The Washington times., 1922-01-08


Commonwealth" by Josiah G.
wedgwood, M. p. with q Preface
by viscount Haldane. Thsosoph-
ical Publishing House.
BY Ivy 8. RICHARD.
VIZ e have II on no less an au-
/" thority than Jan G. SHUTS
that 'the old pre-war Brit.
ish empire 10 gone, in the sense Of
colonies or subordinate nations clus-
tering around one master nation"
Many opponents of British imperial
ism have been celebrating its down.
fall and predicting that it's scatter
Cd parts would soon lose cohesion.
Colonel wedgwood's purposs u
to 'show how England can secure
peace by fitting the empire to be-
come the nucleus Of world union. By
being herself the center Of . com
monwealth Of free peoples enjoying
equal rights" Colonel wedsewod
has the temperament Of man who.
seeing things amiss and believing
that he knows how to set them
Alright. 10 fervent with impotence
to put everybody at the task.
The thing which 10 amiss In
Britain's traditional scheme Of en-
pire IL the implicit belief Of the
typical ruling Engiishman that the
peoples whom he rules and exploits
ought to be eternally grateful to
him for doing It. That stupendous
obsession Of superiority. while fitted
fairly well to the Psychology OF
feudal age. 10 now confronted by an
era Of democratic impulses which
have seeped through from the white
races. their creators and would-be
monopolists to all the other races Of
the world. producing q challenge
that the white exploiter finds most
awkward.
Colonel wedgwood II liberal
enough to see that this challenge
can no longer be met by force. 30.
after q personal tour Of the greater
part Of the far.flung British pos
sessions, he passes each In review
in this book and points out how In
his Judgment It can be saved.
TWO SAMPLE AREAS.
Let US follow him through two
sample areas-Ireland and India,
remembering that he wrote while
Ireland was still under the scourge
Of the BLACK and Tans" and long
before the recent settlement. HIS
view of the Irish problem gives
the key to his view of the entire
future of the British empire.
secession" he says in begin
ming his chapter on Ireland, "'has
an ugly sound. but cannot think
that Abraham Lincoln was right.
II seems to me that II q great body
of citizens desire to secede from
any country. and are prepared to
take their share of that country's
old Indebtedness ana liabilities. they
are entitled to do So"
Applying this principle. and recog'
MIXING that "the Irish desire no
gifts, but their rights. including the
righs even to be foolish" he would
have held a plebiscite. parish by
parish. in Ireland on do you. or
do you not, wish to seceds from
Great Britain7" Every parish that
voted for secession and was terri
toriaily connected with its fellows
he would have turned over to De
Valera n Sim Fem Ireland. leav-
ing details for subsequent negotia.
ton. The settlement Just arrived at
10 substantially in agreement with
this policy.
In dealing with Ireland white
neishbor deals with white, but In
India there is not only the prob
lem Of distance, but also that Of q
differing color and race and .
fundamentally different culture. II
II the testimony Of Trustworthy
Indians that the new spirit now
ooursing throughout India II not
merely the aspiration to be fres OF
white control. but . growing hatred
Of the entire scheme Of life a. rep
resented In white civilization.