Page:Problems of Empire.djvu/34

PROBLEMS OF EMPIRE. to realise what an unfair arrangement it is to him. To those who assert that the Colonies will never contribute to the cost of Imperial defence, my answer is they have already begun to do so. Melbourne and Sydney, which are secure bases for British commerce, are amongst the best-defended ports in the Empire. After the Colonial Conference of 1887 the Australian Governments, with one exception, agreed to bear a large proportion of the cost of a British squadron in Australian waters: and while that squadron is avowedly intended to protect, in the first instance, the shores of Australia, it as certainly assists in protecting British commerce in Australian waters.

Though a commencement has been made in this direction, it may well be doubted whether the Colonies will undertake their fair share of the burden unless we give them further advantages than a voice in the control of Imperial questions. The self-governing Colonies are nearly all rigidly protectionist, and it is said that all that they hope for from a connection with the mother country is the enjoyment of trade advantages. I am a staunch believer in the economic advantages of Free Trade to this country, even on the present one-sided system; but, in my opinion, it is well worth considering whether we should not gain more than we lose if, by entering into reciprocal trade arrangements throughout the Empire, we induced the Colonies to bear their fair share of the cost of Imperial defence. In the present state of public opinion on fiscal matters in this country such an arrangement may be impracticable. It is a problem which will undoubtedly have to be faced sooner or later, if this Empire of ours is to be kept together, and it is a 16