The times., 1899-05-15
COLONIAL SYSTEM OF
THE BRITISH EMPIRE
Terse Treatment of a VcfJ EX-
pansiye Subject.
A London Editors Letter to the
Bureau of Statistics.
EngInnd's Business Relations With
Her Coionies-Gunrnntec and
Their Results.

British colonial methods and the exist
ing relations. financial and otherwise, be-
| tween the home Government and the colo
MES are tersely and interestingly outlined
in letter recently received by the Treas
ury Bureau of Statistics in reply to series
OF questions upon this subject. The letter
is written by S. G. Hobson,, editor of the
"Hardwareman" and the Hardware Ex-
porter" London, and presents in brief
space SO much interesting and important
information regarding business relations
between the British Government and its
colonies that it will doubtless prove in
teresting to many people in the United
States. The letter is as follows:
In reply to your question concerning
the relations of the mother country to the
colonies. You ask:
Il. Whether the home Government ex-
pended any considerable sums of money in
the earlier history of the colonies.
20. Whether such expenditures, if made,
| have been refunded by the colonies.
''3. Whether the large sums that have
been expended in permanent improvements
| such as railways, telegraph lines, public
highways, harbors. etc, have been supplied
in part by the home Government, and If
SO, in about what proportion?
~. Whether the troops in the colonies
are supported by the home Government or
by the revenues of the colonies them
selves; and
'5. Whether the colonial system is
generally looked upon by the people of the
home Government as advantageous or
otherwise.
I'm reply to the first question: No. The
Government has not spent any consider
n history
of the colonies, so that secondly there has
been no return of initial outlay by the
colonies. 1t is necessary here to carefully
discriminate between colonial expenditure
pure and simple, and home Government
expenditure for defence. Wherever pub
lie works have been of strategic value eth
er from military or naval point OF view.
the home Government always expends 4
fair share. For example, the harbor of
St Lucie in the West Indies ~as recently
put into condition at cost of $4,000
pounds sterling, to which the Government
contributed 1000 pounds sterling; and in
like manner many of the harbors through
out our colonies, and particularly in South
Australian waters, have been partially
subsidized by the home Government.
But so far as colonization is concerned
ii has been a natural process the home
Government only taking ccsniZance of the
colony when it had grown sufficiently to
warrant government. Then. again.
there are occasionally grants in aid in
times Of colonial distress; for example,
the West Indian sugar plantations having
proved unremunerative, a grant in aid is
made to them, and 1t may or may not
be repaid. but sometimes the colonies have
been unable to meet their liability, and
the Government wipes out the debt
"3. With regard to this question, no
governmental money ia pyDeuded IN rail.
ways, telegraph lines. or public highways,
excepting so far as they are covered in
my answer to No. l. But the Government
Will often meet the case by giving a guar
antee. But If the Government guarantee
be given in colonial projects of this de-
scription, capital is always forthcoming,
and there is hardly any case on record
where the Government has been called
upon to make good its guarantee. The
only case in my memory is that of the
Turkish bonds, but as a general rule it
is perfectly accurate to assume that the
Government guarantee always meets the
financial difficulty. For example. there Ia
an agitation in South Africa for a rail-
way from Cape Colony to Cairo. Mr..
Rhodes has been interviewing the home
Government, asking not for capital. but
for guarantee. The Government will
only guarantee the railway so far as 1t
considers it of commercial value, and has
given its guarantee for one section of the
project. Mr. Rhodes will have no difficulty
in obtaining money from the nation. for
1t Is covered by the guarantee.
Il The troops in the colonies are paid
directly by the home Government. but the
leading colonies pay the Government a
proportion. The amount, however. is
proportionately very small. and by no
means regular; some colonies pay and
some do not
cape Colony has recently offered the
home Government the price of first t-class
battleship. But the payments on the part
OF the colonies are entirely voluntary the
general principle being. no taxation with
out representation. There is a movement
here calling for imperial federation. and
doubtless in the future this question will
be put upon proper foundation.
In reply to question 5, the opinion here
fuctuates as to the value or otherwise OF
colonial expansion. Roughly speaking, the
| average Britisher Is ready to accept re-
sponsibility, but he is not particularly en-
| thusiastic about it.
| The fact is, we are a colonizing nation,
| and amongst the well do classes. It Is
quite the usual thing for the younger sons
| to try the colonies for a few years The
law of primogeniture is partly responsible
| for this, whilst our industrial system is
continually throwing out large bodies OF
men who at once emigrate. OF course the
emancipation of the slaves was capital
Investment of 933. .000. COO. which the colo
nies have never repaid and never will