The Dominion TUESDAY, JANUARY 24, 1911. THE EMPIRE AND ITS PEOPLE.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1033, 24 January 1911, Page 4

The Dominion TUESDAY, JANUARY 24, 1911. THE EMPIRE AND ITS PEOPLE.

It has often been urged in these columns that one of the greatest dangers to the Empire lies in the multitude of restless and energetic -'Empire-doctors," to coin~ a word, who arc ceaselessly prescribing their cures for what they quite honestly believe to' be a gravely unhealthy disorder'in their majestic patient. We always look with a" little distrust, therefore, upon talk about "the necessity for consolidating the Empire," or about "the urgency of educating the citizens of the Empire to a right understanding of what ' the Empire means." Not that we areso foolish as to dismiss the matter with a complacent reflection that everything is all right; for nobody of intelligence can fail to see that there are some bad tendencies at work. But these tendencies aro rarely considered by the average writer or speaker upon Imperial problems. He is generally occupied with the geographical and commercial aspects of the Empire; which, to our mind, are really less worth troubling about than the other aspects in which arc scon tho bad tendencies wc refer to, such as, for example: the decay of individualism and self-reliance amongst the Imperial peoples, -the decay of the political standards of Britain, the prevalence of Socialistic ideas, the growth of a flabby sentimcntalism in public opinion. These are'tho matters with which a true historical view of the Empire ought to concern itself. It is the character of the people of the Empire, and not their political, commercial, and geographical relations, that is of the most importance; .for if the character of the people is sound and strong, the Empiro can be, as she has been hitherto, the master of her political, commercial, and geographical problems.

These were, in their order, the reflections induced by the ncrusal of the first number of The Round Table, a very unusual quarterly publication which has just made, its appearance. The object of this venture is stated as being "to present a regular account of what is going on throughout the King's dominions, written with first-hand knowledge and entirely free from the bias of local political issues, and to provide a means by. which the common problems which confront the Empire as a whole can be discussed , also with' 1 knowledge and without local bias." Correspondents will accordingly send in papers from every quarter of the Empire, but strict anonymity will be maintained in, every thing connected with the production of tho review. The opening sentence of the first article states that "it is a common complaint, both in Great Britain and in the Dominions, that it is well-nigh impossible to understand how things are going witl-i the 'British Empire," and it is added, a little later, that while much is written upon thc'Empire, yet most people have no access to the best of these writings, while "such as have are haunted by the fear that what they read is coloured by some local party issue-' in which they have no concern." Neither of the statements wc have quoted can be accepted without a good deal in.the w T ay of qualification, but it is plain that the founders of. the review, even if the fears that drove them to it are not quite justified, have put their hands to a project that wo should like to think could be as successful as the motives behind it are good. It is probably impossible to over-state either the mutual ignorance of the Imperial peoples respecting each other s affairs or the desirableness that an intelligent understanding of the con-, ccrns of every part of the Empjre by every other part; but it is far from impossible to argue too inuch from the fact that the avorage New Zealandor knows little more than, say, Sir Joseph Ward does about the real practical concerns of people of Canada, Africa, or Australia. "Let knowledge grow from more to more" is a very fine maxim ■ for the • Imperialist; but tho Imperialist should be specially careful at the same time to' keep in mind that most of the talk about "drawing the bonds closer" and breaking down the barriers of mutual ignorance is the sheerest cant.

Nobody will suspect the promoters of The Round Tabic of cant; we should like them to make it their special office to ' discourage . cant quite' as severely as partisanship. As a matter of fact vfe think that partisanship is. far less injurious in a discussion upon the Empire than is the cant that is born of ignorance and slovenly thinking. Most sensible people must bo heartily sick of the stereotyped rhetoric that seems to be regarded as necessary on so many occasions. What is wanted is frank, straightforward talk, free from rubbishy metaphor and bombast, and this, it would appear, the promoters of the Review are in the mood to cultivate. The veil of anonymity is a severe handicap upon the Review to begin with, and' is likely to detract from the authority of its articles. This, howover, is an obstacle the Review has made for itself, and, if it succeeds, its success should have very wide results. The first issue has no special reference to New Zealand, but in future issues, wo trust, proper stress will be laid tho necessity that the New Zealand public should _ begin to ask themselves very seriously tho question, whether tluir country is in a condition, financially-and economically, to be a healthy limb of the. Empire in time of war 1