The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-08-09

Would che same king be sovereign of both'
Would ne have two sets OF advisers? Sup
pose they should advise him different ways!
Would he appoint, as he does now, the
heads OF all the other members OF the fed
GRAFTON? II would hardly do Va let TN"
President of the United States appoint
all the State Governors. Evidently. the
same person could not be the lead NJ once
of the federation and of ono Of the COM
munitica included In IL. any more than the
same person could be President OF the
United States and Governor OF the state
OF New York. Els Majesty Edward VII.
would have 10 choose between the British
and The pan Britannia Grown. Then, again,
how would the Supreme Court OF the In
perial Federation be constituted? Such
an authority would certainly be needed to
interpret the Federal Constitution. and the
British monarchy would have to be sutton
before il. How would the DEGREES OF the
Federal Government he enforced IN the
event Of u refusal OF a member OF the Con-
federation to send it, war contingent9
Once more, how would the representation
in the Federal Parliament be apportoned?
If ny population, the representation OF the
British Islands would 40 outnumber the
rest that the rest would deem their repre-
sentation practically nulity, and jealousy
and cabals would at once arise. The aggre-
gate number. too. Of the representatives
would be difficulty. If Great Britain had
members in proportion Ia st. Helena and
Fiji the Imperial Parliament would have
to meet on Salisbury Plain. Nor, finally,
must the fact he overlooked that the Par
liamsnt Of Great Britain under any scheme
of imperial federation must cease to be
sovereign power. The Imperial Congress
itself would not he SOVEREIGN power. Like
the Congress OF the United Safes 1t would
be subject to the Federal Constitution. and
would have 80 much authority only as that
Constitution should assign TO it. The SOW
eregn power would be the people OF the
empire at large.
In word. the conception of Imperial
Federation il prom ounced grandiose but
visionary The author, Of course would
not deny that a grand idea may be at the
same time practicable. The idea oil
United Continent of North America, Sc
curing free trade and intercourse over a
vast area, with external safety and internal
peace, is no less practical than il is grand,
The benefits OF suoh union would always
be present to the mind OF the least in
structed citizen. The sentiment connected
with il would be a foundation on which
the political architect could build" To this
subject Mr. Goodwin Smith recura in later
section Of his essay There is a federation
which liz feasible, and. to those who do not
measure grandeur by physical force or
/ extension, H. least as grand az that OF which
the lmperialist dreams. II is the moral fed
Grafton OF the whole English-speakine race
throughout the world including all those
millions Of men speaking the English Ian
g,lage in the United States, and parted from
the rest only a century ago by wretched
quarrel. whom Imperial Federation would
leave ont Of its pale. Nothing ia needed
tn bring this about but the voluntary re-
,irement Of England "a a political power
from shadowy dominion in sphere which
, il not hers." NJ W, ~.