The Bookfellow

Auckland Star, Volume XLI, Issue 31, 5 February 1910, Page 11

The Bookfellow

(Written for the " Auckland Star "

by A. G. Stephens.)

THE FUTURE OF EMPIRE.

There are two British Empires: the ideal and the real. Paradoxically, the ideal Empire is the real Empire—which does not exist. The reality which does exist is only a nominal Empire.

Words and phrases, of course, aTe oorrectly used if they contain a common meaning, whatever the history of origin and usage. The science of language does indeed condemn the continual tendency to defacement of words by laziness, or carelessness, or ignorance, bo that they lose their fine shades of signification, and new words presently aTe required to express the lost ehades. Nevertheless, the process of defacement must be accepted as a part of life, and language, as an expression of life, is obliged to follow the fact.

The British. Empire has no organic imperial unity: it is not one eoul in one body. The familiar metaphor of the Motherland and the Daughter States euggests the loose union that has supplanted the idea of an integral Empire -with a, central, all-sufficing government. The self-governing dependencies have become rather confederate allies than parts of a true imperial whole. The view of British nationality grows more and more reBtrieted. We Tead of "the Australian nation," '*the Canadian nation"; and the New Zealander calls himself a New Zealander, not a Briton. Theoretically, he"is a eon of the Empire; but practically he regards himself as a citizen of New Zealand. AN TMKFYRTAT. DREAM. Towards the end of the eighteenth century Adam Smith wrote in "The Wealth of Nations" that "This Emplro has hitherto existed in imagination only. It has hitherto not been an Empire, but the project of an Empire-" It has been only a "golden dream." The latest commentator upon Adam Smith's system of political economy, imperially applied, adds thia/t "judged by the tests which Adam Smith was bold enough to apply, out present Empire, in like words, must be called a dream within a dream." The future has to solve the problem whether this dream of Empire shall become a real Empire or shall vanish in the progression of an alliance of States approaching nearer and nearer to independence.

The commentator is J. 8. Nicholson, Professor of Political Economy in Edinburgh University, who writes "A Project of Empire," "a critical study of the economics of imperialism, with special refer ence to the ideas of lAdam Smith" (Mac millan). The book is timely. The "freetrade" ideas of the famous Scottish economist triumphed in the first half of the nineteenth century in Britain. The natural reaction has come; the wheel is turning in its circle; and it is possible that the first half of the twentieth century may see the triumph of Smith's "hometrade" ideas.

With a permanent million of paupers; with Charles Booth's statistics of 30 per cent of London's population living in poverty; with a well-supported estimate of ten millions of the population of Britain in similar poverty, "on the verge of starvation": how is it possible for Great Britain to tax foreign food? Lacking the food-tax, with what effective tax can Great Britain compensate an effective colonial preference in trade? THE BBITISH DILEMMA. ' Either Britain taxes foreign food or she does not. To tax is dangerous; because it tends to raise the price of food to * population .-which already, in great

part is unable to pay the price. Not to tax is dangerous, because it tenda proportionately to lessen the trade which in great part supplies the price of food. That ia the British, dilemma. Its statement shows the lack of British imperial unity.

It is not to the point to urge that British trade is always increasing. To maintain the British position in the scale of nations it must maintain the best comparative rate of increase. And this, in many fields, British trade does not

maintain.

Existing colonial preferences, eucli as the Australian super-tax on some foreign goods, or New Zealand's tumorous tax on China tea applied to a population which in any case likes Indian tea better, do not affect the problem. The Dominions prefer Britain to the foreigner; but the fatal thing, from the British point of view, is that they prefer themselves to Britain. Britain's histqrio aoloiiial formula is simply "Britain first." But the actual colonial formula is, "After ■us, Britain first." The difference Is vital to Britain. The survival- of the imperial idea must mean a ohange in the centre of imperial gravity, as the resources of the Dominions are developed and their vast territories fill with population. This Britain is naturally unwilling to recognise. However spoken of, in British thought Britain- is the Empire, and all the colonies are supports of the Empire. AH the schemes of imperial trade devised in Britain are devised as props to Britain. In business, Britain asks, "What will I get out of it?" New Zealand and Australia, Canada and Africa, ask BimilaTly, "What, will I get out of it?" Beneath the surface, the Empire is composed of States that seek eaoh its own interest all the tune. The Interest of the Empire is sought only some of the time. The imperial idea is "not business." TVTPTiTRTATi TRADE. Professor Nicholson, following Adam Smith, proposes free trade within the Empire. He is able to dress an effective argument to show that this would pay the Empire, as a whole. Clearly, it would pay Britain, as a part; and that is sufficient for Britain. The awkward point is the proof that it would pay the Dominions; and every reader knows that in New Zealand, for example, the argument is hopeless.

"The very idea of each, internal free trade is that capital and labour would flow where most required. And there can be no doubt that the flow in both cases would be from the Mother Country to the colonies. It is also equally clear that the great object of all the 'colonies is to attract labour and capital." This is Professor Nicholson's most seductive plea- From the British point of view, it may seem conclusive. But from the New Zealand point of view? It will be pointed out at once that capital and labour will flow, not where they aTe most "required," but where they can gain the greatest profit or remuneration. And the New Zealand tariff is maintained precisely on the ground that the greatest profit and remuneration of capital and labour have been found to coincide with the tariff. Professor Nicholson asks us, in fact,, to establish imperial free trade for the very reasons which have been accepted as prohibiting imperial free trade. THE JUDICIAL ECONOMIST. His book gives an interesting summary of Adam Smith's ideas, many of which aTe still Long before Sir George Reid, Adam Smith formulated the theory of "Yes-No" commercially. . "The Wealth of Nations" is an economic Scripture from which both Free-traders and Protectionists have cited texts to suit their purposes. It can be so cited in the present controversy. Smith's argument for the advantage of home trade over foreign is equivalent to a defence of colonial protection: if it be held that, whatever the bond of Empire, the trade between Australasia and -Britain Tirtualljr; i# I-

foreign trade, in view of distance and diversity of interest. The historic argument for internal free trade, as applied to a single "territory like the United Slates, fai'.s for the samxv reason.

Professor Nioholson confines himself chiefly to the exposition of his predecessor's opinions. Incidentally, he shows that Smith gave moderate approval to land taxation, and even to a graduated land tax. We are reminded that the unearned increment from land was discovered, named incrementum, and taxed in the mediaeval period. "The Wealth of Nations" declares that: "Ground rent and the ordinary rent of land are therefore, perhaps, the species of revenue which can best bear to have a peculiar fax imposed upon them." Smith shows (in the eighteenth century) that improvements ought not to be taxed; approves, and gives examples of national valuation of lands; and observes that "it is not very unreasonable that the rich should contribute to the public expense, not only in proportion to their revenue, but something more than in that proportion." Professor Nicholson adds that if we take the usual estimates that at present the eelf-governing colonies have a population of some thirteen millions, and that in a,century it will exceed one hundred millions, and if we assume that site values grow with wealth and population in new countries, then a land tax seem* a source of revenue admirably' fitted for meeting the growing needs of imperial defence. THE OBJECTS OB 1 EMPIRE. Professor Nicholson's attitude towards Adam Smith is perhaps a little too like that of a devotee in face of the oracle, and ".The Wealth of Nations" Is sometimes an oracle with a double meaning that needs nowadays a decided interpretation. Nevertheless, his statement of the imperial position is good; and his summary of what is needed to "convert the project of Empire into a practical proposition" shows the tendency of British thought- The objeotive, then, is. "imperial defence, to which every nation or dominion or commonwealth or dependency or possession contributes its share; a system of representation by which every responsible constituent of the Empire has a voice in the control of the concerns of the whole; an immense internal market'for every part of the produce of all the constituents; a customs union and a common policy in commercial relations with other countries; a policy adverse to every kind of monopoly, and favourable to everything that increases tne revenue and • the prosperity of the great body of tne people throughout the ■Empire." • '• • ■ . . . POLITE VERSE. R is a far cry for poetry to Bockhampton, Queensland, where during most of tne year the Muse must be grateful for the airy raiment that we traditionally give her. Mr Lance Fallaw, who •writes thence "An Ampler Sky," publish-' ed in London by Maemillan, is a wanderer and sojourner in several countries. His book has no poetical importance. The contents are trim, well-mannered verses that may be met without emotion and left without particular regret. They converse agreeably of scenes and sentiments, and vanish from memory like the well-dressed wayfarer who beguiles a moment of travel and passes to the limbo of the undistinguished. For example, from "A Queensland House-warming," to show the part the horse plays in holiday Australia —a much more important part than in New Zealand:— You'll come by creek and Islet to the bay, Wtere onr calm river -flmls Its seaward way, Our fair EUtzroy, the noblest'stream that fills TTte quenchless sources In the Queensland hills. Sweet be -the morn that draws you .with the tide Tip the long reaches, throng!! the meadows wide Where rise oar domes »nd turrets, *n<l the dag -~;; -■■ .•--.■ ■■

Blunts Its first shafts against the sold and j grey - j Of the twin-towered minster, ere It shine j On tie two bridges, and the -wharves' black ' line, Quaint gables, with their quiet gardenseats, - And fronded trees, that hedge the sunswept street*. j There will yon find us, housed In wooden ! walls I Aβ happily as those whose daylight falls Over the English orchards, or whose rooms In rock seem rooted like the very tombs. And sweeter falls the evening round our lamp Than If our panes were curtained from the damp ! Of Thames or tHumber; while the broad ! moon throws Scarce fainter noon around our cottage ' dose, The queen of stare, leading a, brlffbter train Than e'er since Bethlehem's eve enriched the plain. ■Such be onx nights, and oft, a> moraine stirs. We'll rouse np with the early foresters. Riding at daybreak through the lowlands wet, Where dew Ilea like some grey eea'a heayy fret. Printed with fwUd-fowl's toot, and by the ' creeks TVlhere rushes stand dn eheaves, and darker •streaks Of swamp-ground break the meadows, till we pass Under the woods that buttress the great . mas* ■ Of the cheer mountain, where the fig trees cling To the deep cullies, and wild creepers fling ' ■ i i Festoons from foough, to bough, that serve to hold Perpetual twUlrit, as In forests old Of strange enchantment; end the traveller yearne To unroot the orchids and the antler'ferns. Save that the choice bewilders him: and so Perhaps at noon to the dun caves we'll go, And ree't an hour for coolness, and behold The pillars of the' stslsctitlc mould: Or by the stream again,- to watch the light, Struck from Its targe, go glancing up the height Of the gaunt gums, and toucMne every ■trunk ~,"•* When the pool quivers as a stone had sunk Blow to Its depths, though we may never 'What presence troubles Its tranquillity. SVEN HHDIN. IN TIBET. Sven Hedin, the illustrious Swede, ie a born explorer,, and one of the most distinguished of the tribe. His courage and pluck are. boundless; and possibly no num of the time has been more suecsaful in winning the friendship and respect of Asiatic races. Tibet is gradually becoming known; but even no* the natural and governmental difficulties of travel there, by. Europeans, make crucial test <A an explorer'e mettle.' Svea i lledin'e Temarkaible journey in 1906-8, when, he mapped • several unknown aTeae-of ; the Trans-Himalayan re- ! gion, and discovered the sources of the Indus and the Brahmaputra, was-mode in the teetth of official obstacles. The British Government, for diplomatic rea--Bom, ■would not permit him. to enter Tibet from India, iby way of Simla and Gurtok. He proceeded by way of Lada-k, and was at -first welcomed by the Tibetans; .but later they and the Chinese did' their best to turn hi™ back. He evaded" them by disguising himeelf; and virtually accomplished the task he had set himself before being caught and escorted to the frontier, after being for many months lost to civilized view. The Tibeten attitude is ingenuously expressed: "But tell mc why you have come back again? You travel and travel in Tibet and you are always sent away, and always come back again. Had you not enough last year when you were obliged to leave the country by the road to Ladak? And now you turn up again among tis. Ho\v is that .possible, and why are you comeT"

"Because I love your country and your friendly people to such a degree that I cannot live without them. ,.

"H'm! It's very kind of you to say so, but would it not tie better if you were to love your own country a little more? As long as "we do not travel in your country, you should not travel in ewe; we remain, at home, tad the be*t

thing you can do is to remain in youx country."- A colonial edition of Sven Hedin's "Trans-Himalaya" is published by Macmillan in two volumes at 5/. The narrative-is more readable; thatt-'tihat of most Arctic and Antarctic explorers, for example,' because tire landscape is more varied and there ie greater human novelty. The Tibetan civilization Jβ more attractive than the spectacle of icehummocks; and strange characters flock through Sven Hedin's pages. "Whatt is your occupation?" he asked one man. "Robber," said the man, quite simply. Hedin himself is a man of strong human affections. All liis wonderful Asiatic journeys have been made peaceably; and it is clear that be earned the sympathy and respeot of the people with whom he came in contact. At the end he fau to ipart with his dog; and be Tvritee thsut "to part from dogs is the 'hardest trial of oil." ' Sven Hedin'e description of Lord Kitchener, his-host at Simla, hae present interest.' KITCHENER iAT- fIOME IN MTttA. Go -with-me to the first State dinner on May 24, 19Q6. ■ Along the walla of the great drawing-room in the "ViceKegal Palace are assembled gome hundred, guests—all in (full dress, in grand uniforms of various coloure, and glittering iwith orders. One of them is taller than the rest iby a whole heed; he holds 'himself very upright, 7 and seems coolheaded, energetic, and calm; be speaks to no one, but examines those around 'him with penetrating, bright bluish-grey eyee.' His features are heavy, but interesting, serious, impassive, and tanned; one sees that he has had much experience and is a eoldier who has stood fire. His uniform is scarlet, and a whole fortune in diamonds sparkles on his left breast. 'He bears a world-renowned, an Imperishable name: Lord Kitchener at Khartum, the conqueror of Africa, and Commander-in*Chief of the Indian Army. Lord Kitchener's residence stands at the end of the town of Simla, and is called Snowdon. The visitor enters first a large anteroom, which, with its tasteful arrangement and decoration, gives rather the impression of a reception room or a hall of honour bedecked ■with trophies. A fine portrait of GrOTdon Pasha is placed on an easel; opposite stand busts of Alexander and Caesar. In the wainscot of the' staircase ie inserted the aim of the presidential chail which Uncle Kruger'used'in'-Pretoria, and on the tables, shelves, amd friezes are valuable Chinese vases of the Kanghi' (1662-1722), and 'the Kien-lrung (1736----17 95); periods; for Lord Kitchener ie an enthusiast collector of old Chinese porcelain, but only the very finest finds favour in his 1 eyes. But what strikes the stranger most in +.Ivis unique hall, and above all attracts his attention, are the trophies and flags from Lord Kitchener's victories in the Soudan and South Africa. They hang down from their staves from an upper gallery, among them the standards ctf the Mahdi and the dervishes of Omdurman and Om Debraket, besides several Boer flags from the Transvaal and the Orange Free State. In the inner drawing-room we find the same luxurious decoration with Chinese porcelain vases and rare ethnographical objects, among which certain Tibetan temple friezes carved In wood are of great value; they were brought by Younghusband'e Lhasa expedition. On the tables lie albums of photographs of Lord Kitchener's numerous tours of inspection in India, and of hie journey through the cold Pamir. At receptions the table is adorned with costly services in solid gold, gifts of the English nation to the victor of Africa.