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future of the Empire, sounded a note of warning in the caution : " We must • bring minds not biased by the reflections of the past. We have to deal with ' a different set of problems, in respect of which names, political connections, " and traditions of parties will help us very little." Then the late Lord Carnarvon, of whom it has been said : " He was " amongst the very first of British statesmen to see clearly on the horizon " the coming dawn of an actual Greater Britain, and the first to counsel " timely preparation for dealing with its earliest necessities," said, in the course of a speech at the London Chamber of Commerce, in 1887 : " You " have in the first place, a vast Empire, vast in area, population, and " resources, of which, as we may honestly say, the world's history knows no " counterpart. It is the first and foremost of its kind. Within the compass " of this great Empire, you have all the products of nature that can be " named If all the interests and parts of this Empire can "be adequately bound together, the'commercial interchange of necessities, "comforts, and luxuries ought to be achieved within the compass of our " own dominions. I believe, myself, the solution will be found much rather " in the practical adaptation of means to ends " (this is what he says), "and in "common-sense determination to combine, as far as may be, the different " interests and resources of an Empire, which, though divided and scattered "geographically, over the whole face of the world, is singularly and " marvellously united in the heart and feeling, as well as in interest." I quote these utterances since they reflect the opinions of by far the greater number of Australians. So far, Canada, South Africa, and New Zealand have pledged themselves to this policy, and the Commonwealth has made a modest and initial step towards the common goal, and in Australia we look with anxious eyes to the Motherland for the development of events which will lead to the result we so much desire. Amidst the stirring events of recent years which have brought Australia closer and closer in touch with the Old World's activities and tragedies, we realise that we must either face the responsibilities of our own protection or be drawn closer to the head of the Empire. Whatever views to the contrary may find expression, we recognise that our future is inseparably bound with the fate of the Empire whose glorious record has been so remarkable. Our faith is in the Empire, and our belief is that its unlimited resources may supply us with most of our wants. We desire to so arrange for the mutual benefit of each portion of the Empire that we may help each other, strengthen each other, and, above all, prefer our own to all others. We want to concentrate the wealth, strength, and progress of the race by a business relationship which, whilst consolidating its power and prestige, realises its highest ambition in the welfare of its own people. When we are warned by the opponents of preferential trade-against the artificial regulations of trade, it is pertinent to ask, how is it, in the face of modern competition, we find that artificial regulation is winning the race, not alone in the British Possessions, but throughout the globe. It has been truly said that the boast, " Trade follows the flag," is not borne out by experience. What really happens is that the British flag is followed by foreign trade. It was Lord Farrer, an ardent Free Trader, who said " Free 'Trade can beget no possible qualities in man; it leaves the power " of nature and man to produce whatever is in them, to produce unchecked " by human restrictions." It seems to be a strange peculiarity of the British race that it rarely, if ever, foresees or is found prepared to meet those greater emergencies which periodically mark the record of every nation in history. With characteristic

Tenth Day. ■2 May I HOT.

Preferential Trade. (Sir W. Lyne.)