The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1896-01-12

may or England as DULY anu ldnu-
grabber, she is a powerful antagonist.
and a hard and long fighter.
Intelligent Englishmen have some
times doubted whether the British en-
pire had been really strengthened by its
extension, and whether England's re-
some sense a source OF weakness. On
this point Prof. Goodwin Smith says:
Dependencies widely scattered. which you
military weakness, of which your enemy
cannot fai. to be aware Your enemy, In
fact. Is aware OF 1t. and acts In all his deal
fngs with you upon the knowledge tnat you
are. Vulnerable in all parts OF the globe.
England deems herself the happy nation
that has no frontier. She has frontier in
est military power in the word, to say
nothing OF the neighborhood on the other
side OF China, which may some day be-
come military. In Canada she has a from
tier OF 5000 miles, perfectly open to the at
tack Of a nation of sixty-five millions, which
the other day had million OF men in arms.
and can at any moment throw an frresist-
ible force across the line. The primacy OF
the sea remains to her. Supremacy is no
longer hers, as 1t was at the time when the
navies or France and Spain had fallen into
decreptude and that OF Russia was but
just born; again when Duncan had
crushed the navy of Holland at Camper
Il
navies of France and Spain at Trafalgar.
Steam, too, has changed the aspect OF naval
affairs, and till the fearful experiment of
war with ironclads has been tried, we can
not tell how far the pre-eminence of the
British sailor will be affected by the change
from wooden ships to the turret and the
ram.
The argument Of the essay from which
the above is an extract is that England's
real strength is in herself. her people.
her facilities for commerce and manu-
features, and her comparatively free in
situations, and not in her remote posses
sions and scattered colonies. If this is
true these remote possessions and scat
tered colonies may some day prove to be
the vulnerable point in England's armor
through which her enemies will make
mortal attack. In the article already
quoted from. Prof. Smith distinctly rec
ogaized Canada as a source of weakness
to England rather than Of strength. He
said:
There is an especial danger in the reten-
ton of Canada both to the imperial coun-
try and to the colony. Canada. with ner
istocracy of baronets and knights. presents
herself political outpost of monarchical
and aristocratic England on the territory or
American democracy. In this spirit her fer
vent loyalists act. all the more because they
cannot help feeling that nature is drawing
together the two sections or the English
race on the continent, and that only by Gull
tivating antagonism can the attraction be
cOuntervailed.
While the Canada confederation act
was pending Richard Golden, the apos-
tie Of free trade, wrote:
j cannot see what substantial interest the
British people have in the connection TO
compensate men for guaranteeing three or
four millions of North Americans living in
Canada against another community of
Americans living in their neighborhood.
We two peoples to all intents
and purposes, and it is perilous delusion
TO both parties to attempt to keep up
sham connection and dependence. which will
snap asunder If 1t should ever be put to the
tension of stern reality. 1t is all very we'll
for our Cockney newspapers to talk of de-
Tending Canada at all hazards 1t would
be just as possible for the United States to
sustain Yorkshire In war with England as
for to enable Canada to contend against
the United States. 1t is simply an tmpossi-
bility.
Thus 1t appears there are intelligent
Englishmen who do not regard mere ex-
tent of empire an element of strength.
The question of the possible decadence
of Egland's power is much too large to
be fairly treated in a newspaper article,
but it is safe to predict that she will
continue to do business at the old stand
for some time to come. Macaulay's trav-
eler from New Zealand has not started
for London yet