Sir Charles Dilke on Colonial Progress.

Oamaru Mail, Volume XXII, Issue 6849, 26 March 1897, Page 4

Sir Charles Dilke on Colonial Progress.

At a meeting of the foreign and colonial section of the Society of Arts, held at the Society's room, John Btreet, Adelphi, on 2nd February, Sir Charles Dilke, M.P., read a paper on " The Progress of the British Colonial Empire daring the Sixty Years of her Majesty's Reign." The Earl of Jersey occupied the chair. Sir C. Dilke said the relative importance of the colonies had not greatly changed since the beginning of the Queen's reign, although their total importance had enormously increased. The West Indies, with the neighboring colonies, played a far larger part, proportionately speaking, in 1837 than they played now. But it was a mistake to assume that those colonies were ruined. On the whole, too, the trade of these colonies had increased, although there had been in some particular cases a decline. Ceylon, which was one of the most interesting portions of the earth's surface, had more than recovered her prosperity through the brilliant enterprise with which the settlers had turned to the planting of a fine tea. The revenue of Ceylon, was abont four times as great as it was at the Queen's accession. The Straits Settlements were also countries of which we might be proud. Cape Colony and Canada were also passed under review, and with regard to Australasia, Sir Charles said it was to be hoped that the Queen's reign would not end without Australian federation having crowned Australian development. It was, however, idle to hope that the whole of Ausstralasia would come into an Australian confederacy. Next after the unparalleled growth of British shipping and the spread ot the English tongue in half the world, the chief phenomenon of the Queen's reign was the Australasian expansion into the wilderness of communities of an intensely British type. A discussion followed, and a vote of thanks was passed to Sir Charles Dilke on the motion of Mr Hogan, M P., seconded by Lord Jersey, who remarked that the expansion of the colonies during the last 60 years was due not so much to Governments as to the individual efforts of the people who had gone out and made them, and to the fact thattheyhadbeenalloived by Governments to govern themselves.