THE OTAGO DAILT TIMES TUESDAY, MAY 13.1902. THE INSTINCT OF IMPERIALISM.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 12351, 13 May 1902, Page 4

THE OTAGO DAILT TIMES TUESDAY, MAY 13.1902. THE INSTINCT OF IMPERIALISM.

There is one aspect of the coming pageant of the Coronation of King Edward VII that has not been given as prominent a place in tho mind of the goneral reader as it deserves, and that is the illustration which will he presented to all nations of the result of a century's work in building an Empire. The Coronation will mark a great accomplishment, (l . glorious result: it will be more than a mere pageant. Jt will show the century's effort on the part of the colonies who have " unconsciously built up a world-wide Empire." We have been accustomed —of late at any rate—to ' speak of Empire ns something new, and tho names of individuals have bean placed in the front, rani; of fame, and this or that statesman has been glorified as, a more qr less prominent builder of the Empire. This is not surprising, for an idea quickly develops in these days of rapid changes, and in the popular cry of the hour there is not time to analyse the causes that have led tip to the change which is at the moment crystallised in a popular phrase. The great pivot on which the thought of Imperialism turns just now is the way i» which the colonies have rallied to the old flag in South Africa. This rally has been an object-lesson, and has no parallel. But there was something deeper than the mere fact that the colonies sent their quota to share the dangers, the sufferings, and the losses in tho great struggle for mastery. That which undorlay the expression of combined power was the instinct of Imperialism. That is the spring. Imperialism is not so new in the colonies as it is in England. Thore it has been linked up with politics of the day, and has been, in a sense, spasmodic: what one party urged the other deprecated— nay, even loudly condemned, —and those sympathies which should have vitalised the younger communities in their great straggles for liberty were wanting. This is passed into history. These communities have flourished nevertheless, not through the direct wisdom of British statecraft or statesmanship, but in spite of it. Now such communities, powerful and characteristic, are seen in. Canada, Australia. New Zoaland, and South Africa. The great change is evident, and what the colonies desire is seen in tho true expression on the part of the Mother Country, on the great occasion now drawing near, of that grand ideal of unity. This is the new thing, the keynote of the twentieth century, and its possibilities arb immeasurable, In a word, it is the

right instinct reasserting itself. Imperialism js an instinct, while loyalty is a sentimont (as was pointed out iii the recent article by C. De Thierry on "Tlio Crown and the Empire "), a passion, something akin to religion, which for generations England has despised. Again, says the same writer, "Imperialism has been the moving force of colonials from the beginning, and loyalty the sentiment which united them to the Mother Country and to one another,

• • • "• The first is destined to unite different parts of the Empire in a majestic whole, the second held them together while they were growing to maturity." The new pha.se in the history of the British nation is the recovery of the lost idea of Imperialism. There have alwaya been, and probably always will be, men of a political bias whose love of ease and luxury will lead them to think little of the Imperial ideal; such men always deprecate war, and by superficial reasoning argue.that that dread calamity could have been readily averted by following their idea. The truth is that " when men fight, the cause lies deep within the heart of things, though it is nearly alwaya hidden by matters of little moment." The Imperial perspective which has been so long lost is now recovered. That is the new feature, and therein lies the secret of the great object-lesson of the coming pageant. The continuity of colonial history has not been broken. Looking back to scenes in the history of the great colonies one thing atands out prominently: their inspiration was duty—that was the great characteristic of the United Empire Loyalists. If freedom meant much to them, those bonds which bound them to the Mother Country meant more; if the maintenance of that loyal integrity meant loss and trial and hardship, they would not flinch, and they did not. Thus Canada stands out as unique. Her Imperialism was sanctified by suffering. The dream of the sixteenth century has not faded away: it revived in the eighteenth, and in effect it has been realised in the dawn of the twentieth century. Provincialism in. England for a century arrested the growth of Imperialism, but it did not kill it. The question arises, whe,re is the link of Imperialism? What has kept it alive! The link is in the Crown. That is the symbol of Empire. Hence the great significance of the Royal visit a year ago. It waa the public recognition of t)ie loyalty of the colonies, and was as full of significance as the visit of the then Prince of Wales to Canada in 18G0. Now, it is fitting that the representatives of the colonies should be tho guests of the King at the great pageant. The lesson for the world to leani and to assimilate as far as possible is that now the unity of the Empire ia a practical fact. A united front ready to meet a national enemy is a mighty power and a, mighty truth. The liberty of selfgovernment does not destroy the Imperial instinct, for the one is a matter of party principle or prejudices, and is the experimental school: a prodigal may have to retrace his steps possibly, but it is because of the discovery that the Home ideal in not dead. The. day was when the colonies were looked upon as rather a nuisance than otherwise: they were treated with indifference. And whyl Because the idea of Empire (if there was one) was looked upon by statesmen more as a phase of statecraft than as a living reality. The methods of statecraft do not result in Empire: it does not build in the true sense. Still, this attitude towards the colonies has proved a blessing in disguise. The trup link of Empire was seen in the Crown, and tho British Empire has developed on the lines of affection and loyalty, that motive and spring whioh endows its ideal with the highest and grandest qualities. Imperialism in its Inje perspective is now being appreciated: England is responding to the loyalty of her colonies. There ia something pathetic, in tho truth that the popularity of tho Manchester School marked an era of Imperial digression; when that parly was on tho highest wave of its popularity Imperialism was at its lowest ebb. 0. Pc Thierry points out: "If the Tories of the eighteenth century were mistaken, the Liberals of the nineteenth century were frankly disloyal. Nevertheless, by a. strange irony, the former dismembered the Empire, the latter with nothing less for their aim only succeeded in oomoiiting it more closely together." The reason was given, by Mr Dis'vftoli at the Crystal Palace "in 1872: " The attempt of Liberalism to disintegrate the Empire has utterly failed. But how has it failed? By the sympathy of the colonics for the Mother Country. They havo decided that the Empire should not be destroyed." Thus, guided by the true instinct, the colonies havo practically solved the hitherto insoluble problem oi Imperial defence, Of their own'free will they have taken a share of the burdens which arc the price of the Empire they have helped to build. Practical unity is there. Political unity is for the future, and in the groat occasion of the crowning of the King a fitting place will be found for the representatives of the colonies. Not only there, but also in the counqil of the nation, will their voice be heard, and with that new feature in the history of tho colonics will como the inauguration of a new scheme for defence, involving, as it must, those questions of finance which there is now no escaping. Budgets will now be based not on the principles of a nation to bo perpetually at peace, but in a state of preparedness for any emergency that may arise. This, however, is another subject, and should be treated separately.