"The event shows to the world that the Empire, as a whole, will stand and fall together. Nothing appears to have impressed our critics more than the ease with which 10,000 men could be withdrawn from India and landed at the scene of action, and the Canadian and Australian demonstrations indicate also that there are still larger reserves (though not so complete) to draw upon. And we in Australia know that the feeling is reciprocal. We realize that, while we are ready to make real sacrifices for Great Britain if she requires them, the Mother Country would exhaust her last man and her last shilling to guard our Austral shores from insult or injury. Saturday week will be one of the memorable days in the history of the Empire. It will imply that British victories in future will not be merely insular, but that the Colonies, by sharing the perils, will earn a right to share also the triumphs of the flag."
Various Contingents Leave for Africa
As in Canada, every little town and village and country centre contributed its quota of enthusiasm and recruits, from end to end of the island-continent, throughout little Tasmania and in beautiful New Zealand. The latter Colony was the first to get its troops away, and on October 21st they sailed from Wellington amid scenes of wild enthusiasm and in the presence of 25,000 people. The Governor, the Earl of Ranfurly, briefly addressed the Contingent, and, during the Premier's speech, when he asked the significant question: "Shall our kindred in the Transvaal be free?" there was a tremendous shout of "yes" from thousands of throats. A few days later the Governor received a cable from the Colonial Secretary expressing the gratification of Her Majesty's Government at home and the appreciation of the people generally. The Queensland troops left on October 28th under the command of Lieut.-Colonel Ricardo, and Brisbane, for the time being, was the home of immense masses of people and the scene of banquets, speeches and unlimited enthusiasm. From Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide and Perth the various other Contingents sailed about the same time and amid scenes such as the pen finds it hard to describe in cold type. It was literally a wave of patriotism in which the Governors and Premiers—Lord Brassey and Sir George Turner, of Victoria, Earl Beauchamp and the Hon. W. J. Lyne, of New South Wales, Lord Tennyson and the Right Hon. C. C. Kingston, of South Australia, Sir Gerard Smith and Sir John Forrest, of Western Australia—simply represented in their speeches the feeling of the people, and were supported in doing so by Opposition Leaders and by every important element in their respective Colonies; even the Labor organizations having fallen into line where, in some cases, they had been antagonistic. The Sydney Daily Telegraph declared, in this connection that "the remarkable demonstrations in the two great cities of Australia (Melbourne and Sydney) on Saturday must have convinced the most callous soul of the deep-seated hold which the idea of Empire has upon the people.... In offering troops to Great Britain for service in South Africa the underlying feeling is that we are part of the Empire whose supremacy in one part of the globe is threatened." Lord Brassey, in addressing the Victorian and Tasmanian Contingents on October 28th at Melbourne, clearly and eloquently voiced the same sentiment:
"It was not through apprehension for the peace and security of Australia, nor through the influence of Governors, or Ministers, or a few men in positions of power, of wealth and responsibility. It was under the irresistible impulse of popular feeling that the resolve was taken to offer Her Majesty the services of her citizen soldiers dwelling beneath the Southern Cross. On the shores of South Africa you will wheel into line with the Canadian Contingent. All this marks an epoch, I would rather say a turning-point, in British history. It speaks of the firm resolve of the people of the Empire on which the sun never sets to stand together, and in the hour of stress and strain to rally round the old flag. It is a noble and wise resolve. It makes us from this time forward absolutely secure against foreign aggression."
The Empire a Unit
The total force thus despatched numbered 1480 officers and men, and included 386 from New South Wales, 258 from Queensland, 250 from Victoria, 213 from New Zealand, 104 from South Australia and 80 from Tasmania, besides the troop of Lancers from Aldershot. In connection with the latter body, which, of course, was the first of the external Colonial volunteers to arrive at Cape Town, the Cape Times of November 3d declared that they "come to us as a symbol of something greater and deeper and more durable than any display of military power or of patriotic ardor. Their presence represents in concrete form the Imperial idea, never before expressed with such forcefulness and vigor." As in Canada, Patriotic Funds were everywhere started, and before long hundreds of thousands of dollars were subscribed for the aid of sick and wounded or of possible widows and orphans. Incidents of striking generosity were many. Mr. R. L. Tooth, of New South Wales, subscribed $50,000; a South Australian gentleman gave $5,000 for the purchase of horses; a Victorian officer gave $5,000 for the equipment of new troops; a citizen of Sydney gave $15,000 toward sending out a force of Bush-riders, and another contributed $25,000 for the same purpose. By the middle of January, 1900, the various Patriotic Funds had assumed large proportions—that of Sydney, N.S.W., being $115,000; Brisbane and Queensland, $80,000; New Zealand, $300,000; Melbourne, $50,000. Meantime the first reverses of the war had occurred in South Africa, and the feelings of the people been greatly and deeply stirred by the news. Second Contingents were at once offered by all the Colonies, and upon this occasion the effort to combine them as one federal body was successful.
Large Funds Raised in the Colonies
The general sentiment was well expressed by a motion of the Queensland Legislative Assembly, on December 20th, which was proposed by the Premier and seconded by the Leader of the Labor party. It expressed the pride of the Colony in the splendid gallantry of the British troops in South Africa, authorized the Government to co-operate with the other Colonies in despatching an additional Australian force, and was carried unanimously amidst great cheering. At first it was proposed that a thousand men should go from the combined Colonies; then it was found that each Colony was anxious to send more than was thus provided for; and eventually 1,700 men were despatched by the middle of January, of whom New South Wales alone contributed seven hundred. But this was not all. Continued preparations were made for the despatch of more troops. On January 11th the Premier of Queensland telegraphed to Mr. Lyne, at Sydney, suggesting that the second Contingent should be increased so as to ultimately form a body of 5,000 men. To this the New South Wales Premier agreed, but pointed out at the same time that his Colony was already increasing its contribution to 840 men, besides 500 Bush-riders who were being sent by private subscription, and that many more were being drilled for service. Mr. McLean, of Victoria, replied to a similar telegram that: "I do not think that the number of our Contingent should be limited. We will send men as rapidly as they are trained and equipped." In saying farewell to the second New Zealand Contingent of 242 officers and men, on January 20th, the Premier of that Colony declared that another would follow, and that "if occasion arose every man who could bear arms in the Colony would volunteer; as in helping the Empire in South Africa they were securing New Zealand and upholding the Queen, the country and the constitution." By the middle of February 1,000 Bush-riders were also trained and equipped and almost ready to embark as a special Contingent from Queensland, Victoria, South Australia and New South Wales.
Cause for Demonstrations of Loyalty
And so these revelations of patriotic feeling and Imperial unity have gone on in increasing volume from day to day. To theorists like Goldwin Smith, political economists like Mr. James Bryce, or philosophical politicians such as Mr. John Morley, such demonstrations of loyalty are incomprehensible. To the man who really understands the history of the Empire and the evolution of its system, who reaches down into the hearts of the people and comprehends the undercurrents of sentiment, it is not so difficult to grasp the reasons. Speaking of Australasia more particularly, Dr. W. H. Fitchett, the well-known editor of the Australasian Review of Reviews, recently summed up a part of the situation very concisely: "Why," he said, "have the Colonies stood by the side of England? For Jingoism? Don't you believe the men who tell you that. Our people are too hard-headed and too businesslike to be carried away by mere Jingoism. They come because they know that the Transvaal question is a Colonial question, a question that intimately concerns all of them. To-day these little settlements of white men, planted down on the coastline of great continents, are able to remain secure, notwithstanding the earth-hunger of every great Power, because the might of the Empire is behind them." This, in part, is the reason. But there is more at the back of it than the mere principle of self-interest. A liberty common to all the Colonies has been threatened, a new-grown pride in the Empire was struck at, a feeling of manly aversion to further dependence was touched, an inherent but sometimes dormant love for the Mother Land was aroused.