The Saline County journal. [volume] (Salina, Kan.) 1871-1893, 1878-08-22
ENGLAND AND THE FUTURE.
Her Remarkable GrO'rfh ia Territorial Ic-
qmisitios During the Past Century.
philadelphia Press

Her Remarkable Gro,~fh ia Territorial &c
q"isitios During the Past Century.
philadelphia Press
England has an omnivorous appetite fol
territory. She has very recently absorbed
Cyprus, and has begun To digest it, Sine,
then. she has nibbied at Tenedos, and will
doubtless swallow il. AT the same time
she has been whctting her hunger for
New Guinea. and will probably annex a
new strip of African coast. as snake
annexes frog. The colonial possessions
and the military posts Of Great Britain
are wonderful. and present a problem Of
immense magnitude. The Portuguese
have fallen vastly in the rear rhe Dutcn
| Of Cromwells time, would now Ice laughed
at as formidable competitors Of the En-
giish system, although Oliver thought
them dangerous rivals. Since the con-
quest Of India. England has gone ahead
| IN territorial acquisition with tremendous
! rapidity. She has Gibraltar, at the en-
| trance vi the Mediterranean. and Aden nj
| tie outlet Of the Red Sea- and Heli,goiand
| at the mouth If the Baltic. She has Mai
| Ia, at the centre Of Mediterranean com
Herce: Bermuda, in the wild. Atlantic;
| JaIlaic: and Nassau. Ia command the Car
ribean: Singapore, on the str.iit, between
India and China: Sierra Leone. New Guinea
and Cape Horn, with claim on Zanzibar
and all the world wonders why she did
not coloniZe Massowah in Abyssinia beiur.
she bought the control of the SueZ Canal
She has sought Ia command the Dar,ian-
elles: she controls Canton and Hong Kong,
with factories: she owns the 81. Lawrence.
and can shut up the great lakes Of Ameri-
ca; she is planted at Vancouver Island.
and can contest the entrance Ia Behring's
Strait. She has endless islands in the South
Pacific. having recently absorbed the Fits.
and is now intriguing for the Samoan
group. Besides all these strategic points,
she has taken possession Of vast CONT
mental tracts, having within this century
pushed her Indian frontier to the Himav-
layas, and her Cape Horn colony over
the Transvaal republic. and her Medterra-
mean Influence over Turkey in Asia. on
pretense Of controlling the Euphr;i.s
route To India. Russia may have made
many conquests. and have some title Ia
the name -rObber of nationalities," but
there have been No appropriations of ter
ritory like those Of Great Britain. Within
two generations her ACCOMPLISHMENTS have
been almost fabulous. Her outcrics against |
Russia are simply those which thief
raises against less expert thief.
On this side Of the Atlantic, il Is we'll |
remembered that the English speak the |
prevailing American language, that they |
are Of our kin. and hence there is IA nat !
ural family pride in the extension of Brit |
ish influences over the world. This Wig |
OrOus race, in whose blood the spirit of the |
Danes and Saxons Is hardly ahated. but |
rather intensified. have 4 great mission la |
perform. This mission may bc fatal Ia |
the British Empire, even rs Roman CON
quests prepared the way Ia the defeat
the Imperial State No such homogeneous |
or extensive empire ever did hold together. |
England cannot do what Rome failed Ia |
do. But she can do what Rome did. |
Rome failed to keep her conquests tribu-
tary, but she spread her language and |
law and institutions over all Europe and |
half Of the Western Hemisphere.
For generations, England has been be-
guiled by the Imperialism and politics Of
Rome, but has forgotten To put Roman
literature and jurisprudence in the van.
as the secret ~ Roman influence. II has
reyerenced Constantine more than a
Julian, Il Charlemague more than jus
tinian. The fate that beiell the old en-
pire Is likely to overwhclm Great Britain.
Its responsibilities are getting too great.
The elements 81 disintegration are grow
ing too strong. In time, England will be
overweighted by her colonies, and they
will pull asunder her empire. Just as the
United States wrest.d from her the fairczt
provinces.
Even II this mighty empire falls into as
many States eventually Displaced the
Roman Empire. all civilization will To- glad
that English speech. institutions. literature
and law hav. been disseminated the
basis Of the coming civilization. The
empire may ~, II the thing for which IL
stood remains Ia marshal the convictions
and direct the energies 81 the new world.
Now, IL IL precisely here that the great
parties In England M. dividing. Tory
ism loves politics. whigism loves com
mercc and rnca Beaeonsfield Is carried
away with diplomacy and Imperialism:
Gladston. Is touched with responsibility.
and feels the worth u race and inEtitu-
tons. For years complaint bas been made
that England was losing her Influence in /
European politics. She has been losing i
her weight In congresses and the diplo- /
macy 81 courts, while she haG been stead /
ily gaining In lace influence. Louis XIV. |
forced on Europe the Use ~ French a.
the diplomatic tongue. To-day. without /
force. the English II In Europ. almost 4
what the French was Ia the lat century. 1
OF the Latin five hundred wears ago.
They who can --e thai English iniig-
ence has been passing from ST james Ia /
Birmingham. from foreign ministers 20 /
ys-ets. from 81. Stephens Ia tn. counting !
room, are Engiand's truest prophets. II /