The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1898-03-20
THE Building of the British En-
UiYPH

The latest work in this series is The
Building of the British Empire" by AL
fred Thomas Story. author Of The Life
Of John IinnelI:'' WILLIAM Blake: His
Life. Genius and Works. "A Book Of Va
from Men," etc. Mr.. Story chronicles
the growth of the British Empire from
the time Of Elizabeth, when England,
shut off from Continental dominion, he
gan TO reach out for power beyond seas.
This was about the year I55S. and the
work. which is in two volumes, deals
with the development of the empire from
that time to the present and IS devoted
especially TO those phases Of English
achievement which I'm most English his
tories are subordinated TO affairs Of the
British Isles themselves The fronts
piece Of the first volume is portrait or
Queen Elizabeth, reproduced from the
original Of Zucchero. and that OF the sec
ond a portrait Of Queen Victoria. Gu
riously enough, it was under these two
queens that the English nation made its
greatest advancement in power and
wealth. The author suggests that posi-
bly, a female sovereign is less inclined TO
check the legitimate energies Of the peo-
pie, and consequently free scope Is given
TO private enterprise.
II was during the reign of EIizabeth's
predecessor that for the first time Eng
land ceased TO own any part Of the soil
of France. English territory had dwin-
died TO a smaller space than ever before.
the common people were in a state of
riotous disorder the nobility had grown
poor, the religious sentiment Of the coUn-
try was unsettled, and when Eliza beth
assembled the throne, at the age OF twenty
five, the prospect was anything but in
Viting. She seems. however, TO have had
the power Of attracting 10 her court and
into her service the most enterprising and
able men Of the realm, and the result, in
course of time, was the encouraE cement of
shipbuilding, commerce, and trade in gen
eral. In the days of Henry VIII the navy
of England counted but one ship Of war
the Great Harry, and this monarch estab-
hshed the navy office. which was after
ward to the admiralty, and made it
his business TO build and to capture ships
This policy was followed also by Eliza
beth.
Sir John Hawkins appears TO have been
the first mariner Of note under Eliza
beth, and the most notable thing that he
did was TO open the slave trade between
Guinea and San Domingo The next of
these paladins was Sir Francis Drake,
whose voyage round the world Is describ-
ed by Mr.. Story in an interesting way.
Another interesting chapter deals with the
attack Of the Spanish Armada on the
English feet. The defeat Of this great
Armada seemed 10 give the country new
life. OF the subsequent period Mr.. Story
says:
Il was as though men had been living IN
der & cloud, and that cloud being I'll length
dispersed, and the sunshine breaking forth ia
full splendor again, lie leapt, as i were, into
an ecstasy, such as we see when after Winter
the Spring comes; and accompanying and CIV
3ng expression TO that life there arose a paezn
Of triumph and gladEess, the like whereof cannot
be matched IN any age or country. To this
day the ring Of that life and Of its glory re-
sounds In ears; and though since then 800
years have come and gone, the wonder Of il;
aye, and the mystery Of IT, too, puzzles and
perpleXes Us still.
And he adds that the literature arising
IN this period Of prosperity probably
had more to do with uniting the nation
than anything else in its history.
The second half Of the first volume
treats Of the establishment Of the James
town colony: the first footing Of the Eng
nsh IN India, at Surat, on the Tapti River,
IN 1911: their struggles with the Dutch and
Portuguese for the Indian trade the set
Elements in New England, colonization in
the West Indies, and the growth Of all
these infant colonies one Of the partic-
ularly Interesting features of the first
volume IS the reproduction Of many old
prints and portraits. The chapter which
describes the origin and history Of the
buccaneers win be Of interest to stu
dents, as throwing light on type Of hui
man nature TO some extent unique The
buccaneer as a type originated on the
island Of San Domingo where, when not
on piratical excursions, he hunted the
wild oxen Of the islands, preserving their
flesh by drying II in smoke ia places call
ed buccans, from which term the word
nee iE der IN
Gus life developed race of men strong
hardy, active, fearless, and INSCRIPTIONS
and for several generations they were the
terror OF the high seas.
The second volume, beginning with the
eighteenth century, deals first with the
results Of the English revolution, by
which the House Of Commons became
paramount in the government Of the coun-
Try Considerable space is devoted to the
career Of Give in India, and TO the wars
against The French in America In speak
Ing Of the transactions Of Give the au-
thor makes the significant remark that
tTeacherous eXpedlents in dealing with
subject races have been commonly used
by the English IN the building up Of the
empire, and II that empire Is to stand ii
viii only be by the maintenance OF JUS
tice. The American war for indepen-
denee Is treated in several chapters, and
the author, far from being partial to Eng
land, does not hesitate 10 commend the
Hberty-ioving spirit Of the American col
Onies. and 70 censure the behavior Of
England. During the war against Ameri-
ca and for some years after IL is point
ed out England was losing possessions in
all parts Of the world, with the exception
Of India. which was under the skilfUl rule
OF Warren Hastings, so that some time
before the beginning Of NiCtoria'E reign
the empire was in q condition somewhat
similar 10 that IN which It was when
Elizabeth came 10 the throne
During the twenty years including the
eEd Of the last century and the beginning
Of the present. England had, says Mr..
Story, been fighting not only for empire,
but for very existence The battle of
Waterloo marked the end Of this period,
and the war, though causing apparent eX-
haustiou, had requickcned national life,
and produced new forms OF thought.
The development Of Australia, and the
passing Of the Cape Of Good Hope into
British hands, receive attention in several
Interesting chapters. and one Of the odd
happenings related in connection with the
discovery Of gold in the former colony is
that when a convict showed a lump OF
gold which he had picked up in the in
terror, he received a hundred and fifty
lashes, because il was supposed that he
had stolen a watch and melted IL TO avoid
detection.
The subject with which this historian
has 10 do IS Of such "A nature that ar
tistic unity in the completed work Is al
most impossible. When an author is OBJ
Hged 10 skip from England 10 India
thence 10 Australia. America, the West
Indies, and South Africa. deyoting a chap
ter or two 10 each IN turn, II IS quite out
OF the question for him 20 make a con
nected narrative Of the whole. The his
tories Of these several colonies are essen