Page:The empire and the century.djvu/199

 the problems and the opportunities of Empire will probably be haunted by the question, 'What about the moral character which is to carry through this momentous business? Have we as a race, here at home and in the Colonies, the moral as well as the mental and physical strength to face these problems and use these opportunities?* He would surely be a very easy optimist who felt no trouble about the answer. On September 6, 1905, a long and striking letter appeared in the Times, under the signature of 'Vidi'—an obviously able and competent observer of his own and other nations—from which I quote these words:

'It is discouraging to see the lessons of the ordeal of the South African War still unlearnt, the warnings in great part unheeded, and all classes of the nation bent on gratifying an un-English passion for luxury and excitement. Large ideas seem to be tabooed, and empty "cleverness" exalted; responsibilities to be ignored; a hand-to-mouth happy-go-luckiness to be the prevailing mood.&hellip; I should scarcely have cared to trust my own impressions had they not been confirmed in a dozen quarters by men whose hands are on the public pulse. One such said: "&hellip; Underneath we are still sound, but we have run to seed, and want two or three years of good stiff adversity to lick us into shape." And yet another complained: "Despite the Japanese example, we cannot generate any real spirit of everyday devotion to the common good. We lack 'drive' and deep conviction. We have some patriotic instincts and prejudices, but prejudice is a bad makeshift for reasoned purpose." The names of the men who spoke thus would startle many of your readers.'

If there be any truth in all this, it is plain that the moral fibre of our race stands in need of strengthening. The business of Empire cannot be done without the capital of character, and in that capital we are not too rich. It is, therefore, of the utmost Imperial importance that the forces which make for moral character should be kept fresh and strong. It will not be denied