DYING NATIONS.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 11453, 19 June 1899, Page 7

DYING NATIONS.

HOW EMPIRE IS AFFECTED BY THE CLIMATE.

A nation only lives a few thousand years. Look at the great nations of 4000 years ago. Egypt, Yucatan, .Mexico, Peru, Assyria, are all dead and buried. China is only staying alive to save' funeral expenses. The next generation of nations included Rome and Greece, and these are like galvanised ghosts. The third generation, the Turks, Moors, Spaniards, Moguls, Dutch, and Scandinavians, are alive, but have lost their power. From this you will see that the nations in hot countries die and stay dead. The nations of cold countries rise, become great, fail, lose their outlying, dominions, and yet stay alive. That is because the land does 1 not lapse into jungle like Ceylon and Yucatan, or change into desert like Assyria and , Egypt, but remains fertile, providing plenty of food. Now to apply these facts. Great Britain the United. States, Russia, -and 'Germany are- gaining in population, wealth, and power, but the British Empire is extending 'more rapidly than any one of them. Compare her with France, for instance. A .couple of centuries ago, when France owned most of North America, and was founding ,a vast empire in India, Paris was bigger •than London, and was the capital of the civilised world. To-day Paris ha5'2,500,000 people, and is the capital of the arts and fashion. But London has 5,000,000 sotils, and has taken the place of Paris as the metropolis of the world. ■ ■ ' The British Empire is growing, and it will, keep on growing, along the lines of ,least resistance. At the present rale, the whole land surface of 'the planet will he absorbed by the year 2349 a.d. But as Greater Britain grows it comes' into closer •contact with the boundaries of the United States, Russia, and Germany. - Even if we could,, we halve no wish to swallow these or any other decently-governed countries. The United States, Russia,- Germany, and Japan are playing the same game. The British Empire is nearly as large as the four .combined. As England does not ,wish to conquer the well-governed countries', the area open to annexation may be' diminished by-half. In that case all the world will be properly governed by the'year 2012' a.d. 'So in 113 years from the .present time the British Empire must stop spreading for lack of room on the planet. Even then it will grow in wealth and. population, but < meanwhile these little islands are getting very old. Sooner or later we may feel the weakness of ago, and be no longer able ■to fight for our possessions; our colorties may cut adrift from us ; the conquered countries like India may revolt. If all this should happen, as politicians of a pessimistic temperament are already predicting, it would only be a case of history repealing itself. How long will that be? Well, Rome rose in 400 years, as we did, and took a thousand years to decline. Our Empire is infinitely greater, stronger, and more loyal* than the Roman. Suppose we say 1500 years before the Little England party wins a general election, and little England is a'second class Power, as she was in tho days of Henry Vlll.—Daily, Mail.