Imperial federation.
Our general survey of the history of the British colonial empire brings us to the topic which will be all-important in the twentieth century—the practicability of Imperial Federation. At the present moment the Crown is the only formal link between the many colonies and possessions over which the Union Jack floats. Is a closer connection desirable, and practicable? May we look forward to a firm and well-compacted league of all the British lands? Such a union might almost control the world, but it is hard to bring about. First among the difficulties in the way is the doubt whether Great Britain would ever allow herself to be outvoted by her colonies in an Imperial Parliament, and whether Canada would submit to the dictation of Australia, or Australia to the dictation of South Africa, in matters where their interests clashed. Next comes the question of free trade and protection. Most of the colonies are zealously protectionist in spirit, and as a condition of federation they would probably demand that the mother country should give their goods a preference over those of foreign states, by means of a revised customs tariff. A third set of objections turn on the likelihood of the colonies refusing to countenance the purely European policy of England. A fourth and formidable question is the place which India would have to take in the confederacy; she is not yet fit for self-government and equal partnership with the rest. If she were, the votes of her 250,000,000 inhabitants would swamp those of all the other members of the league. Yet none of these difficulties appear wholly insuperable. The idea of federation is in the air both in Great Britain and in her daughter-states. The day has long gone by when a not inconsiderable number of English statesmen looked forward to the time when the colonies should, as it was phrased, "cut the painter" and steer their own course. The consciousness of common origin and interests grows stronger; the interdependence of the mother country and her colonies is more realized; the development of rapid communication by sea and land makes the distance between the various British communities in different hemispheres less felt as every year rolls by. Facts like the splendid aid granted by all the colonies for the late South African War, speak for themselves. But there are still difficulties in the way. If local jealousies prevail, and the English-speaking peoples drift asunder, each must be content to play a comparatively unimportant part in the annals of the twentieth century. If, on the other hand, the project of federation can be worked out to a successful end, the future of the world lies in the hands of the Anglo-Saxon race.
FOOTNOTES:
See p. [739].
See p. [713].