UNITY OF IDEALS

Evening Star, Issue 19004, 28 July 1925, Page 3

UNITY OF IDEALS

- EXPANSION OF THE EMPIRE APPARENT TREND OF EVENTS Amid all the chances and mischances ' of time, in spite of the wisdom and unwisdom of statesmen, the British Empire has continued on its way, gathering fresh strength from generation to generation, until at last it confronted the world in arms as the first League of Nations, states Archibald Hurd, in the ‘ Daily Telegraph.’ A little over ten years ago the British ; Empire should, as many foreign observers thought it would, have gone down in ruins; but it picked up the challenge which had been offered to its unity, and emerged strengthened, purij fied, and consolidated. ( The supremo virtues of the British | people are patience and tenacity, and j these virtues will have to be exhibited I now that we confront the great task of i making the most of our inheritance. Professor Seeley wrote of the * Expansion of England ’ —and when hd spoke of “ England ” he did not, of course, ignore the contributions made by Scotsmen and Irishmen, in particular to the great movement for the spread of liberal civilisation throughout the world. How many of us realise, when we talk of Empire settlement and Empire development, that “England” has expanded until to-day the British Empire ■ occupies nearly one-quarter of the land < surface of the earth, and that all those | widespread territories pay their homage to the one Throne. There has L en nothing Hue this unity of ideals and purposes in the history of the human race, and wo must see to it that the experiment in human relationship does not fall through any fault of ours. The British Empire is a partnership, because it embraces five young nations i —Canada, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and Newfoundland. It is also a trusteeship by reason of the territories which still exist under our well-defined colonial system. And in between these partners and dependents we have India and Egypt in process of evolution. The imagination is staggered when we turn to a map of the world and see how much of it is colored rod, and then remember the responsibilities which rest upon this country as the birthplace of all these dominions, colonies, dependencies, and mandated territories. We lavish praise and blame on the Burleighs, Pitts, and ■ Melbournes of the past, but how will :

future generations assess the burdens which rest to-day on tho statesmen of London, in association, in many spheres of activity, with the Ministers at Ottawa, Melbourne, Wellington, Pretoria, and St. John’s? What is to bo the political future of this amazing patchwork of nations, colonies, and dependencies in every stage of evolution? By some means or other local patriotism must bo wedded to Imperial patriotism. The narrower ideals which bulk so lai'gely when elections are won and lost in our own land at home and the dominions, and when domestic problems have to bo considered in the colonies and dependencies, must be brought into association with the larger ideals which blossomed so conspicuously during the years of the Great War. How these political problems are going to bo solved no one can forecast, but it is, at least, certain that tho old dreams of Imperial Federation are dead and gone. Tho political movement in the Empire will probably follow tho course which the political movement in this Old Country has followed in tho past. It will he shaped by events largely, but not entirely, beyond our control, and will reflect tho growing sense of how much is to be gained by unity in the great tasks which lie before tho iive hundred million people who constitute the Britisli Empire. TIIF OPENING OF A NEW ERA. When wo pass from the political sphere to the sphere of Empire development and Empire settlement wo emerge into the light. It is generally true that tho years which elapsed between tho reign of Queen Elizabeth and the accession of King George V. were devoted, however unconsciously and even uuintclligcnily, to the task of expansion. We arc now entering upon a now phase of the Imperial movement—that of settlement and development. Even as lately as the early years of this century it was accepted as an immutable fact that there were vast tracts in the tropics which would always remain practically useless to : tho white man. Science is now con- . quering the unprofitable wastes and revealing to us that they contain immense stores of wealth. Science is also showing us how the white man can ( successfully light tropical fevers and . thus reap the harvest which science is preparing. To-day the white man can , penetrate the jungle and the swamp ; with little or no fear. There is open- |; ing before our eyes tho universal reign 1 1 of medical science in its application _to I ' all the dangers and difficulties which I

defeated our forefathers. But science is doing more than teaching us how to utilise these storehouses of wealth. The scientist is solving the problems of transport and communications. Wireless telegraphy is converting the British Empire into a whispering gallery, and it is drawing the four corners_ or the earth together by the introduction of now and quicker methods of carrying cargoes from place to place, for the tramp ship travels two or three knots faster to-day than it did before the war, and if speed pays we shall have more speed. We are already in sight of an era when, travelling over the Imperial airways, passengers will be able to reach Canada in little over a day and a night, and the tourist will no longer consider Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, or India as lying outside the limits of a short holiday. ! DRAWING TOGETHER. In point of time, -the several parts of the British Empire of to-morrow will be no more isolated than were England, Scotland, and Wales a hundred years ago. Its several parts are being drawn together, and in that movement lies the hope of its political development as well as the progress of interImpcrial trade. The day is at hand when settlers on the veldt in South Africa, fanners in the North-West territories of Canada, Australians on the cattlo ranches, and sheep breeders in the far-off stations of New Zealand will he able to sit in the evening listening to music played at one ot our high-power wireless stations; and they will do so with the knowledge that they are within a few days’ travel of London, the hub of the Empire. Loneliness will be banished from the British Empire, and isolated men and women will bo reminded that they are members of one great body, sharers of its rights, its privileges, and its burdens. , When we endeavor to forecast tbo trend of Empire development and Empire settlement wo are. warned by ruri rent events not to ignore the miracles i which the scientist is now performing. I or to under-estimate their influence oy I the solution of all the problems, politi I cal, industrial, and social, which shl ] appear so baffling to some of us. Tin ■ Empire, we may believe, eve.j I hope, has reached its fullness of territorial expansion, but it is only just ho- ' ginning to enter upon the process o! 1 development, and development, in tin last analysis, depends upon_ the mon equal distribution of the white population. The white man is leader and or-

ganiser; he lias the larger brain, the patience to wait for results, the broader outlook, necessary to commercial enterprise, and the power to organise. The past of the British Empire, if the British peoples play their part manfully, not splitting their eyes to the splendor of the vision which is being unfolded, will seem a dull story to those who come after and look back over the great adventure upon which, with the aid of science and labor, we are now entering.