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PROBLEMS OF EMPIRE. possible to advance so far as public opinion coincided in various parts of the Empire, and so far as it was compatible with self-government. If more was attempted the Empire would suffer loss.' The decisions of the Coronation Colonial Conference are a most important advance in the direction indicated by Mr. Forster. It decided subject, of course, to ratification by the various Parliaments concerned—(1) that the Colonies should take upon themselves a larger share of the burden of naval defence, and (2) that periodical conferences of Premiers should be held, at intervals of not more than four years, to discuss questions of common interest. The Conference admitted the principle of Imperial Federation. These decisions are of great import for the future; but they only represent the first and tentative stage in the desired direction.

Ever since I had the privilege of visiting our great Colonies and dependencies, I have been convinced that the permanent unity of the Empire rests on two great principles of Imperial Government:—(1) The right of each part of the Empire which bears its fair share of Imperial burdens to a voice in the control of Imperial expenditure and the direction of Imperial policy. (2) The right of each part of the Empire to manage its own local affairs in its own way. The time will come ere long when these principles must be applied to the government of the Empire, for the simple reason that the burden of defence is becoming too heavy for the mother country to bear without the help of her children beyond the seas.

In 1892–3 the cost to the British taxpayer of Imperial defence amounted to some 35,000,000l. In 1902–3 our naval and military expenditure, quite apart 84