
 by reason of the nature of its imperial functions it may usurp 
 powers relegated by the British Constitution to that body 
 conventionally known as the British Cabinet ; but as the Prime 
 Minister of Great Britain and his principal lieutenants are 
 members of the suggested Imperial Senate it is proposed that 
 he and those chief officers should be ipso facto Prime Minister 
 and Imperial Secretaries of State in the Imperial Government. 
 The increased efficiency here will be in the separation of the 
 Ministerial staffs, the staff of the Prime Minister of England 
 will belong to the civil service of Great Britain, whilst the 
 staff of the Imperial Prime Minister will be recruited from the 
 imperial civil service. The life therefore of the Imperial 
 Ministry will be that of the British Ministry ; and as its func- 
 tion and those of the senate are more advisory than executive, 
 there can be no serious objection to the life of the Imperial 
 Government being dependent upon the will of the British 
 Parliament ; but on the contrary it is conceivable that the 
 large majority of oversea representatives will have a beneficial 
 influence upon the British Minister to whatever party he 
 ma}' belong. 
 
 The great English statesman, Charles James Fox, laid it Powers of the 
 down as a principle never to be departed from " that every laments. 8,1 * 
 part of the British dominions ought to possess a govern- 
 ment, in the constitution of which monarchy, aristocracy, and 
 democracy were mutually blended and united". 1 It is in 
 recognition of this principle that the constitutions of the self- 
 governing colonies provide for bi-cameral parliaments. The 
 Upper Chamber or Legislative Council takes the place of the 
 House of Lords and the popular Chamber or Legislative 
 Assembly the place of the House of Commons. In the col- 
 onies, whilst the Upper House has not the right to originate a 
 Money Bill or to alter one coming up from the Lower Chamber, 
 it has the power, reflected from the House of Lords, to reject 
 the Budget or any other Money Bill ; this has often been 
 done and in every case time has proved the action to have 
 been the correct one. The colonial parliaments therefore 
 each and severally consist of the King, the Lords and the 
 
 1 "Parliamentary History," vol. XXIX, p. 409.
 
 342 THE GOVERNANCE OF EMPIRE 
 
 Commons: the King being represented by the Governor 
 the Lords by the Legislative Council, and the Commons by the 
 Legislative Assembly or House of Representatives as the case 
 may be. The addition of a superior Chamber to our complex 
 political machinery will in no way trespass upon the principle 
 of limited monarchy ; it is not suggested that the Imperial 
 Senate will over-ride the legislative Acts of any of the existing 
 legislative bodies nor that power ever be given for it to do so. 
 Now whilst an Imperial Senate elected by legislatures 
 which for that purpose become electoral colleges is by reason 
 of the means of its creation essentially a democratic Chamber, 
 the House of Lords and the oversea legislatures corresponding 
 to that Upper Chamber would still have the power of veto 
 in imperial legislation as in national, colonial, state, or pro- 
 vincial legislation. 
 Value of the The eradication of the aristocratic element from the 
 
 nobility. British Constitution, the elasticity of which allows for the 
 suggested Imperial Senate, would herald the falling to pieces 
 of the Empire. 
 
 "A body of nobility is more peculiarly necessary in our 
 mixed and compounded constitution, in order to support the 
 rights both of the Crown and the people by forming a bar- 
 rier to withstand the encroachments of both. It is highly 
 necessary that the body of nobles should have a distinct 
 assembly, distinct deliberations, and distinct powers from the 
 Commons." J 
 Need for a The value of a reflective Chamber as an effective check 
 
 Chamber on ^ ne v i°l en t bursts of passion and sudden changes of purpose, 
 which are the evils of pure democracy just as they are the 
 evils of pure despotism, has been demonstrated time and 
 again in the self-governing colonies where the " Lords " have 
 continually been called upon to veto ill-considered, or ultra- 
 Socialistic legislation. 
 
 The growing demand in the United Kingdom for the 
 reform of the House of Lords is one which is well founded 
 upon the altered conditions of the country. Nevertheless the 
 hereditary Chamber must stand if the Empire is to stand. Let 
 
 1 Blackstone's " Commentaries ou the Laws of England," Vol. I, book I, 
 chap. 2, pp. 157-8 (ed. 1800).
 
 AN IMPERIAL CONSTITUTION 343 
 
 it be remembered that it is to the British aristocracy that we 
 owe our freedom. 
 
 The House of Lords represented a majority of the people 
 of Great Britain when it refused to be a party to the judicial 
 murder of King Charles I. 
 
 The same Chamber voiced the will of the majority of the 
 people when it restored the son of King Charles I to the 
 throne. The House of Lords opposed King James II's abuse of 
 the royal prerogative, and brought about the Revolution of 
 1688, in the name of the majority of the nation. It fought 
 the cause of the people and successfully combated the designs 
 of the Pretender and secured the triumph of the House of 
 Hanover. 
 
 " The nation supported it enthusiastically when it resisted 
 the daring policy of Mr. Fox, who tried to place our Indian 
 Empire and its vast resources under the heel of a Liberal 
 oligarchy, with himself as supreme head." 1 
 
 But apart from these and numerous other occasions upon Services of 
 which the House of Lords has saved the nation from either des- ,. L Hous ? 
 
 of Jjord6 in 
 
 potic or Socialistic legislation, this Chamber would have fully checking the 
 justified its existence by the heroic stand it made last year on So 1 c i iallS f 1 f h 
 behalf of the Empire against the wave of Socialism which Radical party, 
 threatened to sweep away the Constitution and overthrow 
 the monarchy. By insisting upon referring the Budget of 
 1909-10 to the nation — a Budget containing subtly wrapt 
 within its clauses all the evils of Socialism and few, if any, 
 of its virtues — the Lords have brought down upon their heads 
 the wrath of an excited people. The outburst of popular 
 passion at the aristocratic element in the Constitution insist- 
 ing that the democratic element should act up to the teach- 
 ings of democracy and consult the people on a question of 
 vital importance to the nation and the Empire is sufficient 
 evidence that the Socialistic leaders of the United Kingdom 
 are endeavouring to acquire despotic sway by influencing the 
 passions of the people. There would have been no limit to 
 the mischief that a demoralized collection of self-seeking and 
 ambitious groups of politicians, working upon the passions 
 of the people, would have done had the House of Lords 
 failed in their duty to their King, the Empire and the British 
 
 1 "The Crusade against the Constitution," Sir W. T. Charley, p. 408.
 
 344 THE GOVERNANCE OF EMPIRE 
 
 nation in claiming the right of protecting the people against 
 their own unscrupulously worked-up tempers by giving them 
 time for calm reflection. 
 Reform of That the House of Lords is in need of drastic reform is 
 
 of Lords! 6 admitted by even its staunchest supporters. In this respect 
 it is a noteworthy fact that the representative peers of Scot- 
 land and Ireland display among their small ranks more states- 
 manship and legislative talent than the rest of the hereditary 
 peers combined, with the exception of course of those created 
 within recent yeais in recognition of outstanding services to 
 the Empire. 
 
 It would add considerably to the efficiency of the House of 
 Lords as a legislative Chamber if its members were reduced 
 to 200 members, 100 elected by the peers and 100 elected by 
 the House of Commons by the voting system known as the 
 single transferable vote ; by this means there would be propor- 
 tional representation in the Upper Chamber, and thus the 
 interests of the minorities would at least be represented. The 
 British Constitution has within it the means of effectively 
 checking the evils of Socialism ; the judicious use by the 
 Government of the day of the power of raising to the aristo- 
 cratic class will do far more good work in checking the spread 
 of Socialism than all the anti-Socialistic associations in Christ- 
 endom ; this power has unfortunately in the past been sadly 
 dissipated. The oversea possessions have drifted into demo- 
 cracy by the total absence of an aristocracy. However great 
 the services of a colonial statesman or publicist may be, 
 these men are never considered worthy of more than knight- 
 hood in the chief colonial order reserved for colonists. It is 
 therefore inferred that aristocracy is a national and not an 
 imperial asset. By extending aristocracy to the Empire the 
 ranks of Socialism would be gradually but surely weakened 
 and the bonds of Empire would be considerably strengthened. 
 It must be admitted that the Prussians and the Austrians are 
 a very practical people. The constitution of the former is 
 dated 31 January, 1850, and that of the latter 21 December, 
 1867, and both provide for Upper Chambers combining the 
 hereditary with a life element ; and the system, founded upon 
 the system of other nations, has worked well in both cases. 
 Lord Rosebery, in addressing the Imperial Press Con-
 
 AN IMPERIAL CONSTITUTION 345 
 
 ference, 1 in the course of a speech welcoming the oversea Efficiency of 
 delegates home, said : " I should like Parliament to vote sup-^j, ^ 
 plies for two years, and then pack itself up in three or four of 
 those obsolete warships and go for a trip in order to find out 
 something about the Empire. You may object at once to 
 my scheme and say, ' But how would the country be governed 
 while all the Ministers were absent?' I reply with con- 
 fidence that the people would be governed much as they are 
 now — by the heads of the permanent departments, and I am 
 not sure that some of us would not feel an even greater con- 
 fidence in the welfare of the country if it were under that 
 permanent and well-ordered control." Underlying these 
 words, uttered by an ex-Prime Minister of Great Britain, is an 
 earnest and sincere tribute to the responsibility and efficiency 
 of the national civil service of the United Kingdom. Politi- 
 cians of even limited experience know that the most able 
 statesmen when called to Ministerial office are more or less 
 dependent upon the permanent heads of the Ministerial de- 
 partments ; the more able the Minister the less apparent is 
 his interference with his department ; but that does not make 
 his influence the less felt by his staff, for its members feel 
 that his eye is ready to detect the slightest flaw in the 
 working of the department, and that his reprimand will be far 
 more serious in its effect than that of the fussy, inefficient 
 Minister whose continual interference in departmental ma- 
 chinery rapidly disorganizes its working and assists in bring- 
 ing the Ministry of the day into discredit with the electors. 
 
 Under the present system of watertight compartments with- Need for an 
 in the Empire, the civil servants have more or less restricted g^c? 1 Cml 
 spheres regulated by the size and importance of the part of the 
 Empire they serve. The civil servants of Great Britain have 
 a wide sphere owing to their services being extended to such 
 oversea possessions as do not enjoy representative institutions. 
 The civil servants of India, though recruited by competitive 
 examination in Great Britain (not the Empire), are restricted 
 to service within the Indian Empire, and the civil servants 
 of the self-governing possessions are restricted to employment 
 within the particular dominion, commonwealth, union, or 
 self-governing colony. The maximum of efficiency is lost, 
 1 London, 5 June, 1909.
 
 346 THE GOVEENANCE OF EMPIKE 
 
 localism — nationalism if you like — becomes a characteristic 
 of these officials and is detrimental to the best interests of 
 Empire. The creation of an imperial civil service made up 
 of the most able civil servants of the Empire irrespective of 
 kingdom, dominion, or colony would not alone raise the stand- 
 ard of all the civil services of the Empire, but would bring 
 into being a body second only in importance in the governance 
 of Empire to the Imperial Senate itself. It should be the 
 channel by which any citizen of the Empire could reach the 
 highest offices in the gift of the Emperor. 
 
 It is one thing to decree by a short Act of the British and 
 colonial parliaments that the Empire hereafter shall be con- 
 sidered either politically, commercially, or for defence as an 
 organic whole, and quite another thing to get the imperial pop- 
 ulation to realize that it is so when there is no official personal 
 intercourse to bring the fact prominently before their eyes. 
 Interchangeability of the higher officials — members of an 
 imperial civil service — between all parts of Empire would keep 
 continually before the eyes of the public the official fact that 
 the Empire is one. 
 
 The imperial tie would be strengthened by the existence 
 of the Imperial Senate assisted by the Imperial Civil Service 
 recruited from the national civil services upon promotion — 
 there would be an imperial relationship between the Senate 
 and the Imperial Civil Service just as there exists at present a 
 national relationship between the national parliament and the 
 national civil service. Whereas the former would make for 
 unity and an imperial citizenship, the latter tends towards 
 national independence and the disintegration of the British 
 Empire. 
 
 In advocating the federation of the Empire by means of 
 a superior Chamber and an imperial civil service it has been 
 borne in mind that the only practical means by which the 
 Empire can be governed as an organic whole is to retain the 
 governing principles of the British Constitution, remembering 
 that it is a mixed constitution in which the monarchical, the 
 aristocratic, and the democratic elements are blended and are 
 conducted with that stately courtesy which is a happy survival 
 of those times when the Empire was in its cradle. 
 
 Whilst an additional Chamber — an imperial body — in no
 
 AN IMPERIAL CONSTITUTION 347 
 
 way trespasses upon the British Constitution it adds but Imperial Con 
 another power to the smallest as well as the largest parlia- B 
 ment in the Empire. Parliament under the British Constitu- 
 tion means the King, the Lords, and the Commons — quite 
 powerful enough to build up the Empire and to retain it 
 against outside enemies. But with its oversea expansions we 
 are called upon to meet other disintegrating agencies, to 
 do which it is necessary to consolidate, politically, officially, 
 commercially, and securely, and without any infringement of 
 the British Constitution or any of its characteristics. This can 
 be done, and in future Parliament should mean the Emperor, 
 Senate, Lords and Commons. 
 
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