gn policy just in the measure that they take a keen interest in
it. If they take a keen interest no statesman dependent for his position
on the votes of the electorate will dare to embody in a treaty a policy of
which they disapprove; while if they do not take an adequate interest,
no amount of constitutional provisions will enable them to exercise an
intelligent control over the actions of statesmen.

The same may be said of another expedient adopted in many countries;
namely, the appointment by Parliament of Committees on Foreign Affairs,
with power to call for papers and examine Ministers on their policy.
Democratic government both in foreign and internal affairs has hitherto
rested on the idea that Parliament should have adequate control over the
principles on which policy is conducted, but must to a large extent leave
the details of administration to the executive departments which are
controlled by the Ministers of the Crown. Parliament, whether through
committees or otherwise, will never be able to follow or control all
diplomatic negotiations, any more than it can control all the details
of the administration necessary to carry out a complicated law like the
Insurance Act; and Committees of Parliament, however useful, will have
no influence unless the people of the country so recognise their
responsibilities in foreign politics that they will demand from the men
whom they elect to Parliament a judgment and a knowledge of foreign
affairs, at least as sound and well based as they now require in the case
of internal affairs.

It will be seen that this imposes a very difficult task on the British
electorate. How are they to weigh foreign affairs and internal affairs
against each other? What are they to do if they approve the internal policy
of a Government, but disapprove of its foreign policy, or _vice versa_? Are
we, for instance, to sacrifice what we believe to be our duty in foreign
affairs in order that we may keep in power a Government which is carrying
out what we believe to be a sound policy of internal social reform? It
is here, it would seem, that some reform is really needed. There is one
solution: namely, to separate the control of domestic affairs on the one
hand and foreign affairs on the other, placing domestic affairs in the
hands of a Parliament and and a Cabinet who will stand or fall by their
internal policy alone, and entrusting foreign affairs to an Imperial
Parliament and an Imperial Cabinet fo