THE H.B. TRIBUNE. TUESDAY, JUNE 13, 1911. THE FEDERATION OF NATIONS.

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume I, Issue 152, 13 June 1911, Page 4

THE H.B. TRIBUNE. TUESDAY, JUNE 13, 1911. THE FEDERATION OF NATIONS.

It has been prophesied that within a hundred years the leading nations of the world will have combined in a mighty Federation. This could come about in two very different ways. It may be that the rational sense of the Nations will increasingly perceive the advantages resulting from mutual agreement. On the other hand it may be that some slight friction will ignite the combustible material of militarism and huge armaments, and then a terrible war must teach its hard lessons before measures favourable for the common weal of the civilised Nations of the World can be entertained or brought into effect. At first sight, there seems good reason to hope for the former peaceful consummation of Federation, .for it is the ultimate goal of the most enlightened men of our age, and moreover, the self-inter-est of the masses urges whatever, tends to the avoidance of '■ war. Brotherhood is the modern keynote of the progressive movements of the day; International exhibitions are meeting-grounds for, people of many lands; congresses and conferences are formed for consultation of common interests ; Esperanto aims at a universal language ;even the school children are corresponding with fellowscholars of other countries. But we must not be led too far by these hopeful signs. The corporate intelligence of a mass is not that of its constituent units, therefore our progress is not determined by the standard of the more advanced, but by that of the Nations en masse, and for some, the ethical motives may be far too high, while for others the mercenary and utilitarian may be far too low. The people are impelled more from feeling than thought, hence the instability of popular government. It therefore remains to be seen whether this idea of International Federation is an embryo in the egg to be hatched in due time, or whether it may not be better compared to a young seedling in danger of being choked by suckers and weeds drawn from the same source whence the seedling itself derives its nourishment. The social order in which we live has been built up on individualism, separatism, materialism and - conservativism. The spirit of individualism has borne noble fruit in its asserton of human dignity and personal liberty. It has made the idea of slavery intolerable to an enlightened people, and noble Constitutions preserve individual freedom. Such is indeed the spirit of our Constitution, but is it so administered, and have we, in truth, the substance ,or only the shadow of freedom? A glance at the economic condition of the world shows us, at least, one noxious weed choking the life out of the wholesome plant of individual freedom. A man is often valued today, not for what he is as a fellowman, but for what he has contrived to grab for himself by mere opportunity. With self-realisation, selfishness walks side by side and greater power makes harder taskmasters for weaker fellow-men. A deadly error crept into human thought at the Renaissance and it has borne a plentiful crop of ills. Liberty has been our cherished blossom, and the seeds of frater- ‘ nity have been rapidly germinating, but latterly a third fatal word has been uttered with these two— Equality. An enemy has sown tares among the wheat and the harvest is ruined. With the final overthrow of class authority, the mutual responsibility of man to man is completely destroyed. No man can be responsible for his equal with whom he cannot interfere without impertinence. It may seem we have wandered from our subject—the Federation of Nations—but some digression has been necessary to show that, whereas the blossom of liberty really contains within itself the seed of the achievement of future federation, our present social conditions make it extremely difficult for the fruit to ripen. Britain and America may, and in all probability will, federate, and other nations maybe induced to follow their example, but before a federation of the nations could possibly be realised, social revolutions in most of them would have to take place, and not altogether peacefully. The fulfilment of the Scriptural prophecy, “ Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn the art of war any more,” has no possibility of coming to pass for many ages yet to come.