Evening Post. THURSDAY, MARCH 2, 1911. A PROMISE FULFILLED.

Evening Post, Volume LXXXI, Issue 51, 2 March 1911, Page 6

Evening Post. THURSDAY, MARCH 2, 1911. A PROMISE FULFILLED.

The promise that the element .of party would be entirely excluded from Wellington's farewell to the Premier -and the Attorney-General on their deto represent New Zealand at | the Coronation and the Imperial Conference has been faithfully kept. 4.t the garden party, where the speaking was wisely cut very short, the complimentary, resolution was seconded by a lead.'ing member of the Opposition; at the /banquet the only speaker m addition to ,th© Governor, the Chief Justice, and the guests of the evening, was another prominent Opposition M.P. The speeches were exactly what might have ?been expected from such a combination. They left the controvercies of domestic politics entirely alone, and dealt with 'the broad issues of Imperial policy appropriate'to the mission with which the .Premier and his colleague have beenThe representative and nonparty character of the mission would, as the Chief Justice said, have been *still more clearly emphasised if the' Leader of the Opposition had been, accompanying the two Ministers. The-sug-gestion came originally, if we remember-- > rightly, from South Africa, in connection twith -the -Defence Confer enc«, and we» hope that it may before long be generally adopted. Confined though they necessarily were for the most part to generalities, all the speeches at the banquet sounded the right note, and, while there were no poor ones, the average standard of attainment was very. high. There was no flag-waving or fireworks of the kind to which after-dinner oratory so readily lends itself on these occasions. On the contrary, the note was rather that of a just but subdued pride in our association with the Empire, a sober gratitude for the incalculable benefits that we owe to it, and a genuine appreciation of the perils to which it is exposed, and the demand which they make upon us for more careful thought, for closer co-operation, and for greater sacrifice. An interesting allusion was made in Lord Islington's thoughtful and grace.ful little speech to the contrast between the two greatest Empires that the world has yet seen. "The Eoman Empire," he said, "was founded on the shifting sands of subjugation. The British Empire has been founded, and is being maintained, and I believe will be maintained in the ages to come, upon the sure rock of political freedom." The contrast has been worked out in a small treatise by one of the very greatest of Imperial statesmen, one of those/ proconsuls whose work need not shrink from comparison with the most glorious achievements of ancient Rome — Lord Cromer. Is the contrast going to save the British Empire from imitating Rome in her decline no less than in her greatness? The departed glories of Rome certainly present a very sobering antidote to the class of argument which finds in the millions of square miles and the millions of people embraced by the British Empire of to-day a sufficient proof of its permanence. Let not the world, let nob God mourn once more A giant empire cankered at the core — is the prayer with which the contemplation inspired a British poet, and there is more hope in this chastened mood than in the light-headed jingoism which was once much more fashionable j and still has far too wide a vogue. But on this side of the world it is not the possible cankering of the Empire at the core, but the want of co-ordination among its outlying parts, and the strain imposed by their neglect of duty upon the central organism, that can most profitably occupy our thougkts. The Titan is growing weary, as -Mr. Chamberlain reminded us nearly nine years ago in a speech from which Dr. TTindlay quoted last night. There are now other giants in the race, and their rivalry grows more dangerous every day. If in this vital matter of defence the Empire is to re-* main a burden to him and not a help, how much longer will it be before he must break down under the strain and drop out of the raos? Lord Isfegtoa Bfipfeg fif "i^S S^rg.,

rock of political freedom " as tho foundation which gives the British Empire thereasonaiile hope of a permanence denied to the Imperial fabric of ancient Rome. But his figure concedes that freedom, though something to build on, is not the structure itself. It is not liberty, but, as Burke was so fond of insisting, an, ordered liberty, that is the foundation of civil society. Liberty may become a will-o'-the-wisp, as dangerous aa "the shifting sands of. subjugation," if it be too recklessly indulged. The excellent remark of the Chief Justice that "not only freedom must be diffused, but government also, otherwise freedom would not be lasting," thus provides the necessary supplement to His Excellency's -wise insistence upon freedom as the indispensable bed-rock. Each of the partner States of the Empire must retain the fullest measure of autonomy with regard to its internal affairs — including, whatever the wildest of the partisans of Tariff Reform in the Old Country may think, its fiscal policy. But with this necessary reservation, some form of organic union, which will cover at any rate the two departments of defence and foreign policy, must be evolved sooner or later, and how many years will the urgency of German competition allow us to dally with the question? It is impossible to suppose that the present go-as-you-please methods can be continued indefinitely. It is not right that Canada, Australia, and New Zealand should be liable to be plunged at any moment into war without a vote or voice upon the question. On th© other hand, it is.not right that theee countries should' be only paying 6e, 12s S^d, and 9b 6d per head respectively on defence, while the United Kingdom pays at ,the rate of SOs per head. It is satisfactory to see that the speeches of both Sir Joseph Ward and Dr. Fdndlay displayed an appreciation of the need both for moving snd for moving with caution. At present in New Zealand the need for movement perhaps' requires more emphasis than the needfor caution. Apart \ from tho dramatic: accident of the German scare, public opinion on these subjects has nof^ advanced appreciably in the four years since the. last Imperial Conference, and during the last six months, when great progress should have been made, it~ha&been at an absolute standstill, owing to. the lamentable determination of the Government that the worn of the conference should not be discussed either in Parliament or on th© platform. We hope, nevertheless, to see both Sir Joseph Ward and his colleague representing the country worthily at the conference, and making amends for past inaction after their return.