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when it has so large an army abroad. My view of the situation is this: that though the 1 Empire is at | war in South Africa that is only one of her interests, and that we should not allow our other interests, spread all over the world., to be weakened in any way or to be neglected in any way owing to the fact that other countries believe that we have both our fists tied up in South Africa. But that is a digression. I was saying we cannot shut our eyes to the fact that our Empire is an object of suspicion, jealousy, and hatred to the great mass of the 2 nations of Europe at this moment. I think it is | an uninstructed mass. I think if they knew the merits of the dispute better than they do, I think if their Press was not so uniformly biassed, they would come to a different conclusion. But I often wonder when I read these fiery articles against Great Britain, proposing a league to stamp this pestilential country off the face of the globe—-a league which could be much more easily planned than executed —what the world would gain by the extinction or obliteration of Great Britain. Have they ever 3 realised what that country is to the world, how, when the balance | hangs between peace and war, the interest and the policy of Great Britain always causes its weight to be thrown in the balance of peace? Have they realised what the free-trade of the Empire means to their merchants ? Why, we know in how many parts of the world, partly owing to our free-trade, partly owing to our generous encouragement of other nations, their commerce is beginning to push ours out. But, in any case, a country like ours, which depends for its prosperity on 4 peace and on commerce, is an element in the universe at large that not our | most arrogant enemies could afford to eliminate. But we, on our side, cannot afford to rest on moral aphorisms or the logic of events. We have to be ready and to be prepared. We have already borne great sacrifices for the Empire, and are willing to bear greater still. We are ready to do all that in us lies to promote the unity of the Empire, and we in this association shall watch and foster and encourage every hopeful and encouraging symptom from any 5 quarter which may justify us in hoping that before long we may see the Empire united. |

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