Page:The empire and the century.djvu/259

 Necessity, however, governs all our actions. The South African War had clearly shown the yearning of the whole Empire for some means by which to consolidate the ties which up to that time had been more sentimental than real. The moment had arrived for action. If 'the sons of Britain throughout the world were not then to stand shoulder to shoulder to defend their mutual interests and their common rights,' some other means must be found for effecting a result which all alike recognised as paramount.

Doubt now obscures the future of Commercial Unity, and it is opportune to consider whether Military Unity may not, even yet, be effected under a rejuvenated War Office. There is on the part of the great Colonies an unmistakable aspiration towards a closer union and for a broader citizenship. There is on the part of the Mother Country a feeling, more and more intense each year, that the future successful maintenance of the Empire, vital to all concerned, is to be found only in a closer union with her children. That union is strength is more true now than ever before! Under modern conditions war assumes gigantic proportions; hundreds of thousands are and will be necessary where thousands and even hundreds have in past times decided the fate of Empires. By combination alone can nations now hope to defend their rights and guard their independence.

What could Canada hope to effect with her 3,500 miles of frontier, unaided by the other members of the British family? How could Australia expect to keep inviolate her 8,000 miles of seaboard, and to maintain for her future generations the heritage she possesses from the grasp of the teeming millions of China and Japan without the aid of her partners in the Empire? What hope has South Africa of consolidation and development without the Pax Britannica under the British flag?