The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1886-06-05 00:00:00

LONDOTi *

SATURDAY, JUNE 5, 1886.

GREATER BRI AIN .

JUST now our Colonies are very much en (
ovidenae. The gathering together of the vast '
show at South Kensington, illustrative of the
products of the great self-governing depen-
dencies of the British Crown, has drawn
public attention more closely to the idea of
" Imperial Federation," and when the sub-
ject was discussed, in some salient features,
at the United Service Institution the other
day, it evoked a keen interest. Captain
Colomb, in practical language, directed at-
tention to the pressing necessity for improv.
ing the defences of the Colonies, and his
lecture was backed up by some sage utter-
ances from the Duke of Cambridge, who
was chairman of the meeting. Defensive
federation is called for, not merely to meet
the case of war, but as the surest way of
averting such a calamity. It is really, as the
commander-in-chief phrased it, "a vast
matter of insurance. Why should not
Canada and far-off Australia have dockyards
and arsenals of their own, and not be de-
pendent upon England alone for their supply
of arms and ammunition? Captain Colomb
advises an Australian arsenal, at which a
qualified scientific official should have charge
s •-s se-.04-eve,iee or she , -nubl•c good on
the hinoling ox munitions of modern war.
Stores of torpedoes, rifles, and cartridees
might also be kept under proper controlb'
any emergency, so that eetTl• 7 •
_ „a _Lamm) tor e w ierewitea
to defend herself. The enormous con:mess
cial interests of the Antipodes are virtually
unprotected, for, if war menaced England at
home, .her fleet would be at once recalled;
leaving Australia with no safeguard agains'.
foreign invasion. This is as unsatisfactory
to the Colonies as it is to Eliglialimen at
home. Day by day we become more and
more dependent upon the reniote parts of
I the Empire for our food supplies. Immens••
I quantities of breadstuffs are now imported
from India, and America is giving place to
Now Zealand and Australia in the mattes of
meat supply. Obviously therefoie it is o'
vast importance to such a country as ours a,
keep open the ocean highways for unimpeded
traffic. Oar very existence as a nation de-
pends upon the protection of our shippine
and commercial considerations, beth as re-
gards Coloniats and Englishmen, demand e
thoroughgoing and commonsense deal in
with the matter, and a practical foresight
into the future. Self-defence on each
eolonfe part is good, but it is of minor im-
portance taken alongside of the imperative
necessity for union for the general defence.
Of course an adequate armament—one upon
which we could look with confidence in the
event of any threatened inferuntional
rupture—would require a fair con tribution
from all Colonies to the cost of the Imperial
navy, That colonial taxpayers would offer
no objection to, were they assured the money
would be well spent. Our " soes and
brothers" beyond the seas are far too hard-
headed to expect readiable insurance without
being called upon to pay the premiums. Un-
less these premiums are paid by the old
country as well as its offshoots, the insnera,nce
will infallibly lapse, and one day we shall
wake to find the Empire shattered. Our
imperial growth has assumed such vast
dimensions that its very bulk is Briain's
greatest danger. 'With union for defence
on a befitting scale of every part of the Em-
pire, we may still stand against the world ;
without united and ungrudging action we
shall fall at the first decisive onslaught, Im-
perial federation will be but a sentiment and
a barren ideal unless its advocates can touch
the purses of the people at home and in the
Colonies, and secure an efficient defence
worked by a system of well-planned Imperial
co-operation. Taxation bears heavily now,
and it would be a little heavier if our de-
fence were sure. But the expense would he
economy in the end, and would bring with it
the delightful sense of security which is so
invaluable. It is a trite saying and a very
true one, that the best way to ward off war
is to be ready for fighting at a moment's
notice, and the old saw holds here unabated
force. With such vital considerations in-
volved, should we unduly consider the out-
lay, and adopt or rather continue to display
a penny-wise policy ? Emphatically no.
The Colonies would not tarn tail at their
share of the cost, neither should we, if we
had assurance that the money were being
properly expended in a manner most likely
to secure the end in view. Money cannot
measure the value of the results of such a
fable,: of Imperial federatidn as might be
put together upon the basis planned out le,-
Captain Colomb, and he goes on the rigi.t
tack in desiring to secure defence alone, and
not seeking to encourage a bellicose and
defiant attitude as the outcome of his sug-
gested unison of increased forces. What is
wanted is a matter-of-fact, substantial alli-
ance between mother-country and colonies
for the protection of indissoluble interests,
not spread-cagleism for mere military or
naval display. All the details of such an
eminently practical anti very desirable ar-
rangement might easily be filled in, and its
working secured, we should imagine, without
friction. r13,f1, indeed, the Empire might
speak with " one vcice."