Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1881-07-13

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There can be little doubt that before
long the character of the British Parlia-
ment will undergo change. The man
who, one hundred years ago, would have
predicted the collapse of the pocket
boroughs would have been laughed at;
and yet the famous reform bin swept
them away half century ago.
That measure met with the most
determined opposition and was
passed only by the threat of
employing extra constitutional means.
Great changes for the better were
wrought, but of late years there has
been drift toward something like the
old order of things, and further reforms
in the matter of representation are de-
manded. Population has centered in the
cities, and they are as sparselY represent
ed now, perhaps, as they were fifty years
ago. The passage of a new bill will
strike at the richer classes, and will be
hailed with delight by the Radicals.
Ireland has set her heart on home
rule, and, if agitation can secure it, she
will have it. Indeed, if the Protestant
population, who fear that they would be
out voted under home rule system,
would Join heartily in the demand for it
its concession would be all the more
speedy. The great Indian Empire, the
prop of the throne, is unrepre-
scented, and measures affecting its well
fare and destiny are frequently discussed
before a score of nodding members,
while the majority of the Commons are
engaged elsewhere.
Canning boosted that the dazzling
meteor of revolution exerted no influence
on the placid mind of England. But it
is long step from Canning to Gladstone,
and to-day the public mind of England
is undergoing a revolution that awakens
the thought of statesmen and counsels
prompt action. The great force that
binds the elements in the vast fabric of
the British Empire is loyalty to Eng
lands flag and England's sovereign.
Here is the chord on which British
craftsmanship has played, and which,
when touched, sinks all differences.
In the days of wooden hulls and flint
locks the meteor flag" of England ruled
the seas, and her solid phalanxes with
stood the onsets of the flower of the con-
tinent. But ironclads, torpedoes and
needle-guns have simplified matters, and
in the modern game of war numbers tell.
The very vastness of the empire is its
weakness. and, though apparently held
together harmoniously, its integrity
would be sorely shaken in the event of
complications, which might at any time
arise. If there was necessity for the
union of Ireland with Great Britain,
there is a stronger necessity for the
fusion of all the elements of the empire
under legislative regime that will allow
each to exert its legitimate weight.
An Imperial Parliament, composed of
delegates from every quarter of the
empire, is a thing in contemplation, and
the near future may witness its creation.
In such Parliament matters affecting
the general interests of the empire would
be settled and its edlcts would be bind
ing upon all in much the same way as
the enactments of Congress affect and
bind the States of the Union. Mean
while, the British Parliament. improved
as it might be, would have exclusive
management of the affairs of England,
and the colonies would be allowed their
home Parliaments for the administration
of their home government. To
Ireland, Scotland and Wales
similar concessions could be granted
and there can be little doubt that the
new regime would work as well to the
advantage of the Empire and its re-
spective parts as does the system of the
United States. The whole power of the
empire would thus be brought to pro-
tect any part that was menaced, and the
people of every part would be response
BILE for their domestic welfare.
Under such system the empire would
be invincible, and discomfort could not
arse from the passage of special legisla-
ton. 1t may take years to bring these
changes about, but they must come or
the British Empire will split into frag-
ments. AS it is now, Canada, the Aus
tralian colonies and New Zealand are to
all intents and purposes independent of
the mother country. But every one of
them would, while their independence was
maintained, be willing to agree to sys
tenn that would perpetuate the glory and
power of the British name. Sooner or
later the time will come when every por-
ton of the empire will rule itself, and
British statesmen can learn enough
from the history of the American colo
MES to realize that independence con-
coded is far less dangerous to I've integ-
rity of the British dominions than when
wrung from Parliament or won at the